Taiwan Today

Chinese appreciation for the young and the fair can also be found in their literature. From time immemorial, the beautiful and fair have been a popular theme with Chinese poets in song and ballad. Some Chinese men of letters like Ku Hung-ming, the renowned philosopher and writer at the turn of the century, said it was not possible to concentrate on writing without a fair companion close by.

However, even to modern times, the Chinese people held that female beauty should be admired at home, not by the general public. It was considered a breach of decorum for women, especially girls of high social status to display their physical attributes in public. The mere suggestion of holding a beauty contest would have shocked their eld­ers.

Against this social backdrop, the Ta Hua Evening Post cautiously started sponsoring a Miss China contest early this year to select a Chinese young woman to participate in the International Beauty Congress at Long Beach, California, this August. Times have surely been changing in the Republic of China. Anticipated objections did not flood the newspaper office. On the contrary, the response from the public was more than encouraging. Even educators and scho­lars, who would probably have condemned the idea as frivolous twenty years ago, gave unqualified support to the project. The initial apprehension was largely a question as to whether parents and the girls themselves could overcome their misgivings about the contest. Not all the "best families" were represented, it is true, but it is safe to predict that hereafter there will be no social barri­ers.

Another factor which helped the local contest was the rules of the International Beauty Congress itself. Unlike the annual Miss Universe pageant which has been moved to Miami, Florida, the Congress, sponsored by the city of Long Beach, does not require the contestants to appear in swimming suits. Nor are they required to reveal their meas­urements. This policy succeeded in removing the last doubts of people in Free China regarding the propriety of the event. It also encouraged some Chinese girls to enter who know they cannot match the physical propor­tions of their occidental sisters.

In order to make sure that the first Miss China should be representative of modern China's best, the Miss China Selection Committee added reasonably strict rules of its own. The committee specified that contestants must be:

1. Brought up in a decent family;

2. Unmarried and well-educated;

3. In good health and physically attractive;

4. Over 18 years;

5. Of gracious manners and good poise;

6. Articulate in conversation and capable of coping with minor social situations; and

7. More or less talented, having one or two skills representative of Chinese culture.

These requirements were well conceived. It was fitting that Miss China should be more than a Powers fashion model. As an unoffi­cial ambassador of goodwill from her country she should be so endowed as not to fail in her mission of fostering international understanding and propagating the culture of an ancient nation.

After much preparatory work, the Miss China contest finally got underway in Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung last May with 192 fair maids participating in the preliminary contests. One even came from Hong Kong. The interest these contests aroused was overwhelming. They attracted a packed hall of appreciative spectators. Names of the con­testants became familiar to all, and their merits and demerits became the most popular subject of conversation. Even Khrushchev's rocket-rattling antics at the Summit failed to push the beauty contest into the background.

Besides the universal appeal of feminine charms, there was another reason for public enthusiasm over the contest. Since last August when nearly one third of Taiwan was devastated by an unprecedented flood disaster, the whole nation had devoted itself, heart and soul, to a gigantic rehabilitation program which tested the people's energy and resources. After months of hard work for many, and belt-tightening austerity for all, the peo­ple welcomed this contest as a much needed change.

Of the 192 girls in the preliminary con­tests, 38 survived the rigorous preliminaries. On June 2, the Miss China hopefuls from down-island converged on Taipei for the two-day semi-final contest at International House. Appearing alternately in playsuit, form-fitting Chinese gown and finally western evening dress, they walked one by one before the critical eyes of eleven judges and a packed audience against a background of Chinese architectural setting and to the mellow notes of classical Chinese music.

The scene was spell-binding to the spectators in the crowded hall. But it was an ordeal to the contestants. Many of them, appearing under the glaring lights for the most critical moment of their young lives, had to overcome stage fright. So many were watching them, including relatives and friends. Their thoughts were kalaidoscopic. Am I walking gracefully? Is there anything wrong with my makeup or dress? Why does that fellow over in the corner wears that odd expression on his face? What if I stumble?

Finally, the contestants had to face an official interviewer at the end of each individual appearance. He asked questions at random, to which the half-exhausted contestant was expected to give prompt answers. This question-and-answer session, though brief, was an important part of the contest, because it was designed to test the girl's ability to conduct an intelligent and interesting—perhaps clever—conversation.

After running this gauntlet, ten con­testants were pronounced semi-finalists. On June 4, they faced the crucial test, from which only five would emerge as finalists. At this stage, the interview was replaced by a three­-minute speech on the subject of "I wish to Be a ...,"—a cleverly chosen topic. The speaker would inevitably reveal the nature of her ambitions and her philosophy of life. It also would inevitably help the judges to determine the degree of her education.

The final contest took place the next night. Another form of interview, more exacting, was conducted. The rinalists had to draw questions from a glass bowl. These questions reportedly had come from Long Beach and, as such, were tougher for girls in the Far East than for American or European girls. However, the Chinese beauties passed this hurdle.

