Course:ASIA319/2022/"Countenance" 颜

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Introduction

The Chinese character for "countenance"

The idea of having a pretty or handsome face is prevalent, and the word countenance, or 颜 (yán) is a noun that means a person's face. Countenance is significant in celebrity culture and media culture because celebrities, internet celebrities and media users in general are heavily affected by the need to enhance the attractiveness of their face, hence influencing their followers to chase after their looks. Additionally, the market is saturated by the idea of having a nice countenance; this phenomena is likely going to persist as a tendency that supports the economy of makeup industries and plastic surgery businesses. By examining the early linguistic usages of countenance, and historical standards of an attractive countenance, we can understand how the idea of being attractive has contributed to setting social values. The character 颜 has evolved from just describing the face to a variety of different implications when it is being placed with other Chinese characters. It is clear that this noun has become a notion that remains prominent in the stigmatization of having less attractive faces, and the formation of self consciousness.

Dictionary meanings and histories of definitions

The evolution of the character 颜 throughout Chinese history of writing

The word 颜 (yán) has its etymological roots from the bronze inscriptions in Western Zhou dynasty. It is a semantic-phonetic compound character that is divided into two parts; the character on the left is 彦 (yàn) and the character on the right is 页 (xié). 彦 (yàn) can be used to refer to gentlemen who are talented and virtuous, while 页 is a pictograph, meaning that words with 页 (xié) are often describing the head or face[1]. 颜 (yán) has been used in the Chinese language as a noun, and has multiple meanings. 颜 (yán) is used to refer to the top of the nose bridge connecting the eyebrows, the forehead, the face and countenance, the appearance, a person's dignity, colour, and even serves as people's surname.[2]

The genesis of countenance and associated words

While 颜 can function as an independent unit or character in sentences, it can also be paired with another character to form a specific word in modern Chinese.[3] Words that are being created include 颜面, with the addition of 面 to mean “face” and “prestige”, and 容颜, a combination of 容 and 颜, as in “countenance” and one’s “looks”.

Along with the uprise of the idol industries in China in relation to the Japanese model of idol production and Hallyu (Korean wave, 韩流), which had begun in the 1990s and was later spurred by digitalization as well as mobile and internet communications[4] in the 2000s and leading up to the 2010s, came the term 颜值. The addition of 值 to mean “value” and “score” to the “countenance” definition of 颜 results in the direct interpretation of 颜值 as “face value”, or the “score” or “level” of one’s appearance, particularly regarding the attractiveness of their facial features. The term was adopted by Chinese variety shows and would later see immense popularity in use on digital platforms as well as social media, with a steady rise starting in January of 2015.[5] 颜 is accompanied by other Chinese characters to form related words, such as:

File:Fan Bingbing 2018.jpg
Chinese actress Fan Bingbing, famously known for her beauty
  • 颜值高/高颜值: to have a high “score” of one’s facial features and attractiveness
  • 颜值低/低颜值: to have a low “score” of one’s facial features and attractiveness
  • 颜控: derived from Japanese -con (コン), as in “complex”; to care about the facial features of another individual; to be infatuated by someone solely based on their appearance and attractiveness
  • 淡颜系: a “light” (淡) countenance; marked by less pronounced, softer and rounder facial features, with more “white space” left on the face
  • 浓颜系: a “dense” (浓) countenance; marked by more pronounced and defined facial features with more “visual impact”
  • 神颜/素颜女神: a perfect, “godly” (神) countenance/countenance that of a “goddess” (女神) [even] without makeup (素颜)
  • 男颜: a “manly” or “masculine” countenance; marked by almond-shaped eyes, a high nose bridge, and a defined jawline
  • 女颜: a “womanly” or “feminine” countenance; marked by round eyes, a low nose bridge, and a soft, egg-shaped face
  • 正颜: the front (正) view of the face
  • 侧颜: the side (侧) profile of the face
  • 美颜: a “beautiful” (美) countenance; later with the additional meaning to beautify the face [by using beautifying tools, such as the face editing app Meitu (美图秀秀)]

"Countenance" in Chinese popular culture: meanings and implications

At present, the use of 颜值 and other related words in commentary is still deeply rooted in the worship of idols and celebrities. Celebrities are idolized because they are first carefully selected, then “packaged” through makeup, photo-editing, cosmetic surgery, making them more attractive than ordinary individuals.[6] This emphasis on facial appearance and physical beauty in the ever growing Chinese popular cultural sphere can both influence how celebrities are perceived by the people and how the people perceive themselves.

