What is beauty...?

" The girl is indeed very lovely, but golden lilies are far more important in life than a pretty face. A lovely face is a gift from Heaven, but tiny feet can improve social standing. On this we can all agree. What happens beyond this is really for Father to decide." (21)

The saying goes that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but in this passage, it would not matter because feet are more important. Although it is disturbing how feet, as small as three inches, were viewed as a sign of beauty in China, everyone has their own idea of what beauty is. Now a days, many people think stick skinny is the way to be, while others like to have some meat on them. No matter what is viewed as beauty in life, physical features should have the power to determine a person’s life. People should be in control of their own lives. In most cases, most people did not choose to be born the way they were to grow up and look the way they look. Since it was not their choice and is not in their control (excluding modern technology), physical appearance should not play such an important part in someone’s life.

Sizing up

In earlier times, Chinese marriages were more than just a marriage between two people. It was the union between two families. Families sought out matchmakers to be introduced to an in-law family that best matched in status and wealth. But, the process of choosing a daughter-in-law was much like a shopping trip. She had to be looked at all angles. Being a woman at this time, you would have had to deal with serving and obeying your parents as a child, and then later live up to your in-law’s expectation as a wife and daughter-in-law. The Chinese girls must have felt like slaves being traded between families. Their situation was not as cruel as what the slaves in the United States had to face. But, both group of people had experienced how it felt like to be chosen like mindless pieces of meat.


" Your daughter presents us with a special circumstance, " he said " I saw something in her yesterday, and Madame Wang, who brings additional expertise, agrees. Your daughter's face is long and slender like a rice seed. Her full earlobes tell us she is generous in spirit . But most important are her feet. " (20)



In this passage, Lily undergo the scrutiny of the matchmaker, who points out her better features, that may enhance her worth. It may seem like it’s a positive thing to have the matchmaker discovers her good features, but having the matchmaker observe her at all is not right. This person is controlling what happens to her for the rest of her life. Her fate is decided by who the matchmaker decides to introduce her to, which she determines by her physical outer appearance.