The Development Of Chinese Ancient Ethnic Costume Culture

　　 Clothes & Accessories Culture

Costumes are the unique achievements of human labor. They are not only the crystallization of material civilization, but also have the meaning of spiritual civilization. The human society has gone through ignorance, barbarism and civilization, and has been slowly marching for hundreds of thousands of years. After bowing to the apes, our ancestors walked through countless years in the wind and rain with their skins and leaves. Finally, they entered the threshold of civilization, learned how to cover their bodies and create a material civilization. However, the pursuit of beauty is human nature. Dressing people, such as gold in Buddha, not only covers the body and warms the body, but also beautifies them. Almost from the day of the origin of clothing, people have settled their living customs, aesthetic tastes, color hobbies, as well as various cultural attitudes and religious concepts into clothing, which has formed the connotation of clothing culture and spiritual civilization. American anthropologist Ying Fei has concluded that: "Whether a cultural project is the result of external penetration or the product of independent invention of nature is a key issue for those who pay attention to historical heritage, and it is also important for those who use comparative research methods. We can be sure that more than 90% of the content in all cultures is first expressed in the form of cultural penetration Now. " To understand the diverse styles, unique styles, bright colors and exquisite craftsmanship of Chinese clothing, the first task should be to know a little bit about the broad and profound development of Chinese clothing culture, so that we can explore the essence of Chinese clothing culture through browsing.

The achievements of archaeology and ancient anthropology after the founding of New China have scientifically traced the origin of costume culture back to the stage of cave dwellers in the late Paleolithic Age in the primitive society. More distant before that, humans began to cover up their bodies and keep warm with the skins they got from hunting. In summer, they pick leaves to protect themselves from the sun. This indicates that human beings have just left the realm of animals, and the rudiments of primitive clothing appear. The clothing culture characterized by sewing found in the remains of cave people on the top of the mountain. At this time, clothing was no longer simply using natural materials, but evolved into a structure that met the needs of human life, creating a precedent for the Chinese national clothing culture.

Brief History of Chinese Costume Culture

If we look for the historical origin of China's clothing culture from the classics, we will always attribute it to the three emperors and five emperors. As recorded in Lvlan and Shiben written by people in the Warring States Period, "Hu Cao made clothes" during the Yellow Emperor; In other words, "Boyu and the Yellow Emperor made clothes." In this era, cultural relics from archaeological excavations should be compared with the prosperity of matriarchal clan commune in primitive society five or six thousand years ago. The material objects unearthed during this period include spinning wheels, bone needles, steel pendants, etc., and fragments of textile fabrics. The pottery painting on the painted pottery unearthed in Gansu in the Central Plains of China has vividly and vividly depicted the shape of the upper garment and the lower garment.

Shang Dynasty

During the Yin and Shang Dynasties, the social productive forces developed at a fixed rate, and there were many measures of material civilization. The hieroglyphs visible from the oracle bone inscriptions include mulberry, cocoon, silk and other words, which can prove the development of agriculture at that time. The unearthed bronze battle axe of the Shang Dynasty has silk marks with thunder patterns and silk fabric fragments, which shows the superb and exquisite craftsmanship at that time. In the inscriptions on bones and tortoise shells of the Shang Dynasty, it can be seen that the kings, ministers, herdsmen, slaves, barbarians and royal decrees, etc., began to be branded with the times along with the development of productive forces and social division of labor, and became the tools of the ruling class to "make their names known and distinguish their prestige". The production relationship between the high and low promoted the formation of its inherent system of clothing.

Zhou dynasty

The Zhou Dynasty witnessed the gradual improvement of China's crown dress system. At this time, there were many written records about clothing. In the bronze inscriptions, there are records of clothing, "Tiger Crown Lianli" (Mao Gongding), "Female Fur Temple" (Zhou, Bo Cai Wengui), etc. With the emergence of hierarchy and the distinction between the superior and the inferior, all kinds of etiquette came into being. Reflected in the clothing, there are sacrificial gowns, court uniforms, military uniforms, mourning costumes, wedding costumes. These costumes were adapted to the emperor and the common people, and were even used in the two thousand year feudal society since the Shang and Zhou dynasties.

Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, countries did not fully comply with the Zhou system. The seven countries rose and became independent. In addition to the difference between Qin and the other six countries due to its location in the western border, the other six countries also showed their own style in clothing due to the hobbies and luxury of various princes and the rising trend of hundred schools of thought at that time. Among the three thousand diners of Chun Shen Jun, all of them wore beaded shoes; There are hundreds of palaces in the Plains. The guards of the palace wear black military uniforms; Confucianists' long dresses, long sleeves, square shoes, etc. Clothing in the early Han Dynasty was not forbidden by the people. Although the Western Han Dynasty had the clothing system of the eighth imperial edict, it was not very clear that the clothing color was mainly based on the four seasons, such as spring green, summer red, autumn yellow, and winter soap. The daily clothes of women in the Han Dynasty were tops and skirts.

Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties

Since the Wei, Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties, the northern ethnic groups came to dominate the Central Plains, bringing their costumes to this area. At the same time, a large number of national costume cultures have also influenced and assimilated the costumes of northern ethnic groups. Women still wear Ru and blouse above and skirt below in their daily clothes. Ru and skirt can also be used as shirts within the dress.