The successes of competition-based reality TV shows such as Supergirl (超级女声), Happyboy (快乐男声) and in the 2010s, Produce 101 China (创造101) can be accredited to the introduction and continued implementation of audience participation in the judging process. By being given the opportunity to vote for their favourite contestants through SMS messages[7], viewers and longtime fans alike are able to partake in a key part of the selection process, which only prompted the fans’ response to celebrity appearances to go beyond emulation, speaking of their idols as if they had a “real” relationship with them[6]. Therefore, in everyday life, one of the biggest topics of debate and discussion amongst younger people is on the 颜值 of their idols and by extension, their own 颜值.

Examples, explicit meanings and implicit connections

A popular topic of discussion on online forums and other online venues among fans (粉丝) and anti-fans (黑粉) pertain to the 颜值, or lack thereof, of idols and celebrities. Although most posts made by users on social media platforms such as Weibo (微博) are about the 颜值 of Chinese or Asian celebrities, the scope has been extended to Western celebrities as well thanks to economic reforms post 1980s that brought about greater exposure to movies, television dramas, music videos, and advertising from foreign countries[8]. As for creators and influencers on social media apps such as RED (小红书), the subject of their scrutiny in terms of 颜值 are often themselves; “bloggers” (博主) often make posts discussing various makeup styles to better accentuate or even emulate a specific countenance, such as a “dense” countenance (浓颜系), a “light” countenance (淡颜系), a “manly” countenance (男颜) or a “womanly” countenance (女颜). Users on RED are also able to ask for the opinions of fellow users, who are oftentimes strangers due to the algorithmic recommendation mechanism of the app[9], on their facial appearance.

The usage of 颜值 and its related terms are often polarized, rather than on a spectrum; an individual is typically described as someone either with a high level (高颜值) or low level of attractiveness (低颜值), their countenance either “light” (淡颜) or “dense” (浓颜), “masculine” (男颜) or “feminine” (女颜).

The transference, distortion, or subversion of "countenance" and associated words

Even though the originally intended meaning for 颜值 refers to the level of attractiveness of an individual, it was later expanded to describe the attractiveness and appeal of objects and items. In recent years, this expansion in use has worked in conjunction with a new consumer behaviour, known as the “planting grass” (种草) economy—the act of recommending a product to persuade the purchasing decisions of others[9]. Unsurprisingly, one of the main factors that plants the grass of a product can be its 颜值. The title of an article or blog post may even include the term as a buzzword: “How should one choose a cell phone with a high 颜值 within the 2,000 to 4,000 RMB range? Look no further, you won’t go wrong with giving one of these away!”[10]

The term 美颜 once exclusively referred to a beautiful countenance (“美丽的容颜”)[11], but would later become associated with the act of beautifying oneself to achieve a fair visage, particularly through the use of beautifying tools (美颜工具)[11] and photo editing apps.

Counterpart term in non-Chinese popular cultures

Though 颜值 has been directly translated as “face value”[12], its definition — “the value or price shown, for example on a stamp, a coin, or a bill” as defined in the Cambridge English Dictionary[13] — does not make it a counterpart term to 颜值. However, a system resemblant to that of 颜值 as a certain level of attractiveness in Western, English-speaking popular cultures is the notion that attractiveness can be rated on a scale of 1 to 10. Instead of describing attractiveness as “high” or “low”, what is referred to as the “attractiveness scale”[14] uses numerical values, with a rating approaching 1 being least attractive, a rating close to 10 suggesting most attractive. Colloquially, people may refer to the individual being discussed with their rating as an indication of their attractiveness, as in “she’s a solid 9”.

Unlike 颜值, the Western “attractiveness scale” also includes median values such as 5 or 6, which gives it appeal to be used more so on one’s peers or ordinary people from everyday life than on celebrities. It is not used to rate objects and products.

Value of countenance: social, economical, and political implications

Historical context: establishment of beauty standards and how society viewed attractive females

Concubine of Wu Sangui, who was blamed for the downfall of the Ming dynasty

One of the social issues that predominates in modern Chinese society is the extreme pursuit of a standardized countenance or physiognomy, such phenomena is related to the culturally accepted aesthetics of beauty. The first standard is to have smooth and white skin (肤如凝脂, skin is like smooth, soft and glossy cream) since 一白遮百丑 [(one-white-hide-hundred-ugly)][15]. The enjoyment of feminine beauty plays a key role in the formation of Chinese national identity, which derives from the historical differentiation between the Han ethnicity and the “barbarians” and between the “cultivated” aesthetics of the Chinese and the “primitive” sensibilities of outsiders[16]. Nonetheless, being viewed as beautiful is not always deemed to be a positive feature, as historical records often blame the failures of men on the beautiful women who have served them. 红颜 [can be] associated with scourges (红颜祸水, beauty if the root of the scourge). The downfall of the Ming dynasty was blamed on a beauty, Chen Yuanyuan (1624–1681), a concubine of Wu Sangui whose surrender to the Qing army caused the Ming dynasty collapse immediately[17]. These portrayals of women with beautiful appearances results in the social issue of seeing beautiful female as "dangerous women".

