China’s Tattoo Culture And Its Current Crackdown
By Sidra Lackey
According to CNN, a legislation in China that bans people from, “even encouraging those aged under 18 to get tattoos” is the latest move in “an expanding crackdown on body art in China.” This legislation stemmed from a tattoo artist in China's Shaanxi province last September who allegedly tattooed 43 underaged clients, “Inside China's crackdown on tattoo culture” CNN Style reports.
A portrait of tattoo artist Victoria Lee. Credit: Justin Robertson/CNN
"My behavior encroached on the physical and mental health of minors," a court-ordered apology issued by the tattoo artist accused of the crime read. "I am deeply aware of my mistakes.” He became, “one of the first people charged under the new age restriction law” in China, which came into effect in June, CNN says. CNN also says, “Chinese state media coverage suggested that protecting minors was as much about ideology as medical welfare.” At the time, tabloid newspaper Global Times argued that tattoos are "driving minors away from establishing socialist core values," as they can convey "harmful ideas" such as "feudal superstition," "gang culture" and "overseas culture." An op-ed in Beijing Youth Daily meanwhile said that tattoo subculture "clashes" with the mainstream.
“It's perhaps no surprise that the country's officialdom is increasingly linking tattoos with immorality and Western influence,” CNN proclaims — with the ruling Communist Party's nationalist agenda “shaping everything from movies to architecture.” Stereotypes surrounding tattoos are partly rooted in historical associations with criminality, CNN explains. In ancient China, “marking offenders' faces with permanent ink was considered one of the "Five Punishments" alongside execution and amputation,” Gareth Davey teaches, a visiting professor at China's Yunnan Normal University who studies the country's tattoo culture. He also explained that stigma also stems from Confucian values. "In Confucianism, conserving the skin and body inherited from parents was an exemplar of filial piety, and deemed necessary for a civilized society," Davey told CNN, "whereas tattooing signified an uncivilized practice and a failure to uphold family duties."
Tattoo artist Chen Jie, who opened her Beijing studio in 2005. Credit: Courtesy Chen Jie
Ironically, more young people are getting inked today than ever before, believes tattoo artist Chen Jie, who opened her own tattoo studio in Beijing in 2005. She tells CNN her clientele was once mainly male but she now sees a growing number of Chinese women (whom social stigmas are often far stricter on) at her studio in the capital's Sanlitun neighborhood. “Chinese society is becoming more open, with so much new information now available to us thanks to the internet. People used to link tattoos with thugs and gangs but now it has become a culture that's associated with being cool,” Jie tells CNN. She is considered a “pioneer of the "watercolor" tattooing style, which is inspired by traditional ink brush paintings. Using subtle coloration and gradual shading, she often depicts scenes from nature, like bamboo, cranes and the "shan shui" (literally "mountain, water") landscapes historically found in Chinese art.”
According to CNN, China's National Health Commission stated in 2009 that: “tattooing should not be listed as a medical cosmetic procedure, while the country's Ministry of Commerce has also said that invasive skin operations are not considered part of the beauty sector.” There is no official licensing system for tattoo artists in China, CNN also reports. The industry exists in a legal gray area where, “studios operate without supervision or inspections into their safety, hygiene or aftercare practices.”
A photorealisitc tattoo by Victoria Lee. Credit: Courtesy 01 Victoria Lee
Song Jiayin, a tattoo artist who owns an all-female tattoo studio in Beijing tells CNN, "It's still kind of a 'half-underground' situation.” She opened her studio in 2016 and over 70% of her clients are female. She started a project called "1,000 girls," which aims to tell the stories of 1,000 female clients and their tattoos. The project has seen her create a variety of tattoos alluding to their experiences. "The authorities don't regulate the tattoo industry because they don't want to recognize tattoos to begin with," she says to CNN. "It's their way of expressing their dislike."
CNN reports in the months since the ban on tattooing minors came into effect, several "public interest" cases have been filed by state prosecutors, resulting in fines for tattoo artists. Last December, a Shanghai court fined one person 5,000 yuan ($739) for inking a 17-year-old, while a court in Lhasa in Tibet ordered another artist to pay 10,000 yuan ($1,477) to a tattooed minor for "psychological damage.”
The seemingly “wide range of government agencies involved in enforcing the ban has only added to the confusion,” says Zhao Xiang, a postdoctoral researcher at Sweden's Örebro University who has extensively studied Chinese tattoo culture. “There are just campaign-style bans coming one after another.” The latest restrictions on tattoos are unlikely to be the last, Xiang believes on the future of Chinese tattoo culture of the youth. "Today's young people are more likely to get tattoos as a form of self-expression. Today, people want to see more diversity and individuality. They like the spirit of individualism rather than a collective spirit."