Hi, I really like your blog! I know pale/white skin was and is the beauty standard in China and east Asia, but what was the origin of this being the standard? Thanks!
Hi, I’m glad you like my blog <3 Thanks for the question, and sorry for taking ages to reply! (hanfu photo via 化妆师芷莘):
The origin of pale skin being the beauty standard in China lies in its role as a signifier of class and status within an agricultural society.
For most of its history, China was profoundly agrarian, with agriculture serving as the bedrock of its economy and social structure for thousands of years. Chinese agricultural civilization was primarily based on farming, and most commoners engaged in outdoor labor, resulting in tanned skin from prolonged exposure to sunlight. Below - a tanned farmer from a Tang dynasty painting (x):
In contrast, the upper classes - the aristocracy, nobility, scholars, officials, and wealthy merchants - did not engage in heavy physical labor, lived comfortably, and rarely ventured out. Therefore, pale skin became associated with wealth, status, and power -- a marker of a life of luxury and leisure, gradually evolving into one of society's standards of beauty. For example, in the Shijing/诗经, the oldest existing collection of Chinese poetry, the verse "Hands like tender shoots, skin like congealed fat" is a praise of the pale skin of aristocratic women. Below - recreation of an upper-class woman from the painting Court Ladies Wearing Flowered Headdresses (x):
This contrast between social classes can be seen in the Ming dynasty painting below, which portrays a huolang/货郎 (knick-knack peddler) offering his wares to customers. Huolang were traveling merchants who carried assorted goods on a pole slung over their shoulder or in a push cart as they made the rounds in countryside villages. Note how the huolang is depicted as more tan compared to the upper-class girls and woman (x):
With that said, Chinese people come in all shades and some are more naturally pale or naturally tan than others, without any relation to their social class/how much time they spend in the sun. This is reflected in art such as the two paintings below, which depict scholars of varying skin tones side by side (1/2):
Having been the standard of beauty for thousands of years in China, pale skin is unlikely to be dethroned as the ideal anytime soon, especially when it comes to traditional beauty aesthetics (such as in traditional art and theater). However, as society continues to evolve, there's a growing appreciation for a more diverse spectrum of beauty that extends beyond the traditional ideal. This is the case even within the hanfu movement that tends to uphold traditional beauty standards, as seen in the below two photos of hanfu wearers showing off their outfits (1/2):
Hope this helps! ^^
