China has had a formative aesthetic theory of "beauty" since ancient times, and beauty pageants are naturally ancient. Beautiful pageants in ancient China can be said to have started with the selection of concubines by the court. So in the feudal society where male supremacy was supreme, what were the aesthetic standards for women? What were the standards for choosing beautiful women?
In the eyes of ancient Chinese men, the most attractive part of a woman's body was neither her face nor the measurements we call today, but a pair of lotus feet, that is, small feet. Anyone who has watched "Water Margin" knows a very popular female character, Pan Jinlian. "Three-inch golden lotus" is the most beautiful place for a woman in ancient times. You should remember that Ximen Qing took the opportunity to touch Pan Jinlian's feet when he leaned over to pick up chopsticks, right? This doesn't reveal the aesthetic characteristics of ancient men's special liking for women's lotus feet?
Therefore, the beauty pageant of the ancients was first and foremost a competition of feet. And there are many names for the beauty pageant of feet, such as "Football Club", "Sun Foot Club", "Lotus Foot Club" and so on. This kind of beauty pageant appeared in the Zhengde period of the Ming Dynasty, and it was the most prosperous in Shanxi and Zhili. At that time, during the festival temple fairs, there were scholars and women gathered in the market. These women either sat around the empty field or sat in the car, covered in hijab, and their faces could not be seen. But they would show their feet at this time, and of course they were all wearing shoes and socks. After the men had a good taste of their feet, they would determine the champion, the top spot, and the flowers. Those women who were at the top would be famous far and wide. And those who wait for the word boudoir will also double their worth because of a good ranking, and it is very easy to find a good family.
Of course, a pair of lotus feet is the highlight of the beauty pageant, but the aesthetic standards of the ancients were not so simple.
Overall, in addition to having a pair of lotus feet, there are also the following aspects of evaluation.
Cicada sideburns: "Wu" means having long black hair, while "cicada sideburns" refers to the thin, cicada-like hair on both sides of the cheeks and near the ears. The word "Wu" appeared as early as "Zuo's Spring and Autumn". As for the word "cicada's sideburns", it appeared in the Wei Dynasty of the Three Kingdoms. It was the hairstyle combed by a palace maid named Mo Qiongshu in the palace of the Wei Kingdom. Obviously, hair quality was an aesthetic standard for women in ancient men.
Cloud bun mist maid: "maid", which means ring bun, and bun refers to the knot tied on the top of the head. Cloud bun mist maid, which means that the bun that women comb out should look like a cloud. It can be seen that hair style is also an aspect that ancient men cared about women's aesthetics.
Eyebrow Qingdai: The word "ebrow" is used to refer to women's eyebrows. "Eyebrow" means shaving off the eyebrows and painting them with turquoise-black paint. This makeup technique became popular during the Western Zhou Dynasty. It sounds a bit "disfiguring", but it also shows that the eyebrow dye has always been an aesthetic indicator of women.
Bright eyes: "Bright eyes" are big, bright eyes. "Flowing eyes" means watching with flowing eyes. A pair of beautiful big eyes with autumn waves in the big eyes will, of course, be listed as a standard for a beautiful woman.
Vermilion lips and bright teeth: As the name suggests, vermilion lips are red lips, and white teeth are snow-white teeth. Red lips highlight the whiteness of teeth, and snow-white teeth set off the vermilion lips of cherry mouths, which complement each other.
Jade finger plain arm: The ancients attached great importance to women's fingers and arms. As a beautiful woman, the fingers must be slender and soft, and the arms must be white and round and full of elasticity. This is called the "plain arm." In fact, just like modern people like beautiful women with beautiful legs, "beautiful arm beauty" is an aesthetic tendency in ancient times.
Thin waist snow skin: Thin waist means slender waist, walking like a willow blowing in the wind. Snow skin is white snow skin. Thin waist snow skin, this is very similar to the aesthetics of modern people.
Red makeup whitewashing: Red makeup refers to women wearing makeup. Whitewashing is to apply white powder to the face, which means that makeup is also a criterion for evaluating a woman's beauty.
Fragrant limbs: If a woman is born without perfume, she can emit a charming aroma, which must drive all men crazy. This kind of beautiful woman with a natural fragrance has always been rare. It is said that in addition to the famous Fragrant Concubine of the Qing Dynasty, Xi Shi is also a beautiful woman with fragrance all over her body. This is the ultimate fantasy of men, and it is not surprising that it is listed as an aesthetic requirement for women in a patriarchal society.
Beautiful women are a topic that men will never leave their mouths on. The progress of the times has made us not like the ancients to regrow an almost perverted and paranoid love for "three-inch golden lotus." The integration of Eastern and Western cultures has also made our aesthetics gradually tend to the Western standard of "breast and fat buttocks." In fact, different people's aesthetic standards are naturally different, as the so-called "radish and green vegetables, each has its own love."
However, when we know these ancient aesthetic standards, if the four beauties of ancient China travel to modern times, it is difficult to say whether they are still beautiful women.