Liu Wen

I find the differences between Western and Eastern standards of beauty so interesting... I like to show my mom pics of models like Liu Wen, Fei Fei Sun and Ming Xi to see what she thinks. She's always completely baffled that these girls are considered beautiful here--in her opinion, their eyes are too small, faces too angular (yet my chipmunk cheeks don't get her approval either), noses are "just wrong"... And don't even get her started on Soo Joo Park :rolleyes:

I definitely know what you mean, and I find it interesting too. I've found that the Asian actresses considered beautiful in the East don't really make much of an impression on Westerners for the most part. Of course, I'm probably generalizing alot and there are definitely many exceptions to the trend out there. Liu Wen is gorgeous in everything though!
 
I definitely know what you mean, and I find it interesting too. I've found that the Asian actresses considered beautiful in the East don't really make much of an impression on Westerners for the most part. Of course, I'm probably generalizing alot and there are definitely many exceptions to the trend out there. Liu Wen is gorgeous in everything though!

I think a big part of it is that the faces Westerners find beautiful are skewed because of lack of exposure - whoever gets cast in Western movies or movies that make it big in Western theatres catches the interest of the public. The choices are so limited, and most of us are never introduced to Asia's more celebrated beauties.

For example, Zhang Ziyi getting cast as Sayuri in Memoirs of a Geisha? She doesn't even look remotely Japanese, and while not the worst choice, she certainly wasn't the best. But she had just come off of doing House of Flying Daggers and was already recognizable in the West for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Gong Li was similarly far from the best choice because she's just not beautiful enough to play the imperialy gorgeous Hatsumomo, but she was relatively well known to Western audiences at that point so off they went with her (although she surprisingly pulled off the bitchy-haughtiness of Hatsumomo well because she is a good actress). The biggest travesty of that movie though was Michelle Yeoh as Mameha who was supposed to be elegant and beautiful. Michelle Yeoh is not even remotely pretty to my eyes (just mannish looking), but because of her status as a Bond girl and her role in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, again, they picked her over people who would have been way more appropriate.

On the other hand, most people wouldn't know who Lin Chi-ling was, even though she's one of Taiwan's biggest stars and drop-dead gorgeous to boot, because she hasn't been in anything that was well marketed over here.

I really love South Korean cinema, and have a soft spot for Wuxia films (in romantasized historical settings of course!) so I get annoyed by Hollywood taking literally every good movie out there and remaking it into a bad version (ogod, what they did to Old Boy) instead of just releasing the original here. (The one good adaptation I can think of is The Departed.) I also get sick of seeing the same Asian actors (Maggie Cheung, Ken Watanabe, Michelle Yeoh, Chow Yun-Fat, Maggie Q etc. over and over again - apparently because producers over here are unwilling to cast lesser known (to Westerners) actors and instead just reuse the same actors (without any regard for look/nationality/fit)).

There are some more deserving actors progressively being introduced to Western audiences (I think if they catch enough attention in their home markets, it finally causes Hollywood producers to take notice and cast them in stuff). I just read that Choi Min-sik is going to be starring in a new Hollywood blockbuster (Lucy), and Li Bingbing (who in my eyes, is one of the most beautiful Chinese actresses out there) will be in Transformers and reprising her role as Ada Wong in the next Resident Evil. Lee Byung-hun (I have a huge crush on him) was in G.I. Joe and is going to be in Terminator.
 
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I think a big part of it is that the faces Westerners find beautiful are skewed because of lack of exposure - whoever gets cast in Western movies or movies that make it big in Western theatres catches the interest of the public. The choices are so limited, and most of us are never introduced to Asia's more celebrated beauties.

Oh you definitely bring up a very good point that I never carefully considered before. It's unfair of me to say that Westerners often don't consider Asian actresses beautiful if they haven't even had any way of being introduced to them in the first place. I think I was thinking more along the lines of, yes those actresses are talented and gorgeous, but somehow they have a very different look than alot of Asians who eventually end up being models. I can't quite put my finger on exactly how their look differs though. Maybe its the eyes?

I'm not too familiar with South Korean cinema but YES x1000 to what you said about Old Boy! And apparently they want to remake a Korean drama called "Good Doctor" here in the United States. I don't know if it'll actually happen, but I'm a little apprehensive about the whole idea. I'm going to keep an eye out for Li Bingbing though. I'm a little embarrassed to say that I became an instant fan when I saw that picture of her in the same green dress that Katy Perry also wore.
 
For example, Zhang Ziyi getting cast as Sayuri in Memoirs of a Geisha? She doesn't even look remotely Japanese, and while not the worst choice, she certainly wasn't the best. But she had just come off of doing House of Flying Daggers and was already recognizable in the West for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Gong Li was similarly far from the best choice because she's just not beautiful enough to play the imperialy gorgeous Hatsumomo, but she was relatively well known to Western audiences at that point so off they went with her (although she surprisingly pulled off the bitchy-haughtiness of Hatsumomo well because she is a good actress).

Ughh don't get me started on Zhang Zi Yi. I think she's so plain looking but my dad thinks she's a goddess (he has terrible taste in Asian women... and men imo... :superpuke:) I actually like Gong Li, despite how similar they look, but I think she's more classically beautiful and past the innocent doe-like phase that Asian culture looooves.

Bottom-line: there's a few gems (who all happen to be less well known), but the exceedingly popular celebs/models in Asian AND Western society are usually weird looking or just plain boring ("cutesy"). Or have had so much cosmetic surgery they all look the same (e.g. Angela Baby, all the Kpop stars, etc). Another example: Lucy Liu and Sui He are often deemed to be "so beautiful" in Western culture but all my girlfriends think they are ugly (I agree - especially Sui He - but I love Fei Fei. Liu Wen is an aiiiite in my book).
 
