In fact, when photography technology just entered China, the ancients were very cautious about it. At one time, people even thought that cameras would suck people's souls and take them away. In addition, in the early days when photography technology was introduced to China, photographers were mainly foreigners. At that time, people in China were afraid of foreigners themselves, and foreigners brought "soul-sucking" cameras. In the eyes of China people at that time, they were simply angels of death from hell. This can be seen in the records of Thomson, the pioneer of documentary photography. According to Thomson's records, he once saw China people kneeling down and begging him not to take away their image or even their lives. On another occasion, when he was filming an ancient pagoda in Guangzhou, he was caught and pushed into the river. Fortunately, he was saved by two kind China girls.
Apart from the fear of photographers, foreign photographers who came to China in the early days took photos in China with a sense of curiosity. Under the lens of these photographers who are hostile and misinterpreted to China, the dark side of society, such as small-footed women, beggars and criminals, has become the object of photographers' shooting, and most of these characters are dull. But in fact, in addition to these photos we often see, there are also some photos of husband and wife looking at each other, mother and child looking at each other, and eye contact between master and servant. However, because these photos do not conform to the traditional customs at that time, not many have been handed down, and ordinary people will not take pictures in this way. Generally, foreigners give photographers some money, and then they will get the shooting effect they want to achieve.
In fact, another important reason is that in those days, ordinary people obviously had no financial resources to take pictures, but for the rich, taking a picture of themselves or the whole family was particularly cherished. Therefore, in the face of precious shooting opportunities and the mentality of hoping that the photos will be circulated for a long time, most of the subjects are faced with a serious expression and cannot tolerate any carelessness. Because if you leave an improper expression in the eyes of the ancients, you will be laughed at. Serious and nervous expressions, monochrome clothing, veneer clothing design and other elements together, it is inevitable that people will not look so good.
Under the background at that time, civil wars continued year after year, and wars were defeated one after another. After hundreds of years of destruction, people's spirit was decadent, their thoughts were imprisoned, traditional concepts were deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and the relationship between master and servant in the Qing Dynasty was also deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. This also explains why most people at that time looked dull and their eyes were empty.
But you can't generalize, except for the ugly ones. In fact, there were some beautiful women in ancient times, and now they look amazing. So, what you said is an excuse, but it's actually your own ugliness!