Time passes, in the millennium of Chinese history, each dynasty has evolved a unique style of women's makeup. As the saying goes, light makeup is always appropriate, nowadays we, and then see these exquisite ancient Chinese makeup style, will also be very amazed.
The simple elegance of the Han dynasty, the ebullience of the Six dynasties period, gorgeous opulence of the Tang dynasty, each dynasty has its own representative style and unique aesthetic, today for you to take stock of the beauty of the ancient Chinese makeup style of each dynasty.
Han Dynasty
Han Dynasty women advocated “white powder and black Dai (黛, Greenish-black pigment used to paint eyebrows.)”, but due to the constraints, they often used natural “cosmetics” to decorate their faces, such as finely ground rice grains to put on the face, this foundation is more healthy, but the effect of whitening is not obvious; many women even chose lead powder to put on the face, this mineral powder is toxic, but it has a strong whitening effect.
With a white face, the next most important thing is to draw eyebrows. The common tool used by the ancients to draw eyebrows was “Dai”, which was need dissolved in water in advance. Dai was widely used during the Han Dynasty, and stone inkstones for grinding Dai were excavated in Han tombs on several occasions.
In the Han Dynasty, white makeup was very popular, but due to the introduction of rouge, women also began to boldly try “red makeup”, adding a few bright colors to the face, lip color preferences vermilion like jade.
Wei and Jin Dynasties
Wei and Jin dynasties, people are white as the beauty, often with a lead powder to the thickly coated face, in addition, their makeup became more diverse and inclusive, there are different styles of face makeup, such as Xiehong makeup, Luomei makeup, Xiaoxia makeup, etc.
Six Dynasties period
Six Dynasties period, frequent regime changes, so the makeup at the time absorbed a variety of styles, more varied, and one of the more representative face makeup is “Ehuang (额黄)”. This makeup originated in the North and South Dynasties, when people were inspired by the Buddha statue, and created this style of makeup.
Its main way of makeup there are two, one is to special yellow paint on the forehead half, and then slightly diluted with water to create a gradual effect. The other is the “paste method”, this method is the yellow sheet material cut out the shape, and then paste on the forehead.
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was a very open period in Chinese history, the Tang people were beautiful with plumpness, and they were more open and bold in their makeup than previous generations.
If the Han Dynasty people liked white, then the Tang Dynasty people liked red more. The “red makeup” is the favorite of Tang women, they prefer graceful and luxurious face makeup, so rouge became the most popular beauty items, the Tang beauty likes to apply red rouge on the face in a large area, creating a rich and luxurious effect.
The famous “red makeup” in the Tang Dynasty was of many kinds, such as peach blossom makeup, Jiu Yun makeup, and Fei Xia makeup, which were all popular with Tang girls, and not only that, the makeup steps for Tang girls were also very many, but can be summarized as seven steps.
- First to apply powder, generally choosing lead powder which is easier to apply.
- Then to apply rouge extensively, not only on the face but also, for some rouge-crazed girls, on the ears and eyes.
- The next step is to draw the eyebrows, still using Dai as a tool, but poor girls can't afford to use Dai so they will burn the wicker and then use it, and the effect is not bad.
- The Huadian (花钿) is also an important step, the graceful and bright Huadian will make the whole person's temperament nobler.
- Then it's time to dot the Mianyan (面靥) and draw the Xiehong (斜红).
- Finally, apply lipstick and done.
After taking a look at the Tang Dynasty makeup step, we have to say that Tang girls are really too exquisite.
Song Dynasty
The girls of the Song Dynasty were more aesthetically inclined to light and elegant thin makeup, so the makeup of the Song Dynasty was generally plainer.
Eyebrows still inherited the legacy of the Tang Dynasty, “Yuanshan eyebrows” were the preferred eyebrow shape of the Song daughters; but compared to the Tang girls on the bold use of rouge, they appear more conservative, rarely thick makeup.
Even with light makeup, the makeup of the daughters of the Song Dynasty still revealed a sense of sophistication. The noblewomen of the court were the first to use pearls as an embellishment to their makeup, and they used pearls to embellish Mianyan, just like the one shown in the Chinese TV series.
Ming Dynasty
The aesthetics of the Ming maidens were similar to the Song Dynasty, still with light makeup, but their makeup was characterized by being more natural and not deliberately creating a feminine and feminine temperament.
The Ming women's makeup was brighter overall, with appropriate rouge to add temperament and a healthier look; they were also very sensitive to color, with variable lip color, giving a bright and gentle feeling overall.
Ming girls also liked to “highlight”, they would put more obvious white powder on the forehead, nose, and jaw. In general, the Ming Dynasty makeup is closer to modern aesthetics.
Review of ancient Chinese makeup style for women in various dynasties, we can easily find that they have their own characteristics, which dynasty's style do you like the most? Discuss together in the comment!
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