Imperial Dowager Cixi's Secret Recipes for Youthful Beauty and Longevity

Author: Xiang Si
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: Emperors have always been at the core of the Chinese political stage, leaving behind only faint figures in history. But what about their consorts and concubines? The women in the palace have always been like a mystery, enigmatic and full of speculation. Those palace maids and pretty girls living in the magnificent palaces—what were they busy with every day?
Excerpt: The imperial court's beauty regimen for thousands of years in China's imperial harem was a paradise of auspiciousness and happiness for the emperors of all dynasties, but also a luxurious and mysterious garden in the eyes of the people. Here lived tens of thousands of beautiful and alluring women, competing in beauty and elegance, turning the emperor's harem into a paradise of sensual delight. However, the daily, monthly, and annual beauty expenses of these women have always been a significant financial burden for every court. Just the cost of cosmetics alone was astonishing: in the Ming Dynasty, the annual cosmetic expenses for women were estimated to be around 400,000 taels of silver! Most women loved rouge and powder, and the beautiful women in the harem were no exception, earning them the titles of "rouge beauties," "powdered beauties of the six courts," and "cosmetic maids." In fact, powder makeup was very common in ancient China because the lead powder and pearl powder were fine and smooth, making women's skin fair, soft, and radiant. In fact, even the women of ordinary families, as long as they were slightly affluent, would spend money on cosmetics to dress up.
Interestingly, few people know that Chinese emperors also used powder makeup: they would often apply it before attending court, earning them the nickname "powdered lords." Wang Zhaojun, a beauty so admired by the Han Dynasty emperors, was also inseparable from cosmetics. Poets described her as: "Her face, radiant with the fragrance of cosmetics." Empress Wu Zetian was very particular about beauty, and her secret beauty regimen involved motherwort. The "Supplement to the Herbal Classic" states: "Motherwort, when used in facial cosmetics, gives a radiant complexion and can treat acne." On the 5th day of the 5th lunar month each year, the specially selected grass pickers in the Tang Dynasty court would work tirelessly to gather healthy and vigorous whole plants of motherwort, ensuring no trace of dust on the plants. After sun-drying, they ground the plants into fine powder, sifted it, added an appropriate amount of water and flour, kneaded it into a dough, and shaped it into eggs. Then, they left it to dry in the sun.
A three-layer sealed yellow clay furnace was used. The bottom layer was filled with charcoal, the middle layer with the dried medicinal pills, and the top layer was covered with more charcoal. A strong fire was lit, and after about 30 minutes of intense burning, the fire was reduced to a gentle flame to slowly roast the pills for about a day and a night. After the roasting process, the pills were removed. The pills with a pure, fine white color were considered superior beauty remedies. Once completely cooled, the pills were ground into fine powder in a porcelain bowl, sifted, and then ground and sifted again, making it as fine as possible. Finally, the finest powder was stored in a high-quality porcelain jar for use.