Authors

Rivolia Chen Xiao-Yu (陳瀟玉) '23, Gettysburg College

Class Year

2023

Document Type

Book Chapter

Date of Creation

Spring 2022

Department 1

Psychology

Department 2

Interdisciplinary Studies

Abstract

Chen Zi-Ang was a young man who had long black hair and black eyes. When appearing in public, as long as he had the conditions to do so, he bound his long, black hair in the common hairstyles among his contemporary Chinese men. Nevertheless, when in situations such as resting in his bed because of his long-term illness, his long, black hair was often untied. For a long time, Chen was very thin, and he had suffered from long-term physical illness. Chen's physical appearance further included most if not all of these characteristics: a light skin color, a comparatively soft skin texture, little or no facial wrinkles, a relatively high facial contrast, a comparatively wide distance between eyebrows and eyes, relatively thick lips, a comparatively small head, and a comparatively small jaw. A point that has echoed with “a light skin color” has been this impression of mine: Chen’s face was frequently pale; the significant source of Chen’s pallor was his long-term physical illness that I suspect to be anemia or heart disease, or both. It would not be surprising if Chen was weak in his lungs. I also suspect that Chen suffered from sleep disorders for a while. Often, his dress and accessories were neither opulent nor dazzling, but simple and refined. Across times and regions, when at least the vast majority of people evaluate human physical attractiveness or unattractiveness, they have five major psychological criteria: the higher or the lower degree of symmetry, the consistency or inconsistency with the average facial features, the presence or absence of beauty in biological sex features, the perceived health, and the perceived youthfulness.[16] According to the highly widespread standards across time and regions: most signs indicate that Chen’s physical appearance had a mid-upper level of attractiveness. Chen's physical appearance had the characteristics of being tender, and his face was relatively feminine and youthful. Chen’s physical appearance seemed to have the characteristics of being pure and elegant, or having a simple, natural, and “unbound”[17] beauty, or both. I am unsure of whether Chen had a small amount of whiskers or not, or how many whiskers he had. I am also unsure of his physical height. There was a greater likelihood that Chen’s voice was relatively high-pitched than low-pitched. Especially in the mid-late and late stages of his brief life in the human realm, Chen’s facial expressions have often been composed and tranquil, while being more or less melancholic. The physical appearance of Chen Zi-Ang was consistent with the frequently-observed physical appearance patterns among mainland Chinese men and women. By common standards, Chen Zi-Ang’s physical appearance was thin, frail, pure, and delicate, while possessing a firm and determined energy; he “sometimes further demonstrated a dumbfounding boldness and spicy defiance” (Wang Zhi-Qing).[18]

Empress Wu Zetian’s physical appearance commonly possessed the same extent of attractiveness with the beautiful appearance of Elizabeth Taylor. One of her historical identities was her status as a beauty icon. A relatively reasonable inference has been that the physical appearance of Chen Yuan-Jing often left others with the impression of being masculine, healthy, and possessing some characteristics of being refined. The positive elements of the physical appearance that Chen Yuan-Jing often had contributed to his career as a political leader. Since the physical beauty of Chen Yuan-Jing received less attention, hymning, and praising than Wu Zetian’s top-level attractiveness which she often possessed received, I tend to estimate that Chen Yuan-Jing’s physical appearance possessed a mid-upper level of beauty rather than a top-level of attractiveness. In the 2023 CE world, those whose physical appearances are relatively similar to that of Madam Gao’s should be young Mongolian women of light skin color and physical appearances of a mid-upper level of attractiveness.

陳子昂年輕，有黑長髮與黑眸。陳子昂出現在公共場合時，但有條件，則依當時華夏常見男子束髮之法，束起其黑長髮，不過在因病臥床等情況下，其黑髮常常披散。長期以來，陳子昂非常細瘦，且久具身疾。陳子昂之形貌，又具這些特點中至少多數：膚色淺、膚質偏柔、面部少有或沒有皺紋、面部對照度偏高、雙眉與雙眸間距較寬、雙唇偏厚、頭偏小、下顎偏小。與「膚色淺」密切呼應者，乃筆者這一懷疑：陳子昂之面色，常常蒼白；這蒼白之重大來源，在於陳子昂之身疾——筆者懷疑是貧血或心疾，或兼而有之。陳子昂若雙肺虛弱，亦不令人驚訝。此外，筆者懷疑陳子昂一度患上睡眠失調。許多時候，陳子昂之服飾並不華豔，但樸素而有格調。在各個時代與地區，至少絕大多數人，在判定人之形貌，具多少美感時，有五大心理指標：對稱度高低、契合平均值與否、是否具生理性別特徵之美、顯健康與否、顯年輕與否。[16]依在各個時代與地區，非常普遍之標準來看：最多跡象，顯示陳子昂之形貌，具中上等美感。陳子昂之形貌，具柔之特點，且其面部偏女性化與低齡化。陳子昂之形貌，像具清、雅特點，或質樸、自然、「不羈」[17]之美，或兼而有之。筆者不確定陳子昂是否少有鬍鬚，又有多少鬍鬚，亦不確定陳子昂身高幾何。陳子昂聲線較高之概率，高於其聲線較低之概率。尤其在陳子昂短暫人生之中後期與後期，陳子昂之表情，常顯沈靜，且或多或少，顯得憂鬱。陳子昂之形貌，符合中國大陸男女之間，常見形貌模式。依普遍標準看，陳子昂之形貌，瘦弱清秀、氣質堅毅，「有時還表現出讓人瞠目結舌的大膽與潑辣」（王志清語）。[18]

女皇武則天（公元624年－705年）形貌常態美感，與伊麗莎白·泰勒（美國英文：Elizabeth Taylor）美貌，在同樣程度上吸引他人。武則天歷史身分之一，是美麗偶像。較為合理之推斷，乃陳元敬之形貌常態，是陽剛、健康、帶些斯文特質。陳元敬形貌常態中，正面元素，有益於陳元敬之政治領袖事業。由於陳元敬形貌美感，所受關注與詠讚，程度不及前述武則天形貌常態，所具頂級美感，所受關注與詠讚，筆者傾向於估計：陳元敬形貌，具中上等美感，而非頂級美感。在公元2023年之世界，形貌較似高氏者，應是膚色較淺、形貌具中上等美感之年輕蒙古女子。

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