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Shanghai Ladies

media type="custom" key="12481952" Hi, Mathieuhunter,

Sorry for responding late, my name is yuanzhen, I come from China, and now I’m studying here in Laval University, Business School as an exchange student. Like you said earlier, it’s difficult to understand this CBC podcast well if the listener knows little about the background of Shanghai Ladies. Although I’m Chinese, before listening to this CBC podcast, I almost know nothing about Shanghai Ladies during 19 20s and 30s. I was trying to look for more information about Shanghai ladies and then combine the CBC podcast to answer your questions.

The image of Shanghai ladies it not the same in different times. I’m going to introduce you Shanghai ladies according to the order of the CBC podcast. At the turn of the 20th century in China, following the Opium Wars, a large number of western goods began to appear in the Chinese market. In order to better publicize their products, some businessmen from the West began to advertise in China, the form of their advertising in using famous heroines ladies from history or popular singers, models and addresses. It makes Shanghai ladies with a combination of Western beauty, at the same time, Western started to pay attention to the beauty of Shanghai ladies. The characteristics of Shanghai ladies in this period are slim and stylish and their typical clothing is cheongsam. Also, Shanghai ladies of this period also include a lot of foreign women as many foreigners were doing business in Shanghai.

Now let’s move back to the ancient China. “The Four Beauties” in Chinese history are Yang Guifei, Wang Zhaojun, Xi Shi and Diao Chan. Like Shanghai ladies in the 1920s, three beautiful women are very slim except Yang Guifei. Yang Guifei was the Queen of the Tang Dynasty, which is about more than one thousand years ago from now. The beautiful women in the Tang Dynasty are fat, but they were a kind of healthy fat. During that period, people thought healthy fat is beauty, although it does not meet our aesthetic now.

In the 1930s and 1940s, China was involved in the World War II. All the Chinese united together to defend their country, which also includes the Chinese women. In order to move quickly, they wore men’s clothes, many women cut short hair. In that era, women who can defend their own country are the most beautiful.

I hope that my introduction is helpful for you.

Thanks and see you.