Lively debate over male roles

Femininity among men was popular during the Wei, Jin and Southern and Northern dynasties (220-581) in China, especially among aristocrats and scholars.

The book A New Account of Tales of the World, compiled and edited by Liu Yiqing (403-444), records anecdotes of well-known good-looking men at that time, who were thin and beautiful and had white complexions. They applied foundation, shaved, and burned fragrant incense to perfume their clothes.

Jia Baoyu, the protagonist in the classic Chinese novel The Dream of the Red Chamber, compiled in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) by Cao Xueqin, is a rebel against masculinity. He not only likes to eat rouge, but also teaches young women how to put on makeup and makes rouge from fragrant flowers for them.