Modern women's "flowerpieces", the beauty spots worn to cover freckles and facial blemishes, were created by Shang Guan Shi, a supervisor of palace women in the Tang Dynasty. Before the year of Dali (766-780), the wives of government officials and high-status scholars were a vicious and jealous lot. At the slightest provocation, they scarred the faces of maids or concubines with marks which were so common that various types had names such as "coin spot" or "crescent moon spot".
Source:
http://traditions.cultural-china.com/en/15Traditions1023.html
