preface
Speaking of beards, for us modern men, staying or not keeping is all up to our own liking, just like free love. If you look at it according to the aesthetics of most people, it looks cleaner and cleaner without a beard. However, it is true that some people have a beard that will have more mature male charm.
When we watch costume TV series, we will find a phenomenon. When the men in the costume drama become adults, or after entering middle age, they seem to have to grow beards. Is this a writer restoring historical facts, or is it just to highlight the age change of the actors? The ancients said, "The skin of the body is subject to its parents." "Could it be that the ancients really had to grow a beard?"
When did the ancients' aesthetic of beards begin?
It is said that human beings have evolved for so long, and the beard is obviously useless, but the male beard has not degenerated. Therefore, in primitive times, the ancestors of human beings must have had beards. However, whether we shaved our beards in ancient times or not, we have no images and written records, naturally we do not know. But I think no one should shave with a stone knife, it's just too painful.
From the beginning of the written record of beard, there were many records of beards in the pre-Qin period.
(1) Whiskers. (Zhou Yi Ben Gua)
(2) Bearded and bearded, Sillingze anointed. (Chu Ci Jiu Si)
(3) Sick gale bone joints, bearded eyebrows, known as gale, thorn muscles for the sake of. Sweat out for a hundred days, stab bone marrow sweat out for a hundred days, and every two hundred days must be raised and the needle should be stopped. ("Yellow Emperor Neijing Suqin, Long Thorn Festival Treatise")
Although there are records of beards in the text, it does not prove that the ancients in the pre-Qin period had to keep beards. Therefore, we can further examine it from the excavation of cultural relics.
From the analysis of cultural relics excavated from the sites of the Shang Dynasty, some of the pottery figurines or copper dings unearthed during the Xia And Shang Zhou periods have beards, and some do not. Therefore, can it be inferred that people can also shave their beards during the Xia Shang Zhou Period? There is too little historical data to argue.
Judging from the written records, the beard of the Spring and Autumn Warring States period has a richer classification, and there are different names for beards in different places.
"Shuowen Jiezi Shubu": "Hair, the mouth on the whiskers; the hair, the cheeks."
Judging from the warring states tombs unearthed on the mainland, whether it is murals or figure figurines, not everyone has a beard.
However, Hunan has unearthed colorful pottery figurines from Chu tombs, which are not considered military officials, but almost all have a variety of beards. Some have a slightly upturned beard on their lips, while others have a pinch of "goatee".
From the terracotta warriors in the mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, we can also see it. Not all clay figurines have beards.
Some people may be about to say, isn't this not inconclusive? It shows that in the pre-Qin period, some people grew beards and some people did not keep them.
But let's not forget that not all men grow beards. So, in the cultural relics unearthed in the pre-Qin period, the bare chin will not grow a beard itself?
We don't know, after all, men who don't grow beards should be in the minority. But we can at least infer that during the Xia Shang Zhou period, people did not care about the beauty of beards.
At the beginning of the Spring and Autumn Warring States period, in some specific areas, people had requirements for the aesthetics of beards and began to trim beards. This aesthetic will certainly have a certain influence on future generations.
Did the beard have an impact on the aesthetics of the ancients?
China's history is so long, we can't use the aesthetics of one dynasty to represent the aesthetics of the whole ancient world. So, what we're trying to figure out is, is it that during most of history, or in a few specific eras, their custom was to have a beard for beauty? Otherwise, the ancients must have had the stereotype of a beard, which would not be so deeply imprinted in our minds.
The reason why Chinese civilization has such a long history is the inheritance of the foundation of civilization. Although we are influenced by various imported cultures in the process of inheritance, Chinese very much like to preserve the culture and rules of our ancestors and use them as an example. Therefore, the aesthetic of the beard that began in the Warring States period will certainly affect the aesthetics of later generations, but its influence is not as extensive as we think.
Since the Han Dynasty, whether it is cultural relics or written records, we have more historical materials to support.
(1) Takazu Takashi Ryuzun, Long Yan, and Misu, with seventy-two sunspots on the left strand. ([Han] Wang Chong's "On Heng and Occasional Meetings")
(2) Yi Yin is black and short, fluffy and hairy, plump and sharp, and leans down. ([Han] Wang Chong," On Heng and Death of Hypocrisy)
(3) Bo Fen's hair is a few days: "Guan Qi Er wants to make this vulgar and evil!" (The Biography of Xue Xuanzhu Bo of Han)
Although there are many records in the historical records about the beard of the ancients, for example, Liu Bang, the ancestor of Han Gao, grew a beard, known as a beautiful beard. However, it does not mean that people must grow beards at that time, because a large number of Han Dynasty murals, stone carvings and clay sculptures reflect the image of the working people, and the bearded people are very small. Most of the bearded people are porters, guards, servants and others. And the middle and upper classes do not have this kind of beard.
