Buying Beauty: Cosmetic Surgery in China

281 Pages·2013·2.969 MB·English

by  Wen Hua

Wen_Buying Beauty_PB-op.pdf 1 12年12月5日 下午7:12
Buying Beauty
B
u
Cosmetic Surgery
y
i
in China n
g

B
Cosmetic surgery in China has grown rapidly in recent years of dramatic social
transition. Facing fierce competition in all spheres of daily life, more and more women e
consider cosmetic surgery as an investment to gain “beauty capital” to increase
a
opportunities for social and career success.
u
Building on rich ethnographic data, this book presents the perspectives of women who
t
have undergone cosmetic surgery, illuminating the aspirations behind their choices.
The author explores how turbulent economic, socio-cultural and political changes in y
China since the 1980s have produced immense anxiety that is experienced by women

both mentally and physically. This book will appeal to readers who are interested in C
gender studies, China studies, anthropology and sociology of the body, and cultural o
C s
studies.
m
M
e
Y t
i
c
CM
Wen Hua received her Ph.D. in Anthropology from the Chinese University of Hong S
MY Kong. She has worked in academia and international organizations in the field of
u
gender and development. r
CY
g
CMY e
r
K y
“China is undergoing significant socio-economic, cultural as well as political changes. i
n
It offers an opportunity to examine how people develop their new perspective of what C
constitutes beauty, how they would work on their bodies in order to respond to new
h
expectations and the new socio-economic environment, and how the socialist state is i
n
loosening its grip on the ordinary people. This book offers its readers the excitement of
a
looking at social transformation in China.”
— Tai-lok Lui, The University of Hong Kong
W
Buying Beauty
e
n

H Cosmetic Surgery
u
a in China
Anthropology / China Studies
Wen Hua
Printed and bound in Hong Kong, China
Buying Beauty

Buying Beauty
Cosmetic Surgery in China
Wen Hua
Hong Kong University Press
The University of Hong Kong
Pokfulam Road
Hong Kong
www.hkupress.org
© Hong Kong University Press 2013
ISBN 978-988-8139-81-1 (Hardback)
ISBN 978-988-8139-82-8 (Paperback)
All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced or transmit-
ted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy,
recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission
in writing from the publisher.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed and bound by Kings Time Printing Press Ltd. in Hong Kong, China
To Qian Feng

Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Acknowledgements xi
Introduction 1
I. Cultural Background of Cosmetic Surgery
1. The Cultural History of Plastic Surgery in China 25
2. China’s First “Artificial Beauty” 51
II. “Beauty Capital” in Social Transition
3. “Being Good-Looking is Capital” 75
4. From the “Iron Rice Bowl” to the “Rice Bowl of Youth” 99
III. The Beauty Economy and “Beauty Diplomacy”
5. The Commodification of the Body 125
6. China’s Beauty Economy and Beauty Ideology 147
IV. Globalization and the Changing Image of Beauty
7. From Barbie Doll to the Korean Wave 167
8. Between the Local and the Global 187
Conclusion 205
Glossary 215
References 223
Index 243

List of Illustrations
Figures
1. The number of hits for the key word “cosmetic surgery” in
WiseSearch (1998–2007) 21
2. The increase of plastic surgery procedures in a Beijing plastic
surgery hospital 42
3. The number of students in regular higher education sector 85
Plates
1. Plastic Surgery Hospital (CAMS and PUMC), the largest plastic
surgery hospital in China
2. A high-end Korean cosmetic surgery clinic in Beijing
3. A plastic surgery clinic in Jianwai SOHO, the core of Beijing CBD
4. A private cosmetic surgery clinic in Beijing
5. Hao Lulu’s before-surgery photo
6. Hao Lulu in EverCare’s advertisement
7. Hao Lulu attending an event in 2006
8. The cover of Hao Lulu’s book: The Making of Beauty, 2008
9. The cover of Hao Lulu’s autobiography, I Made the Decision for
Myself: Confessions of China’s First Artificial Beauty, 2004
10. Job fair at the China International Exhibition Center in Beijing, 2007
11. A want advertisement specifying gender, age, height and appearance
of applicants in a job fair in Beijing, 2007
12. An exhibition of the magazines of the Trends Group at the 2009
China Clothing and Accessories Fair
13. An advertisement for breast augmentation in a taxi
14. Locations of cosmetic surgery clinics in Beijing, Fine Goods Shopping
Guide, March 29, 2007