Chinese Philosophy of Beauty“古典美人”是什么样的？

China is a country with an ancient civilization， and the modern Chinese standards of beauty are often influenced by those from thousands of years ago.

The ancients had their own attitude towards beauty and fashion. Beauties Wearing Flowers is a Chinese painting of the Tang Dynasty. In this painting， women wear their black， smooth hair in a high bun. Various colors of their clothes match well. In addition， they wear floor-length dresses and their shawls are very thin and light， letting their skin show slightly.

In the painting， the women’s eyebrows are very pointed and eye-catching. This eyebrow was popular during the Tang Dynasty. It was actually typical of the fashions from the imperial court women during that period.

Lips were considered the most beautiful part of ancient women. From the Han Dynasty onwards， the ancients developed a deep interest in using rouge to paint different shapes on their lips， including a circle， a heart， a flower and so on. Cherry-like lips once appeared in many ancient Chinese paintings， and today many cover girls of fashion magazines have such lips.

中国是一个文明古国，现代中国人的审美标准往往受到几千年前的影响。

古人对美和时尚有自己的见解。《簪花仕女图》是一幅中国唐代的国画。在这幅画中，女性将乌黑柔顺的头发盘成高高的发髻。各种颜色的衣服搭配得恰到好处。此外，她们穿着及地的长裙，披肩非常轻薄，隐约可以看见肌肤。

画中女子的眉毛尖尖的，十分醒目。这种眉形流行于唐代。事实上，受宫廷女性的影响，这种眉形在当时是时尚的代表。

嘴唇被认为是古代女性最美丽的部位。从汉代开始，古人就热衷于用胭脂在嘴唇上画出不同的唇形，包括圆形、心形以及花瓣的形状等。樱桃小嘴曾出现在许多中国古代绘画中，如今许多时尚杂志的封面女郎也画这样的唇形。

Besides eyebrows， the ancient beauties also paid attention to their hair. There are many records on the hairstyle of women. The ancient women usually stuck flowers and hairpins in their buns to make them look more beautiful.

Music， chess， calligraphy and painting were the basic skills of gifted females in ancient times.

Music refers to the guqin， a kind of traditional Chinese musical instrument that has a history of more than 3，000 years.

Chess refers to weiqi. The ancient women had no chance to do the same work as men. So they gathered and played weiqi to relax.

Women learned how to read and write. They read to improve themselves， wrote poems to record their feelings and lives， and practiced calligraphy for enjoyment.

There were many women who had a talent for painting in ancient times. The theme of their paintings usually related to flowers， little pets and beautiful girls.

除了眉毛，古代美人也很注重自己的头发。关于女性发型的记载有很多。古代女子通常会在发髻上插花和簪子，让自己看起来更加美丽。

琴棋书画是古代才女的基本功。

琴指的是古琴，它是中国的一种传统乐器，距今已有3000多年的历史。

棋指围棋。古代女子没有机会从事与男子相同的工作。因此，她们会聚在一起下围棋，以放松身心。

古代女子也会学习读和写。她们通过阅读来提升自己，通过写诗来抒发情感、记录生活，通过练习书法来愉悦身心。

古代的很多女子都有绘画天赋。她们绘画的主题通常是花、小宠物和美人。

Word Bank

bun /bʌn/ n. 圆发髻

She wore her hair in a bun.

eyebrow /'aɪbraʊ/ n. 眉；眉毛

calligraphy /kə'lɪɡrəfi/ n. 书法；书法艺术