SFX: Lady From Tang

     My aim for this project is to make a historical authenticity hyper-realistic bust of a lady in the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty is one of the most important dynasties in Chinese history, it is also a golden period in ancient China. No matter its thorough politics, the development of culture is also flourishing, such as pottery, calligraphy, painting, music, etc. “The years during which the Tang empire experienced its greatest power established a pattern for China that would continue throughout the Song and Ming dynasties into early modern times. Tang rule set a standard mark on many facets of Chinese life, including literature and the arts. For this reason, Tang China was admired and copied by many other peoples. During Tang rule, China had its greatest influence on eastern Asia and, at the same time, carried out active trade with peoples across Eurasia. For more than 100 years, the Tang empire stretched deep into Central Asia, and various aspects of Chinese culture spread to Korea and Japan. Buddhism flourished, linking China to a widespread religious community. ”(Lockard, 2000) Just like Lockard mentioned, during that period, the Tang government had highly active trade, communication, and collaboration with other East Asian countries, for cultural exchange, such as Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Persia, etc. Which highly influenced the culture, architecture, clothing, arts, and music in those countries. It became a heartland in East Asia. 
     In China, we call traditional Chinese clothing Hanfu, and the women's clothing of the Tang Dynasty is called Ruqun. “Women's dress and personal adornments of the Tang Dynasty were outstanding in China's history. The clothing materials were exquisite, the structure was natural, graceful and elegant, and adornments were splendid” (China culture,2008). During the active trade with the Tang Dynasty, some countries also fusion the Tang fashion in their clothing, such as Japan and Korean. According to “Japanese kimono adopted the elites of the dresses of the Tang Dynasty in terms of colors, and the hanbok (traditional Korean clothing) also adopted the advantages of the dresses of the Tang Dynasty” (China culture,2008) and “Traditional Chinese clothing had been introduced to Japan via Chinese envoys in the Kofun period, with immigration between the two countries and envoys to the Tang dynasty court leading to Chinese styles of dress, appearance and culture becoming extremely popular in Japanese court society”(Dalby,1993). But nowadays, when most people see fancy Hanfu clothing and white facial makeup, the first impression they will say “She is wearing a Japanese Kimono, and Kabuki makeup”, even some Chinese have the same idea about that. I want through this project to let others know, that in China we also have this kind of clothing and makeup. 
A     nother reason I want to do this topic is that I think knowing how to make a hyper-realistic bust is one of the most important skills in the Prosthetic Effects industry because we will have a lot of opportunities to make hyper-realistic props for film and television. I am not good at realistic sculpture and airbrush painting with silicone, so I want to improve my skills and learn something new during this process.