State's policies: "abandonment" of female attractiveness

The beauty standard from imperial China was no longer prominent during the Cultural Revolution, as the countenance, or facial features of women were redressed to better suit the state's policies. Educated young women were expected to fulfill the threefold mission of rebelling against the patriarchal system of private property, carrying out the disciplinary measures against the adornment of the female body, and renouncing their own attachment to self-adornment[18]. The expectations to create gender "neutral" facial profiles during the Mao regime suggests a time where the standards of beauty from ancient China were abandoned. Since the slogan of the Cultural Revolution is to "smash the four olds", traditionally valued ideas of female countenance, with the smooth and white skin, would no longer be fitting for an age where women were politically reshaped as gender neutral people.

After the Cultural Revolution: the virtual world

Since the Reform and Opening in 1978, Chinese women’s bodies have dramatically shifted and become closely associated with womanliness, beauty, sex, and pleasure, as part of the rise of consumer culture[19] in response to the new government policies. Despite the historical prejudices against women, a fair countenance becomes valuable for both female and male in terms of presentation on various platforms like TikTok and dating apps in contemporary society. Often, people with a nice appearance can easily obtain more followers on social platforms. In March 2020, The Intercept (Biddle et al., 2020) published leaked internal documents from the makers of TikTok instructing its moderators to algorithmically suppress posts by users deemed to appear ‘abnormal’, ‘ugly’ (indicating factors including wrinkles and obesity) and ‘slummy’, and to censor politically ‘defamatory’ and ideologically ‘vulgar’ content[20]. This censorship emphasizes the importance of youth and beauty, as well as the idealized countenance on social media. Consequently, the chase of having publicly acknowledged countenance and the desire to have more views and likes on social platforms give rise to the plastic surgery, cosmetic surgery and makeup industries. The meaning of countenance is now more correlated with the idea of the attractiveness of a face measured by a social scale (颜值), rather than just the face itself.

In recent years, there has been a growth in internet celebrities and they have made significant contributions to the market economy. These are celebrities who have achieved influence based on the use of live streaming contents, ‘Wanghong 网红’ in China, comes at a time when consumers search for ways to express themselves and companies require creative ways to endorse brands[21]. Selling and advertising products through live streaming has become a method for influencers to gain popularity, fame, and revenue since the audiences can reward the 'wanghong' that they like through functions during the live stream. Although there are exceptions since influencers may gain popularity with their outstanding contents instead of using their looks, 'wanghong' with facial features that are agreeable to the public aesthetic tastes often gain more positive comments and popularity.

Alleviating social pressures: tools and surgical means to enhance the countenance

Meitu: famous face editing app

Some people who are dissatisfied with their facial features can utilize beautifying tools to help them 'correct' countenance. These technological tools on editor apps and livestream platforms can slim one's face, enlarge one's eyes, and perform whitening to enhance skin tones. Additionally, editor apps often have makeup filters of different intensities (from light makeup to heavy makeup) to help users to look prettier[22]. Sometimes, these beautifying tools enhance peoples' countenance to the point where they become less recognizable and realistic. With the help of beautifying tools, the transformation from an unattractive face to a prettier face not only elevates a person's attractiveness (颜值), but also help them regain their confidence and dignity (颜面). Overall, the existence of beautifying apps reinforces the idea of how a countenance that is publicly accepted as "aesthetically-pleasing" is crucial when people present themselves on social media.

