Tattoo in Early China

Tattoo in Early China
Author(s): Carrie E. Reed

Source: Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 120, No. 3 (Jul. - Sep., 2000), pp.
360-376
Published by: American Oriental Society
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TATTOO IN EARLY CHINA
CARRIE E. REED
MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE
The paper introduces various modes of tattoo as described in several types of pre-modern Chinese
texts. Although the study takes a widely cross-temporal view, covering texts from the Zhou to the
Ming dynasties, its organizing focus is the twenty-five entries on tattoo found in the ninth-century
miscellany, Youyang zazu. The author of this work, Duan Chengshi (c. 800-863), is remarkable because
of his extraordinary interest in all types of tattoo, but particularly for his meticulous description of
the voluntary decorative tattoos of his contemporaries. Given the fact that in China permanent body-
marking was highly stigmatized, and cause for social ostracism, the information given in the You-
yang zazu and other texts on tattoo is thought-provoking and valuable.
An aggressive Lord who wants to rise in power will be forced to employ his
own people. They will then love me with the love of parents, and will find my
scent like that of the iris and epidendrum. They will turn from their lord and
look upon him as if he were tattooed, and as if he were their sworn enemy.
Xun Qing jOIP (ca. 313-ca. 238 B.c.)'
TATTOO IS REPRESENTED IN SEVERAL types of early paper; it is, in fact, their content that determines the
Chinese texts, including early prose works such as the types of tattoo to be considered. The author of Youyang
Shang shu -j I,2 historical works such as the Shiji t zazu, Duan Chengshi kt-f k (c. 800-863), deserves our
P3 and later dynastic histories, dynastic penal codes, gratitude because of his extraordinary interest in all
zhiguai J'|: and biji W?B works and miscellanies. This types of tattoo, but particularly because of his meticu-
paper introduces a selection of representative passages lous description of Tang-dynasty figurative and textual
from Chinese texts that mention tattoo and is intended tattoo. His beautiful descriptions of full-body tattoo
partly to serve as a starting point for further study of raise many questions, questions of immense interest for
this largely neglected topic. The twenty-five entries on students of Tang life and culture, as well as of informal
narrative literature. What do we learn from the entries in
tattoo found in the ninth-century miscellany, Youyang
zazu i*I*a 4 are both stimulus for and focus of the a collection of informal narratives, such as a miscellany,
that we do not learn from other types of texts? In what
way does this collection of entries augment information
already available? Besides communicating fascinating
I thank Professor Stephen H. West of the University of Cali- and educational data about the socio-cultural world of
fornia, Berkeley, for numerous suggestions and corrections on his time, Duan's tattoo entries may reveal something of
an earlier draft of this paper. Duan's own interests and world-view in general. Their
1 Wang Xianqian ~T7; (1842-1917), ed., Xunzi jijie :# place in his larger collection is of interest-why did he
%E (Taibei: Lantai shuju, 1972), 5.32. Cf. Xunzi (Sbby), 5.1 lb. place them where he did, in juan eight, with entries on
2 The dating of the various parts of this text is controversial. dreams and lightning?
Some parts probably date from as late as the fourth century For the sake of organizational convenience, the paper
A.D., and some from as early as around 1000 B.C. treats separately several types, or modes, of tattoo, with
3 Dating from 100 B.C. some inevitable overlapping of types. The specific You-
4 Youyang zazu, ed. Fang Nansheng (Beijing: Zhonghua yang zazu entries that represent each type are presented
shuju, 1981), 8.76-80. As all of the entries appear on these after a brief discussion of that type. Since the pieces do
four pages, and are clearly numbered, I will not footnote them not appear in their original order, I have given the entry
separately in the pages below. number of each for easy reference.
360
REED: Tattoo In Early China 361
The types of tattoo that are most often mentioned in and marvelous; an aberration, perhaps, but a lovely one,
early Chinese sources are: tattoo as one defining charac- often skillfully done and worthy of attention, and even
teristic of a people different from the majority popula- of admiration.
tion, tattoo as punishment, tattoo of slaves, tattoo as
facial adornment, tattoo in the military, and figurative TATTOO AS A DESCRIPTIVE FEATURE OF NON-HAN
and textual tattoo. Although the last two types are not al- "BARBARIAN" TRIBES
ways related, in Youyang zazu they seem to be taken up
together and so they will not be treated separately here. The first kind of reference to tattoo to be discussed
As this study takes a widely cross-temporal view, and is probably the most widely known among sinologists.
since the original texts describe tattoo of many peoples We know from historical records, poetry and other
and places, naturally the terms found used for tattoo sources that many peoples in the areas surrounding the
vary widely as well. There is not great consistency in "central kingdoms" tattooed their bodies. Most of the
terminology; it is not the case, for example, that tattoo records refer to Man 2- or Yi 1 barbarians, broad terms
as punishment is always called by one name and tattoo that refer to various tribes located mostly in the regions
as decoration by another name. Nor is it the case that south of the Yangzi river, such as present-day Guang-
one term is exclusively used in one era and a different zhou, Zhejiang, and northern Vietnam. One commonly
term in a later period. Some of the terms encountered in mentioned group is the Yue I; this is again usually un-
these early texts are qing IS (to brand, tattoo), mo _ (to derstood as a general term for the non-Chinese peoples
ink), ci qing WIJt (to pierce [and make] green), wen south of the Yangzi, extending all the way to Guangdong
shen CT (to pattern the body), diao qing gE (to carve and Vietnam to the south, and to Zhejiang, and Jiangxi to
and [make] green), ju yan ifiR (to injure the counte- the north.5 In some cases the comments made by Chinese
nance), wen mian jt (to pattern the face), li mian H literati about these people indicate a fairly disinter-
?i (to cut the face), hua mian & (to mark the face), lu ested curiosity, and sometimes they are straightforward
shen ,5' (to engrave the body), lu ti ,Jr (same), xiu records of the important details that separated these peo-
mian ,Itj (to embroider [or ornament] the face), ke nie ples from the majority (viz., civilized) people. Sometimes
lJ] 9 (to cut [and] blacken), nie zi i -f (to blacken char- the tattoo is information peripheral to an anecdote or les-
acters), and ci zi 1jl- (to pierce characters). These terms son of some kind. In the first section of Zhuangzi, a text
are sometimes used together, and there are numerous fur-
of the third or fourth century B.C., for example, we read of
ther variations. In general, if the tattooing of characters the futility of a man of Song attempting to sell ceremo-
(f) appears in the term, it refers to punishment, but this nial caps to the short-haired, tattooed men of Yue.6 The
is certainly not true in every case. Likewise, if a term lit- Hanshi waizhuan contains an amusing anecdote about an
erally meaning "to ornament" or "decorate" is used, it emissary sent by the King of Yue to Jing ij.7 A certain
does not necessarily mean that the tattoo was done vol- official of Jing asked to be allowed to receive the Yue
untarily or for decorative purposes.
emissary first, since the Yue were a barbaric people. The
All of the types of tattoo are usually described as
opprobrious; people bearing them are stigmatized as im-
pure, deviant, and uncivilized. There does not ever seem 5For a readable, brief introduction to the various southern
to have been a wide-spread acceptance of tattoo of any tribal groups, see Edward H. Schafer, The Vermilion Bird:
type by the "mainstream" society; this was inevitable, Tang Images of the South (Berkeley and Los Angeles: Univ. of
partly due to the early and long-lasting association of California Press, 1967), 9-17, 48-78. Also see Heather Peters,
body marking with peoples perceived as barbaric, or with "Tattooed Faces and Stilt Houses: Who were the Ancient Yue?"
punishment and the inevitably subsequent ostracism from Sino-Platonic Papers 17 (April, 1990).
the society of law-abiding people. Another reason, of 6 Zhuangzi (Sbck), 1.14b. The Huainanzi tffi-i, a collec-
course, is the belief that the body of a filial person is meant tion of essays dating from before 139 B.C., is another early text
to be maintained as it was given to him by his parents. that attests to the tattooing of the body with images of scaly
The exception to this negative textual assessment lies creatures, practiced by the southern barbarians of Yue. See
in the collection of informal narratives of Duan Chengshi, Huainan honglie jijie Aft iN;_!! ,: , ed. Liu Wendian (Taibei:
a collector of curious information who usually simply Wenshi zhe chubanshe, 1992), 1.19.
observes and records, who occasionally allows himself 7 In the Zhou period, Jing was the area later to be referred to
openly to reveal his sense of wonder. Tattoo does not as Chu Q. This was the largest of states in the Warring States
give rise to revulsion in this unusual man; like much of period, comprising parts of modern-day Sichuan, Hubei, Hunan,
what he observed and recorded he finds it fascinating Jiangxi, Anhui, Shaanxi, and Jiangsu provinces.
362 Journal of the American Oriental Society 120.3 (2000)
Jing official instructed the Yue envoy that he would have In Yang Xiong's ?t (53 B.C.-18 A.D.) "Yulie fu" Aj
to wear a hat if he wanted to have a proper audience with tIM (Plume Hunt Rhapsody) the emperor orders swim-
the king of a civilized land. The Yue envoy countered mers from the tattooed peoples to catch water creatures
that the Yue people had originally been compelled to for him.'2 It is not clear how the tattoo protected these
settle in a riverine environment, and presently associated swimmers; perhaps it functioned as a simple charm, but
not with great and civilized people, but with various also possible is that the tattoo rendered the swimmer in-
water creatures. He continued that the Yue people only distinguishable (and thus safe) from certain dangerous
settled there after tattooing their bodies and cutting off water creatures, as the function of a kind of sympathetic
their hair (presumably as apotropaic aids to living in this magic. The Wei zhi H, compiled before 297, states
dangerous environment). "Now I have come to your es- that all of the men among the people of Wo {t (present-
teemed country and you insist on saying that I will gain day Japan) tattoo their faces and bodies. According to the
audience only if I wear a hat. Since it is like this, how text, this was originally done for the purpose of warding
would it be if, when your noble country send an emissary off harm in the water, but now is also decorative.'3
to Yue, he for his part will have to cut off his nose, be More than seven thousand li to the northeast of the
branded, tattoo his body, and cut off his hair before being nation of Wo lies Wenshen guo iZ 1 S (the Land of Tat-
granted audience?" The King of Jing came out and, in tooed Peoples), according to the Nan shi I3J. The
full court regalia, granted audience to this intelligent and bodies of the inhabitants are tattooed like animal
witty Yue envoy.8 The Tang commentator Kong Yingda skins.14 In the Sui shu 7ril we read that the women of
[fLii (574-648) notes that the Yue people have a cus- Liujiu guo V^t?H similarly tattoo their hands with ink,
tom of cutting their hair and tattooing their bodies as an in designs of insects and snakes, while the men remove
apotropaic device, to ward off jiao 4' dragons.9 To do all of their body hair.15 The Xin Tang shu lists a number
this they cut their flesh and darken it by rubbing red and of peoples who practice tattoo-among them are three
green pigment into it.10 There is mention of this practice tribes of the southern Man barbarians: the Xiujiao x-I-
in some of the works contained in the great sixth-century ("embroidered feet"), who tattoo patterns from the ankle
literary anthology, Wen xuan j. , as well. Zuo Si E ,' to the calf, the Xiumian ,fi ("embroidered face"), who
(ca. 250-ca. 305 A.D.), for example, writes admiringly of tattoo their faces black, and the Diaoti Sti ("carved
tattooed peoples in his "Wu du fu" JVA:- (Wu Capital forehead"),'6 who tattoo both face and body. Elsewhere
Rhapsody) thus:
Warriors with tattooed foreheads

