People in the Tang Dynasty thought fat was beautiful for two reasons:
First, the emperor is of Xianbei descent, different from the traditional weak aesthetic view of the literati in the Central Plains, and likes round and beautiful women. This is because one side is nourished by water and soil, and Guan Longnv is tall and not thinner than Jiangnan. It is inevitable that the court ladies will be pampered and grow some meat, which will show the characteristics of white wealth and beauty.
Secondly, women in the Tang Dynasty were fat in vain. Only when the national strength is strong and the people's livelihood is rich, is the beauty of the prosperous age.
From the Southern and Northern Dynasties to the Tang Dynasty, it was a prosperous period when Buddhism was introduced into the Central Plains. Almost all his Buddhist paintings, sculptures and figures have a treasure-like feature.
The female bodhisattva, in particular, has a plump face and can give people a feeling of compassion, tolerance, completeness and health. In today's folk, fat girl also has the saying of "Fu (Buddha)". In western classical works of art, fairies with religious themes are often as fat as swimming rings, which is probably the reason.
Taking fat as beauty is not only more suitable for opening clothes in the Tang Dynasty, but also the personal happiness of the Tang Emperor to Yang Fei, which leads to an upward trend and a downward effect, and more expresses people's expectation for a better and richer life, hoping to become a blessed person.
How fat and beautiful is Yang Guifei who is ashamed of flowers?
Modern people can only find some clues through poems and songs, calligraphy and paintings, sculptures, pottery figurines and various works of art in the Tang Dynasty. In New Tang Book and Old Tang Book, Yang Guifei is described by vague words such as "beauty comes first" and "wealth and seniority".
Zhou Fang is deeply rooted in the magnificence of women in the Tang Dynasty in The Picture of Zanhua Ladies, which is called "the symbol of women in the Tang Dynasty": the maid-in-waiting Yang Guifei in the picture is a plump and elegant fat beauty.
In fact, Yang Guifei's fat should be plump, not bloated.
Although according to unofficial history's research, Yang Guifei is about 1.6 meters tall and weighs about 70 kilograms, which is at least 20 kilograms higher than today's aesthetic standards. She is a veritable fat man. In Song Shu, Tang also told Yang Guifei that she was no better than Zhao. "Guifei, no matter how strong the wind is, it won't blow away." Obviously, I feel a little sorry for its fat.
However, when Bai Juyi wrote Song of Eternal Sorrow, the Anshi Rebellion lasted only half a century. From the perspective of harmony, because of her laziness, a maid is helping her and Tai Mu Furong in the lake, the willow in Weiyang Palace in the poem, and Yang Guifei has the waist of Weiyang Willow, which is obviously a slender and delicate female image.
Yang Guifei is also tactful and delicate in the poem "Jiangnan meets Tianbaosou", and is by no means a big fat beauty.
As for the historical record that Yang Guifei is good at dancing Hu Xuan and can gallop on horseback, she is by no means a swollen woman with a circle of meat around her waist. Judging from today's aesthetics, she may have a little baby fat on her face, but the convex and concave are long and fat.
Secondly, Yang Guifei should be a white and fat beauty. As the old saying goes, one white covers all the ugliness. Among Zhao's sisters, Zhao Hede, the younger sister, fell in love with Emperor Han because of her thin figure and fair skin. She would rather die in her "gentle hometown" and be a romantic ghost.
When Du Fu was in Chang 'an, he saw Yang Guifei's back, or it was just far away, and the two poems were evidence of Tao. His writing vividly and meticulously describes his characteristics: "receptive, indifferent, gentle, sincere, soft and delicate skin, well-proportioned bones ... behind them? It is a train full of pearls and has the rhythm of bearers. " It shows that Yang Fei has good skin and figure, but her beauty is not clear enough.
Although Li Bai may be one of the few poets who met Yang Guifei at close range, he left Qingpingdiaoci and Gongxingyue Ci as evidence. It is just a sentence in his "Qing Ping Diao Ci": "Clouds want clothes and flowers to make up, and the spring breeze blows the threshold to reveal wealth. If it weren't for Yushantou, I would meet Yaotai under the moon. " Although known as the fairy princess, she is equally beautiful.
In Bai Juyi's "Song of Eternal Sorrow", there is still only one sentence, "The cream-like crystal that warms and smoothes her skin", which can make people feel the fullness of Yang Guifei between the lines. "A face of snowflakes looks like her" says that her skin is delicate, while "a petal is like her face and a willow leaf is like her eyebrow" is more like a literary goddess in the minds of literati, with fair and beautiful skin and charming temperament.
Therefore, it is inconclusive how fat Yang Guifei is, but a beautiful woman who is sure to be fat can be called "as long as she turns her head and smiles, there will be a hundred kinds of spells" and "and the makeup of the sixth house will fade into nothing", as Bai Juyi said. Tang Huangming, who has been looking for stunning beauty, is not afraid to take his daughter-in-law away as his wife at first sight and stand up for the "dirty Tang" of later generations as a witness.