Xu Ling ( 徐陵 | 507–583 ) or Xu Xiaomu; was a Chinese classical fogey who wrote and collated steamy poetry about imprisoned aristocratic women in East China during the Asuka period. This became known as the Gongti ( 宮體 | Palace-style ) genre. Very little is known of Xu Ling's life, he is most often remembered for compiling his eroge into the 'poetry anthology' New Songs from the Jade Terrace (537).[1][3] Ling compiled his work for the late Liang Emperor, and Terrace contains mostly pure lustful poetry which became a benchmark for literary erotica in a classical genre, as opposed its predecessor of ancient love poetry depicting metaphorical otherworldly beauty.
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Folksong Ballads
Yuefu were the cultural predecessor to the Gongti, and were based on Han standards of female folksongs and poetry, however these were not force feeding images of imprisoned women cleaning toilets, ironing clothes and pining over their mirrors and wash basins for their patriarchal counterpart. Rather Yuefu were folk ballads sung by women which alluded to the loss of a beloved or partner, whereas Gongti were the lurid, objectifying erotica of mostly straight men like the Nymph Beauty.[1]
Palace Poetry
Palace Poetry can be best said to be erotic daydreams of beauties in literary form, at a time when only heavenly or metaphorical beauties were the only socially acceptable type of Bijin or Mei figure, particularly for women. Gongti was said to have started with the writings of Ling's father, Xu Chi ( 徐摛; 471–551CE ).[3] Gongti described the clothes women wore, their actions and their emotions, principally their loneliness and isolatory situation in the domestic sphere. Liang Gongti are characteristically filled with the Lonely Housewife tropes, which are were according to the traditions of serious poetry, apparently what mostly concerned the Liang court with their scholarly time.[1][5] That is to say they enjoyed patriarchal Voyeurism to an extreme.
Liang Gongti females are characteristically Nymphomaniacs who are lurid Meiren who sit around their bathrooms and boudoirs longing for a man to come 'fulfil' them. These 'Abandoned Women' languish in their beds, until the men of the Liang Dynasty come along to give them their sole purpose in life, as ****toys. Fragmentary arms and legs, but not women. As time passed these Abandoned Women were written about by some female writers it seems from the point of view of the women themselves, in a return to the Yuefu conventions Gongti 'grew' from. Gongti diminished in popularity by early Tang as women increasingly began to take up monastic and property ownership positions.[1]
Jade Terraces refer to the Zenanas of Ancient Imperial China where rich women had the lovely option of being imprisoned inside for the enjoyment of their property owners. The Terrace Anthology contained work by 115 poets, 14 of whom were female. Over 769 pieces were based on the Gongti genre of traditionally female Yuefu folksongs about these heteronormative Meiren bathroom/apartment coitus encounters ranging from 20 BCE - 530 CE, like the drunkard's Cao Zhi ( 子建 | 192-232 CE ) Nymph of the River Luo.[1] Others were about the biting of the peach. GAY ONES.[3][5] Key motifs in the Terrace include objects associated with these coitus encounters like Jade, bedrooms, feast halls, musical instruments, lamps, mirror-stands and posh stationary for love letters.[3]
Ling of Liang
Very little is known of Ling the poet. Ling compiled under the patronage of Xiao Gang ( 503-551CE ), the Emperor of the Liang Dynasty ( 549-551CE ). At this time, the Southern Dynasties were heavily influential on existing trends, fashions and major cultural standard bearers as the holders of central authority was passed down to the Southern Dynasties in lieu of the 'Northern Barbarians', a cultural superiority expressed in the decadent culture of the Southern courts as seen in their macho-headman-alpha-big-boy poetry.[1] As such they influenced beauty standards around East Asia and via Korea (Baekje and Silla) into Japan. I shall refresh our understanding of contemporary Chinese beauty standards:
[Contemporary Chinese Beauty Standards] were delved from the historical annals of Imperial [Han] China in the court system of concubinage. The beauty standard drew thus from black hair with precious stones, slim build and small features. These were what drew court artists to their subjects, with commissioners more concerned over the subjective morals and ethics implicit to the text. Artists in a sense supplemented rather than subverted at this time to make a career for themselves. Women subjects in particular were deemed as more suitable for submissiveness, and often did not take leading roles other than as beauties [... and] were more of an anomaly generally in their discipline[s]. Considering the types of Beauty that were societally acceptable in Kaizhi's time [(364-406 CE)], we find a mostly patriarchal response to feminine efforts. Admonitions for example was the chastisement of an Empress, even though it in some ways tried to flatter the same Empress. [... Metaphorical Beauties like] Nymphs of heaven often really being the only acceptable kind of heteronormative desirable beauty, in that it did not exist on Earth and heralded from the Peach Gardens of Eternity.[2]
Metaphorical beauty more often than not was praised at this time as it denied women agency in their own rights. Women were often seen in the Liang Dynasty as secondary actors to men, particularly in Ling's Terrace Anthology which described women in fragmentary third person descriptions, mostly in alluding to their passing by a gauze curtain, or draping over some other domestic object/task in the inner sanctum of a male court members property.[1] Terrace Meiren were more likely to have their robes, shoes and sleeves falling off in their bed than flying away on whales and phoenixes.[2][5] Metaphorical or Heavenly beauties therefore were accepted Meiren, as they did not exist to usurp male power in the male power fantasy many Gongti sought after. Rather the Meiren was a passive NPG in a male world, lonely and useful only for amusing men, a role both men and women as objects of desire played.
