Asked by lunengele-deactivated20190524

Hi! Thanks for the question, and sorry for taking ages to reply! (photos of hanfu hairstyles via 咸鱼跳池塘):

Yes, the beauty standards concerning a woman’s hair in Chinese history were that it should be long, black, and sleek straight - as well as thick, shiny, and soft.

Both woman and men kept their hair long due to the Confucian belief that one’s body, hair, and skin were gifts from one’s parents and should not be damaged. Upon reaching adulthood (between ages 15-20), women grew out their hair and gave up youthful hairstyles (such as double buns) for more sophisticated styles, as I explained here. Below - Song and Ming dynasty hairstyles for adult women (x):

Wuhei/乌黑 (jet-black) hair was seen as a symbol of health and youthful vitality. Phrases used to praise a woman’s hair color include “hair as black as ink” and “hair as black as lacquer”. Thick, voluminous hair was praised as “cascading like a waterfall”. Below - traditional Chinese hairstyles (1/2):

There’s a classical Chinese phrase - “bin ru yun/鬓如云”, meaning “temples like clouds” - used to praise a woman’s beautiful hair: thick, black, soft, shiny, and flowing like clouds. Bin/鬓 (temples) refers to the hair on both sides of a woman’s face. A poem from the Classic of Poetry (Shijing) states: “Her temples are like clouds, she disdains wearing a hair bun” (Source). In the below artworks depicting the mudan tou/牡丹头 (lit. “peony head”) hairstyle of the late Ming-early Qing period, it’s easy to see how the bin would resemble soft, fluffy black clouds (x):

When it comes to what women with other hair textures did – Chinese people are overwhelmingly genetically predisposed to straight hair, so having ziran juan/自然卷 - naturally wavy/curly hair - would be very rare. Furthermore, Chinese women after reaching adulthood did not leave their hair hanging loosely, which was seen as uncivilized - they arranged their hair in various buns, loops, and updos. Someone with wavy or curly hair could do the same, and their different texture wouldn’t have made that much of a difference or been very noticeable. Also keep in mind that it was common for Chinese women to use wigs to create their hairstyles. In addition, there was a variety of hair ornaments, including hairpins, guan (crowns), and fabrics that could be used to cover and/or control any unruly hair. Below - illustrations of Ming dynasty hairstyles & hair ornaments (x):

It was only until the early 20th century, during the Republican era, that wavy/curly hair became fashionable due to Western influence and new hairstyling technology. Below - illustrations of models with wavy/curly hair in Republican-era advertisements (x):

If anyone has more information on the matter or has experience making Chinese hairstyles with non-straight hair textures, please share!

Hope this helps! ^^

fuckyeahchinesefashion:

chinese college students are studying how to add volume to hair by 我爱吃榴莲

rongzhi:

Douyin from @郭天天天 showing how the front of dan (旦; female roles in Chinese opera) role hair pieces are fashioned. The OP is not an opera actor—he goes to a specialised photography studio to show how the looks are created.

English translation added by me. :)

inkjadestudio:

Detailed Graphite Hair Drawings by Hong Chun Zhang

Chinese artist Hong Chun Zhang creates graphite drawings that replace everyday materials with ribbons, sheets, or swirls of shiny black hair. The works, titled Hairy Objects, are intended to be humorous while also a bit unsettling, allowing the beauty of hair to also repulse the audience when caught emerging from the spine of a book or the spout of a bathroom sink.

The surreal drawings also focus on her cultural identity, especially connections with her family in China, and her identity as a woman and sister. The hair represents a powerful life force, imbuing each piece with an aspect of herself.