The evolution of ideal body throughout Chinese history

To narrow the scope of discussion on a topic that would otherwise be too ambitious to tackle in limited space, this essay will focus on the change of ideal body throughout Chinese history.

What constitutes the ideal body in the context of China has evolved over time, from a tall, slender stature in ancient times to a plump, robust body shape in the height of political and cultural development, then to the petite, elegant, even unreasonably thin body in recent centuries. But behind these changes in aesthetics, one may find a common driving force: the influence of the upper class. Given the top-down nature of the feudal autocracy that dominated Chinese political history, the ruling class—whether the imperial court or the upper class in general—held profound power and sway over the populace, influencing people’s views, behaviors, habits and so on, leading many to unquestioningly adopt the standards set by the upper class. As the ruling class shaped social norms, pressure naturally arose for the commoners to conform to those norms and adapt a common aesthetics lest they become markedly different, even social outcasts. Although this form of social pressure has waned today as the rise of democracy in the modern era changed social dynamics worldwide, the examination of how the upper class shaped and changed beauty standards throughout history will help us understand the arbitrary nature of those standards and adopt more diverse, inclusive perspectives on beauty.

From the early Western Zhou Dynasty to the Western Han Dynasty (1045 BC – 202 BC), the ideal body in ancient China was characterized by height and slenderness. In The Book of Songs, the earliest and best known ancient Chinese literature that collects 305 poems dating back over 2000 years, a well acclaimed poem titled “The Duke's Bridge” captures the essence of what was considered as beauty for women of the time. In praising the Princess of the Qi country, Zhuangjiang, who was getting married, the poem portrays her noble and beautiful body image by emphasizing how “tall” and “buxom,” thus attention-worthy and admirable, she is. Only after noticing her height does the poet continue to remark on other features of her attraction: “And dark on white her speaking eyes, her cheeks with smiles and dimples glow.”

The “Four Beauties of China,” which were considered the standard of women’s outlook in ancient China, provide another telling example. It is widely acknowledged that all four women in this group were renowned for their beauty, specifically their “fair complexion,” “long eyebrows,” “bright eyes,” and “slender waists.” According to legend, the beauty of Diaochan and Xishi could even cause fish to forget to swim and birds to forget to fly. Wang Zhaojun, on the other hand, was born in a civilian family but elected to the imperial court due to her beauty. She was mistakenly married off to the Xiongnu Chanyu as the plainest woman from the Han court since she was unwilling to bribe the royal artist and her portrayal was distorted. Greatly pleased by the bride, the Xiongnu Chanyu set out to improve diplomatic relationship with the Han court and ensured peace and prosperous development for both countries. All these legends provide hints to what beauty looked like for women in ancient China.

The love for thin waists was evident among men as well. Mozi, a famous Chinese philosopher whose teachings emphasized introspection, asceticism, and unconditional love, exhorted people, kings included, to adopt a restrictive dietary regime that just meets the needs of the body and steer away from exquisite and aromatic food. Lots of kings, King of Chu in particular, spoke highly of him and his philosophies. Accordingly, the wise kings controlled their diets and had people around them follow their steps to keep a thin build. As recorded in Han Feizi, the canonical legalist text of ancient China, “Chu Ling King had a thin waist and there were many hungry people in the country.” An article “King Chu loved thin waists” in the book “Mozi” corroborated that, given King Chu’s affection for thin waists and the fear of losing imperial favor and post, his civil and military officials all tried to conform to that body image by eating only one meal a day and asking their servants to pull the belt from four directions to tie the waist so tight that they could barely stand up against the wall. The thin waist therefore became a prevalent body type in court and gradually spread to the commoners.

During the Tang dynasty—a political, economic, cultural height in ancient Chinese history—the predominate aesthetics became characterized by the idea of “fat for beauty.” The family of Li Yuan, the founding emperor of the Tang dynasty, originated in the northwest, where people in general had a relatively robust build. Thus, this kind of build came to be associated with the upper class, therefore one to be desired and aspired to by the commoners. As the new regime brought more political stability and material abundance, a plump body also became an embodiment of health and affluence. Thin people who seemed to be lacking nutrition were therefore considered poor and of lower status.

The unique pursuit of plumpness as the ideal body image was well reflected in Tang art. The painting “Ladies with hairpins” by Tang painter Zhou Fang famously portrays five ladies and one maid in court, all plump, curvaceous, exhibiting aristocratic dignity and elegance. As the new regime underwent rapid social, political, economic, cultural, and religious development, the art of sculpture, especially with Buddhist themes, also quickly matured. The fact that statues of Buddha and bodhisattva of the period all shows round chests and faces, and robust frames again reinforced the notion of plumpness as a sign of beauty, nobility, and divinity.

By the Ming and Qing dynasties, the ideal body became one defined by a gentle delicacy, as well as awe-striking features such as the “lotus feet” among women. From the thin and delicate lady standing in a courtyard with a slightly resentful look between her eyebrows depicted in the painting “Autumn Wind Fan Diagram” by famous Ming painter, Tang Yin, whose works were seen as the standard of remarkable drawing, to one of the masterpieces of the lady's paintings, “Li Duanduan diagram,” which depicts Li Duanduan, a fair woman of thin built and fair skin who became a popular singer, paintings of this historical period commonly and popularly depicted such frail and delicate ladies and were extremely favored by men of the time. By the Qing Dynasty, the aesthetic preference for small feet and the practice of foot binding—the breaking and wrapping of women's feet tightly with a cloth to make them unnaturally small—became prevalent. Women began binding their feet from the age of four or five, until the adult skeleton is fixed. The smaller the feet, the more beautiful the women were considered, with the small feet with the ideal length coined the "three-inch golden lotus." Since the image of the “three-inch golden lotus” evoked infinite love and pity among men at the time, the bounded feet became a mark of beauty and marriageability, which was important because, in the Qing dynasty, the status of women was at an all-time low; therefore, women often had to depend on men to satisfy the basic needs to survive. The foot binding practice prevailed among Han people, especially upper-class Han women in the Central Plain area, despite numerous attempts from Qing rulers, who were Manchus, to ban it. For example, in the first year of Shunzhi (1644), the Qing court refused women who bound their feet entrance into the court. But all such attempts failed, speaking to the deepseatedness of such practice and aesthetic standards at the time. Manchu women who don't have this habit still maintain their “big feet”, so to be adopted by the society, they had to cover their feet through “flower pot bottom shoes” that have heels high enough to let their feet be covered by the dresses.

The ideal body has evolved and changed throughout history, but the main power that shaped the aesthetics remains the same. Regardless of the historical time period and its respective beauty standards, it is clear that the upper class wields a great influence on the aesthetic values of society. Understanding how the interests and motivation of the upper class bred social pressure that molded public aesthetics, we should be more alert in the face of social norms and instead adopt a more critical and more open-minded attitude towards different aesthetic trends.