Ancient Clothing
The earliest clothing should have originated from labor. According to legend, the image of Shennong, Emperor Yan in ancient times, is: wearing a red undershirt, something like armbands on his arms, leggings on his legs, a bird feather hat on his head, leather shoes on his feet, and farm tools in his hands, just like a picture Portrait of a farmer. According to legend, the common people do not wear feather hats, but pointed hats or high cylindrical hats. The image descriptions in the legend may come from the analysis of certain images in unearthed cultural relics; but there are no records in prehistory, which is really unbelievable, so it may also be based on the speculations of later generations.
In ancient times, clothes began to appear during the Huangdi and Yao and Shun periods, ending the prehistoric state of draping. People wear this style of clothes to worship their ancestors and the heaven and earth. People know from experience that in the morning when it is still dark, the sky is black (called "Xuan"), and the upper garment is like the sky, so black is used; while the earth is yellow, and the lower garment is like the ground, the color of the clothes is yellow. Express the worship of heaven and earth. In ancient times, the upper garment and the lower garment represented the style of clothing, and there was also the "deep garment system" in which the upper garment and the lower garment were connected. At that time, there was no difference between men and women in the form of deep garments.
Wei and Jin costumes
Although the Wei and Jin costumes retained the basic forms of the Han Dynasty, they had unique and outstanding stylistic features, which were incompatible with the arts and crafts of the time. The creative ideas are closely related, and the identity of their styles is relatively obvious.
Persian patterns were introduced to China through the "Silk Road" in the sixth century AD and had a considerable impact on textiles, clothing and other decorations at that time. This is reflected in many Dunhuang murals.
During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, it was stipulated that the imperial court should wear red and often wear purple. White is the color worn by common people. At this time, the main clothing styles were jackets and skirts, and Qiu was informal clothing. Women's decorations are more exquisite, including gold rings, silver rings and wrist-wraps. There is still a big difference in texture between the inside and outside of the palace.
The most common form of armor in the Wei and Jin Dynasties is the two-crotch armor, which reaches to the knees. Above the waist is the chest and back armor. Some are made of small armor pieces, and some are made of a whole large armor piece. , The armor body has two pieces at the front and back, and the shoulders and sides are tied with belts. There are round guards on the chest and back. Because most of them are made of metals such as copper and iron, and are polished to a very shiny finish, they look like mirrors. Wearing "Mingguang Armor" on the battlefield will emit a dazzling "Mingguang" due to the irradiation of the sun, so it is called this. There are many styles of this kind of armor, and they vary from complex to simple. Some are just based on the crotch with two round guards on the front and back, some are equipped with shoulder pads, knee pads, and complex ones include heavy shoulder pads. The body armor mostly reaches to the hips, and is tied around the waist with a belt.
Clothes of the Southern and Northern Dynasties
The main style of clothing in the Southern Dynasties was underskirts. Women especially wore skirts as orthodox. People who did not wear skirts but exposed their trousers were considered impolite. . At that time, the women's heads were covered with a white silk scarf (a kind of scarf with a green ribbon. It is said that Zhuge Liang usually wore this scarf during the Three Kingdoms period). The sleeves were long and narrow and decorated with carved patterns. Dancers wear long gowns, long belts, and turbans on their heads.
There are also "pao" and "shirt" in the styles of court clothes in the north and south. The shirt was already a must-wear item in the Jin Dynasty. "Qiu" was extremely valuable at this time, with mink fur being the most valuable. " "It is the favorite clothing of young people, and young people who are frivolous prefer colored clothes." "Ru", "帔", and "Crane cloak" are all popular clothes at this time.
The clothing styles of the Southern Dynasties were basically inherited from the Wei and Jin Dynasties. Due to wars and frequent changes in the country, there were also changes in clothing. The styles of Jiangnan clothes are shorter than those in the north, but at that time it was popular to wear small hats and coats. Sometimes one sleeve was divided into two, and one skirt was cut into two skirts. Some styles had large collars and belts, some had narrow sleeves and some had small sleeves. Some skirts are so long that they touch the floor, and some are so long that they cover their feet. The court dress in the Southern Dynasties was still Xuanyi. There are regulations on the materials used for clothing. Officials below the third rank are not allowed to wear clothes made of variegated qi. Those below the sixth rank can only wear colorful qi and are not allowed to use Luo silk. The artworks and clothing styles of the Southern Dynasties are in the same line. Many unearthed pottery figurines show us women with slender waists and round faces, and their faces are very graceful. Especially the figurines from the south of the Yangtze River have more prominent features, which are consistent with the floor-length skirts of the costumes. The clothes and belt are very consistent.
