Plus-size woman’s role as legendary concubine beauty of ancient China starts body diversity discussion

At first Wang Yu couldn’t stop crying after finishing work each day because of all the negative comments she received

Now, after she has received a flood of positive reactions, she feels ‘pleasure’ from her role-playing of a historical period legendary figure

Reading Time:2 minutes

A young woman in China embraces her plus-sized figure while dressing as a legendary ancient Chinese beauty and starts a national conversation on body image. Photo: Weibo

Published: 7:06pm, 10 May 2022Updated: 7:37pm, 10 May 2022

A plus-size woman who impersonates one of ancient China’s legendary beauties has helped start a conversation about body confidence for Chinese girls.

Wang Yu, 28, from Shanxi province in central China plays the role of Imperial Concubine Yang, also known as Yang Guifei, in a Tang dynasty recreation designed to attract customers to a thematically decorated shopping centre.

Video of her performance has gained a lot of attention because of her larger figure and for her re-enactment skills.

Wang, who has 15,000 followers on Weibo, is a fan of Chinese traditional clothing, known as Hanfu, which she said makes her feel confident whenever she puts the outfits on and enjoys the recognition she receives from people online.

At first, Wang was devastated by online comments but later took comfort in the positive voices she encountered. Photo: Weibo

“I gained weight after taking hormonal drugs, which discouraged me,” she told Chinese online news outlet Bailu Video.