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The Three Zones and Five Eyes, Explained

The classical Chinese proportion framework — what 三庭五眼 measures, what it does and does not claim, and how to eyeball it on your own face.

三庭五眼 (three courts and five eyes) is a proportion framework from classical Chinese physiognomy that is still used in portrait drawing, beauty instruction and — at FaceLab — as neutral geometry. It claims nothing about fortune; it is purely a description of balance.

Steps

  1. 三庭 (vertical): hairline → brow line → nose base → chin. The three bands should each be roughly one third of face length.
  2. 五眼 (horizontal): the face's width across the eyes should hold about five eye-widths — one eye-width from temple to outer eye corner on each side, one between the eyes, one per eye.
  3. Mark the points with your fingers in a mirror first; a screenshot with a pen tool works even better.
  4. Compare bands, not millimetres: which third reads longest? That zone is where proportion-focused styling (bangs, beard length, brow shape) earns its keep.

Reading the result

A long upper zone → bangs or a lower brow arch shorten it. A long lower zone → beard shaping or a shorter cut rebalances. Close-set or wide-set eyes (the five-eye axis) respond to eyeliner and brow-tail placement.

More tutorials

How to Measure Your Face Shape at HomeWhat Is My Face Shape? (Self-Quiz)Photo Lighting Basics for Face AnalysisTake a Compliant Passport Photo at HomeHow to Check Your Face Symmetry (and Read the Result)Glasses FitHow to Find Your Color Season
Skip the tape measure. FaceLab measures all of this from one photo in your browser — ratios, symmetry and skin tone, each with the method shown.

FAQ

Is there a 'correct' 三庭五眼?

The framework treats equal thirds as the reference — a neutral average, not an ideal. Most faces deviate somewhere; the deviations are simply styling information.