One thing that is absurd is for anyone to suggest to blame this on western influence. It is very ancient and class based. Freckles means being out in the sun, a peasant. China also developed very refined aesthetics early on, meant to control and change nature, i.e. compare the obsession with glazes on porcelains or controlling nature to exacting specification in gardens. Similar was applied to ideals of female beauty. Things like foot binding start in the 10th century....Etc. the general effect of being an ethereal being who did not labor manually was preferred. (Similar was the long fingernails on upper class males.)

There is a summary on skin tone on wikipedia's entry Chinese ideals of female beauty:

Skin tone[edit]

Skin tone is one aspect of Chinese beauty that is in contrast with the Western beauty ideal. In China, the majority of women genetically have tanner skin. Despite this there is an obsession among Chinese women to have lighter skin complexion. This is far different than most Western countries which show preference in women with tan and darker skin. This beauty ideal of fair-skin dates back as early as the Han Dynasty which controlled China from 206 B.C. – 220 A.D. During this time a woman’s skin tone was known to indicate social class. Many women of the lower class worked outside in the fields, exposing them to more sun, and ultimately making their skin darker. On the other hand, the light skin had become a representation of social prestige and the lack of physical labor. Due to this perception, there are a lot of pressures on women in China to stay indoors and not venture outside to work or play sports such as basketball and soccer.[10][11]

Due to this obsession of obtaining fair-skin the Asia-Pacific region has become the world’s largest market for skin-whitening products. These products include various creams and pills which claim to reduce a pigment called melanin in the skin.[12] Products such as these advertise fairer-skin as “beautiful” and superior to darker skin. The downside to this is not only that it makes women of darker complexion feel inferior, but that these skin whitening products can come with many risky side effects. The active ingredient in many of these products is mercury which has been known to cause serious psychiatric, neurological, and kidney problems.[citation needed]

If anything, influence would be the other way around, though the class prejudice against having skin colored by working in the sun has been in many cultures.  I.E., when did parasols start being de rigeur among European upper class? One sees them already in very ancient Chinese paintings.