12 Wen xuan, 8.134.
Soldiers with stippled bodies 13 Chen Shou A (233-97), Sanguo zhi [], (Beijing:
Are as gorgeously adorned as the curly dragon Zhonghua shuju, 1959), 30.854-56. For a translation of this
And are a match for the kog and the tya." Wei zhi passage, see Robert van Gulik, Irezumi: The Pattern of
Dermatography in Japan (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1982), 247. For a
concise study of the history of tattoo in Japan, see lizawa
8 Han Ying r (Han dynasty), Han shi waizhuan rw1- Tadasu's essay, Genshoku Nihon irezumi taikan Ti ElH *;i Fq
fX (Xuejin taoyuan), 8.1a. )5, ed. Iizawa Tadasu and Fukudo Katshuiga (Tokyo: Haga
9 On the jiao dragon, see M. W. de Visser, The Dragon in shoten, 1973), 155-71, which also mentions (p. 159) the Wei
China and Japan (Amsterdam: Royal Academy of Sciences, zhi passage. Also see Eiichiro Ishida, Japanese Culture: A
1913). Also see Schafer, Vermilion Bird, 217-21. Study of Origins and Characteristics (Honolulu: Univ. of
10 Liji zhengyi 12.16b. Pei Yin's ,W (fl. 450) note to a Shiji Hawaii Press, 1974), 43. See Donald Richie and Ian Buruma,
passage reiterates this information; Shiji 4.115. Also see Liu The Japanese Tattoo (New York: Weatherhill, 1980), for a con-
Xiang WI [nfi (77-6 B.C.), Shuo yuan ~3 (Sbby), 11.5b. Also see cise treatment in English of the Japanese tattooing tradition.
Fan Ye g7 (398-445), Hou Han shu i* (Zhonghua shuju, 14 Li Yanshou 7i_ (fl. 629), Nan shi (Beijing: Zhonghua,
1965), 76.2861. 1975), 79.1975.
11 Xiao Tong , (501-31), comp. Wen xuan (Taibei: 15 Wei Zheng VVA (580-643) et al., compilers, Sui shu
Zhongwen, 1971), 5.75. Translation is from David R. Knecht- (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1973), 81.1824.
ges, Wen xuan, or Selections of Refined Literature, vol. 1 (Prince- 16 The Diaoti appeared in the "Wudu fu" passage above. The
ton: Princeton Univ. Press, 1982), 419. It must be remembered Diaoti people (or perhaps the practice of tattooing the forehead)
that however admiring this is, the praise is of the type given to are also mentioned in the Chuci VP poem "Zhao hun" t:5.
animals and fantastic creatures, not to people. The speaker in that passage wonders why the soul would want
in the same text we read of the Kirghiz, whose men

ing these notes as amusement. In the original order, this
tattoo the hands as a mark of valor, and whose women
entry is the final entry of the tattoo section.
tattoo the nape of the neck as a sign of marital status.17
Wang Bao tIE (1st c. B.c.) writes that there are Entry 290
countries whose people braid their hair, scar their faces, The craftsmanship of men of Shu j19 is such that their
blacken their teeth, and whose eyes are set deep, like the tattoos are as clear as paintings. Some say that if one
eyes of houlets. There are those that cut their hair, tattoo uses eyeblack, the color will be freshest; but I asked the
their heads, and go about with naked, tattooed bodies; slaves and they said you simply have to use good ink.
all of these peoples "hasten to make tribute offerings to Entry 295
the Chinese empire, and take joy in returning allegiance
The Yue people are accustomed to being in the water.
to China."'8 The specific customs described by the Chi-
They always tattoo their bodies to avoid trouble from
nese in these texts vary, but in most cases the purpose of
jiao dragons. Now, in the south the practice of tattooing
recording the passages seems to be, as in this one, to
the faces of men and boys is probably a practice inher-
highlight the separateness of the peoples who practice tat- ited from the Diaoti tribe.20
too. This impression of otherness is heightened by the
mention, besides tattoo, of activities such as eating with Entry 299
the hands, going about naked, wearing rings in the nose, Also, according to the Han shu,21 Wa.g Wu E:,% and
and so on; from the point of view of a civilized Chinese, others were sent as envoys to pay a visit to the Xiongnu.
these are habits hardly distinguishable from those of an- According to the customs of the Xiongnu, if the Han en-
imals. Tattoo is in fact the epitome of uncivilized prac- voys did not remove their tallies of authority, and if they
tice, since it patterns the human body like the skin of an did not allow their faces to be tattooed, they could not
animal or water creature. gain entrance into the yurts. Wang Wu and his company
Among Duan Chengshi's entries on tattoo, there are removed their tallies, submitted to tattoo, and thus
only four that focus on tattoo as a practice of non-Han gained entry. The Shanyu looked upon them very highly.
peoples, but, like the other types that he takes up, their
Entry 303
inclusion is crucial to his overall contribution, as I shall
The Tianbao shilu 3JSiA22 says that the Jiu )I moun-
discuss later. In these pieces Duan Chengshi does not
tains in Rinan E5 l country23 are a connected range of
offer much new information; most of his sources are
who knows how many li. The Luo (lit., naked) people
former records. In entry 290 he does mention his per-
live there. They are descendants of the Bo people.24 They
sonal interest in the contemporary practice of tattoo by
residents of the south, and his remarks indicate that the
slaves to whom he talks might have come from among
19 Modern-day Sichuan.
non-Han peoples who practice tattoo. Except in entry
303 Duan refrains, however, from making any com-
20 See also Taiping guangji ;K*X, ed. Li Fang et al.
(Shanghai: Guji chubanshe, 1991), 482.527.
ments that reveal his own opinion; in each of these four
21 Ban Gu O1 (32-92), Han shu AS (Beijing: Zhonghua
pieces he simply records a few brief lines of rather dry
information, the likes of which will sound familiar to shuju, 1962), 94A.3772.
22 According to Xin Tang shu, 58.1472, there was a book
readers of the passages I have mentioned above. At the
end of entry 303 Duan does mention his belief, revealed called Xuanzong shilu t , and in Tuo Tuo RR, (1313-
55) et al., Song shi *5 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1977),
elsewhere in Youyang zazu as well, that ignorance
about tattoo, as about anything, is a most shameful 203.5088, there is a notice of a book called Tang Xuanzong
shilu, both in 100 juan. This Tianbao shilu could be a record
thing. Though he intimates that he is an educator, he
no longer extant of the Tianbao period (742-56) of Xuan-
then provides a disclaimer, saying that he is just record-
zong's entire reign (reg. 712-56).
23 The Tang country of Rinan was in the northern part of
to go to an inauspicious place where blackening the teeth, tattoo- present-day Vietnam.
ing the forehead, and human sacrifice are practiced. See Chuci 24 The Baimin, or Bomin (EX.) were a legendary people
buzhu ttri , 9.328. See also Taiping yulan -T W, ed. Li mentioned in texts such as the Shanhai jing and the Bowuzhi.
Fang et al. (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1992), 790.3501. They had "white" (transparent) bodies and disheveled hair. See,
17 Xin Tang shu, 217B.6147. Also see Xin Tang shu, for example, Shanhai jing 7.42a. Imamura Yoshio takes this,
222C.6328 for description of other tattooing practices. however, to mean pingmin 5t (also pingding - T or botu b
18 Wen xuan, 51.710. f), terms used to denote untrained soldiers.
tattoo their chests with a design of flowers. There is The effectiveness of tattoo and of other physically
something like purple-colored powder that they paint defiling punishments derived from the shame that a
below their eyes. They remove their front two teeth and criminal felt upon re-entering society, having had a part
think of it all as beautiful decoration. I am of the opinion of his or her body mutilated or even removed, and thus
that if a gentleman does not understand something he being permanently marked as a criminal. From early
should be ashamed. Tao Zhenbai 1 [ 25 always said it times until recently, there has been a strong stigma at-
was deeply shameful not to know even one thing. How tached to failing to preserve whole one's physical body;
much more so when punishments of the "inking" sort, he is seen to have failed in one of the most important
such as the time that it was established by physiognomy filial duties, and has brought shame on his family,
that Qing Bu Ifj26 would become king, or that on the past, present, and future. In the beginning of the Xiao
licentious a red flower will always be marked,27 are jing :,i, Confucius tells his disciple Zengzi --f that
plain to see in classical documents. I have in my idle filial piety is the thing most necessary for civilized
hours recorded what I remember, to send to friends of society, and that the basis of filial piety lies in avoiding
like mind. It will amuse them and serve to unfurrow injury to the skin, hair, and body that is received from
their brows. one's parents.29 This kind of weighty injunction rendered
particularly fearful punishments such as the marking of
TATTOO AS PUNISHMENT FOR CRIMES the skin by tattoo or branding.30
There are several passages in the Shang shu that men-
For most of recorded history tattoo was considered a tion tattoo as one of the ancient physical punishments
highly effective means of punishment in China. Al- for crime.31 In the section known as the "Tang shi" AV
though we do not have verifiable information about the (The Oath of Tang),32 Yi Yin #ft states to Tang M, the
earliest times, we can infer from texts written in the founder of the Shang dynasty, that there are nobles, high
Zhou J) (ca. 1100-256 B.c.) and the Han 1 (206 B.C.- officials, and even princes who engage in activities such
220 A.D.) that the tattooing or branding of criminals as drunken dancing and singing; they suffer from addic-
was probably as widely used in ancient times as it was tion to wealth, women, and hunting; they do not heed
in dynasties possessing relatively reliable historical the words of the sagely ancients and are not filial. Min-
records.28 isters who do not remonstrate with this type of ruler,
trying to change his behavior, should all be punished by
25 This refers to Tao Hongjing % 'I3 (456-536) of the branding or tattoo.33
The mention of the possibility of fining or of sym-
Liang.
26 This refers to Ying Bu ~/T (?-196 B.C.). As a youth he bolic punishments to take the place of tattooing and the
was told by a physiognomist that, once punished, he would other corporal punishments makes it clear that there was
eventually become king. He was in fact later punished and

