Sweet Tattoo

In the tattoo industry China is considered one of the countries with the most beautiful tattoo designs available, they are more popular than almost any other style of design today however this was not always the case. For many years tattoos in China were considered in a very negative light because they violated the body and any act to violate the body, which was considered a gift from the parents, was totally unacceptable.
Initially tattoos were only popular within the criminal and tribal circles. Any person that was found guilty of committing severe crimes would have their faces tattooed before they were banished from the country, by doing this it would identify them if they were to ever return to China and everyone would know that they were criminals. This act was called Ci Pei which when translated means tattoo banishment. This is one of the reasons why tattooing, even to this day, remains unacceptable in the eyes of the elder community.
As part of some of the tribal customs in China girls as young as 12 years old would receive tattoos as a symbol of their maturity and coming of age. It was also fairly common for tribal women to tattoo their faces in order to make themselves less attractive so that men from other tribes would not try to kidnap and rape them.
The men in various tribes would have their backs, chest and upper arms tattooed as a show of strength and muscularity.
The most famous tattoo to ever come out of China was that of Yueh Fei a famous General in the South Song Dynasty. Yueh Fei resigned and returned home to his mother after his Field Marshal defected over to the enemy side. His mother was extremely angered by her sons early return telling him that his country was the most important thing and that he should serve his country with the ultimate loyalty. She marked his back with a tattoo saying ultimate, loyalty, serve, country.
Although many people in China still hold tattoos in a very negative light because of the previous criminal link they are now becoming much more mainstream thanks largely to young and famous trendsetters throughout the country.