In the style of clothing in the Northern Dynasties, officials wore red singlets on formal occasions, mainly casual clothes and military uniforms. Wear a gold belt when wearing a red robe, and wear a gold and jade belt when wearing a long robe with small sleeves. Commoner women wear jackets as their regular clothes, which is no different from the Southern Dynasties. During the Northern Dynasties, silk and brocade were the most luxurious clothing materials.
The curly grass pattern of the Southern and Northern Dynasties was developed on the basis of the cloud pattern of the Han Dynasty. Dynamic images such as Dunhuang wells (separately suitable for patterns), triangular flowers (suitable for patterns) and striped flowers (two sides continuous), flying sky, cloud patterns and other dynamic images are cleverly combined, which is both simple, beautiful, and subtle and soft. Woolen blankets, linen and silk were all popular products at that time.
Western Zhou Dynasty Clothing
The establishment of the Western Zhou Dynasty greatly developed and improved social productivity, significantly enriched materials, and the social order became more organized and had rules and regulations. The form of clothing has also been further standardized due to the existence of hierarchies and the need for etiquette, and has been included in the scope of "ritual rule". There are differences between high and low.
At this time, the special boundary and grade marks of clothing began to become clear, and the varieties and categories also increased accordingly. For example, there were special sacrificial attires for worshiping heaven and earth and ghosts and gods in the palace, court ceremonial uniforms, and military uniforms. There are military uniforms, wedding uniforms for wedding ceremonies, and mourning uniforms for mourning. Although the clothes are still made of yellow upper and lower garments, the official costumes include a large belt on the front of the garment (the belt is made of silk or tape, four inches wide), jade (made of jade and connected with ribbons). pendant around the waist). In addition, there are also level differences in clothing colors. In addition to the unique style of wide clothes and long belts, the clothing styles of the Western Zhou Dynasty also absorbed the clothing patterns and colors of the Xianbei people in the north (today's Xibo people) who wore hooks to tie their waists (the joints of the ribbons were made of metals such as gold, silver, copper or iron). fine hook or buckle).
Qin Dynasty Clothing
Due to the unification of the country during the Qin and Han Dynasties, clothing styles also tended to be consistent. The Qin Dynasty was the first feudal unified country with a vast territory and numerous ethnic groups in Chinese history. After Qin Wangzheng became the first emperor, he immediately began to implement a series of measures to strengthen centralization, such as unifying weights and measures, criminal laws, etc., including the clothing system. However, due to the short reign of Qin Shihuang, the clothing system was only in its infancy and not yet complete. It only unified the colors of clothing. Qin Shihuang was deeply influenced by the theory of yin and yang and the five elements. He believed that Qin's victory over Zhou should be water over fire, because "fire beats gold and the color is red" in Zhou Dynasty, so Qin's victory over Zhou is the virtue of water, and the color is black. In this way, in the Qin Dynasty, black was a noble color, and black was also a fashionable color for clothing.
We can see the armor and uniforms of the Qin Dynasty from unearthed cultural relics. The armor worn by the pottery figurines unearthed in Lintong, Shaanxi Province should be the most common armor style among the Qin terracotta warriors, and is the attire of ordinary warriors. This type of armor has the following characteristics: the armor pieces on the chest are all upper and lower pieces, and the armor on the abdomen is The lower piece presses the upper piece to facilitate movement. Viewed from the midline of the chest and abdomen, all nail plates are stacked from the middle to both sides, and the combination of shoulder nails is the same as that of the abdomen. The nails around the shoulders, abdomen and neck are connected with nail belts. There are nail nails on all the nails. The number may vary from two, three or four, with a maximum of six. The length of the armor is equal from front to back, and the hem is generally round.
Han Dynasty Clothing
China’s complete clothing system was established in the Han Dynasty. In the Han Dynasty, dyeing and weaving technology, embroidery technology and metal technology developed rapidly, which promoted changes in clothing decoration.
