【Text/Observer Network Columnist Paul】
In 2021, rectifying the chaos in the entertainment industry has become a hot topic on the Internet, and all kinds of bad artists have really made the audience eat a lot of melons. Of course, artists who evade taxes and sell fake goods must be rectified, and some artists with improper positions and poor orientation are also concerned.
Any field needs to be clear and clear, and this is especially true in the showbiz circle with great social influence. Rectifying the chaos in the entertainment industry, including rectifying abnormal aesthetic orientation, is reasonable. What's more, some entertainers who have been criticized by netizens as "mother cannons" have long been dissatisfied from all sides.
However, Chinese rectify the chaos, some people are going to gossip. In response to the relevant developments, some authors have published articles overseas criticizing this as "the Chinese government's cultural war" and that "the crusade against unconventional masculinity is a manifestation of authoritarianism."
These voices also vowed to suggest that "China should respect the freedom of men to be 'small fresh meat', and should also pay attention to the love of middle-class women for 'small fresh meat'", "the gentleness and elegance of 'small fresh meat' can correct the machismo of Chinese men", "China should not only want the hard-working male socialist labor force of the 1950s"...
Although these are "buzzing" sounds, for some young friends who are not deeply involved in the world, the absurd claim of generalizing identity politics under the "white left" theory may be more deceptive, so it cannot but arouse vigilance. In fact, Chinese does not need the mouthpiece of a foreigner to point out when it comes to being a "delicate boy". Our ancestors had a similar cultural history experience for a hundred years, and also left a profound historical lesson for future generations with blood and tears. What this article wants to tell is this history.
Wei Jin "beautiful man" is more "tricks"
Nowadays, when it comes to "beautiful men", there is often a saying of "Japanese and Korean style". In fact, if you really want to talk about men smearing grease and powder, South Korea or Japan, in history, there is no number at all, and the Wei and Jin Southern Dynasties are experts in this regard. More than a thousand years ago, the social atmosphere at that time was far more open than today's "small fresh meat" and "flower beautiful men". Some of the so-called once-in-a-thousand-year-old beautiful men, if they were put more than a thousand years ago, would not have been ranked at all.
In the Southern Wei and Jin Dynasties, men who could be called "beautiful men" first had to look feminine. The great calligrapher Wang Xizhi once praised a beautiful man, saying that his "face is like gelatin, his eyes are like paint", and he has skin that can be broken by blowing bombs.
The famous Wei Jinmei men have received similar praise, compared to How Yan's "beautiful posture", Pan Yue's "wonderful posture", and Wang Yan's "beautiful appearance". At that time, if you want to become a recognized beautiful man, you must not only look as beautiful as a woman, but also have a feminine sense of femininity in your speech and demeanor.
Since the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the Jiangzuo regime has gradually stabilized, the life of a scholar has settled down, and the feminine aesthetic has been further developed.
"The World Speaks a New Language" book shadow
In the Liang Dynasty, Fu Fan Shi zhu, a disciple of the shi clan, had to repeatedly incense incense, shoes to heel high, and walking to flutter. Even in speech, there must be a feminine beauty of a woman. In the Southern Dynasty, jiangnan people said goodbye, no matter what it was, they had to cry sadly, cry and cry, and the more they had status, the more sad they cried. Even if it is only a banquet, everyone will shed a few tears at the end, looking sad and resentful.
In the traditional view, men have to carry a piece of the sky. But in the Southern Dynasty, these mournful and gloomy scholars, who cried and cried at every turn, really wanted to do something, and most of them were unreliable.
During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, scholars and doctors also coveted qushui, composed poems, and engaged in some cultural activities. After Xiao Liang, many aristocratic children only knew how to apply grease and powder, twist and pinch, a puff puff, white and tender face, but they would not do anything. Occasionally, the imperial court issued orders for them to give advice and ideas, and these people either pushed them to the next person or asked others for help.
Of course, if you say that these South Korean Men have no strengths, it is also a bit absolute. They are very researched on the important topic of how to become a beautiful man. These have been introduced in previous articles.
