Chang’an Small Restaurant Chapter 45 (Part 1)
Translated by Pure
Chapter 45.1 A New Year Trip to the Temple
By the time Shen Shaoguang woke up the next day, the sun was already up high in the sky. Her head throbbed at every move, further validating that she had really drunk too much last night. Glancing at A’Yuan who was still snoring on the other bed, Shen Shaoguang quietly got up, and went outside to wash up.
As soon as she opened the door of the hall, she saw a hot water bottle wrapped in a towel. Princess Yu San had already gotten up?
Shen Shaoguang cheerfully brought the hot water inside, then tempered the water to wash her face and brushed her teeth. After drying her face, she applied moisturizing facial oil, filled in her eyebrows, brushed red tint on her lips, and applied a huadian. As for applying whitening powder, applying rouge, and adding dimple dots[1], she decided in the end to go without.
Makeup at this time was a matter of testing a woman's imagination. There were all kinds of strange fashions; even Shen Shaoguang, who had witnessed the chaos and disorderly styles of later generations, was often rendered speechless.
For example, the LianJuan eyebrows that were trending a while ago— the two eyebrows were almost touching each other. Another example was the weeping eyebrows from two years ago—thin eyebrows would be drawn drooped, giving the impression that they were about to cry; though it was in line with the atmosphere related to the mourning of the late emperor[2]. There was also the comical moth-winged eyebrows and the punk-style black lip makeup...there was no makeup that the ladies of this dynasty couldn’t think of or dare not do.
During her time working in the imperial palace, Shen Shaoguang had no choice but to follow the crowd. If she hadn’t followed the trends, then she would be the odd one out. Didn’t you read all those poems talking about Lady Guoguo just because she didn’t wear makeup[3]? It's not okay to stand out from the masses, ‘soften the glare and mingle with dust’ was the rule of right.
After leaving the palace and distancing herself from their fashion circle, Shen Shaoguang's face returned to that of a normal person. This was the first time since, that she used her omnipotent skills to semi-do her face.
Shen Shaoguang looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyebrows were naturally shaped, so she just needed to lightly fill them in. Her lip color was a little light and needed a little more tint. It was already too late to cut out a huadian, so she made do by using a cinnabar brush and drew a plum blossom on her forehead to suit the occasion. Coupled with the crimson pomegranate dress, her completed look was really quite festive, almost like a bride...
On the morning of the first day of the New Year, ‘single and lonely’ Shen Shaoguang unconsciously pricked at her own mood.
Shen Shaoguang pursed her lips, gave herself a high double-hoop hairstyle, added a couple hairpins, and tidied any loose strands of hair. Looking at the hazy beauty in the bronze mirror, she regained some confidence. What's wrong with being single? Even if I'm single, I'm still the most beautiful one.
"Woah!——"
When she looked up, Shen Shaoguang saw A’Yuan’s stunned expression.
"Come, come, go wash your face, I'll help you look good."
Hearing that her master was going to put makeup on her, A’Yuan’s sleepy mind immediately sobered up. "No! No need!"
Shen Shaoguang exposed an evil grin.
Although A’Yuan was strong and able-bodied, there was no way she could fend her with her strength, and was still held in front of the bronze mirror by Shen Shaoguang.
"Tilt your head— close your eyes— pucker your lips— pucker it some more..."
Shen Shaoguang did a full makeover for A’Yuan and combed her hair up. It turned out surprisingly well. With a round face, a chubby body, assam indigo drawn brows, face painted with red rouge, and two cute little dimple dots; just like the commemorative pottery doll she had bought from the Shaanxi History Museum before. This was the epitome of a girl born and raised in the Tang Dynasty.
Shen Shaoguang held up the bronze mirror for A’Yuan to look at, "Does it look good? Does it look good?"
A’Yuan pursed her lips unnaturally and muttered, "It looks good, but how can I eat later?"
"Hahaha!..." Shen Shaoguang leaned on A’Yuan's broad shoulders and laughed.
A’Yuan picked up the mirror, turned left and right, and her pursed lips turned into a smile.
"Thud thud thud." Yu San knocked on the door several times before he lifted the curtains and came in. He looked at the vividly painted faces of the master and maid duo and expressionlessly said, "It's time for breakfast."
A’Yuan jumped up with a smile, "Let's go eat!"
Yu San looked at A’Yuan and frowned, "Aren't you afraid of smudging your makeup on the food?"
A’Yuan: "..."
A’Chang came holding some bamboo, wanting to ask Shen Shaoguang when they should burn the firecrackers. When he saw A’Yuan, who was the first to exit the room, he praised, "Wow! How pretty"
The corners of A’Yuan's lips began to curve up again.
