Recognition of Aging-related Changes in the Mirror and Portraits in Ninth-century China: The Poems of Bai Juyi ().

Abstract

The aim of this study is to analyze Bai Juyi's poems that explore the recognition of aging through the depiction of faces in mirrors and portraits. In the 2800 existing works of Bai Juyi (, 772-846), around 70 poems address physical pain and disease. Among them, 7 poems were analyzed that described aging changes through mirrors or portraits. Among the 7 poems, 4 were related to mirrors, and 3 were related to his portraits. Each poem was written between the ages of 36 and 71. Most of the poems (85.7%) described hair. Three poems (42.9%) depicted facial skin and color. At the ages of 36 and 38, the poet first noticed gray hair in the mirror. By the age of 39, he observed an increase in gray hair. Between the ages of 40 and 44, he spotted gray hairs below his ears in the mirror. At 46, while looking at a portrait drawn 10 years earlier, he realized that his youthful appearance had vanished. At 58, viewing a portrait from roughly 20 years prior, he noted that his red face and black hair had disappeared. At 64, looking in the mirror, he wrote that both his beard and the hair below his ears were completely white. At 71, upon seeing his most recent portrait, drawn at the same age, he acknowledged the aging changes in his skin and hair. Advances in plastic surgery can improve the aging face and help maintain a youthful appearance for as long as possible.