reversion

tattoo final/tattoo_culture#2.doc

Xi Chen

10/13/2014

Definition essay

2nd draft

Tattoo Culture in China and the USA

In some groups the tattoo is an expression of courage, tattoos can get in the underworld gangs, sometimes the tattoos in general, are also a test of membership. Therefore giving tattoos with the underworld linked to the human impression; in modern Hong Kong gang members usually stab a dragon in the left arm, right arm stabbed a white tiger, which has "left the Green Dragon, White Tiger right," this sentence to represent the triad (Reed). The rise of the tattoo culture has not only been steady but also unprecedented. The Tattoo culture in China and the USA may differ in its beginnings but seems to bear similarities in the contemporary society.

Tattoos refer to ink the needle into the skin and underlying painting a pattern on the skin or vocabulary. The "tattoo" is interpreted as: "plotted on the human body or stab into patterns or graphics with color" (Fenske). Tattoo art has now been accepted and recognized by most people. Since the tattoo process, may adversely affect the dermis to cause blood infections, AIDS, B-type hepatitis and other infectious diseases are also potential risks. Tattoo removal can be done with the help of doctors. The main way is to use a laser to remove. According to the size, the skin has a different degree of depth charges. But the effect of the removal of different mixed pigments sometimes can cause pigmentation sequelae. Nevertheless, tattoos cannot be completely removed (Jun).

A survey found that in the United States, 25% of people 26-40 years of age have had tattoos (Jun). These were acts which even contain the Hollywood stars, famous musicians, sports stars and so on. When viewing through movies, games, shows, one can see their tattoos. People have the desire to follow the science, and with an open and social climate driven fashion, tattoo art is becoming a kind of personal independence. Now many are accepting the tattooed crowd who are trying to include such art to a wider variety of aspects of development, so that tattoo art can change from the negative shadows, into the normal mainstream society.

In China, tattoos are a hobby. Sometimes a teacher from the worship of tattoos, hoping to leave a tattoo master, works on their body. Some of the Chinese preferences like Ukiyo-e are representative of the ethnic tattoos (Jun). Chinese tattoo culture reportedly originated from Austronesian people (Jun). In Taiwan and Hong Kong, a lot of people will bear a tattoo profiling the Sanskrit mantra. The other Asian people also have a choice of Roman numerals as word tattoo patterns. Kanji tattoos are the Chinese characters as tattoos. Many people in the West have a tattoo of Chinese characters. For example, New England football player David Beckham has the Chinese proverb, "life and death wealth by day" (Jun). But some people do not understand the Chinese characters. If they do not understand the meaning of the characters it will become a joke, such as NBA player Marcus Camby that had a tattoo in his right arm saying "Mian family" (Fenske).

   The 21st century is the era of cultural pluralism and diversity of arts as an era. Tattoos are a fashion trend of the times. The demand for spiritual life and the demand for culture leads to the demand for art, for art's aesthetics and so tattoos have a higher level of demand. Requirements for tattoo art not only stay on the totem worship under the traditional tattoos such as dragons, tigers, favorite require tattooists, tattoo fashion designers conceived more in innovation, more cultural connotation of tattoo work, with different cultural flavor of tattoo work. People think the network is a product of modern, but the tattoo culture is post-modern. It has a long history and culture, for the cultural connotation of tattoo art but also to inherit the national cultural tradition. Search for the soul of traditional Chinese culture, the essence of the national culture of the Chinese nation to pursue endless. Meanwhile tattoo art from creative design and other aspects also have innovation, keeping pace with the times, walking in the forefront of the trend.