indeed a penal practice in ancient China of cutting off or
marked with tattoo, whereupon he fled to the hills to become a
bandit. During the chaos at the end of the Qin, he was able to
rise to power and eventually, in the Han, was "rehabilitated" penal use of tattoo (as well as a brief treatment of the ety-
and became king of Huainan. See his biography in Shiji, mologies of certain other terms meaning "brand" or "tattoo")
91.2597-2608. in a study of the inscription on a ninth-century bronze vessel,
27 ':~,T.~I'. This section is not clear, and I am not sure see Sheng Zhang 1, "Qishan xinchu Ying yi ruogan wenti
how to translate it. tansuo," Wenwu ~it 1976.6: 40-42.
28 It has been speculated that the character often used for 29 Xiao jing zhushu Mi]:, ,t (Shisanjing zhushu) (rpt.,
tattoo (jt wen) in fact originally was a representation of a Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1979), 1.2545.
person with a tattooed chest, and the other meanings of this 30 For a good, brief discussion of this, see Anders Hansson,
character were derived from this original meaning. See van Chinese Outcasts (Leiden: Brill, 1996), 22.
Gulik, Irezumi, 5. Also see Jiaguwen bian PftlZ,l (Beijing: 31 Several examples are to be found in Shang shu zhengyi P
Zhongguo kexueyuan, 1965), 372-73. This is refuted by -IEA- (Shisanjing zhushu), 3.130, in the "Shun dian," and in
Mizukami Shizuo 7J_L in Kokotsu kinbun jiten X, 4.139 in the "Gaoya mo."
IA, (Tokyo: Yuzankaku shuppan, 1995), 590; he says that i: 32 The dating for this text is not clear, but it was written
(wen) was originally a representation of a pattern or decora- sometime during the Zhou dynasty.
tion on a person's clothing. For a discussion of the ancient 33 Shang shu zhushu i jt ai (Sbby), 8.9a.
into various parts of the body.34 The Shang shu gives Han would attempt to minimize the importance attached
details about what kinds of fines to use if in doubt about to the use of mutilating punishments and to emphasize
a crime. Since crimes deserving of tattoo are the "low- the regular use of symbolic punishments in their stead.
est," the fine substituting for it is the cheapest: six- Suffice it to say that in the "Treatises on Punishment"
hundred ounces (lit., one hundred huan ,.) of copper.35 (JlJl i ) and in other places in the dynastic histories
If the person deciding a case is not certain whether the from the Han dynasty onward there is confident mention
criminal's behavior warrants his feet or testicles being of tattoo in "ancient times." For example, the Han shu
sliced off, he should fine the person three thousand "Treatise on Punishment" says that there were five hun-
ounces instead. The crimes that are usually punished by dred crimes punishable by tattoo in the Zhou period.
tattoo but that may, in doubtful circumstances, be sub- The text then states that tattooed criminals were sent to
stituted by the payment of money number one thousand, guard the city gates, those who had lost their noses were
compared with five hundred crimes usually punishable sent to guard the passes, and so on; the severity of the
by cutting off the feet, and two hundred crimes usually punishment was apparently in direct proportion to the
deserving of the death penalty.36 This passage demon- distance from the center of "civilized life."38 Although
strates the large numbers of crimes that were ordinarily theoretically tattoo was abolished along with the other
punishable by tattoo, and also indicates a potential for mutilating punishments by Emperor Wen IVf (reg.
leniency if a criminal were both wealthy and able to 179-155 B.c.) in 167 B.c., tattoo was apparently contin-
establish doubt as to his guilt. ued as a punishment during the Han39 and the period
In Shangshu dazhuan -t- we read of another of disunion following the Han. There is no mention of
practice, that of substituting a cloth head-covering for tattoo in the Tang penal code, though examples of the
tattoo and the other physical punishments. The text says actual continuation of the practice are to be found in the
that the "symbolic punishment under Yao and Shun" in- histories.40 It was reinstated as a legal form of punish-
volved having criminals who committed various types ment later, and there are many references to it in the
of crimes wear an ochre-dyed cloth with no borders, Song, Yuan, and Qing dynasties. Tattoo was often com-
hemp sandals, or a black cloth. The criminals should bined with exile, ensuring that the defiled persons be
then be made to go live in their hometowns and suffer removed as far as possible from law-abiding, civilized
the shame of being looked down upon by the people.37 people. For example, the "Punishment treatise" of the
There does not seem to be any way to prove that tat- Song shi >5 states that there are two hundred crimes
too and other corporal punishments were widely used in punishable by tattoo and banishment. Among these, in
remotest antiquity. The extant texts themselves are often the case of relatively minor offenses, it was possible to
difficult to date, and the customs that they describe are modify the punishment to a lighter sentence involving
often difficult if not impossible to ascribe to any one only penal servitude or banishment, but without tattoo.
particular people or time. Even if they were utilized However, if the criminal were to commit another crime,
widely, the desire to create an impression of a "Golden he was immediately tattooed and enlisted in the mili-
Age" makes it likely that writers in the late Zhou and tary.41 A specific description of one type of punishment
is given in the same text. We read that a ring should be
tattooed |IJt (ci huan) behind the ear in all cases where
34 For further information on corporal punishment and penal a person is convicted of robbery or banditry. If it is a
tattoo, in particular, see Derk Bodde and Clarence Morris, Law case where penal servitude or banishment is also in
in Imperial China: Exemplified by 190 Ch'ing Dynasty Cases order, the tattoo should be square. If it is a case where
(Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Univ. Press, 1967), 76, 96-97.
35 Following Legge on using "copper." See James Legge, The
Chinese Classics, vol. 3 (London: Oxford Univ. Press, 1865), 38 Han shu, 23.1091-92.
604-6.
39 For example, see Han shu, 23.1097.
36 See Shangshu zhushu 19.15a; Shangshu zhengyi 19.249. 40 Empress Wu Zetian's A-[lJ~ (reg. 684-705) tattooing of
This passage is from the "Lu xing" fIlJ (Punishments of Lu), the female official Shangguan Wan'er L' .,q (664-710) is
a text that probably dates from the beginning of the Spring and an example of the actual continuation of the practice of tattoo-
Autumn period (722-481 B.c.). ing as a form of punishment. See Liu Xu IJej (887-946),
37 See Shang shu dazhuan, attrib. Fu Sheng (2nd-c. B.C.) comp., Jiu Tang shu 'J, 51.2175, and Xin Tang shu,
(Sbck), 1B.8a-b; also Xunzi jijie, 12.9, where this passage is 76.3488.
quoted. 41 Song shi, 201.5008.
flogging is also in order, the tattoo should be round. said, "Those who suffered the zhuolu and qing were
After three cases wherein a criminal has been punished referred to by people of their day as 'people of knife
by flogging, the tattoo should then be done on the face. and ink.'"46
In diameter each tattoo should not exceed five-tenths
of an inch.42 Entry 297
One of the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368) legal codes, The Shangshu dazhuan47 says that the "Yu Shun sym-
the Yuan dianzhang ) -h , is a rich source for descrip- bolic punishment" was to make people who had done a
tions of specific tattooing punishments. In the section on crime punishable by tattooing wear a black cloth instead.
illicit sexual relationships we read that, in general, on the In the Baihu tong it says, "'mo' _ is tattooing on the
first offense, the adulterous couple will be separated, but forehead. It is an example of fire defeating metal."48
if they are "caught in the act" a second time, the man
will be tattooed on the face with the words "committed Entry 298
licentious acts two times" (JE4--ii) and banished.43 The Han shu says that instead of the physical punish-
Numerous examples are given to illustrate this type of ment, the person deserving of tattoo is shaved bald and
punishment. shackled, and (if a man), made to do wall-building labor
The Youyang zazu has, again, only four brief entries (chengdan ES ) for four years, or (if a woman), to do
that pertain to tattoo as punishment. In these pieces grain-pounding punishment (chong f;).49
Duan is mainly concerned with terminology and with re-
recording interesting tidbits he had read in earlier works. Entry 301
In entries 296 and 301 he describes actual tattoos; the The Liang Dynasty Miscellaneous Regulations50 says
other two entries are concerned with substitute punish- that for all people who are imprisoned but whose cases
ments. It is significant that there is no mention of current have not yet been decided, the character tj (jie, "rob-
practice or of his personal familiarity with this type of ber, thief") must be tattooed onto their faces.
tattoo.
TATTOO OF SLAVES AND CONCUBINES, AND

