People in ancient society often used specific body movements, audio language, tattoos, ornaments, dance and other forms of advertising that used the body as a communication medium or carrier to achieve their goals. The body or limbs are the most primitive advertising media, and their media functions have been preserved and continued throughout the long years of ancient Chinese society. The commonly used body language in ancient society can be roughly divided into the following categories:
1. Mimicry and sign language. Before the use of language, mimicry and sign language were the most practical and effective ways to convey specific information to the audience. For example, during the hunting process of primitive people, when a person encounters a herd of buffalo, he immediately runs to a high ground where everyone in the same tribe can see him, lifts the body covering with both hands, stretches it to the top of his head, and then slowly Let it go slowly and over and over again. This is the signal to mobilize all members of the tribe to hunt. Primitive people like to work together when hunting. When hunters find traces of animals and need to move covertly, they use sign language to communicate with each other. Those gestures often express the animal's most striking features. Raise your hands high and straighten your index finger to indicate that the beast you see is a kudu with a pair of big horns; bend your middle finger and stretch the other four fingers to indicate that you have found a giraffe; if you find an ostrich, you raise your arms diagonally to symbolize its long neck. Ethnological research has proven that this kind of mimicry and sign language existed everywhere in ancient society and was an important carrier for primitive people to transmit information.
2. Body painting and tattoos. The decoration of painting colors or drawing figures on the body is called body painting, and this kind of decoration originated very early. Hexite, which can be used as a pigment, is often found in Upper Paleolithic sites dating back tens of thousands of years. Until modern times, many ethnic groups who maintain ancient customs still like to paint themselves. During the Dragon Boat Festival, an old custom in my country, ethnic minorities in many areas are accustomed to painting realgar or drawing symbols on their heads, faces, wrists, etc. Dying their teeth black can be said to be a kind of body decoration. Ancient books record that there is a "Black Tooth Country" in the southeast of my country: "Four thousand to the east of the Japanese Kingdom is the Naked Country. Southeast of the Naked Country is the Black Tooth Country, which can be reached by boat in one year." The Dai, Jinuo, Brown and other ethnic groups in Yunnan, my country, usually Chewing betel nut and lime can also make your teeth black over time.
The decoration of tattoos on the surface of the human body is called tattoo, and this custom originated very early. According to ancient records, the Wu, Yue, and Chu people in the Jiangnan area of ??ancient my country worshiped the dragon totem: "The tattoo depicts its body, with ink inside, in the shape of a dragon. When it enters the water, the dragon cannot harm it." Our country includes the Han nationality. Most ethnic groups have the custom of tattooing in ancient or modern times. Li women start getting tattoos between the ages of 12 and 13 to 16 and 17 years old. When you have a lover, you need to tattoo a special mark on your hand. This mark is often tattooed by the lover himself. The Jinuo, Brown, Dulong and other ethnic groups in Yunnan in my country, as well as the Gaoshan ethnic groups in Taiwan, also have the custom of tattooing. ...(Abridged) Because tattoos have a strong identification role in the interactions between clans and tribes in primitive societies and the group activities of primitive people, they also convey specific information during the communication, fighting and intermarriage processes of different groups. The migration and activities of primitive groups also play a role in a wider territory, so it can also be regarded as a primitive advertising medium that can convey life and social information.
3． Body jewelry. Adding decorations to the human body can be traced back to the Late Paleolithic Age. Rich decorations have been found at the Cave Man Site in Zhoukoudian, Beijing, my country. Among them are hollow animal teeth, hollow sea clam shells, drilled stone beads, drilled small gravels, drilled fish bones and grooved bone tubes, etc. They were strung together with straps and put on the body. There are many kinds of human body ornaments, which can be roughly divided into hair ornaments, head ornaments, ear ornaments, nose ornaments, lip ornaments, neck ornaments, foot ornaments and so on. The wearing of body accessories is closely related to the hairstyles and hairstyles of people in different eras. Ethnic minorities in southwestern my country usually tie their hair into a cone shape, either in front of the forehead or behind the back. They often arrange it with flowers during festivals. Guangxi Yao women's hair styles vary from place to place. They have two bamboo arrows inserted on their heads, about two feet long. Their hair is divided into two strands, knotted on the left and right, wrapped around the arrows, and covered with a gauze scarf, shaped like two butterfly wings. stand. Some wear bamboo hoops with raised ends, shaped like horns, and are tied tightly with beads and silk.
