Why do Kalmyks have narrow eyes? Why do the Chinese have narrow eyes? Epicanthus is a distinctive feature of the eye structure
Answering a child’s question about why the Chinese have narrow eyes, one could easily dismiss it: precisely because the earth is round, the grass is green, and the hare has long ears. Are differences between people really that important? We are all different, nature (or, if you prefer, God) created us that way. But the human mind tries to find logic in everything, and this is quite natural.
Perhaps Chinese children attack their parents with equally challenging questions, wondering why Europeans have too white skin, blue eyes or red hair. Let's try to explain the mysteries of genetics from the point of view of science, science fiction and folklore.
Epicanthus is a distinctive feature of the eye structure
There is a misconception that the eye size of Asians is much smaller than that of the indigenous inhabitants of other continents. In fact, the Koreans, Vietnamese, Japanese and Chinese are in no way inferior to the rest of humanity by this criterion. The only difference is that their eyes are often located on the face with a slight slope, that is, the inner edge is slightly lower than the outer, and the upper eyelid is equipped with an epicanthic fold that almost completely covers the tear duct. In addition, Asians, unlike Europeans, have a dense layer of fat under the skin of the eyelids, so it seems that the area around the eyes is somewhat swollen, and the incision resembles a thin slit.
Evolutionary processes
Scientists, answering the question of why the Chinese have narrow eyes, refer to changes in the structure of the visual organ during evolution. You probably know what race the Chinese belong to - most Asian peoples are Mongoloids by race.
The harsh climate of the area where this ethnic community arose 12,000-13,000 years ago influenced the physical characteristics of the people. Nature has taken care to protect the eyes from strong winds, sandstorms, and bright sunlight. People's vision was not affected at all by this, but the Japanese and Chinese do not need to squint, protecting their eyes from the effects of adverse natural factors.
By the way, not all Asians like the peculiar structure of their eyes. According to statistics, over the past few years, more than 100 thousand Chinese have undergone surgery in an attempt to give their faces European features. It is interesting that not only the fair sex, but also men go under the knife. To the Europeans themselves, such transformations seem strange, because the narrow eye shape is a kind of “highlight” of the Chinese, this is what attracts attention.
Descendants of the Dragon
It is known that the Chinese themselves consider themselves children of the dragon - this mythical animal is the symbol of the Celestial Empire. According to legend, one of the ancestors was a young man named Yan-di - the son of an earthly woman and a heavenly dragon. If you believe ancient legends, at the dawn of civilization, Chinese girls more than once became objects of desire for fiery, underground and flying dragons.
From these marriages, of course, children were born. Unfortunately, we don’t know what real dragons looked like. But it can be assumed that it was their genetic code that left its mark on the appearance of the modern peoples inhabiting East Asia. Perhaps it is kinship with dragons that explains why the Chinese are short in stature and have yellow skin?
People from other planets
Despite all scientific achievements, an absolutely reliable version of the origin of humanity has not yet been developed. Some believe in the divine creation of the world, while others are closer to the Darwinian theory, which claims that our closest relatives are monkeys. The hypothesis also has a right to exist that the diversity of earthly races and nationalities is due to the fact that the Earth is a refuge for people from other planets or galaxies.
Assuming that this is indeed the case, one could understand the nature of many incomprehensible mysteries. Why do the Chinese have narrow eyes? It's simple - in the corner of the Universe where they came from, everyone is like that. It is quite possible that at different times our land was visited by giants who built pyramids in Egypt and placed stone idols on Easter Island. But you never know how many unknown secrets our planet holds! The narrow eyes of the Chinese seem like nothing in comparison.
We are all cut from the same cloth
Summing up the results of our not entirely scientific investigation, I would like to tell one very nice parable that explains the racial differences of peoples. Having decided to populate the planet with intelligent beings, the Creator fashioned figures of people from dough and put them in the oven for baking.
Either the Creator dozed off, or was distracted by other more important matters, but an unforeseen situation occurred: some of the figurines remained raw and white - this is how they turned out to be Europeans, others were burnt - it was decided to send them to Africa. And only the Mongoloids came out yellow, strong, moderately baked - exactly as it was originally intended. And the fact that someone’s eyes are not large enough or their cheekbones are too wide is not a flaw, but God’s vision of beauty.
