MEI Mei is a slim and sweetlooking young woman, yet when she wears a sleeveless dress in a bar, you might be surprised by what you see - the tattoo of an eagle on her arm.

"With this tattoo, no one dares to ride roughshod over me," she said. "I feel I have become stronger since getting this tattoo."

Even though this young woman didn't seem to have any knowledge of the history of tattooing, her words unconsciously expressed their original meaning and function - worship and protection.

Marks of power

The word tattoo means "to mark something". It is said that the history of tattoos can be traced back 40,000 years, according to an archaeological discovery in an ancient cave in Spain. People at that time used bone needles to scratch coloured patterns in the skin.

Throughout its history, the purpose of tattooing has varied from culture to culture, but ritual has been a common factor. In Borneo, for example, women bore a symbol on their arms to denote their specific skills, thus increasing their potential for marriage, while tattoos worn around the fingers and wrist were said to ward off disease. It has also been believed that someone with a tattoo in a certain pattern calls upon the spirit corresponding to that image. That is why people often carry animal images on their bodies - they seek to draw upon the same power as the animal.

But tattoo vanished from Western culture when, in 787, Pope Hadrian banned tattooing as a form of pagan worship.

It was the British sailor, explorer and pirate, William Dampher who re-introduced tattoos back into Western culture. In 1691 he brought a "guest" with him to London called "Prince Giolo" - a heavily tattooed Polynesian slave. He was exhibited and attracted about

60,000 viewers.

Shady past

In China tattoos underwent steadier development, although an equally disreputable one.

In the neolithic era, historical records show that tattoos were popular in minority areas. In the history book "Shiji" (Historical Records) (104-91 BC), two princes unfavoured by the king fled to the south where many minorities lived. To camouflage themselves among the locals, the two brothers had their bodies tattooed.

In Chinese history, tattoos typically had a bad reputation. They were often associated with prisoners, gangsters and other low-class groups. In Chinese, tattoos were called "qing" after the branding of criminals.

In the classic novel "The Water Margin" (the story of 108 heroes struggling against unjust officials during the Song Dynasty, 960-1279), tattoos are mentioned several times.

When Wu Song, one of the 108 heroes in the book, killed a high official and all his 14 family members after they had framed him, his attempt to flee is complicated by the two "prints" on his face, vestiges of his life in prison. The two tattoo on his temples mark him as an ex-convict according to ancient Chinese tradition, but Wu Song uses two bandages to cover the telltale tattoos and - dressed as a fakir - escapes successfully.

The art of tattooing finds an enthusiastic market among low-class groups. In the same classic novel, one character - Shi Jin - has the nickname "nine-dragon tattoo" because of the nine flying dragons marked on his shoulders, arms and chest. Though he is not as brave and skilled as other heroes, his beautiful tattoos are enough to win him a place among the 108 heroes.

Another handsome hero from the novel, Yan Qing, also has tattoos on his body. Whenever he gets into a fight and removes his outer clothing his impressive tattoos gain him the applause of onlookers. The book compares the beauty of his tattoos to "a phoenix stepping on jade boards, a peacock flying through flowers among falling petals". These beautiful tattoos, when combined with his intelligence, wins Yan the admiration of the most famous courtesan of the time (who is also the emperor's mistress).

In the novel, men with tattoos are mostly heroes who like to help poor people and kill abusive rulers. Tattoos signal their mission and powers, but also give clues to their rough fate.

Only one story about tattoos seems to have an unambiguously positive meaning. The national hero General Yue Fei (of the Song Dynasty) had an ambitious and loyal mother. When Yue was young, his mother had a tattoo inscribed on his back reading: "loyal and devoted to the State". The story passed from generation to generation to encourage the patriotism of Chinese children. But the story didn't mention the word tattoo.

Signs of the times

Due to this dubious legacy, when Xiong Xiaohui, a professional tattooist, first saw the tattoos such as eagles and dragons marked on people's bodies he saw them as social stigmas.

"My conception was the same as that of my parents at first: people with tattoos were considered almost to be gangsters, like those rough 'heroes' in Water Margin," he said.

His mind was changed in 1994 when he quit his job as a school teacher and moved to Xiamen of East China's Fujian Province. On a beach there he saw a man whose back was covered by a colourful tattoo of a dragon.

"It was not like any tattoo I had seen before - it was more like a Chinese painting, with perfect design, light, line and colour," he said. "It was definitely art for the body."

The tattoo on this Taiwanese man's back interested Xiong and introduced him to the world of tattoos. He soon became one of the Chinese mainland's first tattooists, although this profession was not officially recognized at first.

After three years learning by himself - since there was no training institute in the country - Xiong opened his first tattooing parlour in Xiamen in 1998. At that time, there were only about 10 such parlours on the Chinese mainland.

"When I opened my first parlour, I didn't expect many clients," he said. In the first month, he received more than 10 clients, but soon people came every day, even teachers.

Most tattoo fans are young women, according to Xiong. They don't take the ritual meaning of tattoos very seriously, being more interested in trends and fashion.

The patterns most favoured by Shanghai people are small and abstract designs, such as totems or characters expressing love. Young people like to have small tattoos on the shoulders, wrists, arms and waist. They function as cool ornaments.

Xiong received his first tattoo just two years ago. "I always told my guests that real tattoos are a lifelong mark on the skin, so they should carefully consider before making the decision," he said.

Xiong has a Japanese style tattoo of waves and flowers on his arm. In the sunshine, his tattooed arm seems to sparkle like floral satin. The picture took eight hours to create.

Xiong's only regret is that when he finishes a big tattoo he can't keep the work in the way other artists can. "But I feel very proud when I look at the photos I have kept," he said. "I believe more Chinese people will come to love the art of real tattooing."