The origin and development of faces

The origin of the five senses is closely related to the social background and philosophical theory of ancient society. The confluence of Yin-Yang and Five Elements forms the framework of China's traditional thinking, which is widely used in various fields. In ancient times, because people's understanding of the essence of things came from classical philosophy, they began to explore knowledge from the theoretical system of Yin-Yang and Five Elements.

People often say that a melon is good or bad, raw, ripe, bitter and sweet, just look at its shape and color. The horse is very strong and walks fast and slowly. You can know whether it is a good horse or a good dog by looking at the uniformity, coat color, manner and breath of all its parts.

So do people. People's "destiny" is inseparable from "looks" and "looks". "Appearance" is the appearance, posture and characteristics of things or people; "Color" is the appearance and expression of things or people. This is the fate of people before they are born. There are fatalistic factors, both fatalism and variables. People's fate is influenced by both congenital factors and acquired factors. The development of things is variable, and the face of people changes with the time and space after birth. Therefore, from the perspective of people's physical condition, facial features, etc. We can infer people's "fate" and "good fortune and bad fortune". The earliest face records can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn Period in the 7th century BC. According to relevant documents, facial expressions were popular in the upper class at the latest in the Spring and Autumn Period. At that time, when many nobles chose family heirs, they already regarded faces as the basis of judgment. At this time, physiognomy fortune-telling is obviously not the initial situation, which shows that the physiognomy recorded in Zuo Zhuan is not only widespread, but also forms a certain physiognomy system.

There are many important facial analysis tools and terms, the most important of which are "five senses", "three stops" and "zodiac". In the Zhou Dynasty, there was an official named Shu, who first used these physiognomy principles to tell people fortune and became a "astrologer" in the imperial court. In the Spring and Autumn Period, there was a Gu Buziqing in the State of Jin and a Tang Ju in the State of Liang in the Warring States Period. Both of them were famous astrologers and astrologers. Because they were beneficial to the ruling class and supported and valued by the authorities of past dynasties, a large number of professional astrologers and astrologers appeared among the people later. After the Han Dynasty, some people compiled the techniques and experiences related to physiognomy into books, such as Ma Yi Xiang Fa and Liu Zhuang Xiang Fa. So physiognomy is becoming more and more popular.

Among the traditional physiognomy, the earliest book is Ma Yixiang's Method, and then there are Liu Zhuang's Physiognomy, Shen Xiangtie's Official Road, Shen Xiangquan's Compilation, Water Mirror Collection, Li Xiang Hengzhen, Jin and Man Xiang Xue, Bing Jian, Gong Fa and so on. Now, there are many books about physiognomy.