The meaning of this beautiful legend, imbued with good humor, does not aim to emphasize the superiority of some peoples over others. Of course, we are all different, but regardless of eye shape and skin color, we have equal rights and opportunities. Each of the peoples inhabiting planet Earth is unique in its own way. The external signs of individuals in comparison with the moral and cultural values of the ethnic group do not matter.
There is no clear answer to this question. There are several versions about this. According to the first, all Asians, including the Chinese, Japanese, Koreans and Mongols, belong to the Mongoloid race. If you believe historians, then this is a fairly ancient people that arose on our planet at least thirteen thousand years ago. Scientists agree that it was life in rather harsh climatic conditions that made its own adjustments to their appearance, which, in particular, were reflected in the shape of their eyes. To put it simply, this happened due to their adaptation to existing climatic conditions.
At that harsh time, the Asian continent was dominated by winds that raised huge clouds of sand and dust into the air. It is quite understandable that people living in such conditions had to constantly squint. In the process of long evolution, nature took care to somehow protect people's eyes from such harmful effects. She made their eyes narrower and their eyebrows thicker.
And yet, how does the face of a European differ from the face of an Asian?
There are several main differences:
- There is no eye fold on the upper eyelid.
- The presence of a narrowed palpebral fissure.
- The lacrimal tubercle is closed by the internal orbital fold.
All these features are genetic in nature and are passed on from generation to generation. Asians are very skeptical about them, counting them among their shortcomings. Although, such a judgment can be considered incorrect. After all, the narrow shape of the eyes has its own charm, and Asian women, in their beauty, are in no way inferior to European ones. In addition, every nation has a similar twist.
And so, we came to the conclusion that the presence of epicanthus in Asians is due to the need to protect their eyes from sunlight, cold, dust and sand. Although, one can argue with this, even for the reason that most peoples living in similar conditions have a completely normal eye shape. So it turns out that for now this is just an unconfirmed hypothesis.
According to another opinion, the presence of a narrow eye shape in Asians is due to purely genetic reasons. These people settled all over the planet. Some tribes lived in complete isolation. It is quite possible that a narrow eye shape was present in most representatives of the tribe, and could well have been fixed genetically. However, there are some nuances here too. For example, the Chinese have never been a single people. This is a kind of symbiosis of Asian peoples, the mixing of which occurred in the process of evolution.
There is another hypothesis that explains the origin of the narrow eye shape of Asians. It denies the fact of settlement and the influence of climatic conditions, but relies on purely physiological principles. In other words, the man preferred a woman with a narrow eye shape, considering her more attractive. This gene was passed on by inheritance, and gradually became a characteristic feature of a given people. This is how peoples with narrow eyes arose.
The appearance of the Chinese is easy to recognize thanks to the expressive shape of the eyes. And many curious individuals are interested in why the inhabitants of the Celestial Empire look this way and not otherwise. Other, no less curious people offer a huge number of different answers to the same question. Here are some of the most popular theories that could explain everything, regardless of what you used to believe.
If we consider people from the point of view of evolution, we can understand that their appearance changed as required by the conditions in which certain tribes lived. It so happened that Asians did not live in the most comfortable conditions, unlike the inhabitants of Europe or America. The territory of modern Mongolia and China has always had very cold winters and dry summers. During the hot season, the sun literally blinded the eyes of everyone who went outside. And the periodically rising wind threw sand straight into the eyes of all travelers risking a walk in the sun. Therefore, I had to protect my face all the time. It is believed that it was under such conditions that the body tried to adapt. An epicanthus appeared above the eye of local residents. This is the same wide fold that hides the inner corner of the eye along with the lacrimal tubercle. Beneath it lies an additional layer of fat that protects the eyes. The upper part of the eyelid is also hidden along with the corner. Because of this, the eyes appear narrower and smaller than those of Europeans, Americans and Africans. The same fold, together with the characteristic wide nose, distinguishes the modern Chinese from all their neighbors.
Since most of the inhabitants of modern Asia lived for a long time away from other peoples, this genetic change was fixed. That's why modern Chinese look exactly like this. But there are those who do not accept this simple explanation. Opponents of the simplest theory say that in many other corners of the globe there were the same unpleasant conditions, but the appearance of the local residents was not transformed in any way. An example is the same Arabs who lived in the desert, where the sun shines even brighter and sandstorms occur even more often. On the contrary, their eyes remained wide and their skin was light. But here everything can be justified by the fact that they defended themselves more diligently, hiding their bodies under long clothes, and traveling mostly at night, and hiding during the day.