Aside from the revenue gained through live streaming, with increased awareness towards enhancing one's countenance to be more appealing than it naturally is, such awareness also gives rise to the cosmetic industry. Unlike plastic surgery, cosmetic surgery's purpose is to improve functional and healthy body parts to improve their aesthetic appeal, and examples of cosmetic surgery are neck lift and face lift[23]. The abundance of cosmetic surgery clinics can be shown when “buyers” (patients) have increasing bargaining power over plastic surgeons because they are becoming more price-sensitive and willing to shop around for surgeons on the basis of price[24]. Specifically for Chinese women in the early 21st century, there are social pressures and attitudes towards the standards of beauty, which is often influenced by affluent Western society. To enhance their ‘‘Western look’’, Chinese women by the thousands flock to Korea — Asia’s Mecca of cosmetic surgery — to have their high cheekbones sawed flat, their noses raised high, and their lips injected with filler. The natural faces of Asian women are now rarely seen in either China’s beauty pageants or mass media[25]. The popularity of this type of service and the increasing competition in the market points to the fact that there are more people who seek to improve their countenance through surgical means, and transform from being unattractive (低颜值) to more attractive (高颜值). This trend also illustrates that there is social pressure has propelled many to be conscious about their appearances.

Studies related to countenance

A sociology study conducted by Vandenbosch and Eggermont identifies that there is a direct relationship between the sexually objectifying media and the internalization of beauty ideals. They indicate that individuals, especially adolescent girls who show higher levels of body surveillance invest more time in monitoring their appearance to ensure compliance with societal beauty ideals. Furthermore, the article highlights how there is an increasing stress over female appearance and how such stress relates to the context of male gazing. Correspondingly, appearances are seen as more important than personality when faces are being objectified to satisfy the visual pleasure of looking at pretty faces[26].

Philosopher Immanuel Kant, who wrote The Critique of the Power of Judgment

In Jessica Williams's analysis on Kant's Critique of the Power of Judgment, she makes mention of how Kant gives the example of seeing a person from a distance and concluding that the parts of his face — eyes, nose, mouth, et cetera — belong to one's representation of the person even though one does not consciously perceive these parts. There are mental operations that result in a person's attention and abstraction towards people and objects. Borrowing Kant's example, a person cannot properly remain attentive to a conversation with a friend if he cannot abstract from the gap in her teeth of the missing button on her coat.[27] This process of judging denotes that people do consciously make aesthetic judgements on people or objects.

Both articles indicate the tendency for people to "judge a book by its cover", audiences might notice the exterior qualities of an influencer before clicking in to see the contents that they produce. The importance of having an attractive countenance is not only prevalent in Chinese society, but it is a trend that circulates globally. Vandenbosch and Eggermont's study ties into TikTok's censorship of unattractive faces and the pursuit of having an attractive countenance to gain more followers. Although people's standards of an aesthetically pleasing face may differ, it is nevertheless true that social media creates accessible platforms for faces to be shown and for faces to be judged by others. Kant's example of how people's attention can be diverted from certain imperfections reveals the natural response to something that is commonly perceived to be "abnormal". For instance, there is a natural tendency to focus on imperfections of people's countenance, like their slightly slanted lips or tiny eyes.

Conclusion

The noun 颜 is derived from the characters 彦 (yàn) and 页 (xié); in ancient dictionaries and texts dating as early as the Han dynasty, the word 颜 has been defined as the area between the brows and eyes, giving way to other definitions, among those countenance. 颜 has always been used as a noun for the face and countenance, but through media culture, it manifested various different words that are used to describe the face and especially, a person’s attractiveness. Moreover, it served as the catalyst for the conception of extensive internet-exclusive terminology. Often, the character 颜 is paired with “值” to identify the level or scale of attractiveness of a person’s appearance. The usage of “countenance” continues to expand by pairing with other Chinese characters to describe celebrities and media users’ countenance in the continuously growing media culture and celebrity popular culture.  

Since 颜 means “face”, such terminology has intimate ties with China as an idol industry, cosmetic product and procedural market, and sets the stage for the growing presence of consumption via social media in an era of economic reform. Socially, 颜 provided a framework for people evaluate other people’s countenance through established beauty standards that has been passed on since ancient times. Primarily, the historical ideals of a beautiful face are often directed to the female gender, hence perpetuating the “perfect” female traits, such as having pale skin, and reinforcing the hegemonic standards of how a beautiful person should look like. Furthermore, although the idealized female countenance is being “neutralized” during the Cultural Revolution, the standards that are set for females nevertheless return in contemporary society. People often seek methods to quickly enhance their countenance, either through beautifying editing tools, surgical means, or through applying makeup. The belief of having an attractive countenance would result in an elevated level of confidence and the regain of dignity persists in society. 颜 illuminates the modern problem of how appearances often defines an individual. Although people tend to bemoan the fact that society today values [facial] appearance over substance (“这是一个看脸的社会”), all aspects of the market have evidently propelled the population to continue perpetuating this reality.

