beauty, and he will answer, a broad flat face, small eyes, high
cheek-bones, three or four broad black lines across each cheek, a low
forehead, a large broad chin, a clumsy hook nose, a tawny hide, and
breasts hanging down to the belt. Pallas, who visited the northern
parts of the Chinese empire, says, those women are preferred who have
the Mandschu form; that is to say, a broad face, high cheek-bones, very
broad noses, and enormous ears (57. Quoted by Prichard, Physical
History of Mankind, 3rd ed. vol. iv. 1844, p. 519; Vogt, Lectures on
Man, Eng. translat. p. 129. On the opinion of the Chinese on the
Cingalese, E. Tennent, Ceylon, 1859, vol. ii. p. 107.); and Vogt
remarks that the obliquity of the eye, which is proper to the Chinese
and Japanese, is exaggerated in their pictures for the purpose, as it
seems, of exhibiting its beauty, as contrasted with the eye of the
red-haired barbarians. It is well known, as Huc repeatedly remarks,
that the Chinese of the interior think Europeans hideous, with their
white skins and prominent noses. The nose is far from being too
prominent, according to our ideas, in the natives of Ceylon; yet the
Chinese in the seventh century, accustomed to the flat features of the
Mongol races, were surprised at the prominent noses of the Cingalese;
and Thsang described them as having the beak of a bird, with the body
of a man.
Finlayson, after minutely describing the people of Cochin China, says
that their rounded heads and faces are their chief characteristics;
and, he adds, the roundness of the whole countenance is more striking
in the women, who are reckoned beautiful in proportion as they display
this form of face. The Siamese have small noses with divergent
nostrils, a wide mouth, rather thick lips, a remarkably large face,
with very high and broad cheek-bones. It is, therefore, not wonderful
that beauty, according to our notion, is a stranger to them. Yet they
consider their own females to be much more beautiful than those of
Europe. (58. Prichard, as taken from Crawfurd and Finlayson, Phys.
Hist. of Mankind, vol. iv. pp. 534, 535.)
It is well known that with many Hottentot women the posterior part of
the body projects in a wonderful manner; they are steatopygous; and Sir
Andrew Smith is certain that this peculiarity is greatly admired by the
men. (59. Idem illustrissimus viator dixit mihi praecinctorium vel
tabulam foeminae, quod nobis teterrimum est, quondam permagno aestimari
ab hominibus in hac gente. Nunc res mutata est, et censent talem
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