During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period (475-221 BC) in China a slender figure was more desirable. There was a poem that said the King of Chu liked slim waists, and thus many officials starved themselves to death.

Also, there was a famous beauty during China's Han Dynasty (202BC-220AD) named Zhao Feiyan, whose slim waist and nimble dances were praised by many poets from that period.

A portrait of Zhao Feiyan. [Photo/Xinhua]