Entry 296 TATTOO AS COSMETIC
There were five hundred44 crimes punishable by tattoo

as described in the Zhouguan JW' (i.e., Zhouli). Ac- In most cases in the early texts the passages that de-
cording to Zheng Xuan 91% (127-200), first the face scribe punishments seem to apply to commoners and
was cut, and then ink was used to stop up the wound. slaves alike. There are a few special types of tattoo that
The person with tattoos made thus by putting ink in naturally only pertain to slaves, such as the forehead brand
wounds was made to guard the gates. According to the identifying a person as someone who had attempted
(Shangshu apocryphon) Shangshu xing te fang ALf:Jl escape, or the facial brand of ownership. In addition there
f,lT,45 the so-called "zhuolu" 9It was a punishment are some records that describe the tattooing of slaves or
wherein the person's forehead was drilled into. The pun-
ishment called "qing" , involved the use of a horse-
branding iron to engrave people's faces. Zheng Xuan 46 See also Taiping yulan, 648.2898.
47 Shangshu dazhuan, 1B.8a-b. For this quotation, see also
Taiping yulan, 648.2898.
42 Song shi, 201.5020. For specific descriptions of tattooing 48 Following Taiping yulan, which has tA, instead of the
and exiling, see 30.561, 30.576, 33.630, 33.635, 33.742, 34.641, Youyang zazu texts which have XH. This line is difficult to
63.1382, 181.4415, and 201.5016-18. understand. It is possible that the dominance of the fire "ele-
43 Da Yuan sheng zheng chao dianzhang AjtPr.~__, ment" in the Han is credited with a greater use of tattooing over
Song fen shi congkan -Mt:+flJ (1917), 45.16b. other cutting punishments, favored in other times.
44 Following the "Maoben" (Mao Jin's : [1599-1659] 49 This refers to Emperor Wen's abolition of the corporal
edition of Youyang zazu [found in the Xuejin taoyuan and Jin- punishments of tattoo and slicing off the nose and feet. See Han
dai mishu Mj::, collectanea]), rather than the "Zhaoben" shu 23.1099.
(Zhao Qimei's khdS [1563-1624] edition, found in Sbck), 50 Liang chao zalu ?R]-. Sui shu, 25.697-98 describes a
which has "three hundred." The Zhouli has "five hundred" as work called the Liang liiu , in twenty sections. Perhaps this
well. See Zhouli zhushu (Shisanjing zhushu), 36.242. is the same work. Sui shu, 25.699 says that the character M) is
45 Following Taiping yulan in reading fang ] instead of kao tattooed on the face in cases of serious crime. Also see Tai-
5. This book is one of the apocryphal texts, and is not extant. ping yulan, 648.2898.
concubines because of jealousy. One particularly instruc- one's descendants. The usual stigma of a tattoo mark on
tive case shows to what extent a jealous wife will go to the face is not mentioned in either of these cases.
ensure that her husband does not notice other women. In
Entry 286
the Wei zhi ?,, Pei Songzhi's ,t25* (fl. 424) note to a My cousin52 Jang, during the Zhenyuan period (785-
passage in the biography of Yuan Shao ,. (fl. 168- 805) once stopped at Huang keng *il.53 There was one
80) tells us that after Shao died, his wife had all five of among his entourage who was collecting bits and pieces
his concubines killed. Since she believed that the dead
of skull bones to use as medicine. On one of the pieces
have consciousness, she then had their hair cut off and appeared the three characters ki: ("escaped slave").
their faces branded, to destroy their appearance in the The marks were like light ink traces. It was then that they
afterlife, and to cause Shao not to wish to see them.5' realized that tattoo penetrates all the way to the bone. In
We see more of the tattooing of slaves or servants in four the night that man in my cousin's group had a dream of
entries of the Youyang zazu. Entry 288 is reminiscent of a person whose face was hidden and who wanted the
the passage just described; again, the jealousy and pet- bones that had been collected. He said: "My shame is
tiness of a primary wife is the focus, but Duan dwells great. If you, honored sir, would bury them deep in the
on the gory details of the tattooing to create a vivid im- ground, I will bring you good fortune." That man awoke
age of the procedure. It is one of the rare passages in in alarm; his hair was standing on end. He went immedi-
early Chinese literature that mentions using different ately to rebury the bones, for the sake of the ghost. Later,
colors to produce a tattoo of shades other than the usual whenever something was about to happen, the spirit
dark blue-green or black. Entry 293 attempts to explain would appear to him as if in a dream and tell him what
the provenance of certain contemporary facial adorn- to do. With this help, he amassed great wealth. At his
ment fashions. Entry 300, a brief informational piece, death he had almost one hundred thousand (cash).
describes the exact placement, size, and shape of tat-
Entry 288
toos to do in the case of escaped slaves, but it does not
Fang Rufu's54 (second) wife was of the Cui clan. She
specify to what period of time it refers. In the eerie lit-
was jealous by nature.55 The slave girls around her were
tle anecdote in entry 286, Duan proves that the marks of
not allowed to wear thick makeup or high coiffures.
tattoo penetrate to the very bone. He probably means
Each month she gave each girl one dou of rouge and one
this to be the primary lesson of his anecdote, since he
coin's worth of powder. There was one slave who had
placed the piece under the heading of tattoo, but in it he
just recently been purchased. Her makeup was slightly
also subtly inveighs against treating the remains of the
finer (than the others'). Mrs. Cui angrily said to her:
dead with disrespect, and indicates the good that can
"So, you like makeup, eh? I will make you up!" Then
come from honoring the dead, whatever their status
she had someone slice the girl's eyebrows off, and she
might have been in life. In this short piece Duan illus-
used blue-green ink to fill (the wounds) in. Then she
trates the mutual reliance of the dead and the living,
giving central importance to the tattoo; originally a
mark of shame that ended up benefiting both the dead
52 "Cousin" here is _- (san zong); he was a relation with
man (by allowing him to be buried properly) and the liv-
the same great-grandfather as Duan Chengshi.
ing (by making him rich).
53 I am not clear to what place this refers. In Fujian province,
In the two entries on tattoo as a kind of cosmetic
Longyan county tlA , there is a Huangkeng mountain XiL
technique Duan again aims to explain current customs,
[1. Perhaps this is what is meant. See Imamura Yoshio, Yuyo
but here there is no connection with punishment or
zasso, 2: 91. However, it is possible that this is simply a local
slavery-the tattoo in entry 292 is originally caused
term for a real pit, or a tomb. In this piece, the latter speculation
by a seemingly innocent drunken accident. The second seems to make more sense.
piece constitutes a simple explanation of a contemporary
54 Fang Rufu JX (753-94) was the son of the Prime Min-
custom. It is clear that in some cases people were willing
ister Fang Guan t- (696-763). See Jiu Tang shu, 111.3325.
to overlook the negative connotations that tattoo carried;
55 Ms. Cui, the second wife of Fang (Fang had earlier ha-
this second piece shows that there are people who actu-
rassed his first wife, nee Zheng, to death), was famous for her
ally marked themselves to look as if they were tattooed;
cruel and jealous behavior. Fang's Jiu Tang shu biography men-
although the exact reason for doing this is not clear, it
tions her whipping two servant girls to death out of jealousy,
appears that it might be some sort of attempt to benefit
and having them buried in the snow. Although Fang, as the
Prime Minister's son, had not been inconvenienced by the death
of his first wife, this new scandal caused him to be demoted,
51 Sanguo zhi, 6.203. and to live separately from his wife.
heated an iron bar and burned the skin (starting) at the ferior and the scar didn't disappear. On Lady Deng's left
corners of each eye. The skin scorched and rolled up cheek there was now a red spot that resembled a mole.
wherever she touched. Then she tinted the wounds with When people saw it they found her even more imbued
vermilion. When the scabs came off, the scars left there with fascinating charm. Those of Sun He's consorts who
were just like makeup. wished to gain his favor all marked dots on their cheeks
Entry 293 with cinnabar. Only then would they gain his attention.61
The "flower seed marks" that women use to decorate Entry 294
their faces nowadays originated with the fashion of Among commoners there are sometimes people who
Shangguan Wan'er Ih.f (664-710).56 Prior to the apply to the face a bluish mole that resembles a tattoo.
Dali period (766-80), among the wives of the official There is an old saying that in case a woman died in
class, many of those who were jealous and cruel would childbirth, her face must be marked with ink; otherwise,
tattoo the faces of the slave girls and concubines who it would be unlucky for later generations.
failed, even in small ways, to please them. This is how
there came to be the so-called "moon spot" and the TATTOO IN THE MILITARY AND VOLUNTARY
"money spot" (tattoo). FIGURATIVE OR TEXTUAL TATTOO
Entry 300
A short anecdote by Kong Pingzhong FLFfrP (fl.
The Jin ling (The Jin Orders)57 says, "When a male or
1065) draws our attention to several issues that are of
female slave has escaped for the first time, do a tattoo
interest to this study. It concerns two men, who are work-
with copperas58 like ink. Tattoo the two eyes. Later if he
ing together in the Bureau of Military Affairs in the
or she escapes again, tattoo on the two cheeks. For a
Palace Secretariat. Apparently Wang Boyong Elfl*
third escape, tattoo a horizontal line below the eye. All
"regularly teased his colleague Di Qing k ' about his
of them should be one and a half inches long.59
tattoos. He would say, 'They are finer and brighter than
Entry 292 ever.' Di replied, 'Can it be that you don't like them? I
In makeup fashions of today, high value is placed on was hoping respectfully to present you with a line (or
the facial "mole." For example, there is the mole of a column) of them.' Wang was deeply ashamed."62 The
crescent-moon shape, which is called a "yellow star meaning of the exchange is not absolutely clear but a
