A Whiter Shade of Pale
White is ancient news
Already long time before Western countries got rich, before any Western influence in Asia, when Asia was far ahead culturally and economically, Chinese authors talked about how beautiful whiteness was. Being “white” is an ancient beauty standard, not an imported ideology. It has always been a symbol of nobility and elegance.
The Book of Poetry (Shi Jing ”诗经” 1100 – 600 B.C) talks about “smooth white skin like solidified grease” (肤如凝脂, 领如峭挤) to describe a famous ancient beauty by the name Jiang Zhuang “姜庄”. In the Chu Ci (楚辞 476 – 221 B.C), an anthology of Chinese poems, white was a symbol of beauty as well: “a beauty with face powdered white and eyebrows darkened …“ (大招 Dà zhāo The Great Summons: “…粉白黛黑,施芳泽只…”)
Interestingly, during the European middle ages white was seen as especially beautiful as well. Literature set the standard. A fair lady in a castle had to be white or at least was described as white. Because being white and radiating also reflected her inner beauty.
West vs East
How do we get dark? The sun is doing its thing., whenever we spent time (working) outside. When sitting inside, doing nothing, or working a higher paid office job, we stay pale. So white skin shows if one can afford to be white! A question of status! Looking like a recently whitewashed wall shows your educational level or your wealth. Well, presumably.
When I was a kid, I was told to get out in the sun to get a healthy color. Being darker in summer was a sign of a healthy kid that played outside. Maybe those modern gaming zombies should do that too. Western industrialized societies turned the whole thing around only after the second world war. Those with money could afford to not slave away their days in the office but sunbathe on a beach.
Not so in Asia. Being pale still implies you are beautiful. As a Chinese saying goes: A white complexion is powerful enough to hide 100 faults (“一白遮百丑”). Therefore, a whole culture strives to be as pale as possible. And to a degree which makes most Westerners wonder if something is going very wrong here. That poor pale woman surely has a kind of life-threatening anemia or some allergic condition that forbids her to get any sun on her skin. Right?