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The "Tattoo" section records Tang tattoo customs. "Qing" originally meant punishment — tattooing characters on criminals' faces as a mark of shame. But Duan records another dimension: among southern minorities, tattooing was identity expression and aesthetic choice. Dragon patterns, totems, and floral designs tattooed on the body were not shame but pride. This dual attitude toward tattoos — punishment in the north, beauty in the south — reflects the cultural diversity of the Tang dynasty.

Facial Punishment

Tang law stipulated that convicts sentenced to exile would have characters tattooed on their foreheads, filled with ink, permanently irremovable. This was "tattoo punishment," one of the Five Punishments. The tattooed bore characters on their faces — all who saw knew them as criminals, shamed for life.

Southern Embroidered Faces

The people of Lingnan and Jiaozhi, men and women alike, tattooed their faces. Needles pricked the skin, filled with indigo, in intricate patterns — sometimes dragons and phoenixes, sometimes flowers and birds. Women had their faces tattooed before marriage; those without tattoos could not wed. They said tattooed faces kept evil spirits away.

Dragon Tattoo

A young man tattooed a green dragon on his arm, over a foot long, scales and claws vividly rendered. In summer when he bared his arms, the dragon rippled with his muscles as if alive. People found it marvelous and competed to imitate him.

The Tattooed Poem

Someone tattooed an entire poem on his back — indigo for ink, needle for brush. The poem read: "Past shame is not worth boasting; today my thoughts roam free. Spring wind carries me on swift hooves — in one day I see all Chang'an's flowers." This was Meng Jiao's poem "After Passing the Examination."

"The Art of Tattoo" reveals a deep cultural fracture in Tang society: tattooing was "shame" in the north and "beauty" in the south. This is not merely an aesthetic difference but two completely different body-concepts — the northern Confucian tradition held that the body was given by parents and must not be damaged ("body, hair, and skin are received from one's parents"), making tattooing a desecration; southern minorities saw the body as a canvas, tattooing as a medium for communicating with natural forces. Duan records both attitudes with a naturalist's stance, making no judgment. This non-judgment is itself a position — implying both cultures deserve equal respect.