Foreword: New Idea Coming In—From Physiognomy to Character Judgement

The emergence of fenggu—a classic aesthetic genre—is a lengthy and drawn-out process. Its origin can be traced back to physiognomy in the Qin and Han dynasties, and character judgement in Wei, Jin, and the Southern and Northern dynasties. In terms of etymology, fenggu, physiognomy, and character judgement are interrelated. In a sense, physiognomy and character judgement, particularly the latter, have had fenggu defined. People throughout China’s dynastic history had set out their views on fenggu, from which its relationship with physiognomy and character judgement became clear.