Chinese and westerners alike tend to perceive the ancient Chinese beauty as thin, fragile and protected from the outside world. In actuality, while the feminine ideal after the Sung dynasty was indeed frail and delicate, women of the T'ang and earlier dynasties were actually strong and vigorous. Historical basis for validating the robustness of T'ang women may be found in T'ang painting, particularly the "Palace Musicians".
48.7 centimeters high and 69.5 centimeters wide, the painting has no signature. Previously believed to have been painted in the Yuan dynasty, it has recently been classified as a late T'ang dynasty work.
Filling the scene is a group of well-fed court ladies playing musical instruments and drinking wine. A variety of hair styles and hair ornaments complement their extravagant dress. Uniformly white powdered faces, noses and chins, red cheeks, thin brows and tiny red dot mouths reveal the make-up standard of the era. On their foreheads are decorative hua-t'ien, tiny face stickers popular in the T'ang dynasty.
Ceramic women figurines from T'ang graves are often dressed in astoundingly low cut dresses. In contrast, the wide sleeves, high waisted skirts and silk shoulder scarves shown in the painting seem far from suggestive. Yet closer examination reveals that the garments covering the ladies' shoulders and necks are actually made of very thin, transparent material.
While women of the early T'ang were strong yet slim, by the late T'ang they were more amply endowed, reflecting their rich court lifestyle. The fashion was set by the courtesan Yang Kuei-fei, renowned favorite of the Emperor. The tipsy, maudlin women depicted in "Palace Musicians", with their far from fragile beauty extravagantly embellished in silks and finery, are evidence of the prosperity of the time.
(Jill Ardourel)
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