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

Among the preserved materials, there exists no image of Dr. Chen that was produced by anyone who interacted with him face-to-face during the forty or forty-one years from 659 when he was born in southwestern China to early 700 when he was "harmed to death" (Du Fu) [2] while severely ill during his second imprisonment because of his political persecution. Nevertheless, it is certain that as to his physical appearance, Dr. Chen was young, having long, black hair and black eyes, while being emaciated and suffering from his prolonged physical illness.

In this chapter, I complete an in-depth analysis of the preserved records on Dr. Chen's physical appearance. From the perspective of the research accomplishments by the contemporary American psychologist Richard Russell, I further research, analyze, and converse with Dr. Russell to contribute to the maximal reconstruction of Dr. Chen's physical appearance. I further receive direct assistance from Dr. Chien Chin-Sung (1954–), a Taiwanese scholar and educator who is a current research fellow and a previous department chair at the Department of Chinese Literature of the Sun Yat-Sen University in Taiwan, and Dr. I-Chung Chou, a professor at the department of Chinese of the Changhua University of Education in Taiwan. I also use the chapter, "Joan's Personal Appearance" in Joan of Arc: The Warrior Saint (2003) by American military official and Joan of Arc researcher, Stephen Wesley Richey, as a reference.[3] I maximally reconstruct Dr. Chen's physical appearance as the following:

Dr. Chen 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, Dr. Chen was very thin, and he had suffered from long-term physical illness. Dr. 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. Often, his dress and accessories were neither opulent nor dazzling, but simple and refined. His physical appearance had a medium-high or a medium level of attractiveness. More signs indicate that his physical appearance had a medium-high level of attractiveness. By common standards, Dr. Chen's physical appearance had the characteristics of being tender, and his face was relatively feminine and youthful. Dr. Chen’s physical appearance seemed to have the characteristics of being elegant, or having a simple, natural, and “unbound”[4] beauty, or both.

現存資料中，沒有任何伯玉像，是在從伯玉於659年生於華西南，至重病中，因政治迫害，二度下獄期間，於700年初「遇害」（杜甫語），[2]四十或四十一年間，由與伯玉面對面互動者所作。但於伯玉形貌具體如何，已全然直接確知：伯玉年輕，有黑長髮與黑眸，瘦弱且久具身疾。

在本章中，陳瀟玉深析關於伯玉形貌之現存記錄，又從美國心理學家理查德·羅素研究成果之角度，研析並與羅素進士對話，復承臺灣學者教師、臺灣中山大學中文系研究員、前中文系主任簡先生錦松（1954－），與臺灣彰化師範大學國文系（華文系）周先生益忠直接賜助，再參考美國軍官、貞德研究者斯蒂芬·衛斯理·瑞琦，於貞德（1412－1431）形貌之最大限度重構，[3]最大限度重構伯玉形貌如下：

伯玉年輕，有黑長髮與黑眸。伯玉出現在公共場合時，但有條件，則依當時華夏常見男子束髮法，束起黑長髮，不過臥疾榻上等時，黑髮常常披散。伯玉長期以來非常細瘦，且久具身疾。伯玉形貌，至少又具這些特點中多數：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。許多時候，伯玉服飾並不華豔，但樸素而有格調。伯玉形貌，具中等或中上吸引力，更多跡象指向中上。依普遍標準看，伯玉形貌具柔之特點，且面部偏女性化與低齡化。伯玉形貌，像具雅之特點，或質樸、自然、「不羈」[4]之美，或兼而有之。

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