Southern Dynasty beauties from the court of Xiao Gang and the Liang Dynasty (549-551CE) were characteristically the beauties of the Homogenous Han standard; that is a slim, pale-skinned, raven haired and sinuous type of dancer bedecked in expensive, elaborate clothing, hairpins and jewels.[1] Their features whilst not well described due to the nature of the Gongti style's third person narratives may have fit into the acceptable small features desired in mainstream Chinese beauty standards as befitting of their rank as the 'lesser sex' at court. Dressed in the Gui-yi style for their originators, Liang Gongti Meiren whether male or female appeared briefly to satisfy male desires, particularly the decadent and power driven fantasies of the Southern court who pursued their right to rule through soft power.[1][5]
Terrace Mei
In context, we see how the beauty standard for the Southern Dynasties came about, spreading the conceptual origins of the Bijinga around Eastern Asia. These patriarchal standards of beauty spread the idea that skinny, black hair and submissive feminine figures for women and some queer men was the ideal beauty standard.[5] Terrace Mei were Nymphomaniacs, outgoing allusions to lust and desire which whilst providing an outlet for some women, mostly robbed them of the agency which they already had achieved themselves through traditional folksongs. The Terrace Beauty therefore was a homogenous blob of male power fantasy and neighbourly attractions, which by the decline of the Southern Dynasty cultural chokehold after the death of Emperor Wu in 549CE and end of the Liang Dynasty in 551CE, drew to a close with the rise of the Tang Dynasty which saw an increase in female agency, property ownership and monastic ingratiation as Buddhism came to the fore.
Bibliography
[1] Watching the Voyeurs: Palace Poetry and the Yuefu of Wen Tingyun, December 1989, Paul Rouzer, Volume 11, pp.13-31, CLEAR Journal | https://www.jstor.org/stable/495525
[2] See Bijin #16
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Songs_from_the_Jade_Terrace
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_and_Southern_dynasties#Liang
[5] New songs from a jade terrace : an anthology of early Chinese love poetry, 1982, Ann Birrell, pp.7-14
Bijin Series Timeline
11th century BCE
- The Ruqun becomes a formal garment in China (1045 BCE); Ruqun Mei
8th century BCE
- Chinese clothing becomes highly hierarchical (770 BCE)
3rd century BCE
Xi Shi (flourished c201-900CE); The Drunken Lotus Bijin
2cnd century BCE
- The Han Dynasty
0000 Current Era
1st century
- Han Tomb portraiture begins as an extension of Confucian Ancestor Worship; first Han aesthetic scholars dictate how East Asian composition and art ethics begin
- Isometric becomes the standard for East Asian Composition (c.100); Dahuting Tomb Murals
- Ban Zhao introduces Imperial Court to her Lessons for Women (c106); Women play major roles in the powerplay of running of China consistently until 1000 CE, influencing Beauty standards
- Qiyun Shengdong begins to make figures more plump and Bijin-like (c.150) but still pious
2cnd century
- Yuefu folk ballads inspire desirable beauty standards of pining women
4th century
Gu Kaizhi (active 364-406); Metaphorical Beauty
- Chinese Artists begin to make aesthetic beauties in ethereal religious roles of heavenly Nymphs
- Luo River Nymph Tale Scroll (c.400)
- Womens clothing emphasized the waist as the Guiyi (Swallow-Tail Flying Ribbons) style (c.400)
- Wise and Benevolent Women (c.400)
5th century
- Chinese Art becomes decadent; Imperial Culture begins to see more expression in religious statues (c450)
- Longmen Grotto Boddhisattvas (471)
6th century
Xu Ling; (active 537-583); Terrace Meiren
7th century
- Tang Dynasty Art (618-908)
- Rouged Bijin (600-699 CE) [Coming Soon] https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Paintings_of_the_Tang_Dynasty