She women in some places in eastern Zhejiang wear headdresses made of bamboo tubes, about three feet long, wrapped in red cloth and inlaid with silver. There is a silver medal nailed to the front and back of the bamboo tube, and white beads are hung on it. According to different ornaments, the living habits and characteristics of different ethnic groups can be judged, and specific ideas or cultural information can be conveyed through the matching and combination of different ornaments. Here, human body ornaments not only reflect the joys and sorrows of primitive people, but also spread this life and cultural information to every member of the ethnic group, even to neighboring or hostile clan groups, and the function of primitive advertising is also demonstrated. It is relatively powerful and has obvious advertising "notification" function.
Based on the above materials, it is not difficult to see that in the long years of primitive society and early civilization, different groups of people in vast areas, including China, relied on body language for a long time to convey information. The transmission of specific information that has the function of "informing" and "recognizing" between one group of people and one group of groups is all done in this way. Body language here becomes the original and most important advertising medium.
Second surrogates - specific markers for the transmission of advertising information
In addition to using body language to convey information, primitive people rely more on natural objects in the real world to realize advertising information. transfer. One of these natural objects is naturally generated or exists in nature, such as trees, rocks, etc., and the other, although created by humans, has not been consciously used as an advertising medium, but is in the process of transmitting information. have been borrowed from, such as pictures, ropes, etc. There are two types of substitutes: one is a specific substitute, and the other is a substitute for life.
1． Specific substitutes
(1) Knotted rope. Knotting knots to record events is a common method of primitive information transmission. The practice of tying knots to record events in ancient Chinese society is often described in history books. The Book of Changes records: "In ancient times, people tied knots to rule, and later generations of saints changed it with written contracts. Hundreds of officials "Zhuangzi" records: "In the past, the Rongcheng family... the Zhurong family, the Fuxi family, and the Shennong family were at that time, and the people tied ropes and used them." "Northern History" also mentioned. : "Hunting is a profession, simplicity is a custom, simplicity is a transformation, not writing, just carving wood and knotting ropes." The knotting method has been widely used in ancient Chinese history and has a long history. Taiwan's Gaoshan people record dates by tying a number of knots according to the number of days and untying one knot every night. The Tibetan Lhoba people use a knife to cut a knot every day. Cutting until the last knot indicates the expiration date, and untying the knot indicates the date of the appointment. When people from Dulong, Yunnan go out alone, they often tie a hemp rope around their waist and tie a knot once a day to record the number of days they have left. The Yao people often get a decision in front of the leader when there is a dispute between two people. The method is that the disputants each hold a rope, and whoever tells a reason ties a knot until the argument is finished. The one with the most knots wins the case. In class society, the tradition of knotting was also inherited by merchants and changed in form and use. In shops, hotels, teahouses and merchant stalls, various banners or signboards are often decorated with various ornaments, strung with ropes, embellished with silk, colorful strips of fabric, various beads or Pai Sui also has many unique shapes, which are made of knotted and woven thick hemp ropes. Here, rope knots become a new medium for delivering advertising messages.
(2) Carved wood. Engraved wood is another symbolic language. History books have also recorded the historical facts of wood carvings in various parts of our country. For example, the "Book of the Later Han Dynasty" records, "If the adults have a call, they will carve wood as a letter." Even if there is no writing, they dare not violate it. "Lingwai Daida" also records: "The Yao people have no writing, and their offers are carved on two wooden boards. People hold one of them and keep it with great faith." "Yunnan Tengyue Prefecture Chronicle" also mentions: "The Yi people have customs , all loans and credit, financial arrangements and other matters, do not know the writing, only use wood carving as a symbol, each holds half of it, and pays as promised, nothing happens. "
The custom of carving wood as a mark is still there. In the process of commodity production and exchange, it evolved into the inscription of official workers or the marking of celebrity goods, that is, the names of official workers or celebrities were stamped on the goods sold. If you go back further, carved wood can even be regarded as the source of product trademarks and mark advertising.
(3) Wolf smoke. During the Spring and Autumn Period of our country, there are records of using fire and beacon smoke to convey military warnings.
After Qin Shihuang, a beacon tower was built every ten miles on the Great Wall, using dry wolf dung as fuel. After it was lit, the fire and smoke would rise into the sky, and emergency warnings could be sent to far away places. The line in the ancient poem "The sun sets on the flat sand in the west of the desert, the stars on the mountains rise high and low again; the beacon fires can be seen in several isolated mountains, and the strong men camp with drums and drums" is a true portrayal of the application of this primitive information transmission method. This kind of communication media was also used in the business activities of merchants in ancient society. For example, in different periods, there are records of night-walking caravans and caravans "raising fire as a signal."