When the Western Han Dynasty was established, the uniforms of the Qin Dynasty were basically followed. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, black clothes must be worn with purple silk decorations. What is commonly used in sacrificial ceremonies is the "long crown suit". The queen's sacrificial attire is: cyan color for the upper garment and soap color for the lower garment. The queen's silkworm clothes are made of cyan on the top and ethereal (light yellow) on the bottom. Emperor Wen of Han Dynasty was relatively frugal when he was in power. He wore black silk clothes and leather shoes. Officials generally wear Zen clothes, also known as "only clothes". During the two hundred years of the Western Han Dynasty, the "deep clothing system" was implemented in clothing, which was characterized by a cicada-like crown (hat), red clothes, a field-shaped collar, jade hats, and red shoes. The shape of the deep garment is that the upper garment and the lower garment are connected and sewn together. The middle garment for sacrificial attire must be edged with black, while the middle garment for court attire must be edged with red. It was very common for men and women to wear it at that time. The clothing is collectively called "Zen clothing".
Zen clothes are single layer outer clothes. Zen clothes include middle clothes and deep clothes. Their shape is not much different from that of Zen clothes, except that the shape of the sleeves is changed. They are both single-layer cloth clothes. Officials must wear black Zen clothes when attending court.
The styles of Han clothes are classified by the lapels, which can be divided into two types: one is "curved Zen clothes", that is, the open skirt is from the collar to the armpit; the other is straight train Zen clothes, which is open Vertical from the collar downward, this kind of Zen clothes is also called "". Quju is a dark garment popular during the Warring States Period. It was still used in the Han Dynasty. By the Eastern Han Dynasty, not many men wore dark clothes. They usually wore straight skirts, but they could not be used as formal dresses. This style of clothing is both long and wide. There is basically no difference in style between official and civilian clothing, but the raw materials and colors can clearly show the difference in grade.
There are specific regulations on the color of court clothes in the Han Dynasty. They are worn according to the five seasons throughout the year, that is, cyan is used in spring; red is used in summer; yellow is used in summer; white is used in autumn; and black is used in winter.
There are seven characteristics of clothing in the Han Dynasty:
When wearing an outer coat, because the collar is large and curved, the collar of the middle coat must be exposed when dressing;
Wear Clothes must be lined with white fabric;
The sleeve width is one foot and two inches;
The shirt is sleeveless;
When wearing fur clothing, the fur should face outward;
The belt is extremely elegant, and the belt hooks are made of gold into various animal shapes, such as a mantis shape or a pipa shape. The image is very vivid and interesting. Generally between one and a half to six inches in length, it is an important decoration in the middle of clothes. Han belt hooks have reached a very high level in terms of shape, color and craftsmanship. Compared with the Western Zhou and Warring States periods, they are much more exquisite in design and production. Therefore, it is very popular among men and is worn by many men;
Men maintain the custom of wearing swords, but the swords they wear are tangible and edgeless, so they lose their actual value and are mainly used to show their appearance.
The sacrificial attire of the Han Dynasty continued to use the "big system" and followed the ancient rituals of wearing crown robes, ribbons and jade. Emperors, ministers, and princes all use large ones, but they differ in the texture of the jade beads or silk ropes they are tied to. The sacrificial attire (temple attire), silkworm attire, court attire, and wedding attire of the empress dowager, empress dowager, and ministers' wives are all made of deep clothing.
Working women in the Han Dynasty always wore short jackets and long skirts, with long hanging belts on their knees. Working men's regular clothes consist of a jacket on the upper body, calf-nosed trousers on the lower body, and a cloth skirt around the clothes; this kind of attire is the same for workers, serfs, merchants, and scholars.
Spring and Autumn and Warring States Period Clothing
Due to years of war, various etiquette during the Warring States Period were gradually abolished. The costumes of the seven vassal states of Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, Zhao, Wei, and Qin during the Warring States Period had some changes due to the limitations of their customs. From the painted wooden figurines unearthed in Changsha, Hunan Province in recent years from Chu tombs during the Warring States Period, we can see the representative clothing characteristics of that time. At this time, the clothing was made of fat clothes wrapped around the lower body along the wide edge. The winding is to wrap the front placket around the back body, that is, the space of horizontal lines and diagonal lines are complementary, so as to obtain the decorative effect of movement in stillness and stillness in movement. Because the clothing material is relatively light and thin, in order to prevent thin clothing from getting caught up, flat brocade fabrics are used for the edges, and the edges are decorated with moiré patterns, that is, "the clothes are embroidered, and the brocade is the edge", which cleverly combines practicality and aesthetics. These conceptions and production methods fully reflect the wisdom and cleverness of ancient people's design. Men's clothing during the Warring States Period was no more than knee-length and decorated with continuous rectangular patterns and stripes. This pattern was very similar to the trimmings of lacquer vessels at that time.