There is another interesting version of the origin of the narrow-eyed inhabitants of the East. It is believed that the appearance of the Chinese could be influenced by which women in the country were considered the most beautiful. After all, they were the ones chosen to start a family, leaving the less attractive ones alone and unclaimed. Therefore, children were born with the same eye shape and light yellowish skin. Thus, over the course of many centuries, the characteristic features of a certain nation were formed. It is surprising that many modern Chinese and Chinese women do not accept their appearance and, to some extent, “go against nature.” The same applies to narrow eyes. In the last few years, many have even undergone surgery, trying to make their facial features more “European”. This operation allows you to “open” your eyes and make them wider. Many also change the shape of their cheekbones, lips and other distinctive features. But in essence, all this does not so much make one’s appearance better as it deprives people of their individuality.
But, according to the following theory, modern residents of the People's Republic of China should be truly proud of their origin and the characteristic features that remind them of it. For centuries, the Chinese considered themselves descendants of the dragon. They claimed that the first children of the Celestial Empire were born from a heavenly dragon and an ordinary woman. Many myths tell that fire-breathing dragons often flew to the Celestial Empire, conquered by the beauty of local young ladies. It was thanks to this union that children with an unusual appearance appeared: narrow eyes, light yellow skin and short stature. It would sound quite logical, considering how, according to Chinese myths, dragons looked like - fire-breathing creatures with narrow eyes, red scales and an almost snake-like tail.
Another funny but attractive version is that the Chinese are from another planet. There is a theory of the creation of the world, according to which people not only appeared on this planet, but were thrown here from space. This theory could explain a lot. Her fans claim that the people inhabiting the Earth are so different from each other precisely because they came here from different planets. According to this theory, the Chinese flew from some distant planet, where everyone looked like the modern inhabitants of the Celestial Empire.
Many who are familiar with the Chinese worldview would have no difficulty believing the following story. This is not an entirely real theory, but more of a parable. It is said that when the Chinese had hard times, they would go outside and look at the scorching sun, hoping to see their happy future. And then, for the rest of the day, they walked and squinted so as not to notice the poor living conditions and the problems that they had to face every day. This became a habit, and the eyes “adjusted” to this squint, narrowing slightly. It doesn't sound entirely plausible, but it's very romantic. After all, despite the fact that the Chinese are great workaholics and realists, they still have time to sometimes dream about a happier life and the future that they truly deserve.
If we recall different theories of the creation of life on earth, then we can talk about the one according to which everything was created by the hands of the Creator. And here the Chinese also have their own interesting myth. He talks about how when the Creator decided to create a planet inhabited by living beings, he decided to make them from dough. Having made different figures, the Creator put them in the oven. And then I either got distracted or simply forgot about my important work. And it turned out that all the figures were baked unevenly. Some turned out raw and white - they were sent to Europe, others - well baked and dark. These figures were used to populate Africa. And the Mongolian and Chinese figures came out low and slightly baked. Yellow color and an interesting eye shape, according to this story, are the standard of beauty invented by the creator. After all, it was the Chinese figures that came out as originally intended. Of course, this is definitely not the most truthful theory. But it sounds interesting. And it definitely pleases the pride of the inhabitants of the Middle Kingdom.
Why do the Chinese have narrow eyes? Every parent has probably heard this question from their child. The answer is usually: “Because it is a sign of their race.” But why do they look this way and not otherwise? It's worth looking into this in more detail.
By the way, not only the Chinese, but also the majority of Asian peoples belonging to the Mongoloid race have a narrow eye shape. However, each nation has its own special eye shape. The Chinese are considered to have the narrowest eyes on the planet.
There is a well-founded opinion regarding the origin of the narrowed eye shape among Asians. It lies in the fact that the eyes of these people acquired this shape over centuries of evolution. This is due to the place of residence - most Asian territories are dominated by steppes and deserts. These are open spaces where the wind blows all year round and the sun shines very brightly. Residents of these latitudes need narrow eyes to protect themselves from excessively intense sunlight and dust flying with the wind. The version looks quite reasonable, considering that in Europe its forests have no problems with heavy winds and sun. Although, as an opponent of the theory of evolution, I would like to add that in the deserts of Arabia it is also sunny, deserted and windy, but for some reason their eyes are not narrow?!
