Wanting Pale
During the Tang dynasty, the imperial court ladies made skin care and cosmetics applications a fine art form. Borrowing artistic techniques from Buddhism that have spread throughout the country, women have turned into gold-plated statues, complete with delicate skin, porcelain and facial applications. Possession of pale skin is on the rise as court ladies go to new and higher levels to restore their skin, temporarily and permanently.
From Pre-Imperial times, Chinese women wanted pale skin. As agriculture became more and more culturally and economically important, the skin became increasingly associated with the working class of farmers and fishermen. While noble women initially wanted white men to show that they did not have to work, however, powder and smooth skin soon became a fashion statement. During the Tang dynasty, courts began to take extreme measures to ease the skin on their faces. Although they continue to suppress white powder made from lead, they also use special gels and lotions made from natural ingredients to remove pigments and break down their skin permanently. One of the most popular gels is made from songyi mushrooms, an ingredient that is still used in many skin shades today.
Seven Steps to Beauty
Although currently the leading powder and cream transforms pigment, the Chinese approach to skin care is still a holistic one. Nutrition, health and circulation are still considered necessary to maintain fair skin and many lotions have been developed using herbs that are popular in traditional medicine. In fact, while skin care was previously limited to bedrooms, many Tang dynasty women carried small amounts of lotions and other cosmetics so they could touch their faces at their own will.
However, this is not to say that the rulers of the Tang dynasty wore their clothes in public. In fact, they were used in seven separate steps each morning. The first step is to wash your face with a thick white base. The second step is to apply the rouge to the cheek. The third step is to close the forehead with gold ocher. The ocher is painted on a complex pattern based on a gold statue of a Buddha. The fourth step is to detect eyebrows. The fifth step is to paint a bright red lip. The sixth step is to knock your cheeks. The seventh and final step is to paste the flowers between the eyes. (You can read more about the seven beauty steps here: http://www.chinatoday.com.cn/English/e2004/e200411/p60.htm)
The Art of Applique
Although the use of the first face gained popularity during the Tang Dynasty, they continued to be popular throughout Imperial China. As outlined in the seven steps of cosmetics application, there are actually several types of appliques. Although decorated cheeks have been around since the early days of the Emperor's Court, it has, to date, lost any residual practical and strict use of fashion. In fact, it is extremely rare for points to become more rounded. Although one of the most popular designs is the crescent behind the cheeks, these so-called dots can take any shape from flower to insect. The color of flowers placed between the eyes has the same number of variations. It can be made from paper, gold foil or shells and the pattern consists of flowers to fans, from dragons to cows.
Although inaccurate, the tracked shallow remains an important part of the face decoration. By this time, the design had become much more complex than they had been during the Qin or Han dynasties. Although different forms are generally patterned after objects found in nature, their own shape is far from the natural shape of the eyebrows. Willow leaf eyebrows are one of the most popular designs, with olive-shaped eyebrows not far behind. Emperor Xuanzong also commissioned a book called Shi Mei Tu, which outlines ten different eyebrows. (You can read more about face appliques and eyebrows here: http://www.chinatoday.com.cn/English/e2004/e200411/p60.htm)
From basic powders to skin bleaches to olive-shaped eyebrows, many of China's most advanced skin care techniques and cosmetics approaches are foreign to the world today. Their holistic approach to skin care, however, and their mistakes show that Imperial China still offers much of the modern world.
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