Chinese women taught to smile using chopsticks
October 30, 2012
The traditional Chinese adage explains that a women of beauty does not show her teeth while she is smiling, but it seems as though this may no longer be the case. According to NBC News, one government bureau believes a woman's perfect smile is when only eight teeth are showing and they are hosting courses to make sure more women know how to do this smile.
The Dalian Port Inspection Station in China's northeastern province, Liaoning, makes custom officers had to participate in a "How to Smile" course. The officers were given an unusual assignment, as they were asked to keep a chopstick between their teeth while they smiled - this is supposed to teach the perfect grin, according to the media outlet.
"The purpose is to perfect their smiles," Zhang Tianbao, the political officer in charge of the Dalian station, told the news source. "The best result is that they can show eight teeth while they are smiling."
This is not the first time that China has taken such measures to ensure that women were smiling the way that officials want them to, as some steps were taken during the last Olympics hosted by China.
"China is part of the international world, we change our traditional culture so that the international world will understand that we're friendly," Yang Jinbo, the etiquette adviser during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, told the news outlet.
According to the Daily Mail, Chinese police are considered the best trained across the globe - and this shows how extenstive their training really goes.
Those who want to talk about the perfect smile can make calls to China using international calling cards.