(4) Drum. The original information transmission method affects both vision and hearing. Information transmission that affects hearing is mainly carried out with the help of sound communication tools, among which signal drums are the most common. The cowhide wooden drum of the Jinuo people in my country is made by hollowing out both ends of a thick tree, then tying it with furry cowhide, hanging it on the tree and beating it with a wooden mallet. During the New Year, when the drum is heard, men and women gather together. Young people gathered together, singing and dancing.
(5) Bamboo number. The Nu people in my country use bamboo trumpets to spread information during funerals, and announce the funeral to the whole village by blowing different numbers of bamboo trumpets. The number of bamboo trumpets increases or decreases according to the status of the deceased: one bamboo trumpet is played for the unmarried deceased, two for the married, and five or six for the elderly and the leader. After hearing the news, the tribe members rushed to the deceased's house and brought eggs to express their condolences. Entering class society, with the differentiation of merchants and merchants, merchants walked through the streets and alleys, creating a variety of information dissemination tools such as blowing, playing, playing and singing. For example, there are records of merchants in the Han Dynasty playing flutes and selling sugar candies.
(6) Audio equipment. The pottery bells and pottery xun unearthed from the Miaodigou site in my country's Neolithic Age, and the three-hole pottery xun from the Jiangzhai site all have the function of producing music. After entering class society, with the development of commodity production and commodity exchange, the forms of sound advertising have become increasingly rich and colorful. Various utensils in daily life may become the communication media of sound advertising, such as bowls and lamps that are closely related to daily life. , pots, etc., and entertainment-related flutes, harps, harps, drums, gongs, etc., have also become tools for transmitting advertising information. For the purpose of advertising, many businessmen also specially made rattles and utensils to express the characteristics of the industry. Typical examples include rattles for salesmen, tweezers and forks used by barbers, and copper clappers used by knife sharpeners.
The widespread use of specific metonyms shows that the methods and approaches of advertising communication have changed greatly. With the frequency of communication activities and the advancement of communication technology, people are borrowing all available tools or objects to deliver advertising messages more effectively and more targetedly. The richness of media forms enables human advertising to spread over a wider area and convey richer ideas, culture and business information.
2. Life substitutes
(1) Grass mark. Also called grass mustard. It is a naturally growing thing, but when it is inserted into items sold or for sale, it has a symbolic meaning. In different historical periods of ancient Chinese society, grass mustard was used in everything from daily necessities to poor families selling their children due to hunger and cold. "Water Margin" has mentioned grass marks many times. The most famous one is the record about Yang Zhi selling knives: "Yang Zhi took the sword that day, inserted the grass marks into it, and put it on the market for sale." The grass marks here are all there. Functions of advertising media.
(2) Grain ears, fences, and wickers. It often appears in front of restaurants in rural areas. Hanging it randomly in front of the door or on the fence not only serves as a sign, but also shows the simplicity and hospitality of the store. Small fences and wickers can immediately bring the store closer. The distance between customers, businesses and passers-by is also a low-cost advertising medium with excellent communication effects.
(3) Bottles, ladles and brooms. The straw broom is also called "grass brush", "grass pole" and "broomstick". After the Song Dynasty, after the market restrictions were broken, shops could not only be opened in residential areas, but also in markets and countryside. As an advertising logo, straw brooms often appear in wine shops and teahouses. There are many records of these things in the literature of the Song Dynasty. Hong Mai of the Song Dynasty once mentioned in "Rong Zhai Xu Bi": "Today's capital and county wine clerks, as well as the relationship between wine and wine. Everywhere, large curtains are hung on the outside, with blue and white cloths measuring several feet high. The small ones are hung with bottles, ladles, and broom sticks as advertising signs. , in addition to its particularity as an auxiliary tool for winemaking, it also has a deeper allusion.
The main meaning is "broomstick". Su Shi of the Song Dynasty once recited: "If you want to establish a name, you can't ask for a promotion. It should be called fishing hook, also known as broom."
The "broom" here has obviously become the name of wine. Another name. It means "drinking to relieve one's sorrows" and "one drunkenness will relieve one's sorrows". Therefore, using a broom as the logo of the hotel is both vivid and vivid, as well as symbolic and has a strong folkloric color.
In ancient Chinese society, there were many signs of life, most of which were attached to the activities of shops and merchants. The scope of use basically did not exceed the business area and the narrow "market" scope. Due to frequent use and consumers, Conventions reflect the joys, sorrows, joys and aesthetic tastes of ordinary people. At the same time, they also reflect the collective wisdom of media users or businesses. However, the widespread use of this type of advertising media also reflects the limitations of people's development and utilization of advertising media at a low level of productivity.
