Cosmetics like lipstick, foundation and eyeliner are commonly used by women nowadays. But what did Chinese women use for makeup in ancient times?
現(xiàn)代女性普遍使用口紅、粉底液和眼線膏等化妝品，但是中國古代女性用什么化妝呢?

Over the past several years, Wang Yifan, 29, has restored more than 30 kinds of cosmetics and makeup tools from different dynasties.
在過去的幾年里，29歲的王一帆復原了來自不同朝代的30多件妝品和嚴具。

Wang has been fascinated by cosmetics since she was a child. She learned the formulas for some ancient cosmetics and basic techniques such as extracting plant pigments from her grandfather who studies Chinese ancient cosmetics.
王一帆從小就對化妝品著迷。她從學做過妝品的祖父那里，學到了一些古代妝品的配方，還學會了諸如提取植物色素的基本技術(shù)。

“At that time, I didn’t know what exactly ‘restoration’ was,” Wang said. “I just learned how to do it without any theoretical knowledge.”
“當時我不知道究竟什么是‘復原’，”王一帆說，“我只是在沒有任何理論知識的情況下，學會了怎么復原。”

After graduating from college in 2015, Wang devoted herself to researching ancient cosmetics. She spent five years gradually mastering systematical knowledge of restoring ancient cosmetics. She also learned from professionals who specialize in clothing and dying.
2015年大學畢業(yè)后，王一帆致力于研究古代妝品。她花了五年時間，逐漸掌握了復原古代妝品的系統(tǒng)知識，還向精專于服裝和染色的專家學習。

Basically, the restoration process of cosmetics includes the following steps: figuring out the ingredients, formula and effectiveness, doing experiments, making comparisons after testing and constant adjustment if any problems emerge.
妝品復原的過程基本包括以下幾個步驟：確定成分、配方和功效，做實驗，測試后做對比，發(fā)現(xiàn)問題并不斷調(diào)整。

In her eyes, every step is a challenge. But finding the right components and formulas is the most difficult part as it could be the decisive factor regarding whether the cosmetics could be restored. Wang needs to examine references in many ancient books and paintings and unearthed relics. Sometimes, the same cosmetics have various formulas in different books, and the same ingredient might have different names during different time periods.
在王一帆眼里，每個步驟都充滿挑戰(zhàn)，但是查找正確的成分和配方最為困難，因為這可能是影響妝品能否復原的決定性因素。王一帆需要考察相關信息，為此她翻弄了許多古籍、古畫和出土文物。有時，相同的妝品在不同的古籍中載有不同配方，而相同的成分在不同時期可能有不同名稱。

“Therefore, researching the formula is the most time-exhausting and energy-consuming step,” Wang said. After that, Wang needs to do experiments with the right makeup tools and techniques. Any mistakes can lead to failure.
王一帆說:“因此，研究配方是最耗費時間和精力的步驟?！闭业搅苏_的配方后，王一帆需要使用正確的化妝工具，運用恰當?shù)募记勺鰧嶒?。任何錯誤都可能導致妝品復原失敗。

For example, Wang restored a kind of powder used by Empress Wu Zetian. This powder was made of motherwort, a plant used in herbal medicine. Wang had to learn crude drug processing from experts. It took her two years to recreate the powder.
例如，王一帆復原了一種女皇武則天使用過的妝粉，這種妝粉以草藥植物益母草為原料制成。王一帆不得不向?qū)＜覍W習藥材炮制，并花費兩年時間復原出這種妝粉。

Although the process is complicated and tough, Wang finds it worthwhile. “Restoring cosmetics offers another perspective for people to learn Chinese history and know more about our nation,” Wang said.
雖然妝品復原的過程復雜而艱難，但王一帆認為值得。王一帆說:“復原妝品為大家了解中國歷史、了解我們國家提供了另一個視角?！?/span>

Now, more people know the industry due to exposure on social media. “What’s more, China has been attaching more importance to traditional Chinese culture,” Wang said. “This boosts my confidence to continue to restore ancient cosmetics.”
現(xiàn)在，由于社交媒體的曝光，越來越多的人了解到妝品復原行業(yè)?！案匾氖?，中國越來越重視中國傳統(tǒng)文化，”王一帆說，“這增強了我繼續(xù)復原古代化妝品的信心。”

以上文章內(nèi)容選自《21世紀學生英文報高中版》，詳情請見《21世紀學生英文報高中版》高二851期