Contemporary Chinese Tattoo Culture

The main purpose of this thesis is to take a closer look at tattoo culture in China-not only its historical and ethnic background,but mainly its contemporary development.When we thinks of tattoos,often the first things that come to mind are tribal tattoos from exotic far-away cultures or typically North American stylized tattoos,such as eagles,pin-up girls,lighthouses,etc.However,when it comes to the practice of tattooing in Asia,there is little understanding of it and the only things that are common knowledge is the connection of tattoos and transitional crime syndicates such as the Japanese Yakuza or the Chinese Triads.The Western perspective on Asian tattoos by large is limited to the criminal elements of these cultures and how they use tattoos to show their status within these organizations.However,this is a very myopic view and ignores the rich history of tattoos within these cultures and how they have developed through time.While there has been some research done into contemporary Japanese tattoo culture,Western research on Chinese tattoo culture is severely limited and even the few instances when it is discussed,it is focused on mentions of tattoos in ancient texts and traditional tattoo cultures which are mostly associated with ethnic minorities.While research into the subject of contemporary tattooing may be considered a moot point,as in the West tattoos have become a mainstream phenomenon,covering the bodies of celebrities,ordinary people and in some cases,even politicians,contemporary tattoo culture in China has not been examined.Therefore it is my belief that a paper on contemporary Chinese tattoo culture will be of interest not only to tattoo enthusiasts from different cultures,but will also be of interest to sinologists who may wish to know more about modern-day Chinese society and and how it deals with body modifications,which seem to have become ubiquitous in most of Europe and North America.