"But it might stain the bowls when we eat later..."
In the room, Shen Shaoguang laughed so hard that her stomach began to hurt. Wasn't this the legendary saying ‘birds of a feather flock together’?
Yu San glanced at Shen Shaoguang, his look was akin to a parent looking at a bad kid who had led his own child down the wrong path. If his current face could be screenshotted as an emoticon, the caption below would read: "Don't play with her anymore!"
Yu San didn't want to see her laughing hysterically, so he lifted the curtain and went out.
While still laughing, Shen Shaoguang went to the cabinet and took out a few embroidered purses. They contained the silver coins she had received from the Lin Residence previously as well as a split of copper coins. When they go out later, they could use this money to buy anything that catches their eyes.
A’Yuan, Yu San, and A’Chang were all given monthly allowance, but Shen Shaoguang had a lot of money, so she asked them to save that money and use her’s whenever they were lacking funds.
Seeing Shen Shaoguang come out, A’Chang lit the fire. Crackle, pop pop! The bamboo combusted with resounding noise[4].
Yu San took a pole and hung the coarsely sewn flag by Shen Shaoguang in the yard. The four of them looked at the black bamboo-turned-charcoal in the fire, then at the flag fluttering in the northern wind, and went to the front shop for breakfast with great satisfaction.
Before they eat Shen Shaoguang handed out the ‘anti-age money[5]’ first, and while doing so, she recited the auspicious words such as ‘May you be blessed with longevity and a better New Year’ and ‘Wishing you a comfortable and smooth sailing New Year’.
The custom of giving out ‘anti-age money’ had not yet been established. A’Yuan blinked her makeup-covered eyes, and when she took a clearer look at the little silver ingot, she cried out in surprise— this silver was so pretty! It looked just like a peony flower.
A’Chang also agreed and repeated, "It's very pretty."
Yu San glanced at the three centimeters long silver fish in his hand and fell into a melancholy trace.
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Footnotes:
[1] dimple dots - (面靥) Or also know as Yedian, were a type of makeup during the Tang Dynasty. They usually took the form of a dimple about one centimeter from each side of the lips, and came in a variety of shapes, including coins, peaches, birds, and flowers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35vlzGblFQg
[2] Various eyebrow trends (连娟眉) - You best bet there's pictures all over the web. https://nannaia.tumblr.com/post/93796138847/painted-eyebrow-trends-in-tang-dynasty-this-is-a
[3] those poems talking about Lady Guoguo’s nude makeup - Most people might know her better as Yang Guifei, one of the one of the Four Beauties of ancient China. She had been so loved and pampered by the emperor that she would no longer put on exquisite makeup before making a presence before him. And as you read in this chapter, women of the Tang Dynasty paid particular attention to facial appearance, and the application of powder or even rouge was common practice. Thus her ‘nude’ face was heavily talked about back then.
[4] Bamboo firecrackers - Firecrackers are one of China’s oldest legacies. With roots tracing back to the Han Dynasty, firecrackers have remained a long-held tradition for thousands of years. Thousands of years ago, there was a fuel shortage that drove villagers to harvest bamboo from neighboring forests. What the villagers did not understand at the time was that bamboo doesn’t easily lend itself to fire consumption. Because of its speedy growth, bamboo traps a great amount of air in its stalks. Upon heating, the air expands and compresses within the stalk.
For the unsuspecting villagers, turning to bamboo as a fuel source resulted in alarming surprise. The bangs and pops frightened the villagers and terrified the livestock. After the terror of the moment had abated and the source of the commotion was discovered, the villagers found a new use for this resource. Reasoning that if the exploding bamboo could terrify animals and mortals, it would surely frighten the spirits and monsters long believed to torment communities. Firecrackers became a ritualistic custom in Chinese culture as a guard and protection against supernatural evils.
Source: https://www.cheng-tsui.com/blog/exploding-bamboo-the-origins-of-the-firecracker
[5] Anti-age money - Most people may know this as a red envelope or red packet (紅包), but it can also be called "money warding off old age" (压岁钱) for Chinese New Year. The concept of 'anti age money' has been passed down for several thousand years. As the story goes, older family members would thread coins with a red string, called Yāsuìqián (壓歲錢), meaning ‘to ward off old age’. They placed the coins under children’s pillows on New Year’s Eve to suppress fears and drive away evil spirits.
The red strings morphed into packets during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), though the exact date is unknown. While royals and wealthy government officials commissioned hand-woven cloth bags, everyday people used red paper to wrap coins and notes with auspicious words.