In the Southern Wei and Jin Dynasties, the threshold for beautiful men to love bean circles was much higher than today. For example, the simplest Fu powder is a technical work, what powder to wipe, what technique to use, this is all exquisite. Even if you can master the skills of makeup and dressing, and at the expense of heavy money, with a fragrant dress and high heels, the circle of beautiful men is not something that anyone can enter.
First of all, it depends on the family origin, whether it is a scholar's door valve. Then it depends on the performance of the individual, whether it is a beautiful man with a delicate body. Finally, some details are also important.
For example, speaking, today some people Chinese do not speak, always like to carry a few uncomplicated foreign languages, it seems quite foreign. In the Southern Wei and Jin Dynasties, the language research on the front line of the trend could be much higher, and if you want to become a beautiful man, you must be able to speak Luoyang. Since the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the Southern Dynasty regime has set the capital jiankang, but the further traces of the legal system must be linked to the Han and Jin capital Luoyang. Therefore, although the beautiful man at that time was in the Yangtze River Basin, he must be able to speak the Luoyang dialect of the Yellow River Basin, even if it was the Luoyang dialect that had been transformed by wu language.
Withered "Wind Flow"
In the Southern Wei and Jin Dynasties, the children of the all-round feminine, refined, and even "useless" scholars were eligible to enter the ranks of beautiful men. From the perspective of posterity, these people have some feeling of "self-destruction", but at that time, such fancy beautiful men were all super "traffic stars" and were highly sought after by people.
For example, the beautiful man Pan Yue, he has a beautiful face, elegant posture, cute look, whenever he goes out, there are always countless fans chasing behind. In particular, the fanatical female fans, one by one, desperately squeezed forward, scrambling to send food and drink to Pan Meinan. Whenever there is a fresh fruit on the market, Pan Yue's fans are always the first to buy it, and then stand at the door and offer it to idols.
There is also a beautiful man named Wei Jie, who has a greater reputation. Once he went out of town and got the local fans excited. As soon as Wei Jie took the car into the city, thousands of fans came from all directions, crowded and crowded together. As a famous beautiful man, Wei Jie was originally delicate and weak, surrounded by so many people in the street, and countless fans screamed and shouted, and he was scared out of the disease on the spot, and soon died. There is an allusion called "look at the killing of Wei Jiu", which is such a thing.
Although it was a tragedy for Wei Jie to be seen dead, it became the envy of countless scholars at that time. However, we think from another angle, we can see death, such a beautiful man, do you still have the courage? In the Southern Dynasty, the delicate and weak scholar-doctor was indeed very timid.
For example, Wang Fu of Jiankang Ling, from a famous and prestigious family, shouldered the heavy responsibility of governing the capital. However, it was such an important official who had never ridden a horse. When he heard a horse barking by chance, Wang Fu was scared half to death and said to others: "Such a frightening animal is clearly a tiger, how can it be called a horse?" ”
In fact, among the beautiful men in the family, Wang Fu was still a little bold, at least he was not scared to death by the horse, and at that time, more beautiful men were scared half to death when they heard the sound of the horse's hooves.
Because of this, when the Hou Jing Rebellion broke out in the Liang Dynasty, the beautiful men who were well-bred and well-treated suffered. This time, there was not only the roar of war horses, but also the shadow of swords and lights. After the outbreak of war, without waiting for the rebels to slash and slash, there were a large group of people who were scared to death.
After the siege of the city, the food shortage, as well as the slaughter of the rebels after the city was destroyed, made the beautiful men in Jiankang City die, and the only few that remained had long since lost the image of white and tender and delicate beautiful men.
Since the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the warrior clan has formed the backbone of national politics. At first, although the feminine style of beautiful men was popular among the scholars, at least there were men such as Xie An and Xie Xuan who could strategize and leap forward. However, in the late Southern Dynasty, the aesthetic of "flower beauty men" swept through the scholar group and almost became the only orientation. Finally, at the moment of national peril, only the screams of fear remained, and no one stood up to turn the tide of the tide and help the building to fall.