mole." The fame of the so-called "mole inlay" derives few things can be learned from it. First, there was at
no doubt from Lady Deng, wife of Sun He of the state of least one official working in the military branch of the
Wu.60 Sun He favored her. Sun He was once dancing Palace Secretariat sporting decorative tattoos; these
drunkenly and with abandon, when he accidentally cut seem to have included lines of poetry, which suggests an
Lady Deng's cheek, drawing blood. Deng was delicate appreciation of literature. The behavior of the tattooed
and weak, and became more and more miserable, so Sun man is such that the man making fun of him is ashamed
He called the palace physician to mix some medicine. of himself. Second, the very fact that his colleague "reg-
The physician said that he should be able to get rid of the ularly made fun" of his tattoos is of interest. Of course
mark if he could procure some bone marrow of white we may guess that Wang personally found Di's body
otter and mix it with powders of jade and amber. Sun He markings unusual, but more likely this little exchange
had to spend one hundred gold pieces to buy the white suggests that although this military official had tattoos,
otter before they were able to mix the ointment. They the practice was not common, and probably was not
added too much amber, however, so the ointment was in- entirely acceptable, in polite society. It is very likely that
a large percentage of tattoos, voluntary or not, after at
least the Han dynasty were in some way connected with
56 For the relevant story about Shangguan Wan'er, the fe-
the military. Tattoo was used to brand men as part of a
male official who was tattooed by Empress Wu Zetian, see
particular regiment, as a means of identification (dead
Duan Gonglu, Beihulu (Baibu congshu), 3.13b-14a.
57 Jin ling E ': a book in forty juan that is not extant. See
Jiu Tang shu, 46.2009. 61 A version of this story also appears in Beihu lu, 3.13b.
58 Copperas is a green hydrated ferrous sulfate. Also see Taiping guangji, 218.425.
59 Also see Taiping yulan, 648.2898. 62 TE,j^ k fflZi;M^( MT k H, ,,, -f< : *
60 Sun He T,fJ (224-53) was the son of Sun Quan ,g ji Kong Pingzhong (fl. 1065), Kong shi tanyuan LAAFi, ,
(d. 252), first ruler of the state of Wu (Wu Dadi ~tk in Wu Shenglan :-V'] (jinshi, 1778), ed. Yihai zuchen UQ
[reg. 222-52]). b3*, vol. 2 (Taibei: Yiwen, 1968), 2.13b.
or alive), to prevent recruits from escaping, and to mark refuge to the soldiers, the escapees were either killed or
prisoners of war.63 Valiant individuals also tattooed were forced to gather in the mountains or marshes and
themselves with oaths, proclaiming their wholehearted become bandits. When this eventually became a major
dedication to a particular nation, or to a certain military social problem, a general amnesty was granted through
or personal cause. imperial proclamation, and the tattooed men returned to
Most of the readily available information on military their home villages. In this way bandits were reduced by
tattoo comes to us from rather late Song and Ming texts, seventy or eighty percent.68
and most of them agree that the practice of military tat- Tattoo was used by soldiers in some armies as a way
tooing was either started or reinstated in the Later Liang to demonstrate devotion to a cause. Usually a brief oath
Dynasty 1iC (907-22). For example, Su Xun ,,*j of several words would be tattooed on the arms, back, or
(1009-66) tells us in his Bing zhi IJ (Military Regu- chest; very likely the purpose was to instill a sense of
lations) that during the Five Dynasties (907-60) period, strength and valor and to prove this valor both to others
Liu Shouguang J]Y, (fl. 911)64 reinstituted the rules of in one's own regiment and to enemies. We read that the
tattooing the face and hands. Thereafter "the entire realm armies of Shu tattooed themselves with the shapes of
took it as a common practice."65 In describing the gen- axes to give themselves renewed courage when they
eral societal breakdown and rise of banditry in his learned that they were going to be attacked,69 and that
own time Sima Guang ,J_1 K (1019-86) tells us that others tattooed characters on their chests, proclaiming
there was a practice of seizing and tattooing of ordinary dedication to the nation.70 Undoubtedly the best-known
citizens, making them slaves of the armies. In his Lei example of a military man bearing a tattooed oath is the
shuo l. he elaborates at length on this practice, partic- famous Song general Yue Fei -fI (1103-41), tragic
ularly as it occurred in Shanxi J fi.66 A passage in the and heroic subject of many plays and stories that center
Song shi tt details how the highways were filled with on his attempts to recapture northern China from the
panic-stricken, terrified common people, who frightened Jurchen barbarians. Shen Defu Ptl,-: even claims that
each other with stories of the armies capturing people the practice of tattooing oaths in the military originated
and tattooing them, in order to make up their quota.67 with Yue Fei,71 though as we have seen this was a prac-
Zeng Cao ^'lt (fl. 1136-1147) names the person tice before Yue Fei's time. Shen cites Yue Fei's tattooed
responsible for allowing this to occur. He says that the oath as a sign of the ultimate in loyalty.72 Yue Fei's
general custom of tattooing soldiers' faces was begun by official biography says that he had a tattoo on his back
the First Emperor of (Later) Liang (Liang Taizu t ;rfi, that read, "Jinzhong baoguo" I,Nt I 1 (serve the na-
reg. 907-14). This is reiterated in a passage found in tion with absolute loyalty.)73 This bit of information was
Sima Guang's Zizhi tongjian iSiiSt,, where we read incorporated into many literary works, one of the most
that in the first year of the First Emperor of Later Liang interesting of which is the chuanqi drama "Rushi guan"
(907) the emperor had all of his soldiers tattooed with 4[n;. It has a vivid description of Yue Fei's mother
their military post and rank, in order to prevent escape crying as she pierces her son's skin using an embroi-
and absenteeism. Sima continues that some of the sol- dery needle and rubs the ink into the fresh wounds.74 A
diers were homesick for their villages and attempted to
escape anyway. Since the villagers did not dare to give
68 Zizhi tongjian, (Sbby), 266.14b-15a.
69 See Lu You li1 (1125-1210), Lao xue'an biji ~fi
B in Biji xiaoshuo daguan Ed^iJS, vol. 3 (Taibei:
63 Iizawa Tadasu suggests that on a battlefield, where bodies Xinxing, 1974), 1.14b.
are sometimes stripped of all belongings, a tattoo is a very 70 For example, see Chen Fu l (1240-1303), An'nanjishi
valuable form of identification. See Genshoku Nihon irezumi shi % lt[JSi F (Skqs 2.32a/b. Also see Bi Yuan i7t (1730-
taikan, 160. 97), Xu Zizhi tongjian A,f ~ (Sbby), 86.9a.
64 He was one of the sons of Liu Ren'gong. Perhaps Su Xun 71 Yehuo bian buyi, 3.2b-3a. Also see 3.4b for more discus-
is confusing the son with the father, since Liu Ren'gong is sion of this practice.
noted elsewhere as responsible for the reinstitution of tattooing. 72 Bizhou xuan shengyu ?-l&f:1flJ (Taibei: Guangwen,
65 Bing zhi (Changsha: Shangwu, 1939), 5.44-47. 1970), 1.43.
66 Sima wengong wenji I l,fjI; (Shanghai: Shangwu, 73 See Song shi, 365.11393 and 380.11708. For another
1937), 5.120-21.
example of the same tattooed oath, see Ming shi, 272.6984.
67 Song shi 193.4806. Also see Shen Defu tt-,: (1578- 74 This chuanqi drama is attributed to the Ming playwright
1642), Yehuo bian buyi ., fil (1869 ed.), 3.4a. This Ming Zhang Dafu Ig;kf (n.d.). See Du Yingtao, ed., Yue Fei gushi
author simply records that Song soldiers had their faces tat- xiqu shuochang ji tff i P t t i- (Shenyang: Chunfeng
tooed to prevent desertion. wenyi, 1981), 246-50, esp. p. 249.
military-oath tattoo such as Yue Fei's carries no nega- character is that "when the emperor was young he was
tive connotation; on the contrary, the man bearing this not fond of amusements, and was serious and taciturn."77
type of tattoo is, at least in the popular imagination, con- Another literary treatment of tattooed heroes is that
sidered positively heroic. found in the sixteenth-century vernacular novel Shuihu
A late nineteenth century text records details for pro- zhuan 7}j(f . There are five tattooed men in the band
cedures that are followed during a coroner's autopsy. In of outlaws that gathers under the leadership of Song
the examination of a dead body, two of the identifying Jiang il at Liangshan Marsh; they are Yan Qing ,A
marks to be looked for are tattooed characters, ci zi $J ~, Lu Zhishen f , Shi Jin Q_l, Zhang Shun ~/IR,
-, and decorative tattoos, diao qing jf. In addi- and Song Jiang himself. Song Jiang's tattoo is a facial
tion, any signs of tattoo removal by moxibustion were to brand; those of the other four, however, are figurative
be recorded.75 The two types of tattoo are noted sepa- tattoos. Shi Jin, for example, is known by all as the
rately; the tattoo as a mark of punishment and that used "Nine-patterned dragon" L,,StB. His father, eager to
as decoration are not considered to be the same. help young Shi Jin in his goal of becoming a great martial
Here we are concerned with the second type of mark arts fighter, not only engages weapons experts, but also
looked for by the coroner in the above passage, that is, hires a tattooist to work on his son. Jin is tattooed on his
the figurative tattoo, which unlike the brand, was often shoulders, arms, chest, and belly with a pattern of nine
done voluntarily. In a vernacular narrative work that dragons.78 Later in the novel, another of the "decorated"
traces the history of the Five Dynasties, Wudai shi ping- heroes, Yan Qing, is obliged to cover his tattooed body
hua ~fi -^?A2s, the portion of the text treating the life with a cassock robe, so that he will not be recognized.79
of Liu Zhiyuan W^n] H (Gaozu, reg. 947-48), founder In another passage a woman named Li Shishi z$igi ,
of the short-lived Later Han dynasty (947-50), is of par- whose support Yan is attempting to garner, indicates a
ticular interest as an example of this kind of tattoo. The desire to see his famous tattoos. "Li Shishi laughed and
pinghua account is historical fiction rather than official said, 'I've heard that Elder Brother's body is covered