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Ughh don't get me started on Zhang Zi Yi. I think she's so plain looking but my dad thinks she's a goddess (he has terrible taste in Asian women... and men imo... :superpuke:) I actually like Gong Li, despite how similar they look, but I think she's more classically beautiful and past the innocent doe-like phase that Asian culture looooves.

Bottom-line: there's a few gems (who all happen to be less well known), but the exceedingly popular celebs/models in Asian AND Western society are usually weird looking or just plain boring ("cutesy"). Or have had so much cosmetic surgery they all look the same (e.g. Angela Baby, all the Kpop stars, etc). Another example: Lucy Liu and Sui He are often deemed to be "so beautiful" in Western culture but all my girlfriends think they are ugly (I agree - especially Sui He - but I love Fei Fei. Liu Wen is an aiiiite in my book).

Agreed, whenever I visit China I see a gazillion Zhang Ziyi dopplegangers on the street, there's absolutely nothing special about her looks. But yeah, even the celebrities more popular in Asia/unknown here all look like they've visited the same plastic surgeon. I LOVED Maggie Cheung in In the Mood for Love though, she was stunning and skinny and so elegant.

I liked Liu Wen a few years ago, but nowadays she strikes me as... matronly? I dunno, she just looks too wholesome all the time, nothing edgy or striking about her. I definitely prefer Fei Fei.
 
Agreed, whenever I visit China I see a gazillion Zhang Ziyi dopplegangers on the street, there's absolutely nothing special about her looks. But yeah, even the celebrities more popular in Asia/unknown here all look like they've visited the same plastic surgeon. I LOVED Maggie Cheung in In the Mood for Love though, she was stunning and skinny and so elegant.

I liked Liu Wen a few years ago, but nowadays she strikes me as... matronly? I dunno, she just looks too wholesome all the time, nothing edgy or striking about her. I definitely prefer Fei Fei.

I dislike Maggie Cheung, but you're right, she was wonderful in In the Mood for Love (and Days of Being Wild). She is a good actress and she came across as very elegant in those movies.

Ughh don't get me started on Zhang Zi Yi. I think she's so plain looking but my dad thinks she's a goddess (he has terrible taste in Asian women... and men imo... :superpuke:) I actually like Gong Li, despite how similar they look, but I think she's more classically beautiful and past the innocent doe-like phase that Asian culture looooves.

So Gong Li is a funny one for me, because I think she is so bland and flat in pictures, but she comes alive in movies (and always exceeds my expectations of her). There is a certain grace and magnetism about her on screen that just does not come across in stills.

ALSO. I am totally with you guys on the Fei Fei bandwagon. Of all the relatively well known HF Asian models, she is the most beautiful. I just love her editorial work, she has a real versatility but her beauty always comes across. She also has one of the best bodies of the bunch.

I mean, I know this is Liu Wen's thread but, dat face:

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:luvluv:
 
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Maggie looks 100000x better than Liu here, considering she's twice as old
 
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Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! I vote for more asian models too. Asian women have such an enigmatic beauty... they can look like porcelain dolls if they want... but so fierce too! They would be roses, with thorns.
 
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Bumping this thread with recent work. She has 6 covers for Vogue China’s November issue, which imo wasn’t necessary at all since some of the stories were underwhelming.

Cover + editorial by Wang Ziqian
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BTS/beauty detail


BTS photo for cover story by Fumiko Imano
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“Art in Paris” (Vogue Paris July 2020)
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I love her face, but I wish she’d tone up a bit more (especially her arms), but I understand there’s not much incentive since she’s already found success in the East and West. Looking at her older photos, it seems like she wasn’t HF skinny for the majority of her career, but I think her classic/aristocratic look gives her a pass and allows her to book jobs (kinda like Vittoria Ceretti)
 
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Vogue US March 2021
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Vogue Singapore March 2021

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Elle China December 2020


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Chanel Beauty (her bone structure is stunning!)
 
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Bumping this thread with recent work. She has 6 covers for Vogue China’s November issue, which imo wasn’t necessary at all since some of the stories were underwhelming.

Cover + editorial by Wang Ziqian
huX8rH9.jpg

qtzTge3.jpg

1Wvrszr.jpg

3XlwRMS.jpg
KO7DlWv.jpg
kCipp1F.jpg


BTS/beauty detail


BTS photo for cover story by Fumiko Imano
x6juexy.jpg


“Art in Paris” (Vogue Paris July 2020)
AQ4JtDS.jpg
fYOARsd.jpg
tonP4V9.jpg
wt1Gq7q.jpg

W7AHT1M.jpg


I love her face, but I wish she’d tone up a bit more (especially her arms), but I understand there’s not much incentive since she’s already found success in the East and West. Looking at her older photos, it seems like she wasn’t HF skinny for the majority of her career, but I think her classic/aristocratic look gives her a pass and allows her to book jobs (kinda like Vittoria Ceretti)


The concept of toning up at the gym, but remaining skinny, is not very prominent in Asian aesthetics.
Females who do go to the gym in East Asia are always going for the overly tanned look, and big beach bum CrossFit or “sexy” look. I rarely see slender females in the gym just doing some toning work.
The slender, model look in Asia is always about the lack of muscle IMO.
 
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Elle China June 2021

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Harper’s Bazaar US May 2021


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Wallpaper* China April 2021
 
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She's the face of Gucci's new June "Beloved" campaign! In my opinion, the grace and poise she exudes makes her a perfect fit. She posted some pics (and videos as well) on her instagram last week:

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Shot by Greg Lin JiaJie
 
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Bottega Veneta
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Cosmopolitan China August 2021
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Chanel Electro
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Grazia China - September




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The shoot is a little underwhelming by her standards, but I thought her bone structure in these shots were good enough to warrant a post
 
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