What is the significance of facial hair in Chinese culture?

[vellocet]

I know there must be something I'm missing.  I keep seeing movies with people with mustaches, the fu manchu (with or without goatee), and so on.  What does it mean when a man has facial hair?

 

Most Chinese men can't grow facial hair to save their lives.  Is it "if you have the ability to grow facial hair, you should, purely because it's so rare."  Or is there something else?  A sign of maturity?  Culture?  Bad-ass-ness? 

 

Mustache: some Chinese men, Uighurs.  Long-haired young men often have that peach fuzz mustache. 

 

Fu manchu: seen in kung fu flicks as well as on much older men.  A long mustache means you've been growing it for a long time?

 

Full beard: Ai Weiwei?  I got nothing. 

 

Lastly, what do Chinese think of Laowai with facial hair?  I notice the old stereotype is a bearded man with a top hat and cigar.  Sometimes I'll wear a beard for a while, but usually shave it because it adds years to my face. 

[somethingfunny]

Unfortunately, in my experience Chinese women think of one word when they see beards: Dirty.

[dwq]

Confucius says (really!): "身體髮膚，受之父母，不敢毀傷，孝之始也". i.e. It is a filial obligation to not hurt one's own body (including hair) because it is given by one's parents.

So probably since the time Confucianism became the official state ideology in the Han Dynasty till the Ming Dynasty, people do not cut their hair (supposedly some trimming for tidiness is acceptable). And even before that, not having a beard were considered a weakness (劉備 was ridiculed by 張裕 in 《三國志．周群傳》 for having no facial hair).

During the Qing Dynasty Han people were ordered to follow Manchurian style and cut their front hair. This was considered so barbaric that rebellions were rallied under the reason of opposing it, followed by oppression and many many people getting killed because of their hair style.

In modern times people do not put much significance in cutting hair like before, and it is done for hygiene and beauty reasons.

[Angelina]

Anyone wants to start a Handsome Chinese Men from History encyclopedia? Long hair included.

Also

"This was considered so barbaric"

Sounds funny when you look at the history of the word barbaric.

[vellocet]

All I've gotten so far is that it means dirty, and something about history.  Any real answers? 

[889]

If I were interested in this question, I'd certainly include a study of beards and their meaning in Chinese opera.

[eion_padraig]

Yeah, I'd say that typically Chinese women don't prefer beards. Partially they just are not used to men having them.

 

Having said that I've not found that my beard has prevented me from attracting Chinese women. A couple of Chinese women I've dated in the past suggested I shave off my beard, but they didn't seem to phazed when I told them that wasn't going to happen.

 

Like most laowai I also walk around with a top had and a cigar most of the time so the beard really perfects the image. 

 

@DWQ - I will have to use that Confucian line to support why I have a beard. That's great.

[davoosh]

@Vellocet, I think dwq's answer was good, not "just something about history". Confucian philosophy may have made the "wise-man-with-beard" look (which every man in every 古裝劇 seems to have) more highly regarded?

 

Uighurs may have more facial hair due to Islam and certain traditions about not shaving beards.

 

I've noticed a stereotype in modern Chinese series that Chinese men with stubble or beards seem to be ruffians or gangsters or the like. I met a Chinese guy one who had some not very impressive stubble and we were talking about facial hair, I suggested it would probably look better to fully shave or grow a full beard. His reply was that his beard is “天生的”! As if that somehow prevented him from shaving.

 

Although some may have an individual preference for men without beards, I don't think there's a stereotype for bearded foreigners in general.

[geraldc]

It's just not in fashionable at the moment. Sun Yat Sen, Chiang Kai Shek, all had dainty moustaches. Not the droopy Fu Manchu types at all. Yuan Shikai had a droopy dirty sanchez/viva zapata moustache. However at the time all the western leaders had moustaches too, now all G7 leaders are clean shaven. Once China develops its own form of hipsters, it'll be wispy bum fluff 'taches and goatees all round.

[stapler]

I think attitudes in China itself might be different to attitudes outside of it. Many Chinese guys I know have beards. Not lots, but a reasonable amount. I can imagine that not being around their parents might have something to do with it (if any of them have long hair they also always gotta cut it off before going back to China/Singapore/Malaysia!). I don't think any of them have any particular dislike of beards. Probably just more of an issue about being able to grow one.

[GuizhouMike]

I have been dating various chinese women and they kinda liked my beard. Looks manly. But maybe that s because they like laowei... Case by casei would say. Imo nothing speaks against a beard if you are a clean person.

 

Be careful though, chinese government has already put one guy into prison for wearing a long beard: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-31/china-jails-muslim-man-for-growing-beard/6360542

[davoosh]

Hmm, I wonder if this only applies to Uighur Muslims. Orthodox Jews traditionally grow long beards as well...

[Dallas]

My two chinese buddies get nice stubble but when they grow it out it doesn't look good.

[catsesl2]

Facial hair in men is the image of masculinity in the American-European culture and it really compliments the manliness of a true gentleman. Asian men, however, cannot grow facial hair for many different reasons. First,in China, facial hair shows that a man is old and wise so elders are most likely to have facial hair. Second, facial hair in middle age men can sometimes represent 'suspicious' because somehow in our Asian mindset. This is why facial hair is not popular in China.

[x3azn]

As a chinese male in his early 20s, i think its a combination of media and mal nutrition due to history that caused this phenomenon, and yes i believe the beard trend will regain popularity in about 20 years. 

For the most of the past century most chinese weren't able to buy abundant dairy product and who knows what else that is essential to beauty. this plundered any potential b/c only about 5% of population had enough money for everything, and the chances are, those 5% weren't going to invest their life in media industry. So basically people with healthy bodies are not become celebrities or singers. This is compounded upon the mongolian and Manzhu invasions which they ordered mass killing of Chinese NanDing(young strong male whom has a chance to overthrow the government), this rooted the feminity look some chinese have, especially in the south, where brave Southern Chinese rebelled vigorous when north surrendered, and under manchu rule, Han chinese didn't receive well obviously.

 

Fast-forward to modern day, I'd say about one tenth of southern Chinese have the potential to grow good facial hair and one third of north is capable of more so. But chinese media originated in HongKong and Taiwan, both of which were southern chinese dominated industries, which give rise to less facial hair models and actors. Compound this with the fact that less facial hair is indeed healthier and cleaner, more civilized (if it weren't for ladies i doubt any guy would want beard), the mainland trend only extended that and now you only see a few mainland Chinese with facial hair intact and even then they'd shave it off once in a while to show that they just have that option.

 

I personally have a half beard, it looks okay but definitely not full enough to cover the sides, so I'd shave once every 2-3 days. But with sufficient dairy and protein product i can't see why the next generation wouldn't be healthiest generation of Chinese in history. 

[somethingfunny]

 

 

Compound this with the fact that less facial hair is indeed healthier and cleaner, more civilized

 

Careful there.

 

Also, I don't see the link between drinking milk and growing beards...  By your logic, all Chinese people who can't grow beards should also be bald.

[Angelina]

Maybe nutrition in general. This map shows northern and southern China are different, just like what he said.

Can we find a map showing the relative distribution of lactose intolerance?

[Geiko]

Here you have it: http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-08/infographic-day-where-people-can-digest-milk

[somethingfunny]

I'm afraid the combination of those two graphics does not support that argument that milk-drinking is related to beard growing.

[geraldc]

This piqued my interest enough to look up the wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Androgenic_hair

 

"Markus J. Rantala of the Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, Finland, said humans evolved by "natural selection" to be hairless when the trade off of "having fewer parasites" became more important than having a "warming, furry coat""

 

We just don't like parasites.