history; it portrays the subject of Liu's early life and with beautiful tattoos; how would it be if I asked for a
career as it appeared in popular imagination starting at look at them?' Yan Qing smiled and replied: 'Although
least in the Yuan dynasty. According to the pinghua story, this humble man of lowly form does have some orna-
in his youth, "Liu Zhiyuan went out, and hired a tattoo mental tattoos, in the presence of a lady how could I dare
artist (lit., "needle-brush artisan" -t+E) to tattoo his to remove my clothes and reveal my body?"' Needless to
body. On his left arm he had the man tattoo an immortal say, Lady Li's will prevails: "Yan Qing had no choice but
fairy maiden, and on his right arm he had tattooed a trea- to strip naked. When Li Shishi saw his tattoos, she was
sure-snatching green dragon. On his back was tattooed a greatly pleased. She caressed his body with her slender
"yaksa who laughs at Heaven." This, along with his jade hands."80 The social inappropriateness and, in this
drinking and gambling, infuriated his family and Liu was
kicked out of the house. Eventually Liu is humbled by a
77 Jiu Wudai shi ?T ft__ 99.1321-41. Presumably this
losing streak at gambling, and he sets out to reform him-
statement is meant to counter popular opinion to the contrary.
self. His worth is recognized by Li Jingru -a, a man
78 Shuihu zhuan (Shanghai: Shangwu, 1932), 2.28. Perhaps
skilled in physiognomy, who wants to help Liu to stay out
the tattoo gave him a kind of spiritual strength, which completed
of the army. Mr. Li, however, can only give Liu a job "in
the physical martial arts training received by the youth. For
the back" feeding the horses, because of the unsightliness
another description of Shi Jin's tattoos, see Shuihu zhuan, 2.25.
of his tattoos. Supernatural occurrences eventually con-
79 Ibid., 74.90.
vince Li of Liu's special qualities, so in spite of the lat-
80 Ibid., 81.7. It has been suggested elsewhere that the pop-
ter's tattoos, he marries his daughter to Liu. This sets Liu
ularity of and fascination for figurative tattoo amongst certain
Zhiyuan on the road to social rehabilitation and to his
social groups in Japan is a cultural phenomenon that has pre-
eventual seat on the dragon throne.76 Liu Zhiyuan's offi-
vailed since the seventeenth or eighteenth century, as a direct
cial biography makes no mention of any of this, and in
result of the popularity of this novel in Japan. In particular, the
fact, the first thing it points out when discussing Liu's
responsibility lies with the famous woodblock-print artist Hoku-
sai (1760-1849) and his pupils. They to a large extent created
the visual images associated with the novel in Japan, which
75 Huang Liuhong -ij (fl. 1874-79), Fuhui quanshu i were later imported back to China. These artists portrayed as
,>i:: (Baohan lou 1, 1879), 15.8b-9a. tattooed more heroes than those originally described as such
76 Anon. (Yuan), Xinbian Wudai shi pinghua (Shanghai: in the novel; the gorgeous full-color illustrations in Japanese
Shangwu, 1926), 1.4. editions helped to fuel a tattoo craze in Japan. For a fascinating
case at least, the sexual allure of decorative tattoos is "in-group." Bands of tattooed military men, outlaws, and
made abundantly clear.81 street ruffians, then, can be seen to have partly arisen out
Far and away the most comprehensive extant source of the prevailing attitudes and fears about tattoo.
for material on decorative tattoo in early China is the Duan's entries paint a picture of the streets of Jing-
Youyang zazu. The eleven entries that describe figurative zhou, Chang'an82 and other cities that is not seen in such
and textual tattoo are very informative for the scholar detail elsewhere. Duan pricks the reader's imagination
wishing to understand Chinese culture more deeply, par- with these entries; particularly when he mentions cases
ticularly that of the Tang period. Duan Chengshi's text re- like the man in entry 284, who holds a respectable posi-
veals a world in which many kinds of people, of various tion, but under whose concealing robes lies a full-body
social ranks, are tattooed with pictures or with literary tattoo of an undulating snake. The reader cannot help but
texts, or both. Many of the descriptions are of people who wonder if there were others like him, or if he was an
lived during Duan's own time, and some are of people anomaly. In his description of figurative tattoos Duan
with whom he was personally acquainted and whose tat- tells us that tattoo was sometimes known to endow the
toos he examined himself. wearer with supernatural strength. The tattoo might be
Although tattooed members of the official class are of a god who was believed to bestow his power on the
represented, many of the subjects of Duan's entries are person who bore his image; in other cases, the tattoo
rather unsavory types, and are described as riff-raff and might be considered an effective apotropaic device.
bandits. Duan describes the official reaction to these Perhaps one of the most interesting types of tattoo is
people as extremely negative. Their tattoos rendered described in entry 282. There, the entire body of a street
them even more abhorrent to the authorities than their policeman is tattooed with thirty-plus poems of Bai Juyi
nefarious activities alone would have. Duan also tells of R O (772-846). This is not the only example of the
tattooed military men or of those who had been tattooed written language used as tattoo, but it is certainly the
during their enlistment when young. Clearly soldiers most unusual one, since no other example describes lit-
were not only tattooed as a measure against escape and erary texts permanently inscribed on the body.
as a brand of ownership; they were often decoratively In a few entries Duan describes the fine quality of the
tattooed of their own volition as well. It is important to tattoos that he saw. We do not know the exact technique
note the connection between the tattoos used in the by which some of the large and complex figurative
military for identification and punishment and those used tattoos were created, but in entry 291 Duan describes a
for decoration. Probably tattoo was, of all Chinese social simple stamping technique by which a small tattoo could
groups, most acceptable among members of the armies; be had instantly. This entry is truly astounding in its
perhaps in some cases decorative tattoo was employed as implications. The existence of a pattern book from which
a way to cover or hide other types of tattoo. The prob- a client could order standard or specialized tattoos, and
lems associated with bearing a tattoo in ordinary society the capability of producing instant, high-quality tattoos
were numerous, and tattoo could well lead to ostracism; by means of a needle-studded stamp, indicates a large
this was, indeed, one of the primary reasons that it was an demand for tattoos in some regions. We may speculate
effective punishment. People thus shut out from proper that the clients served by these tattoo artists were pri-
society might naturally seek to associate with others marily local bullies, travelers, soldiers, and so on, but
like themselves, to create a new kind of fraternity or there is a possibility that among the general population
there was also some interest in this kind of fast, relatively
discussion of the influence of Shuihu zhuan on tattoo culture painless body marking.
in Japan, see Robert van Gulik, Irezumi: The Pattern of Der-
matography in Japan, 44-52. Also see Genshoku Nihon ire-
zumi taikan, 162. The Ming dynasty bibliophile Hu Yinglin Entry 279
also mentions the tattooed heroes of Shuihu zhuan, saying In the shopping streets of the capital (Chang'an) most of
"while the work is not reliable history, at least it can prove that the young toughs are shaved bald and have their skin tat-
at the time the custom was practiced." See Hu Yinglin 1iffi, tooed with the shapes of all kinds of things. They pre-
Shaoshi shanfang bicong J' : ll ] t, 20.7a. sume on their position in the various armies to beat
81 For more examples of literary descriptions of hulking, others and steal by force. There are those who gather
brave tattooed men or tattooed scofflaws, see Meng Yuanlao
3antf (fl. 1126-47), Dongjing menghua lu ~E, c,
(Xuejin taoyuan), 7.12a. Also see Shi Hui g, (Yuan), Yougui 82 Note particularly that Duan does not only describe figu-
ji ~rAE (Xiyong xuan congshu), 1.23a; and Anon. (Yuan), rative tattoo in southern localities. The capital cities of the
Xuanhe yishi 5 {fL (Sbby), A.22b. north had their own tattoo culture, we learn.
like snakes in wineshops83 or beat people with the clav- Entry 280
icles of sheep. The present Metropolitan Administrator, Li Yijian 1AN (756-822)88 was in Shu at the end of
Lord Xue Yuanshang i'5Cit (fl. 827-46), after the Yuanhe period (806-21). A Shu city (Chengdu)
three days in office,84 ordered the ward chiefs secretly to resident named Zhao Gao Mi was always getting
apprehend these (ruffians); approximately thirty men into fights and was often in prison. His entire back was
were beaten to death, and their corpses were exposed in tattooed with the Heavenly King Vaisravana. Whenever
the marketplace. All of the city residents who had tat- the constables were about to have him flogged they
toos destroyed their tattoos with moxibustion. At the would stop short when they saw the tattoo. Relying on
time a strongman of Daning ward, Zhang Han by name, this, he gradually came to be a major problem for the
had tattooed his left arm with the words, "Alive, I do not ward market. His assistants reported this to Li Yijian,
fear the metropolitan administrator," and on his right and Li became furious. He seized the tattooed man and
arm he tattooed, "Dead, I do not hold in awe King took him in front of the court. He got a newly-made stiff
Yama." Also there was a man called Wang Linu, who club, three inches wide at the head, and violently or-
had hired a tattoo artist for five thousand cash. On his dered the caner to beat the Vaisravana tattoo, and stop
chest and belly appeared mountains, pavilions, parks, only when it was completely gone. He applied more
ponds, and kiosks, grass and trees, and birds and ani- than thirty strokes, but the man still did not die.89 Af-
mals. There was nothing that wasn't included. The tat- ter ten days, Zhao Gao went from door to door, with
