Fallen is Beautiful

You just know that the Chinese civilization has not been around for
five thousand years for nothing by looking at all the words they have
for describing different nuances of beauty of beauty in the abstract,
in nature, in men and women. Whatever you can think of, the Chinese
is likely to have coined a word for it already. If you were ever to
compile all those words together, you may actually end up with a nice
dictionary of several hundred pages. What I have time to write about
on this blog is only a tip of the iceberg.
There are two words in Chinese that describe the beauty of decay.
They are easily confused with each other but I think several fine
points of distinction would be as follows (feel free to disagree with me
though):
[duo luo mei]
The decadent beauty of something fallen that is alluring in a sinister
way, but is at the same time evocative of pain and longing in being a
reminder of what it once was and what it no longer is namely, the
pristine state of innocence and purity it can no longer return to. In
some (but not all) cases, the evil originates from a pure, noble and
innocent motivation that turned bad in its means and execution for
lack of choice, and from its existing state of badness it can only go
from bad to worse and beyond salvation. The emphasis of this word is
on the state where you have fallen from. Duo luo mei says to the
viewer: There was a time when I used to be not like this. It evokes
pain and regret in the viewer, in that beneath those layers of decay,
there may perhaps be a shred of that past innocence left.
[tui fei mei]
The decadent beauty of something fallen that is strangely attractive
in its defiance and self-abandonment. It is frequently associated with
moral decay but instead of angsting over its downfall, it rejoices in its
fallen state. The emphasis of this word is the state of ruin as it is. The
vision is focused on the end which is near of impending doom,
destruction, disease or death. It says to the viewer: This is just the
way I am now and I have no regret about it. I long for the final release
and I shall put on my best dress to greet that final release. It is
brazen and is indifferent to what the viewer feels. Tui fei mei springs
from the conviction that there is no tomorrow and tends to expresses
itself in a rebellious attitude, by going out of the way to do something
to excite jaded senses, to be lost in worldly pleasures and selfgratifications, and the pursuit of all that is unwholesome by societys
standards. Often, it is about slipping one notch lower, then another
notch lower, then another notch lower, but keeping up pretenses of
greatness with extravagant and sumptuous external appearances
which are calculated to hide the interior emptiness. Tui fei mei is often

found in artistic works towards the end of each dynastic cycle in

Chinese history; an example of this would be the poetry of the late
Tang.

An illustration of Han Lu's latest manhua series Chang An Huan Ye (

)
In the field of shoujo manga, I think it is no exaggeration to say that
the name of Yuki Kaori () is synonymous with duo luo mei
and tui fei mei. This is particular so when you look at her earlier
works, though she seems to have lost the steam and ran out of ideas
in her latest works. I think the whole school of aestheticism Yuki Kaori
developed is perfected by the newcomer Han Lu (), a PRC manhua
artist about whom I have yet to write more proper reviews. What Han
Lu produced was not so much blind imitation (though the artwork look
amazing alike), but perfection of what Yuki Kaori was never quite able
to achieve in terms of the depth of feeling and ideas, as well as the
thoughtfulness and philosophy behind each story.
I have also heard the films of Wong Kar-wai () being described
as full of tui fei mei. But that is another topic that will take me three
days and nights to get through.