Ancient and modern, Chinese and foreign, the same destination
Some people may question whether it is too exaggerated to associate the feminine aesthetic of men with the rise and fall of the country. In this regard, we may wish to make a comparison between the Southern and Northern Dynasties.
Since Yongjia, northern China has experienced brutal wars and deep ethnic integration, and the customs of the northern warriors are very different from those of the south. For example, the "shooting" in the Six Arts of Confucianism, pulling a bow and shooting arrows is obviously incompatible with the temperament of a beautiful man, and most of the Southern Dynasty scholars have been abandoned for a long time. In the north, the children of the warrior clan not only practiced archery, but also carried out targeted practice in combination with the environment of the battlefield. In the banquets of the Northern Dynasty, bows and arrows were often performed, which was in stark contrast to the Song and Dance of the Southern Dynasty and the fragrant aroma of fat powder.
Relying on the privilege system of the warrior clan, the Southern Dynasty scholar master did not care about his career and livelihood at all. The so-called "if you don't fall on the car, you will write, and if you are a secretary in the body", as long as you are born into a famous family, even if you are full of fu fan Shi Zhu, you can still be an official, so they carefully dress themselves and be exquisite and beautiful men. As for the major national affairs, if anyone does it with their heart, they will be ridiculed.
The Northern Dynasty was completely different, and in the Northern Wei Dynasty, Jiangshan was shot down by the Xianbei people with one knife and one shot. Han scholars and doctors must do something to participate in the political power and share power. In the Northern Dynasty, soldiers used "Shi Gong" to match the "military merit" of military generals. For their own career and status, the scholars of the Northern Dynasty devoted themselves to the actual deeds, and in this atmosphere, the good looks and good faces were easily labeled as "little white faces", which was avoided by the nobles of the Northern Dynasty.
For example, Gao Changgong, the king of northern Qilanling, recorded in the history books that he was "beautiful and brave". If it is in the Southern Dynasty, the only words to describe such a beautiful man are "beautiful", and it will never be related to bravery. But in the Northern Dynasty, Gao Changgong was not only a fierce general who charged into battle, but it is said that he hated his handsome appearance and had no deterrent power, and deliberately covered his face with a mask when fighting and charging. The famous "Lanling King's Entry Song" is about the heroic posture of this beautiful man "pointing at the stab".
Comparing the bravery of the Northern Dynasty with the decadence of the Southern Dynasty, the resolute and mighty Northern Dynasty athletes against the brittle and soft-skinned Southern Dynasty beautiful men, the results of history are self-evident. The reason why the division of the Northern and Southern Dynasties ended by the Northern Dynasty and the difference in temperament between the Northern and Southern Shi clans is an important reason.
Historian Chen Yinke, when discussing the rise of Li Tang, called it "taking the essence of the barbaric essence of saiwai, injecting the decadent body of Chinese culture, removing the old dye, restarting the new machine, expanding and recovering, so as not to create an unprecedented world situation." The key to this "blood" comes from national integration, and the new opportunities it brings include the aesthetic habit of fortitude and courage becoming a key factor in rebuilding a magnificent empire.
Chen Yinke (data map)
Tianxingjian, a gentleman who strives for self-improvement. What are the historical consequences of losing a proactive mind and masculinity? The history of the Southern Dynasty has given a clear answer. Taking history as a mirror, it is of course necessary for future generations to correct deviations.
Today, when Chinese pay attention to the chaos of the entertainment industry and rectify the unhealthy atmosphere, some overseas authors who look "fraternal", especially those who bear the name of some English abbreviations, jump out and say that feminine aesthetics is the pursuit of the public and should be encouraged. According to their consistent operation, the pursuit of "small fresh meat" is naturally related to the universal values of the West, and has the meaning of "high aesthetics".
It is boring to refute these "criticism for the sake of criticism" rhetoric article by article. We only need to ask one question, do Westerners like feminine flower beauty men?
This question is easy to answer and doesn't require any theory that seems high-end and complex.
If we talk about the western model of beautiful men, Michelangelo's sculpture David in the Renaissance can be described as a classic. Anyone who has seen the picture of the statue will notice the young man's full muscles, toned posture, and perseverance.