Lastly, this page particularly focused on the phenomenon of female countenance and how faces are being presented on social media are being judged, which ties into the idea of male gazing and objectifying females. Further investigation can be done on the concept of “female gazing”, as well as more research pertaining to how other gender identities on the spectrum subjectively evaluate the importance of appearances against the continued effect of celebdom and social networking tools.

References

  1. ↑ "颜 （汉语文字)". Baidu.
  2. ↑ "颜: Chinese Classics Dictionary". 汉典. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
  3. ↑ Wood, Clare; Connelly, Vincent (2009). Contemporary Perspectives on Reading and Spelling (1st ed.). London: Routledge. p. 203. ISBN 9780203877838.
  4. ↑ Zhang, Qian; Negus, Keith (2020). "East Asian pop music idol production and the emergence of data fandom in China". International Journal of Cultural Studies. 23(4): 497 – via SAGE Publications.
  5. ↑ "Explore: 颜值". Google Trends. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Chan, Kara; Zhang, Cong (2007). "Living in a celebrity-mediated social world: the Chinese experience". Young Consumers. 8(2): 140 – via Emerald Insight.
  7. ↑ Jian, Miaoju; Liu, Chang‐de (2009). "'Democratic entertainment' commodity and unpaid labor of reality TV: a preliminary analysis of China's Supergirl". Inter‐Asia Cultural Studies. 10(4): 528–529 – via Taylor & Francis Online.
  8. ↑ Jung, Jaehee (2018). "Young Women's Perceptions of Traditional and Contemporary Female Beauty Ideals in China". Family & Consumer Sciences. 47: 57 – via Wiley Online Library.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Liu, Bingge (March 25, 2020). "Xiaohongshu cultivates new consumer behavior in China". Value China. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  10. ↑ "2000到4000元高颜值手机怎么选？看准这几款，送女神没有错！". 腾讯网. March 5, 2022. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "美颜: Chinese Classics Dictionary". 汉典. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  12. ↑ "颜值即是正义？开言英语app电台讨论"颜"的准确表述". 腾讯网. September 11, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  13. ↑ "FACE VALUE | meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary". Cambridge Dictionary. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  14. ↑ "1-10 Attractiveness Scale". Urban Dictionary. October 1, 2016. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  15. ↑ Jiao, Liwei (2019). A Cultural Dictionary of the Chinese Language - 500 Proverbs, Idioms and Maxims. London: Routledge. p. 47. ISBN 9780429356476.
  16. ↑ Xu, Gary (2007). "Meinü Jingji /China's beauty economy: Buying looks, shifting value, and changing place". Feminist economics – via 312.
  17. ↑ Jiao, Liwei (2019). A Cultural Dictionary of the Chinese Language - 500 Proverbs, Idioms and Maxims. London: Routledge. p. 71. ISBN 9780429356476. line feed character in |title= at position 48 (help)
  18. ↑ Yang, Wenqi (2017). "The annihilation of femininity in Mao's China: Gender inequality of sent-down youth during the Cultural Revolution". Sage Journals: 68.
  19. ↑ Lin, Zhongxuan (2018). "Performance of the body: Chinese female celebrity's practices of self-governance". Routledge Taylor & Francis Group: 775.
  20. ↑ Kennedy, Melanie (2020). "'If the rise of the TikTok dance and e-girl aesthetic has taught us anything, it's that teenage girls rule the internet right now': TikTok celebrity, girls and the Coronavirus crisis". Sage Journals: 1072.
  21. ↑ Park, Hyun Jung (2020). "The effects of match-ups on the consumer attitudes toward internet celebrities and their live streaming contents in the context of product endorsement". ScienceDirect. 52.
  22. ↑ "美颜相机"一键美颜"比化妆品还神奇". 计算机与网络. 39: 23. 2013.
  23. ↑ "What's the Difference Between Cosmetic and Plastic Surgery?". Okanagan Health Surgical Centre. July 24, 2016.
  24. ↑ Atiyeh, Bishara S (2008). "Aesthetic/Cosmetic Surgery and Ethical Challenges". Springer Link: 833.
  25. ↑ Xu, Gary (2007). "Meinü Jingji /China's beauty economy: Buying looks, shifting value, and changing place". Feminist Economics: 317.
  26. ↑ Vandenbosch, Laura (2012). "Understanding Sexual Objectification: A Comprehensive Approach Toward Media Exposure and Girls' Internalization of Beauty Ideals, Self-Objectification, and Body Surveillance". Wiley Online Library.
  27. ↑ Williams, Jessica (2021). "Kant on Aesthetic Attention". The British Journal of Aesthetics.
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