台灣『水姑娘』百年物語─傳統理想女性美研究1861-1960

Abstract

From 1861~1960, the traditional ideal of female beauty in Taiwan underwent many drastic changes, particularly when compared to its relative consistency over thousands of years. Female aesthetics has swung amongst the factors of traditional/modern, Eastern/Western, Chinese/Japanese, as well as image/physical beauty. Aesthetics is an expressive form of art that is certainly not formed by chance - it is always linked with the needs of a society and changes along with its pulse. Over the course of that century, whether the discussion was about the female body or fashion in Taiwan, it can be said that ideal female beauty has been a continuous pursuit of curves. Under the traditional Confucian system, the female body was held under the strict, patriarchal standards of the three “obediences” (a woman must obey her father before marriage, her husband when married, and her sons in widowhood) and four virtues (morality, proper speech, modest manner and diligent work). Therefore, when the Western standard of beauty for all things, the concept of “aesthetic measure,” was imported, local female aesthetics began to place an emphasis on proportions in physical beauty. Seen as a self-extension of clothing, as well as a breakaway from the many standards for traditional wardrobe colors, practicality and the expression of body dynamics began to take a priority. These changes in body concepts and the emphasis on female curves comprise the second major focus of this study. Over that century, female aesthetics in Taiwan were profoundly influenced by cultural experiences and eras of time. It cannot be denied that impulses of Westernization have had the greatest effect. And, amongst this, the Japanese Colonial Period (1915~1935) marked a major turning point. Standards to female aesthetics have always been in the eyes of the beholders and characteristics that change with the times. There are few written records in regards to this subject from the early immigrant community of Taiwan. With that said, the author supports her study with some visual data (such as photographs, paintings, postcards, advertisements) in an attempt to give a voice to women, one which has been suppressed over hundreds of years of tradition. Putting aside objective and non-objective debates, this study attempts to discuss an interdisciplinary field of academics with an open mind. Throughout the entire world, people’s bodies can be records of a micro-history.