Going back to the classical era, the beautiful men in the eyes of the Greeks and Romans were also strong and powerful. For example, the ancient Greek statue of the discus thrower used a classic athletic posture to create a strong and powerful male image. In fact, the popular Olympic movement in ancient Greece has clearly revealed the aesthetic standards of men at that time, and if you want to become a recognized beautiful man, you must have a strong physique and a firm will.
According to some overseas commentators, the aesthetic orientation of these works of art is not conducive to "expounding individuality" and "respecting diversity", should they all be discarded and swept into the garbage heap of history?
In contemporary times, although the Western world has a variety of "ethos", in terms of male aesthetics, the mainstream of advocating bodybuilding has never changed. Take Hollywood, an important base for american cultural exports, for example, in this film factory, muscle-muscled men, iron-blooded tough men, and lonely heroes have always been the key characters to be portrayed.
In terms of historical themes, screenwriters and directors strive to find heroic characters from Western history, such as "Braveheart", which is not only an expression of classical masculinity, but also conveys the "tough guy tradition" of the Western world. Film and television works such as "Spartan Three Hundred Warriors" and "Spartacus" based on the history of ancient Greece and Ancient Rome are full of angular muscle beauties.
Braveheart poster
Even science fiction-themed, muscle-free films always have to create male characters who are wise, kind, righteous, and responsible. For example, in the "Lord of the Rings" series of movies, the male protagonist always has to bear the heavy responsibility of saving the world, and constructs male heroism in the story of democracy overcoming tyranny and light overcoming darkness.
The male characters portrayed in these films are by no means just artistic needs. Western scholars have long noted the importance of soft power, and Hollywood movies and stars have swept the world and have long become symbols of soft power in American culture. Following Hollywood's guidance, in Top Gun we admire Tom Cruise, who conquers the blue sky, and in Avengers, the girls worship Captain America, who represents the evolutionary ideal male. Even in war movies, the audience can see strong, brave, and righteous American soldiers.
To this day, no matter what the subject matter, the "quality men" portrayed by Hollywood are always healthy and sunny, full of justice, and responsible men.
This raises the question of who can be such a mainstream and "quality" man? Over the past few decades, from Stallone to Schwarzenegger to Tom Cruise, we've seen a large number of white men. Over the years, some black people have also appeared on the screen and showed their muscles. So, do yellow people also have such opportunities?
Since the 1930s, the image of the Chinese created by Americans has hardly been too positive, and the ugly appearance, dirty face, stooped back and so on can be described as standard. Decades later, this situation still exists, Zhang Guorong has criticized the insulting elements of Hollywood movies, and Zhang Ziyi, who has starred in many Hollywood blockbusters, has also complained that Chinese actors can only play poor people and prostitutes. In recent years, this situation seems to have changed slightly, and blatant insults have ceased to be so common. However, if the Chinese want to become saviors and sit on an equal footing with the Terminator and Captain America, it is still far from being.
Take the Hollywood movie "The King of Kung Fu" as an example, although this is a film based on a traditional Chinese story, and there are two kung fu superstars, Jackie Chan and Jet Li, who co-starred, but the real salvation of the world is an American boy. The white boy not only became a savior, but also gained the love of the beauty Liu Yifei. Carefully tasted, this kind of hero saving the world, the weak people offering beautiful women, always feel a little awkward.
King of Kung Fu poster
In fact, from the perspective of Western male aesthetics, yellow people do not have no "high-quality image" to show, even if it is on muscles, there are always hands, such as China's Olympic champions, some are first-class physical images. But the problem is, people don't give you that chance. Not only do not give a chance, but also guide Chinese not to be tough guys, to be macho, to be saviors, and to respect "pluralism" and "aesthetic freedom" with peace of mind.
And so, a strange argument emerged. On the other side of the ocean, some people chant "walking hormones" and praise a certain muscular man for showing american spirit; but once they cross the ocean, these people change their faces and encourage Chinese men to pursue "individuality and freedom". Is this kind of double standard to fight for male rights for Chinese men, to Chinese personality, or to have another plan? They know better than anyone.
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