In 1934, the Kuomintang's National Government initiated the New Life Movement, aiming to reform people's daily life with the principle of "tidy, clear, simple, plain, fast and realistic." The government in Nanjing issued a circular to the whole nation, which strictly prohibited women from having permanent waves. Helplessly, the curls began disappearing from the modern women in Nanjing. Nevertheless, the perm business was still brisk in Shanghai and Beijing, which shows those women's strong pursuit of beauty.