The aesthetic of beautiful men in that era was: "For people to be clean and white, bearded and bearded." "People don't like big beards, which are mostly reflected in rough men and takeshi who don't trim their edges.
Most of the beautiful men in the eyes of the ancients are beautiful-looking, and no one is praised as a beautiful man because of his beard. For example, Chen Ping, who is as beautiful as a jade crown, Zhang Liang, who looks like a woman, Pan An, who has a wonderful appearance, and Fu Fan He Lang, and so on. Especially by the time of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, people had begun to advocate neutral beauty. Aristocratic men shaved their beards, and some even applied grease powder.
And those who are called "hairdressers" are either of noble character or of high status. On the premise of praising people, I praised the beard with me. For example, Guan Yu is the image of a mighty general. The Three Kingdoms era was full of wars, people advocated force, and people liked to grow beards in this era, which could highlight male hormones. Liu Bei did not have a beard, and the beard was added to him in film and television works, which is to highlight the style of the warriors in the Three Kingdoms period. This is also the aesthetic of a special period, a worship of power.
Cai Xiang of the Song Dynasty also grew a big beard, and even alarmed Song Renzong. Because the beard was good, Song Renzong couldn't help but ask him if he would leave his beard outside the quilt or inside the quilt if he slept. However, because of the large beard, it became a rare thing for Song Renzong. So, if people have been beautiful with beards since ancient times, what kind of beards have not been seen? This was not enough to shock the emperor.
Could the ancients really not shave their beards?
When men are around the age of 20, the fine fluff around the lips will gradually grow into a real beard. It is said that a man's beard is 0.0375 cm long a day and 13.75 cm a year. If the ancients really did not shave, then men in their twenties had a very long beard.
Some people say that the ancient punishment of the palace was to shave off the eyebrows and beard. Therefore, shaving is a punishment and a great humiliation for people. However, I think that the execution of the palace punishment itself is an insult to male dignity, and shaving off the beard only deepens this meaning, and does not prove that shaving is also considered inappropriate.
There is also a saying: "Body hair skin, by the parents" The ancients did not move their hair casually, but does the beard count? It's not easy to say. In fact, don't talk about shaving, even cutting your hair is not a big deal in the future. During the Southern Song Dynasty, there was a "net hair society", specializing in the hairdressing industry.
Therefore, the ancients not only had hair, but naturally also had to beautify their beards. There have been different popular styles of beard shapes throughout the ages. For example, the whiskers of the Warring States people are upturned. The beards of the Western Han people were left and right, and in the Sui Dynasty, the beards were braided according to people's different identities. During the Yuan and Ming dynasties, the influence of the Mongols dragged downwards.
Even so, there are still a large number of archaeological artifacts confirming that not all people have beards. For example, in many paintings of the Tang Dynasty, some people do not necessarily have beards even at a very high age. There is not enough evidence to say that you can't shave your beard, but shaving has a history.
The "Yan Family Training and Mian Xue" records: "When the Liang Dynasty was in its heyday, the sons of the nobility, many of them had no academics, all of them shaved their faces, and Fu Fan Shi Zhu. ”
It is said that shaving and powder were popular among the children of those nobles in the Liang Dynasty. If shaving was such a disrespectful act, these aristocratic children would not have formed a social atmosphere at that time no matter how idle and clumsy they were.
And the emperors grew beards, mainly because they called themselves true dragons. Dragons have dragon whiskers, and in order to fit this image, the emperor naturally has to leave "dragon whiskers".
Therefore, saying that the ancients could not shave, must grow a beard, may just be a stereotype of us. Bearding, too, is only a temporary fashion, not a rigid rule.
epilogue
As the saying goes: "There is no hair on the mouth, and it is not firm to do things". Growing a beard makes people look solemn and experienced. Therefore, when the ancients reached middle age, they liked to grow a beard and make themselves look mature and stable. As for what kind of shape to keep, how long and short, that is their hobby. But if someone doesn't like to grow a beard and shaves off, it won't violate any etiquette. Growing a beard or not is purely a personal will, and it is no different from now.