too was so fine that it was as if it had been painted on his upper garment removed, howling and begging for
with repeated fine washes of color. Lord Xue Yuanshang meritorious offerings to repair the tattoo.90
had both of these men beaten to death.
There was also the bandit Zhao Wujian who was Entry 281
marked with one hundred and sixty overlapping impres- The Lesser Commander91 of Shu, Wei Shaoqing '/'
sions of wheeling magpies and other birds. On his left BP was Wei Biaowei's IT (fl. 821-36)92 paternal
and right arms he had tattooed the poem: (older) cousin. When young, he wasn't fond of studying;
rather, he had a fetish for tattooing. His uncle once had
Wild ducks resting overnight on a sandbank, him remove his clothes so that he could have a look at
Attacked by falcons morning after morning.
the tattoos. On his chest was tattooed a tree, on whose
Suddenly in alarm they fly into the water,
branches were perched several dozen birds. Below the
Their lives spared until this morning.
tree hung a mirror; its central knob was fastened with a
Again, in Gaoling it country85 a man named Song rope, which was being pulled by a person standing off to
Yuansu, whose body was tattooed, was arrested. He was the side. His uncle didn't understand and asked what it
tattooed in seventy-one places. His left arm said: meant. Shaoqing laughed and answered "Hasn't uncle
In days gone by, before my house was poor,
I wouldn't begrudge a thousand gold pieces86 to
fused. So here, "spirit of the gourd" could mean something like
form a close friendship;
"sneering spirit," or "muddled spirit." Also see Taiping guangji,
Now I've lost my way, and I seek those close
263.4.
friends,
88 For Li's biography, see Xin Tang shu, 131.4509-11.
Yet roaming over every pass and mountain, not
89 Following Taiping guangji: TI-E.
a single one appears.
90 Immamura Yoshio suggests that Duan Chengshi was pok-
On his right arm was tattooed a gourd; from out of its ing fun at Zhao here, hinting at the irony in the picture of a man
top emerged a person's head. It looked like a puppet in begging for money to restore the efficacy of a money-making
a string puppet show. A local official didn't understand, tattoo (since Vaisravana is the god of wealth). See Immamura
and asked him what it signified. He explained that it was Yoshio, 2: 84. Duan might just be interested in the perceived
the spirit of the gourd.87 sacred character of the tattoo's image, the restoration of which
might earn contributors the same kind of merit as the restora-
83 Or, "gather in wineshops because of the snakes" (in the tion of a sacred building. Also see Taiping guangji, 264.6.
wine, for example), or, "carrying snakes into wineshops." 91 Xiaojiang 1IJ-. I am not sure how to translate this term.
84 Following the Taiping guangji, which says _^ El. 92 A Tang scholar-official, who, for a time, was a Hanlin
85 In present-day Shaanxi province. academician. Wei Biaowei's son, Wei Shan td (fl. 860), was a
86 Following Taiping guangji: -f- A flTr. friend of Duan Chengshi, and Duan might have heard this
87 MT-. This may be a pun on $fti, which means to laugh information from Shan. For Wei Biaowei's biography, see Xin
or sneer at. Other compounds with 1f] mean muddled, or con- Tang shu, 177.5274-75, and Jiu Tang shu, 189 B.4979.
read the poem of Zhang, Duke of Yan?93 (One line of it) The Heavenly Kings'0l are tattooed on his back. He says
goes: 'Pull the mirror, and in winter crows will come to himself that he is imbued with the power of these spirits
gather.'94 That's all it means."95 when he goes into the contest arena; with the help of the
spirits his strength increases. On the first and fifteenth
Entry 282
days of the month he always prepares milky gruel. He
Ge Qing i, a street patrolman of Jingzhou, was
burns incense and sits with his tattoos exposed, and then
brave and valiant. From his neck on down he was com-
he has his wife and children make offerings to the kings
pletely tattooed with the poems of Secretary Bai Juyi. A
and worship them.
Jingzhou resident, Chen Zhi, and I once summoned him
so that we could have a look. We had him take off his Entry 284
clothes, and he could recite from memory even the Cui Chengchong W7~[K (n.d.) when young was an en-
poems on his back, and could put his hands behind his listed man who was skilled at donkey polo. When shoot-
back to point to exactly where they were tattooed. When ing or avoiding the ball he would wield his mallet so
he came to the line, "Is it not that, of these flowers, I nimbly it was as if he were stuck to it with glue. Later he
only love the crysanthemum,"96 there was a picture of a became the Surveillance Commissioner of Qiannan ,.
person holding a cup of wine, standing near a cluster of M.102 When he was young he had had his entire body
chrysanthemums. Again (with the line), "By the carved- tattooed with the image of a snake. It started from his
out hollows on the yellow dyeing blocks, even in the right hand, with the mouth gaping open between his
winter the trees have leaves,"97 then he pointed to an im- thumb and forefinger. It circled his wrist and went once
age of a tree. On the three were hanging wood blocks around his neck and then locked tightly around his stom-
for dyeing, and the carvings on the blocks were exceed- ach. It stretched out over his thigh, and the tail extended
ingly fine. Altogether there were more than thirty poems to his shin-bone. When facing guests and comrades, he
tattooed on him, and on his body there was not a single would usually cover his hand with his robe, yet when he
bit of intact skin. Chen Zhi called him "A walking illus- became intoxicated with alcohol he would strip down,
tration of Bai Juyi's poems."98 posture with his arm and make a halberd of his hand. He
would grasp hold of the entertainers and would threaten:
Entry 283
"The snake is going to bite you!" The entertainers
Whenever my groom-servant Fr-F,0 Lu Shenting 5t
would immediately scream and act as if they were hurt.
A engages in tests of strength in the army (camps) he is
In this way they would make a game of it.
able to chew dozens of pieces of gravel, can lift a stone
step99 and a basket'l? full of six-hundred catties of stone. Entry 285
During the Baoli period (825-27) a certain commoner
had his arms tattooed. Several dozen people gathered to
93 Zhang, Duke of Yan 'n,, is the famous poet and
official Zhang Yue R (667-731). watch the process. Suddenly appeared a person wearing
a white gown and a brimmed hat. He inclined his head,
94 I cannot find this line in Zhang's poems included in Quan
smiled a faint smile, and then left. Before the man had
Tang shi.
95 See Taiping guangji, 264.6. gone ten steps, the blood flowed from the commoner's
96 This line is a slight misquote of a line from a poem by tattoos like that from a nosebleed, and he felt the pain
penetrate to his bones. In just a short while he had lost
Yuan Zhen T,, a friend of Bai Juyi's. The original reads:
"It is not that, of the flowers, I love only the chrysanthemums." more than a dou of blood.103 The crowd of people sus-
pected that it had something to do with the man who had
See the poem "Chrysanthemum," in Yuan shi Changqing ji n3
looked at him before, and they told the tattooed man's
~Iff (Sbby), 16.1b. Bai Juyi possibly referred to chanting
father to find him for help.104 That person was not will-
Yuan's "Chrysanthemum" poem in his piece entitled "Jinzhong
jiuri dui ju hua yi yuan jiu"; see Bai Xiangshan ji nf-LLI ing to take responsibility, and only after the father had
(Beijing: Wenxue guji kanxing she, 1954), 13.68. made obeisance to him dozens of times did he finally
97 This is a line from Bai Juyi's poem entitled "Fan Tai hu scoop up a pinch of dirt and say something like an
shushi ji wei zhi," Bai Xiangshan ji, 54.66.
98 Also see Taiping guangji, 264.7.
99 I emend ;HE (stone parasol) to ;F (stone step), though 101 They are 4g7 T (Dhrtarastra) * Qt: (Viru-
a stone parasol is not entirely inconceivable. dhaka), , H EIX (Viriipaksa) and ~,URTS (Dhanada, or
100 I am not sure how to translate this difficult passage. Vaisravana).
Here I emend sa a (to drag the feet, sandal) to ji J (book box, 102 Probably Qianzhou in Sichuan.
basket). An alternate rendering is, "he was able to carry a stone 103 Hyperbole for a large quantity, not a literal "gallon."
step and drag six hundred catties of stones behind his feet." 104 Or "try to implore him to stop it."
incantation. (Then he said), "You can put this on it." marketplaces called "San Wangzi" -ziTE who was so
When they did as he said, the bleeding stopped.0?5 strong that he could lift up huge stones. His entire body
Entry 287 was tattooed with pictures; there was not one piece of
unmarked skin on his whole frame. He was sentenced
In the military camp of the Shu general Yin Yan ~1{
there was a soldier who arrived half an hour late for with the death penalty many times, but he always took
shelter with the army and thus managed to escape death.
evening muster. Yan was about to reprimand him. The
soldier was drunk, however, and explained himself in a One day he slipped up, and Yang Yuqing commanded
several of his personal followers109 to capture and arrest
loud voice. Yan became angry and had him beaten
twenty times or so, to the point that he nearly died. The
him. They barred the gates and flogged him to death.
The decision in this case reads: "He tattooed his four
younger brother of the soldier was the camp jailer. He
was friendly and kind by nature, but he considered limbs, and he called himself 'Son of the King' (wangzi).
Yan's actions unfair, so he tattooed the words "Kill What need is there to examine into it (judicially)? It is
Yin" into his skin, and blackened them with ink. Yin a matter of course that he is guilty."110
Yan found out about it and had someone beat him to Entry 291
death on another pretext. Later, when the Southern In Jingzhou, during the Zhenyuan era (785-805) there
barbarians invaded during the Taihe period (827-36), were tattoo vendors in the street. They had imprinting
Yan employed tens of thousands of soldiers to protect stamps into which they would press needles closely
the Qiongxia pass.'06 Now, Yin Yan was stronger than together into the shapes of all kinds of things, such as
anyone else, and he would often joke around with those toads and scorpions, mortars and pestles, or whatever