The basic style of men's clothing is cross collar, narrow sleeves and waist belt. During the Warring States Period, the belt hooks were mostly made of gold, silver, copper, iron, and jade. The belt hooks were engraved with patterns and sometimes inlaid with turquoise to show nobility and wealth. There is also a handmade craft of gold and silver. After processing gold and stone, its appearance becomes more refined and luxurious. During the Warring States Period, the iron smelting industry was relatively prosperous and could be used to make copper knives hung on men's bodies. The craftsmanship was also excellent, such as a small scimitar 25 cm long with various patterns carved on the back. It was widely loved and loved by people at that time. Wear it and call it "Rong Dao". At this time, the hanging knife was no longer completely practical, and decoration replaced practicality to a large extent.
Shang Dynasty Clothing
The Shang Dynasty in ancient China began to have writing, and most of the writing at that time was pictographic characters or even pictures.
From the oracle bone inscriptions, we can see words such as clothes, shoes, yellow clothes, belts, jackets, etc. that reflect clothing. From the unearthed figures, we can see jade pendants, jade rings, earrings, necklaces, hairpins, combs, as well as silk, linen and copper ornaments. We can distinguish exquisite ornaments and elegant clothes, but these are all owned by nobles. It shows that the clothing and apparel system is being further improved.
The continuous emergence of clothing forms such as clothes, skirts, crowns, shoes, hats, socks, etc. shows that people's understanding of clothing is also increasing, and it is gradually developing from simple practical functions to decorative embellishments, thus making Ancient costumes tend to be complete and unified.
Tang Dynasty Clothing
In the Tang Dynasty, it was also popular for women to wear "Hufu". "Hufu" is the clothing of people from the Western Regions. The form of the belt is also deeply influenced by Hufu. Before this, people's waist ornaments were made of gold, silver, copper and iron. At this time, it was popular to wear a "bucket belt" with gold ornaments and a short and small belt for fastening things. This kind of belt was most popular in the Tang Dynasty, and was used until the Northern Song Dynasty.
After the prosperous Tang Dynasty, the influence of Hu clothing gradually weakened, and the styles of women's clothing became increasingly broad. In the middle and late Tang Dynasty, this feature became more obvious. In general women's clothing, the sleeve width was often more than four feet. The aristocratic dresses of the middle and late Tang Dynasty were generally worn on important occasions. When wearing this kind of dress, there were gold and green hairpins in the hair, so it was also called "tin-hairpin dress".
After Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, purple was used as the uniform color for third-rank officials; light crimson was the color for fifth-rank officials, dark green was the color for sixth-rank officials, light green was the color for seventh-rank officials, and dark cyan was the color for seventh-rank officials. The color of the uniforms of the eighth-rank officials, light cyan is the color of the uniforms of the ninth-rank officials, and yellow is the color of the uniforms of people outside the palace and common people.
Tang suit also has a great influence on neighboring countries. For example, the Japanese kimono has greatly absorbed the essence of the Tang suit in terms of color, and the Korean suit has also inherited the advantages of the Tang suit in form. Tang suit skirts have long and soft lines, are very graceful and free, and are mainly made of silk fabrics. Therefore, its clothes are famous for their "softness" and "rejoice". The Tang suit itself has many categories and is easy to change. It boldly absorbs the characteristics of foreign costumes from appearance to decoration. It mostly refers to the costumes of Central Asia, India, Iran, Persia, and the foreign costumes of the northern and western regions. It enriches the costume culture of the Tang Dynasty and makes the costumes of the Tang Dynasty richer. With their magnificent designs and unique and colorful styles, they have become a wonder among Chinese historical costumes and attracted the attention of the world.
Song Dynasty Clothing
The main trend in Song Dynasty history was civilianization, and the clothing was simple and plain, reflecting the trend of the times.
There are three types of women's clothing in the Song Dynasty: one is the "official clothing" used by queens, concubines and other important ladies at all levels; the other is the "gown" used by ordinary people for good and bad luck; the other is regular clothing used for daily use. .
