I'm writing a book and I am currently on chapter seven. Its about an eastern and western culture meeting for the first time. Its set in fantasy and has elements of romance.
I am trying to write a virtuous and moral prince (based on Chinese culture) and I am wondering what the differences are from eastern and western virtues - morality, ethics, and most of all romance, sex appeal, nudity, and sex.
There is a lot of information out there that I have been reading through but there is so much that isn't covered. Like for example public nudity is okay at bath houses but what about how a person wears their clothing in public? Anime and TV shows show a lot of girls with their cleavage hanging out and I am under the impression that this is just fan service and Asian culture is very respectful about their clothing. (Japanese obi tied in front is offensive and usually refers to prostitution.) What would happen if a an ancient Asian culture saw an immodestly dressed woman whether or not in their own culture or not? So like take a barbarian woman who's legs are showing due to her armor choice? Would they call her names, smite her, reform her? Not care?
How would close encounters between western and eastern men and women go? I want to depict an eastern man falling for a western woman, eastern men and women falling for each other and western - you get the point. I have multiple characters. I have read a lot on courting and dating differences.
I'm trying to remove myself from christian views and stay objective on this so I can understand virtue in another culture. I want to build a chaste prince but chastity is a double standard?
I know a lot about Korea if that helps. (Ancient and current)
I know a lot about Korea if that helps. (Ancient and current)
How do you think an ancient civilization would react to meeting the western people for the first time? Westerners that have less clothing and armor like the vikings and some of your more Celtic/Pagan like groups? I would think they would think them barbaric and uncultured. How would they react to seeing someone in loin cloths and running around semi-bare? Short covering and cleavage spilling out. Since most of the Asian cultures wear a lot of layers like the later European cultures. I was looking at the differences between the Hanfu, Hanbok, and Kimono. They all vary in layers, which denotes some sort of modesty system. Even in Japan with the Obi or the sash / tie they have a principal respect behind it. In the front is a woman of ill repute where as in the back is a lady of proper standing.
Ancient Koreans would be confused of how bare they were. It depends on which bone rank they met, if the met the true bone the would probably be killed but if the met a bone rank 1-3 they probably wouldn’t think that much of it as they are poor and don’t have much clothes either. The bone ranks 1-3 might care to help them get more clothes on. Everyone would be surprised at their lack of respect, and probably uncultured.
Ancient Koreans would be confused of how bare they were. It depends on which bone rank they met, if the met the true bone the would probably be killed but if the met a bone rank 1-3 they probably wouldn’t think that much of it as they are poor and don’t have much clothes either. The bone ranks 1-3 might care to help them get more clothes on. Everyone would be surprised at their lack of respect, and probably uncultured.
Makes sense. I asked this question on another forum and everyone got political correct and told me to stop using the term modesty. The thing is is everyone has their own code of modesty whether its religiously driven or societal class driven. There will always be an idea of bodily respect and or societal respect.
Also haven't looked into Korea on this but did they have public bathing too? I guess China and Japan did, well when you get down to it every civilization has their own conduct around public bathing since it was practical at the time. So what I found weird about modesty was there is no concern on nudity at bathes between the sexes since they are so used to it. It wasn't until more recently that there was a division on the sexes. In fact that's where the question lead me on the morality of dress in public. The mind set between public and bathing are different.
Another question: Royalty or nobility on the subject of moral conduct in courting. Everyone has their own ways over there depending on region. My question is why the double standard on sex? Its okay for a male to run around but a woman loses her virtue she becomes less valuable in marriage at least in China. A woman who was widowed has a higher chance of being married than a morally loose women. We see this in Europe too where royalty is supposed to be perfect but commit the same "sins" or lets take the term sin out and call it actions that commoners would partake in. They would say that you didn't stoop to that of the common peoples temptations yet it was a normal occurrence in society. If anything it seems to be norm across the world. Things behind closed doors stay behind those doors.
Sex was a weapon of intrigue and power gaining among the royalty whether they admit it or not.
As far as I know every country has had its past in belittling women, some more than others. In Korea woman could rule, and did, but for the nudity part I think if you were bone rank 4 or higher you weren’t to be seen nude but if you were rank 3 or lower it was common between genders to be nude. There were (and still are) public bathing houses, segregated by sex and back then by bone rank.
I happen to be from good old Indiana. So I gotchu when it comes to Eastern.
I see. It's cool. Just curious, what were you looking for?
I think it’s Eastern as in Asian cultures, like China and Japan.
Oh. Yeah I know nothing about that lol