From time immemorial, the human body is changed, for aesthetics. Tattooed mummies, cave paintings depicting covered body of dots and streaks, carved idols’ bodies incised and/or decorated with pigments testify to the ancestral nature of the practices of body "tagging" (Jun). Ephemeral or lasting, tattoos, scarification, body painting show a lavish plasticity and a network that has both rich and complex meanings and symbolic. Thus, invocation of the sacred, magic, humanizing the subject, production of identities and social cohesion, as well as prophylaxis and therapeutic adornment of seduction and eroticism are the paradigmatic approaches to these "artialisations" of the body (Jun). If prehistoric uses seem difficult to establish, ethnological and anthropological analysis of the ritual practices of the body called on the primitive societies to help trace the outlines (Jun).

With the opening of social ethos, culture and body art show the rise, we gradually accept physical performance type and who will form a friendship. Researchers will take a sociological or anthropological point of view to study popular culture with this popular art. Many tattoo artists will choose to emphasize their own personal style, such as Faye Wong and Nicholas Tse once to get a pair of tattoo "lovers" (Li-juan). Tattoo studies and discussions have continued in order to realize the culture’s growth.

Tattoos have been seen as a mark of marginalized people. However, long ago, tattoos were unmistakable in society. Now they have become a symbol of fashion. Tattoos through history in America, but also the real life history of the common people have changed a lot. Moreover, the researchers pointed out that in the United States, criminals often get tattoos to show their status or masculinity. Despite this use imposed by dogma, many individuals have deliberately chosen this dissenting integumentary brand. A symbol of recognition and affiliation with an antisocial group, the tattoo acts as a sign of deliberate marginalization and repeats a willingness to break away from the rest of society. They ingrain patterns, such as tigers, dragons, swords bleeding to also mean aggression. However foreign it was a few years ago, in the last couple of years, a substantial increase in the population of people with tattoos. International superstar Madonna has tattoos among other celebrities as a show of the growing culture. The tattooed bodies have gained magazines’ reputations and are among the factors that make the tattoo trend to flourish. New York City has a tattoo Art Exhibition Tour, which shows how the tattoo has become so popular according to culture indicators (Fenske).

Meanings of tattoos change with the times. They mean oaths from the political world to the underworld in a bid to protect their operators. The popularity also increases as a mark of beauty among the young. The tattoos can also show strong resistance or holding to an internal standard that is still typical of a rebellious spirit amongst the antisocial.

Native American tattoos represent the different elements that are the values, culture and pride. Native American Tattoos offer a wide variety of choices. Many people who opt for these types of tattoos can also incorporate land, water, wind and fire elements in their tattoo. One can often see tattoos on Indian heads or clothes of a tribe that can symbolize the wealth of things like pride, strength, loyalty and family.

Times are changing and tattoo culture has gradually become a sub-culture of young people. In order to pursue a unique, creative tattoo totem is also increasingly becoming another way that shows the young people off to themselves. In many cultures, tattoos also represent a symbol of social status. Indigenous people around the world have traditional tattoos, such as the Atayal and Saisiyat Taiwan (Reed). Ancient Egypt used tattoos to show social status. With the changing times, tattoos by cultural taboos people's minds, gradually converted into a synonymy with fashion. However, in the study of tattoos, most focus is on their art, history, tattoos are rarely studied as consumer behavior. The United States of America and Chinese tattoo culture proves to be a dynamic art that is gaining popularity and experimentation in equal measure.

Works Cited

Fenske, Mindy. Tattoos in American Visual Culture. Palgrave Macmillan New York, 2007. Google Scholar. Web. 9 Oct. 2014.

Jun, L. I. U. “Tattoo: The Intangible Cultural Custom That Need Urgent Preservation and Study.” Journal of the Central University for Nationalities (Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition) 1 (2006): 008. Google Scholar. Web. 9 Oct. 2014.

Li-juan Y. A. O. “Research on the Tattoo on the Women of Li People in Hainan Province [J].” Journal of The Central University For Nationalities 3 (2005): 019. Google Scholar. Web. 9 Oct. 2014.

Reed, Carrie E. “Tattoo in Early China.” Journal of the American Oriental Society (2000): 360–376. Google Scholar. Web. 9 Oct. 2014.