Song suit inherited Tang suit, and women’s clothing still mainly consisted of shirts, jackets, coats, backs, skirts, robes, coats, and dark clothes. Most of them are straight collared and folded, without straps or buttons, and a collar protector is sewn on the outer edge of the neck. The style of clothing is cut with connected sleeves. Some are limited to the width of the fabric, so seams and welts are used to decorate the back or sleeve parts of the garment. Single jackets are available in styles that are short in the front and long in the back, or as large sleeveless vests. The unearthed clothes are all edged or embroidered with decorative patterns on the collar, sleeves, placket, waist and hem. They are decorated with peonies, camellias, plum blossoms, lilies and other flowers using gold printing, embroidery and painting techniques.
The official ranking system of the Song Dynasty basically followed the previous dynasty, so the official uniforms in the palace were also similar to those of the previous dynasties, and were divided into court uniforms, sacrificial uniforms, official uniforms, military uniforms, mourning uniforms and casual uniforms. The court attire consists of red clothes and red clothes, with a white silk singlet inside, a large silk belt outside, and crimson silk covering the knees. The body is hung with brocade ribbons, jade trousers, and jade bracelets, and white silk stockings and black leather shoes. In addition to the uniform style of court uniforms, the level of official positions is distinguished by the different matching. Mainly to make level changes in the presence or absence of Zen clothes (mid lane) and the patterns on the brocade ribbon. When wearing court clothes, you must wear "Jinxian Crown" (a painted beam crown), "Diao Chan Crown" (also known as "cage scarf", a crown made of rattan silk with a painted top), Xie Zhi Crown (belongs to the category of Jinxian Crown).
Public uniforms are regular uniforms, also known as "provincial uniforms". They have curved collars, big sleeves, and a leather belt around the waist. There are also narrow sleeve styles. This style of clothing is distinguished by color. For example, the color for officials above the ninth rank is cyan; the color for officials above the seventh rank is green; the color for officials above the fifth rank is vermilion; the color for officials above the third rank is purple.
During the Song and Yuanfeng years, the colors were slightly changed. Purple was used for the fourth rank and above; scarlet was used for the sixth rank and above; and green was used for the ninth rank and above. According to the regulations at that time, those wearing purple and crimson (vermilion) clothes were required to wear fish bags decorated with gold and silver. This was used to clearly distinguish high and low positions.
Fashionable clothes are clothes given to officials and ministers according to seasons. From generals to generals, ministers, emperors and generals down to guards and infantry, the types of hair given include robes, coats, shirts, robe belly, trousers, etc. Most of the clothes given were woven with brocade patterns of birds and animals.
In addition to the official uniforms worn by men in the Song Dynasty, their daily uniforms were also very distinctive. Regular uniforms were also called "private uniforms". There is not much difference in form between the Yanju uniforms worn by Song officials and common people. There are only obvious regulations and restrictions on the use of colors.
There are several types of common clothes in the Song Dynasty:
"Pao" has two types: wide sleeves and wide body and narrow sleeves and narrow body. Those with official positions wear brocade robes, and those without official positions wear brocade robes. White cloth robe.
"Rust" and "coat" are essential clothes for civilians to wear every day.
"Short brown" is a short and thick cloth worn by poor people.
"Shirt" is a men's robe with a hem and a horizontal hem.
"Shang" follows the ancient system of upper garments and lower garments. It is the style of imperial clothes, court clothes or private clothes. In the Song Dynasty, there was also a way of wearing tops and lower skirts. Men also wear long coats with double collars and black trimmings with yellow clothes. Do not tie your belt when you are at home, but tie your belt when entertaining guests.
"Zhiqi" is a relatively loose long coat. Because there is no slit at the hem but there is a slit in the back, it is called "straight top".
The "Crane Cloak" is a kind of fur coat made of crane feathers and other bird feathers twisted into velvet. It is very valuable.
In addition, men’s clothing in the Song Dynasty also included cloth shirts and Luo shirts. The one for inner use is called an undershirt, and it comes in the form of cross collar and chin collar. The materials are very exquisite, mostly made of silk, satin, gauze and ruffles. Colors include white, green, soap (black), apricot yellow, tea brown, etc. The materials of coats include cloth, silk, Luo, brocade, silk and leather. The colors of the coat include green, red, maroon, dark green, goose yellow, etc. The texture of aristocratic trousers is also very particular. They are mostly made of gauze, luo, silk, silk, qi, and damask, and are decorated with plain patterns, large jacquards, small jacquards and other patterns. The main colors of the trousers are camel yellow, brown, and brown.
