Portrait of Yang Yuhuan
In fact, everyone loves beauty, and ancient beauty is no exception. But the aesthetics of each dynasty are different. For example, in the Tang Dynasty, people took fat as beauty, like Wu Zetian, and Yang Yuhuan, one of the four beauties, was the standard fat beauty. In fact, they are far from being fat. According to the assessment, Yang Yuhuan's height1.68m and weight1.30kg. By today's standards, she is a beauty in the chubby world, but she still can't reach the level of fertility.
Women in the Tang Dynasty generally look like this.
However, the three-color female figurines handed down from the Tang Dynasty were all very fat and plump, with a standard oval face, but in the Tang Dynasty, people were all beautiful women. Maybe it's because the Tang Dynasty was very powerful. With the passage of time, people's material living standards are high, they eat well, and their weight is easy to gain. People in the Tang Dynasty seem to have no sense of losing weight and are not good at managing their bodies. Look at the portraits of emperors and generals, especially the generals marching and fighting. They are all beer bellies.
Some people may ask: can such people ride horses to fight when they are struggling to walk? In fact, their bellies are not filled with beer, but with inferior tea and light rice. In ancient times, the strong were often such people. Because of poor food, low fat content and intolerance to hunger, we can only eat more. Eat more to grow strong, or you will have no fighting capacity.
That is beside the point. Except for the Tang Dynasty, most women in other dynasties regarded thinness as beauty. There is a saying in The Book of Songs, "My Fair Lady, My Gentleman". A slim figure, coupled with a high face value, will definitely bring people a beautiful feeling. But there was no gym in ancient times, and there were few sports suitable for women. So how did they keep fit?
The first is dieting. Dieting means eating less, being vegetarian and even starving, as long as you don't starve to death. Many ladies, especially concubines who enter the palace, basically lose weight by this trick. No emperor or dignitaries like a woman with a bloated figure and several layers of swimming rings.
Waist-binding was also a way for ancient European women to lose weight.
In addition, girding the waist is also a very effective way. Girdling the waist is to tighten the belt and make the waist thinner through the action of external force, so as to achieve the visual effect of graceful figure. But this way is simple and rude, and it is estimated that you can't pull out a bee waist and peach buttocks. In ancient times, many women lost weight by eating traditional Chinese medicine and drinking slimming tea. Because Chinese medicine and tea culture have a long history, especially in the southern region, which is rich in Chinese medicine and tea, the ancients have long mastered the relevant weight loss methods.
So, can ancient women exercise to keep fit? Of course. China Wushu also has a long history. For example, qigong and fencing were popular as early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Female friends began to try that year, but few of them. In the Tang Dynasty, women's sports gradually increased, such as polo, cuju and dancing. Yang Yuhuan, a fat beauty, is keen on singing and dancing, and her gorgeous dancing can be seen in some film and television dramas. Although she does not dance to lose weight, people who dance for a long time are in good shape.
There were quite a few women's sports in the Tang Dynasty.
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, more and more women practiced martial arts, mainly from the stage of drama, and later for self-defense and fitness. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the only female general in history, Qin Liangyu, was born. She is good at riding and shooting, with superb martial arts, fierce fighting and famous general style. Besides playing, she also works out.
Woman Qiu Jin
By the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, especially the outbreak of the May 4th Movement, women and the whole Chinese nation had awakened together. In order to get rid of the label of "the sick man of East Asia", they also joined the action of strengthening the body and enhancing China's prestige. The outstanding representative is Qiu Jin, a woman. She is also good at riding and shooting, and her swordsmanship is superb. She also worked as a killer, killing officials under reactionary rule and making great contributions to the Revolution of 1911. At the same time, she is also a modern feminist, which has greatly promoted the women's liberation movement.
There are too many modern sports suitable for women, and there are too many choices for fitness. Not to mention those female athletes who win glory for their country, they have played a leading role in various sports events. Even ordinary migrant workers regard fitness as a compulsory course in life.