near him, striking their shins with a knotted jujube staff. people wanted. Once they'd imprinted the skin (with this
As he struck them, their muscles would swell up, but needle stamp), they would brush (the pricked area) with
there would be no outward trace left by the staff. Rely- black lead. After the wound had healed, the tattoo was
ing on their strength, the entire army left the pass and finer than that on the pattern from which the customer
pursued the barbarians for several li. The barbarians had originally ordered. I
then launched a surprise attack from both sides, and Yin
Entry 302
Yan's army suffered a crushing defeat. Yin's horse was
In the Buddhist work Sahghika-vinaya fo*M,112 the
upended, and Yin was killed, having been pierced by
so-called "black scar print" isf1133 is done when a
several dozen spears.
bhiksu practices the rite of the Brahma King. They
Earlier, on the day the army rode out of the pass, the
tear their flesh and, with the bile of peacocks and with
jailer that Yin Yan had previously executed suddenly
copperas and other things, they paint on the cuts made
reappeared, going along at the head of the army. The
in their bodies. They form written characters as well
man was carrying a round yellow board as big as the
as the shapes of birds and beasts. They call it "print
hub of a wheel. Yin Yan had a bad feeling about it, but tattoo" FIV,,i.
when he asked those around him, none of them could
see the spectre. In the end he died on the battlefield.'07
CONCLUSION
Entry 289
When Yang Yuqing tfJIM (jinshi 810) was governor Unfortunately, visual representations of tattoos from
of the capital,108 there was someone who frequented the pre-modern China are not in abundance;14 likewise, as
prevalent as modern Chinese tattoo practices may be,
105 See also Taiping guangji 286.151. they cannot be said to be a direct descendant of ancient
106 The Nanzhao *'-E invasion of Shu lasted five years, Chinese practices. What we lack in pictures, we do have
starting in 829. Duan Chengshi's friend and mentor Li Deyu
took over the reconstruction and repair of the pass in 832. See 109 Following Taiping guangji: ff t t A.
Zizhi tongjian, 244.1679. 110 See also Taiping guangji, 264.6-7.
107 Also see Taiping guangji, 122.674. 111 See also Taiping guangji, 263.5.
108 He took this position in 835 and was demoted only two 112 This is an abbreviation for Mahasanghikavinaya, fifJ1f
months later to the position of Revenue Manager of Qianzhou Ik, translated into Chinese by Faxian ,iH (fl. 399-416) in
tJ''JI, where he died shortly thereafter. See his biography in Jiu forty juan).
Tang shu, 176.4561-63, and Xin Tang shu, 175.5247-49. The 113 Reading k (scar) for ~ (coiled).
reasons for his demotion were apparently unrelated to the inci- 114 I have seen no such paintings or other visual representa-
dent described here. tions; this is not to say that they do not exist, of course.
in texts, though. The sources examined in this paper de- and yet not of, the mainstream social group. Those in
scribe a fairly broad range of uses, but naturally the higher society may have judged the practice negatively,
glimpse they provide into the world of tattoo practice is but many were also fascinated by it. Of course Duan
limited, partly due to the generally negative connotation himself may have been an extreme example of such a
associated with permanent body marking by the class of person, as he was the quintessential fascinated onlooker
literati. However, although these passages from zhiguai, to everything "under the sun." But his anecdotes are re-
novels, unofficial histories, etc., might not all be histor- plete with spectators wanting to see that by which they
ically verifiable, they do at the very least reveal a valu- are partly horrified; Duan was clearly not the only one
able perspective on life in early and medieval China, as who had a desire that the tattooed ones remove their
they indicate the existence of a many-sided culture in robes and reveal the beautiful snake, the permanent
which people of various social classes practiced tattoo, clothing, the second skin, within. He was not the only
for reasons sometimes, but not solely, connected with watcher, or so he convinces us, but he was one of the
punishment or the military. only chroniclers-and we may presume that he hoped
Tattoo in China in some ways seems quite limited, that readers would find the entries on tattoo thought-
compared to the roles that it has taken in other cultures provoking and that his book would thus expand the
around the globe. It was not used in rites of passage into circle of curious onlookers.
adulthood, as a mark of sexual maturity, marital status, At the end of the last entry in the tattoo section of
or as a mark of identification in a special occupation. juan eight, Duan implies that the purpose for recording
Tattoo as punishment, as facial cosmetic, as mark of these entries on tattoo is to educate those who are
bravery, as apotropaic device, and as personal body shamefully ignorant of things that exist in front of their
decoration are, on the other hand, among the uses that very eyes. The entire Youyang zazu, of course, may in a
China's tradition shares with some of these cultures. sense be seen as an eclectic collection of attempts to
The tattoo practice that is not widely known to scholars teach about one thing or another. Each such attempt has
is the figurative body decoration, and it is the type that its own characteristic flavor, created by a complex set of
lends itself most to conjecture. A person's body decora- variables, and each part derives some of its meaning
tion marked him as belonging to one of probably many from its relationship with the elements surrounding it.
subcultures-one of the most obvious being that of So, how is the section on tattoo enriched and given
"street toughs," made up of current or former mili- deeper meaning by its association with the other "ingre-
tary men, prisoners, or slaves. Another group of people dients" in juan eight? However unlikely it may seem at
used tattoo to draw divine protection or power. Why, first sight, there is very likely a connection for Duan
though, did people mark themselves permanently, between the three topics in that juan-tattoo, dreams,
when they lived in a society in which such marking and lightning and thunder-and we may speculate about
was highly stigmatized, and cause for ostracism? Does Duan's understanding of and interest in tattoo by examin-
it indicate a changing attitude toward the physical (and ing their unusual placement together. I believe that he saw
social) body in the Tang, an attitude that continued into tattoo in some sense as a social parallel to something
the Song and Ming (as suggested by the texts of those that is explored on meteorological and psychological
periods that describe tattoo)? Does it indicate a strong planes in the other sections. Juan eight is, in general, a
anti-establishmentarianism on the part of certain peo- record of three types of "boundary crossings": the en-
ple, a willingness and even desire to identify with that trance into the human world of light, sound, wonder, and
which was perceived as barbaric, possibly exotic, and danger from the heavens; the entrance into the waking,
not a part of civilized Chinese society? These are conscious world of events and things from the sleeping
tempting speculations, but we must remember that the unconscious; and the entrance into the realm of civi-
available texts on this subject are few in number and lized, proper folk (both "human" and "conscious," natu-
not copiously supplied with useful historical details. rally) of the markings of the uncivilized or deviant. All
Whatever the motives for body tattoo might have been, of these types of boundary crossings recorded by Duan
most texts do give a good picture of the strong and gen- leave a mark on the world that they touch, in some way
erally negative response to it, and also show that, due to changing it permanently.
this response, and for resulting practical considerations, It is important that Duan included all of the types of
the degree to which people were willing to reveal their tattoo, even though he was clearly most interested in
personal attitudes varied widely. If necessary, robes figurative and textual body marking. Likewise it is cru-
functioned nicely to allow tattooed folk to remain in, cial that the four types of records (tattoo of barbarian
peoples, tattoo as punishment, as mark of slavery or as defines by example the different type of tattoos, and also
personal decoration by Chinese people) are not presented shows that their movement-from the barbaric, low-
in linear, chronological, topical or other specific order. I class, and deviant realms of their origin to the world that
believe that this is not simply careless disorder; it may ordinary gentlemen can see everyday-is ongoing, and
in fact reflect the conviction that flux is inherently com- is as ubiquitous, frightening, inevitable, and marvelous
plex and at least seemingly disorderly. One of Duan's as various weird manifestations of lightning and dreams,
favorite themes throughout his larger collection is this that regularly cross the thresholds of the heavens and
changing nature of life. He delights in showing that unconsciousness into our world. Tattoo for Duan is
change, the crossing of borders between various states thus a fitting "educational topic," worthy of recording
of being, whether physical, social or psychological, does because it is representative of phenomena that require us
not happen in a chronological, predictable fashion, and to ponder, marvel, and re-evaluate, simply because they
in fact is continually happening, always moving in enter our world, exist here, and change it by leaving a
different directions. In his twenty-five entries Duan mark.

Tattoo in Early China

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Tattoo in Early China

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Tattoo in Early China

Author(s): Carrie E. Reed

Warriors with tattooed foreheads

in the same text we read of the Kirghiz, whose men

eventually become king. He was in fact later punished and

TATTOO OF SLAVES AND CONCUBINES, AND

There were five hundred44 crimes punishable by tattoo

"money spot" (tattoo). FIGURATIVE OR TEXTUAL TATTOO

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