Yuan Dynasty Clothing
The Yuan Dynasty was an era of national integration in Chinese history, and clothing fully reflected this feature. Genghis Khan, Taizu of the Yuan Dynasty, established the capital in 1206. After the destruction of Xixia and Jin, the ethnic composition was mainly Mongolian. In the Yuan Dynasty, due to acute ethnic conflicts and long-term wars, the textile and handicraft industries were greatly damaged. The palace uniforms have been in Song style for a long time. It was not until the Yingzong period of the Yuan Dynasty in 1321 that the ancient system was followed and the "Zhengsunfu" system was formulated in which the emperor and officials wore the upper garments with the lower garments tight at the top and shorter at the lower garments, with pleats added around the waist and large beads hung on the shoulders and back. This system was called by the Han people "Yiseyi" or "Zhengsunfu". This is a uniform that inherits the Han nationality and has the characteristics of the Mongolian nation.
"Zhisunfu" is widely used. Ministers can wear it during banquets in the inner palace, as well as musicians and guards. The difference between upper and lower clothing styles is reflected in the thickness of the texture. There are fifteen levels of emperor's clothes (graded based on quality). The raw materials and color selection used in each level are completely unified, the clothes and hats are consistent, and the overall effect is excellent. For example, if the clothes are made of gold brocade and velvet cut, the hat must also be gold brocade Warm hat; if the clothes are made of white leather, the hat must be a platinum warm hat. The emperor's summer clothes also have fifteen levels, which are similar to winter clothes. The winter clothes of Baiguan have nine levels, and the same goes for summer. Distinguished by texture and color.
"Bijian" and "Bijia" are also common clothes. "Bijian" is a kind of leather jacket that is slightly longer than a mandarin jacket. "Zidahu". "Bijia" is a piece of clothing that is convenient for riding and shooting. It is collarless, sleeveless, short in front and long in back, and is connected with casual clothes. Men's public clothes in the Yuan Dynasty mostly followed the customs of the Han people. The outside of the regular clothes was covered with a hood. Women also have this custom of wearing a short-sleeved shirt (called a skirt with half arms).
Women's clothing in the Yuan Dynasty was divided into two styles: nobles and commoners. The nobles were mostly Mongolian, and they wore leather clothes and hats. For ethnic costumes, mink and sheepskin clothes are widely used. Most of the styles are wide robes with narrow cuffs and wide sleeves. Because the clothes are long and drag on the floor, ladies must be pulled by female slaves when they go out to have fun.
This style of robe has a cloud shoulder on the shoulder, which is the so-called "gold embroidered cloud shoulder and jade tassel", which is very gorgeous. As a formal dress, the fabric texture of the robe is very exquisite, using bright red woven gold, brocade, velvet and very long felt fabrics. The most popular clothing colors at that time were mainly red, yellow, green, brown, rose red, purple, gold, etc. Common women in the Yuan Dynasty wore Han Chinese traditional skirts, and half-arm skirts were also quite popular. Han costumes often appeared on the dance accompanists in the palace. The narrow-sleeved shirts and hats of the Tang Dynasty were also preserved. In addition, influenced by the neighboring country Goryeo, the noble concubines in the capital also had the custom of imitating Goryeo women's clothing.
Ming Dynasty Clothing
In the Ming Dynasty, there were many new changes in clothing. The most prominent feature was that buttons on the front replaced the knots that had been used for thousands of years. But buttons did not start in the Ming Dynasty. The form of buttons has been seen on the waistline of braided jackets in the Yuan Dynasty. The use of buttons is also a change, reflecting the progress of the times. In addition, the prevalence of Neo-Confucianism also affected clothing style to a certain extent.
Compared with Tang suits, the obvious inversion of the proportions of the dress and skirt is that the top is shorter and the bottom is longer, and the top is gradually lengthened and the length of the skirt is shortened. Collars have also evolved from the paired collars of the Song Dynasty to mainly round collars.