Three handmade advertising media - the industry logo of advertising information transmission
In the long process of development of ancient society, human beings have developed self-awareness and autonomy in the process of adapting to and transforming nature. Awareness continues to grow. It has become a conscious action to creatively spread spiritual and cultural information and create social material and cultural wealth with me as the main body. The development and use of advertising media reflects this fact. The working people in ancient times created a wide variety of advertising media with different styles. Advertising communication had a greater influence and became an important part of social development and people's lives.
1. Store advertising media
Store advertising media is the main form of advertising media in ancient Chinese society. Including advertising forms in restaurants, restaurants, pawn shops, hotel facades and surrounding environments. Specifically, they are divided into several most common situations.
(1) Pretense. Cover is one of the most mature media forms among ancient Chinese advertising media. The guise often gives people a strong visual impact with its vivid and intuitive shapes, bright colors and unique folk customs. From the composition point of view, the cover is more particular about the cover pole, cover frame, cover cover, cover, cover body, cover seat and cover pendant; from the shape point of view, there are round, square, triangle, rhombus and irregular shapes. In terms of the content of communication, any information related to business operations or goods and services may appear in the form of disguise; in terms of production materials, there are cloth, silk, satin, cotton, copper, iron, wood, etc. In terms of material, many masks are made of a variety of materials; in terms of expression, they are divided into physical objects, model objects, symbolic objects, specific mark objects, etc.
(2) Signboard. The emergence of signboard media is also closely related to stores. Signboards often appear on facades or in front of doors, and are often set up by hanging, inlaying, or masonry. As an advertising medium, signboards convey rich information. Specifically, the first is to write the name and font size of the store, such as "Laobao Tai", "Jinyang Yu", etc. for a dim sum shop; the second is to convey the business's operations. Thoughts and business characteristics, such as "Fair Trade" and "Children Don't Be Bullied" written on the signboard; third, words and phrases that reflect the scope of the industry and services, such as "Stop the car when you know the smell, dismount when you smell the fragrance", etc. As an ancient advertising information dissemination medium, signboards can be divided into different types of banners, vertical signs, hanging boards and sky-high signboards outside the store based on their hanging positions.
(3)円. As a media for disseminating advertising information, advertising has its own particularities. The bun was originally an earthen platform in front of the hotel where wine was warmed. In order to take care of the wine, a good-looking woman often sat next to the bun. On the one hand, in order to take care of the guests, and on the other hand, in order to attract customers, the woman served as a bun in the Han Dynasty. It has gradually become a custom. "Historical Records" once recorded: "Xiangru set up a wine house to sell wine, and ordered Wenjun to be a tavern." ("Sima Xiangru Lie Biography") Because in the early Han Dynasty, the government allowed private people to sell wine and wine, so there were many people in front of the hotel. There is a wine bar. It has become the hotel's logo.
(4) Cailou and Huanmen. The Song Dynasty opened up the market and large shops with wide facades appeared, which made it possible for Cailou and Huanmen to appear. Cailou refers to the decoration of the store's facade. For example, the door decoration of Sun Yangzheng store in "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" is a type of cailou. Most of the colorful buildings are specially designed according to the preferences of the store owners, and are relatively fixed and unique in style.
Huanmen advertisements refer to temporary facade decorations set up by store operators and merchants during festivals or important events. They are often decorated with colored paper and silk. Because of their strong purpose and obvious marking effect, they are also regarded as one of the ancient advertising media. . In the Song Dynasty, it gradually became fashionable to build colorful buildings and happy doors at the front of the door. "Tokyo Menghualu" once recorded: "Every Jingshi hotel has a colorful building and a happy door at the front of the door." ("Restaurant")
(5)Lantern. Lanterns as an advertising medium began in the Five Dynasties. Naideweng once recorded in "Records of Capital City": "The restaurant's doors are decorated with red curtains, gold and red gauze gardenia lamps, etc. It is said that it was due to the visit of Guo Gaozu of the fifth generation to Panlou in Bianjing, and it has become a modern "("Restaurant")
Lanterns are usually hung in a prominent position at the door of the restaurant and teahouse, with the words "wine", "tea" and "inn" written on them. They are very eye-catching and appear even on cold nights. Very warm. The shape of lanterns also varies greatly depending on the characteristics of the industry. For example, restaurant lanterns, wine urns, and round, oval, palace lantern and other shapes. The medicine shop is similar to the gourd.
The use of store advertising media is the inevitable result of the differentiation of businessmen and merchants, and is also an important symbol of commercial prosperity. The use of different types of store advertising media facilitates the exchange of information between merchants and ordinary people, and also makes business operations more convenient. The characteristics of the industry have become more prominent; at the same time, advertising media has begun to play a huge role in beautifying people's lives due to their sophisticated production and beautiful appearance.