As the choice narrowed, the decision of top winner and the order of the four others became exceedingly difficult to make. Since the finalists were all beautiful and all accomplished, it was the judges' turn to face a test. While they pondered deeply before casting their final votes, the spectators awaited the announcement in great suspense.

It was a full half-hour from the time the final contestant left the ramp until the representative of the judges took the stage to announce the final results. The rest of the panel stood to signify their unanimity of opinion and the solemnity of the occasion. In reverse order he announced the names of the top five. When he named Janet Lin last, thunderous applause broke out in the auditorium indicating the approval of the crowd.

Janet, 22-year old daughter of a middleclass farmily, deserves the "Miss China" title in every respect. Five feet five in height, she car­ries her 113 pounds with an elegance and grace that are probably the envy of all girls her age. She has gleaming black hair, bobbed and neatly waved, large black eyes, a wellformed nose and a fair complexion. A somewhat shy, winning smile further enhances her beauty. She will bring honor to China whether she wins at Long Beach or not.

Moreover, outward beauty is not her only asset. As a graduate of the Taipei Home Economics College, Miss Lin can cook well and is rated a competent seamstress: As eldest in the family, she learned to help her mother at an early age. After her father died ten years ago, she helped look after her three young brothers and with the household chores.

As is traditional in China, Janet has been a filial daughter. She never played truant from school, but has been a model student for her exemplary conduct as well as acade­mic accomplishments. Before she registered for the Miss China contest, she considered it her duty to obtain consent from both her mother and grandmother.

Miss Lin loves music and literature, both classical and modern. She speaks English fairly well and can converse in Japanese. As a good story-teller and toy-maker, she is loved by all the children in the neighborhood. To a destitute old man living in the same block she is a considerate neighbor.

Flower arrangement is her favorite hobby. Whenever possible, she goes to the seashore, completely happy watching the sea gulls gliding overhead, and the huge waves rolling up and receding from the beach. At such times she is oblivious of the world around her.

Quiet and reserved, Janet Lin is also far from being a self-important girl. As a matter of fact, she is perhaps too self-effacing for a girl of her endowments. Even after she was acclaimed the most beautiful girl in free China, she confided to one of her friends that she had thought she had the least chance to win the coveted title. The night she returned from the semi-final contest, she cut the petticoat from her red evening dress because she thought she was through. She had to sew it back on the next morning, when she learned that she had survived the contest.

She said she felt "relaxed" during the final contest. "I thought I would be the last because to me the other four were more beautiful than I," she explained. She said she could not believe her ears when she was announced winner of the contest, adding: "My doubts did not completely vanish until after the tiara was placed on my head."

Outwardly reticent, Miss Lin still proved pretty sharp and quick-witted. At the press conference after her coronation she proved herself equal to the occasion. When one reporter asked about her vital statistics, she replied, "With your experience I think you already know by merely looking at me." Asked whether she had boy friends, she said: "Yes. I have boy friends just as I have girl­friends'"

Miss Lin thinks a girl's best place is in the home. "That's why I attended the Taipei Home Economics College." Asked what kind of man she would like to marry she said she her future husband would be "neither too rich nor too poor. I hope he will be a diplomat."

Her choice is no accident. Mr. Lin Nai-kung, Janet's father, was in the diplomatic service during the Japanese occupation of Taiwan. He took his family from one post to another in Asia. It was at Changchun, capital of Manchuria, that the future "Miss China" was born. Mr. Lin's constant travel broadened his daughter's horizon in her childhood and life as a diplomat's daughter gave her the kind of training suited to a girl with her talents.

Mrs. Lin, daughter of a physician, is a strong-willed person. After the death of her husband in 1950, she turned down the offer of relatives to help support the family. Instead, she went to Japan to learn the trade of a beautician. Returning to Taiwan, she raised her children by her own earnings.

From August 4, Miss Lin, chaperoned by her mother, will be in Long Beach competing with over 50 beautiful girls from all corners of the world for the title of Miss International Beauty. It is, of course, any body's guess as to how high she will go. Janet may not be the most beautiful contestant by Western standards. But in all-round attributes, she can be counted on to represent China's young womanhood well. With the careful grooming of the Miss China Selection Committee, she may surprise her home-city.

By coincidence, the Taipei Home Economics College of the first Miss China is also the alma mater of Yeh Mu-chiu, second place winner of the Miss China contest. Wang Li-ling won third place. Fourth place went to Vivien Shen, and Korea-born Li Hsiu-ying was fifth. Each has her own merits, and all have slight drawbacks. But in the discerning eyes of the judges, anyone of the five might be hailed as the most beautiful girl in Free China.

One nice thing about the contest, none of the girls showed the slightest trace of jealousy toward any other. Inevitably some of them were dropped at each stage of the contest. But the defeated girls demonstrated no bitterness to either the judges or their more fortunate sisters. They showed up as spectators and good sports as the pageant went on. They applauded their former rivals with great zeal out of honest appreciation.

Their superb demeanor during the contest will go a long way toward minimizing man's misunderstanding of the fair sex. Needless to say, they earned the lasting gratitude of Taiwan by providing a high standard for future beauty contests.