Ming Dynasty women's tops have three collars and narrow sleeves, are three feet long, and reveal two or three inches of skirt. At that time, a new style was popular in Yangzhou: the blouse was two feet eight inches long and the sleeves were one foot two inches wide. The outer sleeves were inlaid with brocade and mink and fox fur in winter. In the early Ming Dynasty, the colors used for skirts tended to be light. Skirt pleats are very popular, with fine pleats and large pleats. The pleat decoration is very particular. There is a kind of skirt called colorful stripes. Each strip is made of one color of satin, and each strip of colored satin is embroidered with flower and bird patterns. The edge of the strip is inlaid with gold thread to become an independent strip. Several of these strips of various colors can be combined into one. The belt becomes a skirt with fluttering colorful stripes, hence the name "phoenix tail skirt". Some also use the entire piece of satin to make fine pleats by hand, naming them "pleated skirts", and a twenty-four pleated skirts named "jade skirts". In the Ming Dynasty, there was also a special style of Peizi, which was named "Xia Pei" because of its beautiful shape like colorful clouds. This kind of concubine appeared in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, and got its name during the Sui and Tang Dynasties. In the Song Dynasty, it was included in the ranks of formal wear. This style was more common in the Ming Dynasty. Its shape is like a long colorful hanging belt. Each Xiapei is three inches and a half wide and five feet and seven inches long. When taken, it is wrapped around the neck and draped on the chest. Because there is gold or gold hanging from the lower end. The jade pendant therefore becomes more noble.
There is a collarless double-breasted vest from the Yuan Dynasty, also known as "Bijia", which is a special style of clothing for queens in the palace. Later, it was gradually introduced to the people and the scope of use was expanded. Bijia became popular in the mid-Ming Dynasty and was mainly favored by young women. From a formal point of view, it is related to the half-arm in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. The vest that appeared later in the Qing Dynasty was a deformation of this kind of bijia.
Another feature of Ming-style clothing is the Peijia ornaments on the lapels, which are very eye-catching. They are all kinds of ornaments made of gold, beads, jade and other materials. Among them, those hanging on the chest are called "drop collars"; those tied on the front are called "seven things"; those that make noise when walking are called "banbu". These accessories are collectively called "miscellaneous accessories". There is also a special accessory, which is a gold chain with four small items hanging in a ring: tweezers, toothpicks, ear picks and knives, which are practical items for women in daily life.
Men's clothing in the Ming Dynasty was represented by square scarves and round collars. The shirts worn by Confucian scholars were very similar to the costumes worn by Peking Opera scholars on the stage today. It is characterized by wide sleeves, soap (black) edge, green round collar, and soft soap sash hanging belt.
The official uniform is a cloud satin round collar robe, and there is also a way to wear it with a cloud satin jacket. The length of this robe is one inch from the ground, the sleeves are longer than the hand, the sleeves are one foot wide, and the cuffs are nine inches wide.
Paddy field clothing is a common clothing for women in the Ming Dynasty. It is a piece of clothing made of various bits and pieces of brocade materials. It looks like a cassock worn by monks. The colors of the fabrics of the whole clothing are intertwined and resemble a paddy field. Got its name. It has special effects that other clothing cannot have. It is simple and unique, so it has won widespread favor among women in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It is said that some people used this method to make clothes in the Tang Dynasty.
Qing Dynasty Clothing
The Qing Dynasty was a political institution dominated by Manchu rulers, and the customs and habits of the Manchu banner people affected the Central Plains region. The traditional service system passed down from generation to generation for thousands of years was destroyed by the entry of the Manchu Eight Banners soldiers.
It can be said that this change is another leap in the traditional Chinese clothing system, and the third obvious mutation in history after "Hufu riding and shooting" and "Opening Tang suit".
The wide robes with big sleeves, long skirts and full crowns, which have lasted for thousands of years, are chic and gorgeous, slender and weak. They are in sharp contrast to the full-dress style with long body and short and narrow sleeves. Flag clothing, with its economical use of materials, simplicity of production and convenience of consumption, has replaced the complexity of ancient dresses. This is the main reason why it is easily accepted by future generations.
The outer outline of the Manchu flag dress is rectangular, with a saddle-shaped collar covering the cheeks and protecting the face. The upper and lower parts of the dress are not waisted, and the shirt is not exposed. The right hem is decorated with buttons, and there are two fake sleeves. Three pieces, horseshoe sleeves covering the hands, decorated with inlaid scrollwork, adding a jacket, waistcoat or mandarin jacket. Its shape is complete and rigorous, with a closed box shape. Therefore, its image is solemn, noble and unique, breaking through the elegant tower-shaped clothes that have been used for thousands of years. To this day, it still has a certain influence on modern clothing. Especially with the development of the times, the cheongsam, which has been processed with curves to highlight its slender and beautiful shape, has become a representative dress of the Han nation, showing the gentleness and connotation of oriental women, and has eternal value.