Yan Liben (active 642-673); Bodhisattva Bijin [Coming Soon] https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%A1.jpg Guan Yin | https://archive.org/details/viewsfromjadeter00weid/page/22/mode/1up?view=theater
Wu Zetian (active 665-705); The Great Tang Art Patron [Coming Soon]
Asuka Bijin (c.699); The Wa Bijin
8th century
- Princess Yongtai's Veneration Murals (701) [Coming Soon]
- Introduction of Chinese Tang Dynasty clothing (710)
- Sumizuri-e (710)
Yang Yuhuan Guifei (719-756); [Coming Soon] East Asian Supermodel Bijin https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/275768522.pdf https://factsanddetails.com/china/cat2/4sub9/entry-5437.html#chapter-5
Zhang Xuan (active 720-755); [Coming Soon]
- What is now Classical Chinese Art forms
- An Lushun Rebellion (757)
Zhou Fang (active 766-805) ; Qiyun Bijin
- Emakimono Golden Age (799-1400)
9th century
- Buddhist Bijin [Coming Soon] https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Paintings_of_the_Tang_Dynasty#/media/File:Noble_Ladies_Worshiping_Buddha.jpg + https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mogao_Caves#/media/File:Anonymous-Bodhisattva_Leading_the_Way.jpg
- Gongti Revival https://www.jstor.org/stable/495525?seq=2#metadata_info_tab_contents
10th century
-End of Tang Art (907)
13th century
- Heimin painters; 1200-1850; Town Beauty
15th century
- Fuzokuga Painting schools; Kano (1450-1868) and Tosa (1330-1690)
Tang Yin (active 1490-1524); Chinese Beauties [Coming Soon] https://www.comuseum.com/painting/masters/tang-yin/
16 century
- Nanbanjin Art (1550-1630)
- Wamono style begins under Chanoyu teachings (c1550-1580)
- Byobu Screens (1580-1670)
- End of Sengoku Jidai brings Stabilisation policy (1590-1615)
17th century
- Land to Currency based Economy Shift (1601-1655)
- Early Kabuki Culture (1603-1673) ; Yakusha-e or Actor Prints
- Machi-Eshi Art ( 1610 - 1710) ; The Town Beauty
- Sumptuary legislation in reaction to the wealth of the merchant classes (1604-1685)
- Regulation of export and imports of foreign trade in silk and cotton (1615-1685)
Iwasa Matabei (active 1617-1650) ; Yamato-e Bijin
The Hikone Screen (c.1624-1644) [Coming Soon]
- Sankin-Kotai (1635-1642) creates mass Urbanisation
- Popular culture and print media production moves from Kyoto to Edo (1635-1650); Kiyohara Yukinobu (1650-1682) ; Manji Classical Beauty
- Shikomi-e (1650-1670) and Kakemono-e which promote Androgynous Beauties;
Iwasa Katsushige (active 1650-1673) ; Kojin Bijin
- Mass Urbanisation instigates the rise of Chonin Cottage Industry Printing (1660-1690) ; rise of the Kabunakama Guilds and decline of the Samurai
- Kanazoshi Books (1660-1700); Koshokubon Genre (1659?-1661)
- Shunga (1660-1722); Abuna-e
Kanbun Master/School (active during 1661-1673) ; Maiko Bijin
- Hinagata Bon (1666 - 1850)
- Ukiyo Monogatari is published by Asai Ryoi (1666)
Yoshida Hanbei (active 1664-1689) ; Toned-Down Bijin
- Asobi/Suijin Dress Manuals (1660-1700)
- Ukiyo-e Art (1670-1900)
Hishikawa Moronobu (active 1672-1694) ; Wakashu Bijin
- Early Bijin-ga begin to appear as Kakemono (c.1672)
- Rise of the Komin-Chonin Relationship (1675-1725)
- The transit point from Kosode to modern Kimono (1680); Furisode, Wider Obi
- The Genroku Osaka Bijin (1680 - 1700) ; Yuezen Hiinakata
Fu Derong (active c.1675-1722) ; [Coming Soon] https://archive.org/details/viewsfromjadeter00weid/page/111/mode/1up?view=theater
Sugimura Jihei (active 1681-1703) ; Technicolour Bijin
- The Amorous Tales are published by Ihara Saikaku (1682-1687)
Hishikawa Morofusa (active 1684-1704) [Coming Soon]
- The Beginning of the Genroku Era (1688-1704)
- The rise of the Komin and Yuujo as mainstream popular culture (1688-1880)
- The consolidation of the Bijinga genre as mainstream pop culture
- The rise of the Torii school (1688-1799)
- Tan-E (1688-1710)
