Nowadays, young people are into black lipstick. Their families would surely be shocked and wonder about this "weird" aesthetic. But if this trend went back over a thousand years to the Tang Dynasty, you'd be amazed at the "ahead - of - time" makeup looks. People would exclaim, "It's still our ancestors who were the trendsetters!"
The "Wu Gao" (乌膏) mentioned by Xi Jun and Mrs. Ma in "The Detective Diaries 2" (唐诡2) did exist in the Tang Dynasty. It was a special kind of lip balm in the "Shishi Zhuang" (时世妆), or the fashionable makeup of the time. According to "New Book of Tang -五行志", during the Yuanhe period of Emperor Xianzong of the Tang Dynasty, women favored a makeup style of "round - bun and cone - shaped hair, no hair ornaments, no rouge or powder, only using Wu Gao to paint the lips, looking like someone who had been crying."
Characteristics of the Makeup
Even the spider spirit in "Black Myth: Wukong" has the same "Wu Gao - painted lips". This makeup was not just about painting the lips nearly black. It also included drawing eight - character eyebrows, adding oblique red makeup on the cheeks, and using thick lead powder as foundation. It was also called "Ti Zhuang" (啼妆), which means the look of a crying woman. This makeup was regarded as a "Fuyao" (服妖), or a strange fashion, born during the chaotic times after the An Lushan Rebellion. It defied the etiquette and was flamboyant, giving the face a strong visual impact and a sense of drama.
If you've watched the story "Goose, Goose, Goose" in "China's Strange Tales", you must have a deep impression of this face. Yes, it's the "Eight - character eyebrows, oblique red, and black lips" Shishi Zhuang popular during the Yuanhe period. In the murals of the tomb of Zhao Yigong in Anyang, the makeup of several women is very peculiar. Their eyebrows are all drawn in an eight - character shape, and there are two red slashes on their cheeks, looking a bit sad. Well, this was the most fashionable look at that time.
Similar makeup also appears in the murals of the Tang Dynasty tomb in Hanjiawan, Xi'an, Shaanxi. Their hairstyles are even more exaggerated. Reports and related texts describe their hairstyles as high buns and precarious buns, which are very similar to the "Paojia Ji" (抛家髻) recorded in books. "New Book of Tang -五行志" records that "At the end of the Tang Dynasty, women in the capital combed their hair with two sideburns framing their faces, looking like cone - shaped buns, which was then called 'Paojia Ji'. And it was also popular to use glass as hairpins and bracelets, which was close to a 'Fuyao'."
The Origin and Controversy of the Makeup
The most impressive part of this makeup is the "ancient - version black lipstick". Due to frequent cultural exchanges between the Han and Hu ethnic groups, influenced by Hu makeup, women in the Central Plains liked to add black dyes to lip balms, making the lip makeup a dark red close to black. However, not everyone could accept this makeup aesthetic. Especially Bai Juyi, a "conservative", wrote a poem "Shishi Zhuang - Warning Against Military Aggression" to complain: "The fashionable makeup, the fashionable makeup, it starts in the city and spreads everywhere. It's popular far and wide. No rouge on the cheeks, no powder on the face. The lips painted with Wu Gao look like mud, and the eyebrows are drawn in an eight - character shape low. The beauty and ugliness, black and white lose their original appearance. After makeup, they all look like they're crying." The word "Jing" means warning, which shows the influence of the popular makeup at that time.
Other Makeup Styles and the Revival of Black Lipstick
During the Changqing period, a more unique makeup style called "Xueyun Zhuang" (血晕妆) emerged. For this makeup, women would draw three or four red - purple slashes above and below their eyes. "Women removed their eyebrows and drew three or four horizontal red - purple lines above and below their eyes, which was called 'Xueyun Zhuang'" ("Tang Yulin"). However, this makeup style didn't last long. After a ban was issued, it gradually faded away. After all, this kind of mournful and submissive makeup was despised by scholars. The Tang people disliked it, and the Song people disliked it even more. Coincidentally, in the 1970s, with the rise of Western punk rock, non - mainstream black lipstick became popular again.
Now, similar "black lipstick" is popular again. Many celebrities are also followers of this trend, believing that it represents the awakening of female individuality. Of course, it's hard to say how long this trend will last. All we can say is that fashion is cyclical!