Europeans' eyes are wide open to receive as much light as possible. Asians are quite satisfied with the minimum that they receive for their eye shape. This feature of the eyelids works on the principle of ancient sunglasses. When there were no dark glasses, residents of the far north (by the way, also with narrow eyes) began to wear small half masks with horizontal slits. Through these slits, the owner of the glasses saw the world around him perfectly, but the winter sun and sparkling snow did not blind him.
It's the same with the eyes of the Chinese, although they are not as narrow as the slits of the world's first sunglasses.
Features of anatomy
Some scientists explain the narrow shape of the eyes by the special structure of muscle and fat tissue. The Chinese have a thicker layer of fat under the skin of their eyelids than other races. This makes the eyelids appear swollen, the crease of the eyelid disappears, and the shape of the eyes becomes noticeably narrower. Such physiological features fit well into the evolutionary theory of why the Chinese eyelids became the way they were over the millennia.
Distant ancestors of the Chinese
Another version of why the Chinese have narrow eyes is based on the harsh living conditions of their ancestors, from whom the shape of the eyes was passed down genetically. The Mongols, the ancestors of all peoples of the Mongoloid race (hence the name), live in an extremely uncomfortable climate. Winters in Mongolia are cold and windy, summers are hot and dusty. They need narrow eyes to protect them from sand and sun. The complexities of China's climate did not have a particularly painful impact on the descendants of the Mongols; their eyes were ready for them.
Alternative explanations
Opponents of Darwin's theory, who claim that life on planet Earth originated thanks to its settlement by representatives of alien civilizations, also put forward their own versions. They believe that representatives of different times are the descendants of people from different planets. The answer to the question about the shape of the eyes, in their opinion, sounds like this: “On the planet from which they came, everyone has such eyes.” Accordingly, there were planets inhabited only by white people, only black people, etc.
Although the simplest answer to the question of why the Chinese have narrow eyes lies on the surface - the Almighty ordered it so!
It is difficult to say today which theory is correct; perhaps the answer is completely hidden from scientists. In any case, thinking about why the Chinese have narrow eyes, you cannot change your attitude towards the inhabitants of the Celestial Empire, because all people are equal and everyone is beautiful in their own way.
Why do the Chinese have narrow eyes? I have finally solved this mystery of nature. Dust storms have nothing to do with it!
A year ago there was a new addition to the university. Another group of Chinese exchange students arrived. Chinese women are on the first floor, and on the second and third. So they gave me a guess.
Have you paid attention to the lips of Chinese girls? Pay attention! The hair is black-black, the teeth are white-white, and the lips are bright scarlet.
Scarlet-scarlet! These are the features of national lipstick.
The contrast is sharp - you can’t help but squint. Reflexively.
How else are our men not blinded by such beauty? For example, I now wear dark glasses around the university. In them, reality is not so distracting.
I teach economics.
If you take off your glasses, you don’t think about the economy. I think about Chinese women. If you put it on, thoughts return to the ways of Russia’s development. I recommend glasses.
In general, it’s time to give us teachers milk for the harmfulness of production. We are surrounded by blooming youth. And, as you know, it seethes and provokes heroic deeds. Especially in the spring.
It’s easier for students - they have no time for Chinese women - one thing on their minds: how to pass the exam without learning anything.
And the teachers have thoughts - either about a ridiculous salary, or about a special path for Russia, or, as I said above, about Chinese women (if the teachers don’t wear dark glasses).
But since I had to prepare for classes and sign my notes, and I still had twenty-three business plans to check, something had to be done to concentrate on work.
And I found a way out - to neutralize the attractiveness of foreign growth with the intensity of training.
I had a student Jen. I don’t speak Russian very well, and I don’t speak Chinese very well. In English, of course, we both spoke, but each translated it differently.
Thanks to Jen, I invented a graphical way of communication based on the Russian-Chinese-English-Nizhny Novgorod language. It also came in handy that I can draw and explain things with my fingers.