There are several different forms of cheongsam or short jacket such as pipa lapel, big lapel and double lapel. The matching skirt or trousers are decorated with all-over printing, embroidery and pleating. The placket, collar and sleeve edges are all decorated with inlay, rolling and embroidery. In the early Qing Dynasty, Manchu women dressed similarly to men. The only difference was that they wore ears and combed their hair into a bun, and unmarried women wore their braids down. Manchu women do not bind their feet or wear skirts. The waistcoat outside the garment is flush with the shirt. There is a small garment inside the gown, which is equivalent to the bellyband of Han women. The garment outside the garment is also called "oolong".
Traditional national clothing - cheongsam and jacket
Mandarin jacket and cheongsam are typical costumes for men and women in the Qing Dynasty. It has now become China's traditional clothing.
The mandarin jacket is a short coat worn outside the robe. The jacket is long to the navel and the sleeves only cover the elbows. It is mainly for the convenience of riding horses, so it is called "mandarin jacket". When the Manchus first entered the customs, they were only worn by soldiers of the Eight Banners. It was not until the Kangxi and Yongzheng years that it became popular in society and developed into single, jacket, gauze, leather, cotton and other clothing, becoming men's casual clothes, which can be worn by both scholars and common people. Later, it gradually evolved into a ceremonial costume. Regardless of status, a mandarin was worn over the robe, making it appear elegant and generous.
There are three styles of mandarin jackets: pipa lapel, big lapel, and double lapel. The Pipa-breasted mandarin jacket is also called the missing-breasted mandarin jacket because the right lapel is missing. Wearing it can move freely and is often used as luggage. For a large-breasted mandarin jacket, the placket is opened on the right side and the edges are edged with different colors. It is generally used for everyday wear. The color of the double-breasted mandarin jacket has varied in various periods: at first, it was azure, and in the middle of Qianlong's reign, it was rose purple. Later, dark crimson color (known as "Fu color") was popular. During the Jiaqing period, gold and light gold were popular. grey. The long-sleeved double-breasted mandarin jacket can be used as a formal dress instead of the outer coat. The color is usually sky blue. Officials of all sizes often wear this jacket when visiting guests. Because of its long body and narrow sleeves, it is also called a "long-sleeved mandarin jacket".
There is one color that cannot be used casually in mandarin jackets, and that is yellow. The yellow mandarin jacket is a special garment given by the emperor. There are three main categories of people who wear this kind of uniform: one is the bodyguards who accompany the emperor on "tour", which are called "official gowns"; the other is those who hit the target or catch a lot of prey when going on a shooting tour, which are called "walking gowns" "Wei Gongzi"; third, those who have made meritorious deeds in governance or war are called "martial arts Gongzi", and these people will also be recorded in the annals of history. Only this royal mandarin jacket can be worn at any time.
The cheongsam is a kind of women's clothing rich in ethnic style in my country, which evolved from the robes of Manchu women. Since the Manchu people are called "banner people", they are called "cheongsam". In the Qing Dynasty, women's clothing could be said to coexist with Manchu and Han styles. In the early Qing Dynasty, Manchu women mainly wore long robes, while Han women still wore blouses and skirts. In the middle of the Qing Dynasty, the Manchu and Han Dynasties each followed suit. "Changing Han costumes and cutting palace robes into short clothes", and the trend of Han people imitating Manchu costumes also became popular among some high-ranking ladies at this time.
In the 1920s, influenced by Western clothing, the improved cheongsam gradually became popular among women.
This kind of cheongsam was introduced into thousands of households after Han women absorbed Western clothing styles and made continuous improvements. There are many styles of cheongsam. The placket includes Ruyi placket, Pipa placket, oblique placket, and double placket; the collar includes high collar, low collar, and no collar; the cuffs include long sleeves, short sleeves, and sleeveless; and the slits include high slits and low slits. Slits; there are also long cheongsam, short cheongsam, sandwich cheongsam, single cheongsam, etc. The improved cheongsam almost became the standard clothing for Chinese women in the 1930s.