Miyazaki Yuzen (active 1688-1736) ; Genroku Komin and Wamono Bijin
Torii Kiyonobu (active 1688 - 1729) : Commercial Bijin
Furuyama Moromasa (active 1695-1748)
18th century
Nishikawa Sukenobu (active 1700-1750) [Coming Soon]
Kaigetsudo Ando (active 1700-1736) ; Broadstroke Bijin
Okumura Masanobu (active 1701-1764)
Kaigetsudo Doshin (active 1704-1716) [Coming Soon]
Baioken Eishun (active 1710-1755) [Coming Soon]
Kaigetsudo Anchi (active 1714-1716) [Coming Soon]
Yamazaki Joryu (active 1716-1744) [Coming Soon] | https://www.jstor.org/stable/25790976?seq=5
1717 Kyoho Reforms
Miyagawa Choshun (active 1718-1753) [Coming Soon]
Miyagawa Issho (active 1718-1780) [Coming Soon]
Nishimura Shigenaga (active 1719-1756) [Coming Soon]
Matsuno Chikanobu (active 1720-1729) [Coming Soon]
- Beni-E (1720-1743)
Torii Kiyonobu II (active 1725-1760) [Coming Soon]
- Uki-E (1735-1760)
Kawamata Tsuneyuki (active 1736-1744) [Coming Soon]
Kitao Shigemasa (1739-1820)
Miyagawa Shunsui (active from 1740-1769) [Coming Soon]
Benizuri-E (1744-1760)
Ishikawa Toyonobu (active 1745-1785) [Coming Soon]
Tsukioka Settei (active 1753-1787) [Coming Soon]
Torii Kiyonaga (active 1756-1787) [Coming Soon]
Shunsho Katsukawa (active 1760-1793) [Coming Soon]
Utagawa Toyoharu (active 1763-1814) [Coming Soon]
Suzuki Harunobu (active 1764-1770) [Coming Soon]
- Nishiki-E (1765-1850)
Torii Kiyonaga (active 1765-1815) [Coming Soon]
Kitao Shigemasa (active 1765-1820) [Coming Soon]
Maruyama Okyo (active 1766-1795) [Coming Soon]
Kitagawa Utamaro (active 1770-1806) [Coming Soon]
Kubo Shunman (active 1774-1820) [Coming Soon]
Tsutaya Juzaburo (active 1774-1797) [Coming Soon]
Utagawa Kunimasa (active from 1780-1810) [Coming Soon]
Tanehiko Takitei (active 1783-1842) [Coming Soon]
Katsukawa Shuncho (active 1783-1795) [Coming Soon]
Choubunsai Eishi (active 1784-1829) [Coming Soon]
Eishosai Choki (active 1786-1808) [Coming Soon]
Rekisentei Eiri (active 1789-1801) [Coming Soon] [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Ukiyo-e_paintings#/media/File:Rekisentei_Eiri_-_'800),_Beauty_in_a_White_Kimono',_c._1800.jpg]
Sakurai Seppo (active 1790-1824) [Coming Soon]
Chokosai Eisho (active 1792-1799) [Coming Soon]
Kunimaru Utagawa (active 1794-1829) [Coming Soon]
Utagawa Toyokuni II (active 1794 - 1835) [Coming Soon]
Ryūryūkyo Shinsai (active 1799-1823) [Coming Soon]
19th century
Teisai Hokuba (active 1800-1844) [Coming Soon]
Totoya Hokkei (active 1800-1850) [Coming Soon]
Utagawa Kunisada Toyokuni III (active 1800-1865) [Coming Soon]
Urakusai Nagahide (active from 1804) [Coming Soon]
Kitagawa Tsukimaro (active 1804 - 1836)
Kikukawa Eizan (active 1806-1867) [Coming Soon]
Keisai Eisen (active 1808-1848) [Coming Soon]
Utagawa Kuniyoshi (active 1810-1861) [Coming Soon]
Utagawa Hiroshige (active 1811-1858) [Coming Soon]
Yanagawa Shigenobu (active 1818-1832) [Coming Soon]
Katsushika Oi (active 1824-1866) [Coming Soon]
Hirai Renzan (active 1838ー？) [Coming Soon]
Utagawa Kunisada II (active 1844-1880) [Coming Soon]
Yamada Otokawa (active 1845) [Coming Soon] | 山田音羽子 https://www.jstor.org/stable/25790976?seq=10
Toyohara Kunichika (active 1847-1900) [Coming Soon]
Kano Hogai (active 1848-1888) [Coming Soon]
Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (active 1850-1892) [Coming Soon]
Noguchi Shohin (active c1860-1917) [Coming Soon]
Toyohara Chikanobu (active 1875-1912) [Coming Soon]
Uemura Shoen (active 1887-1949) [Coming Soon]
Kiyokata Kaburaki (active 1891-1972) [Coming Soon]
Goyo Hashiguchi (active 1899-1921) [Coming Soon]
20th century
Yumeji Takehisa (active 1905-1934) [Coming Soon]
Torii Kotondo (active 1915-1976) [Coming Soon]
Hisako Kajiwara (active 1918-1988) [Coming Soon] https://www.roningallery.com/artists/kajiwara-hisako | https://www.jstor.org/stable/25790976
Yamakawa Shūhō (active 1927-1944) [Coming Soon]
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