So, I draw a circle with a red felt-tip pen: “Understand, Jen?”
- Yes - yes! - She nods.
I draw lips in this circle with a blue felt-tip pen - lipstick and a tube of lipstick. I cross out the circle and its contents with a red slash. I point to Jen and say: “Yu! Understand?" She nods again: “Yes-yes,” which means I understand.
Next to me I draw two eyes with eyelashes: “Mai aiz luk et yu viv difikelti” Like, it’s hard to look at you. Very bright. The brightness needs to be dimmed. I’m already adding this using sign language on my fingers.
She smiles: “Undestend-undestend!” And for some reason he pronounces the word: “wushu!”
I repeat: “You need to put out the lipstick!” And again I point to her lips, and then to “mai aiz” - her eyes. I enhance the appeal effect by introducing the word “believe”. Which means - very.
In general, we talked and understood each other in our own way. She decided that there was something wrong with my eyes and recommended wushu, and I realized that Jen was smart.
One way or another, she “extinguished” her lips. An intensive learning process began.
I would ask if she knew what economics or marketing was, and if Jen blinked back, we moved on.
In order not to torment her with complex terms in a foreign language, I extremely simplified all the concepts and continued to use my graphic-finger method for clarity.
With my help, Jen quickly learned that modern Russian business is built very simply: buy something for one ruble (dollar, yuan, euro) outside the borders of our Motherland, and then sell it inside the country for two, three, four, five - whoever will be able to.
We sell oil, gas, timber and the list goes on to those in the West and East. They, those who are South, East, and West, are driving us palm oil and everything else.
The economy of the transition period in fact means grabby: who will snatch what. The principle is the same - who dares, eats. He who has not eaten sits.
In general, Jen, I hope, “andestendz”, that on the market, as on the market.
And I reduced international relations to understandable clarity.
We have Caliber, the West has sanctions. Putin + Xi Jinping = friendship! China + Russian Federation = friendship! USA – UNFRENSHIP!
Jen, in turn, also shared with me the secrets of the Chinese economic miracle.
BASE, she wrote in block letters, dash GORBACHEV, equals sign DEN XIAOPING, and immediately crossed out the equals sign with a slash.
I said “understand”, and I very much agree with her position. Of course, Jen was also interested in our internal situation. I asked a lot of questions:
"Liberals?"
I shook my head.
"Patriots?" - I pumped again.
Kudrin? Glazyev?
- No, no, Jen, they are resting. We have Medvedev in office. There is no money, but he holds on.
- Who is guilty?
— The duty officer in the country is Chubais!
We are looking for our way. China has one - silk. We have the North Sea Bridge, plus the Crimean Bridge.
The oligarchs and Gazprom are national treasures. The military-industrial complex is our everything! Medium business is protected. Small is in the shade. Salary in envelopes. Officials are everywhere. Corruption is evil. Social policy – a bright future. This is me, as an example, briefly, giving the main provisions of the compressed course.
Gradually, Jen and I disassembled the entire economy into arrows - dashes and supporting words. The semester flew by.
I learned a lot from my Chinese comrade. And I think that I now have enough material for a PhD thesis. I am writing a monograph. Topic: “The role of wushu in raising the Russian economy from its knees.”
I’m almost ready for the pre-defense, all that remains is to publish an article in an academic journal by English scientists.
Clever Jen got a well-deserved credit; she came by yesterday to say goodbye. Returns to his homeland.
Her lips turn red again, her smile shines. And I'm calm. Thanks to Wushu, I learned to squint in such a way that it is not dangerous for my eyes.
We took a selfie with Jen as a souvenir. It turned out great.
She has black-black hair, scarlet-scarlet lips.
I—without hair, with a white mustache and squinted eyes—are the spitting image of a Chinese! Further proof, by the way, of my popular scientific discovery about the origin of narrow-eyedness.
Now Jen is already flying home over the Russian economy.
A nine-hour flight, if she looks out the window more often, will consolidate in her mind the theory she learned with my help.
And a new stream of students from the Middle Kingdom is already walking around the university. I squint and assess the growing succession of our economic partners.
You know, as a professional, I look into the future with optimism. It seems to me light-blond: black-black hair, white-white teeth, and scarlet-scarlet lips...
Vladimir Lapyrin(From the series “Stories. Change”).
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