Chapter 1 Body Shape and Posture

Heraclitus once said，“The most beautiful ape is ugly when compared to a human．”That is to say，human is the most beautiful species in the world of animals．And the reason for this unrivaled beauty lies in that human can create tools and utilize them to work，and human can use their wisdom for life and create happiness．

According to Leonardo da Vinci，the Italian arts master，the beauty of human body features the perfect proportions：the height of a human head fits in one-eighth part of the total body height．The length of shoulders is one-fourth of the height．The width of arms，extended to both sides，is equal to the total body height．The chest line equals that of the hips and the middle of the breast should be in the same line of the lower corner of the shoulder blade．The thickness of the leg equals that of the face，and when knelt down，the height of the human body decreases by 1／4．This proportional beauty of human body was discovered and described in the painting practice of da Vinci．Another feature of the beauty ofhuman body is its relative symmetry．Take human face as an example．A human face is usually evenly divided by its nose—the median line．Eyebrows，eyes，cheeks and ears are distributed on the left and right side of the center line，so do the mouth corners and teeth．Human body takes a similar symmetric pattern with the breast bone and the spine as the center lines and the breasts，shoulders and limbs symmetrically distributed．Just as the natural wonder of human body，the Chinese characters denoting parts of the human body also show their great beauty in unique ways．

Posture is the position in which a person stands，sits，sleeps or kneels．Different ways of holding one's body reveal the nurture of different individuals．The nobleness and humbleness，modesty and pride，wisdom and stupidity of a person would be partly reflected in the postures held．A Chinese child often hears their elderly say“stand and sit have their rules”，which means one should stand straight and sit tall．And this is an example of the traditional etiquette education of China． Li Ji （ The Book of Rites ）is a book about etiquettes and rituals of ancient China written in the Warring States Period．As is indicated in this book，the refinement of a person is often demonstrated in the ways he or she walks，stands，sits and sleeps．“Do not walk out in strutting，nor stand with one leg raised．Do not sit with your two knees as wide apart as a dustpan，nor sleep on stomach．”It is also stated in the book that“when approaching one's seat，one should keep composed without looking anxious．He may hold the robe with his hands one chi （1／3 meters）from the ground．His upper clothes should not be lifted and his feet should not tread on the mat”．This is the requirement for behavior．In the Han Dynasty，the requirements for ties became more comprehensive and specific．In The New Book written by Jia Yi（200 BC－168 BC），a renowned Confucian and scholar in the Han Dynasty，systematic elaboration was made on postures of standing，sitting and walking．

In the oracles dated back to 3，000 years ago，there are many characters recording the postures of human body．It is said that“posture changes one's fate”．Such a saying may be overstated，but a graceful posture is an important aspect of the beauty of human body．