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Sui and Tang Dynasties

The Sui Dynasty unified the whole country and redefined the dress system of the Han nationality, but it was also difficult to get rid of the influence of its unification from north to south, which brought about the shape of the dress of the northern nationality. Only after the establishment of the Tang Dynasty Empire, with its long rule and strong national strength, did its clothing system inherit the systems of previous dynasties and open up the canon of the clothing system of later generations, presenting a prosperous scene like its society. The Tang people have frequent contacts with various ethnic groups in the northwest, and many ethnic groups live together with the Tang people in the mainland. Therefore, the costumes of the Tang people wearing Hu clothes are often seen in the cultural relics of that era. In the Sui and Tang dynasties, women's daily clothes were blouses, jackets and skirts. Most women wore Ru, jacket and blouses on the upper body and skirts on the lower body. Red is the most popular skirt, followed by purple, yellow and green. The shoes of women in the Tang Dynasty mostly have phoenix shaped toe caps, which are similar in size to men. The palace attendants were all wearing red cotton boots, and the singers and dancers were also wearing boots. Women's daily clothes are various, such as coats, blouses, gowns, waist scarves, bras, skirts, pants, knee pants, socks, shoes and boots, etc.

　　 Tang costume

Song Dynasty

In the Song Dynasty, a large area of northern land was reduced to the territory ruled by the Nvzhen nobles, and the dress culture also interacted due to its political and economic factors. It is recorded in the general reference of Xu Zizhi that "the customs of Lin'an Mansion have been disorderly since ten years ago, and the costumes are often used to border clothing..." It can be seen that the northern clothing was also popular in Kyoto in the Southern Song Dynasty. The daily clothes of women in the Song Dynasty mostly wore a jacket, a Ru, a blouse, a back, half an arm on the upper part, and skirts and trousers on the lower part. Its fabrics are silk, yarn, brocade, damask and silk. In particular, the skirt is quite stylish, and its texture is mostly silk yarn, with pomegranate red as the most eye-catching color. The pleated skirt was also a kind of skirt with characteristics at that time. There were six, eight and twelve pleats, and aristocratic women wore more pleats.

element

The Yuan Dynasty was the time when Mongols entered the Shanhaiguan Pass and ruled the Central Plains. Their costumes not only follow the Han system, but also carry out their own ethnic system. At the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty, people in Beijing were also ordered to shave their hair in Mongolian costumes. Mongolian clothing is mainly made up of hats and hats, and most men wear earrings. However, after the Dade era of the Zhiyuan Dynasty. The clothes of the taxi people in Mongolia and Han Dynasty were also different. Women's clothing. The rich and noble usually wear mink and fur hats. Generally, sheepskin and vellus felt are used as clothing materials. At that time, the robe style was wide and long, and was often used as a dress. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, clothes, boots and hats imitated the Korean style, because aristocratic families were beautiful in the clothes of Korean men and women.

bright

After Zhu Yuanzhang overthrew the Yuan Dynasty and established the Ming Empire, he first banned Hu costumes, Hu languages, and Hu surnames, and then issued an edict in the name of the Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty: "Clothes are like the Tang Dynasty.". The style, grade and wearing etiquette of the imperial crown dress, civil and military dress and civil servant dress of the Ming Dynasty are really complicated. Even the daily clothes also have clear regulations. For example, during the reign of Chongzhen, the emperor ordered his prince and prince to wear blue cotton padded jacket, purple cloth clothes, white cloth pants, blue cloth skirt, white cloth socks, blue cloth shoes, and soapy cloth towels to dress up as ordinary people, which also confirmed the clothing of hundreds of common people at that time. It was stipulated in the women's clothing of the Ming Dynasty that folk women could only use purple instead of gold embroidery. Only purple green, peach red and light light colors can be used for gowns, instead of bright red, crow blue and yellow. The belt is made of blue silk cloth. The clothes of the Ming Dynasty have buttons. Women's shoes in the Ming Dynasty were still embroidered or beaded with phoenix heads. The palace people wore cloud like shoes with small golden flowers on them.

clear

In the third year of Chongde (1638 AD), he ordered that: "The people in other countries (Han nationality) should be effectively clothed, hair bound and foot bound, and their crimes should be severely punished." The Qing Dynasty also implemented forced shaving and clothing change, and implemented shaving and clothing change according to the custom system of the Manchu nationality. The costume system persisted in the old system, especially in men's costumes, which maintained the characteristics of Manchu for a very long period. Although the Qing Dynasty repeatedly ordered the abolition of the Ming Dynasty costumes, the complement on its official uniforms still used the Ming Dynasty style. The Jinfeng and Jinzhai adorned on the crown of the life wife also follow the previous system. The grade difference of official uniforms in the Qing Dynasty is mainly reflected in the crown, flower feathers and birds and beasts embroidered on the patchwork clothes. If the ranking can start from the emperor, then from top to bottom, there are royal family relatives such as prince, prince, prince, general Fengen, princess, son-in-law, etc. There are dukes, marquis, uncles, sons, male, civil and military officials from the first to the ninth rank, unofficial officials, and Jinshi, Juren, Gongsheng, Jiansheng, Wailang Jilao, and officials from farming. In addition, there are first class, second class, third class blue collar bodyguards, courtiers, etc. Their official uniforms are strictly different. The clothing of men in the Qing Dynasty was mainly long gowns and mandarin jackets, which was most popular during the Yongzheng period in the late Kangxi period. Women's clothing in the Qing Dynasty can be described as the coexistence of Manchu and Han costumes. Manchu women are mainly in long gowns, while Han women are still in the fashion of upper garment and lower skirt. From the middle of the Qing Dynasty, Manchu and Han followed suit. In the later period, Manchu followed suit of the Han people. Even in the history books, it is recorded that "the clothes at half mast were changed into Han clothes, and the palace robes were cut into short clothes". The Han people's imitation of the Manchu costumes was also popular among high-ranking officials and ladies at this time. The styles and varieties of women's clothing became more and more diverse in the Qing Dynasty, such as vests, wrap round dresses, skirts, coats, cloud shoulders, scarves, hand cages, bras, belts, and eyes.

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Clean clothes

modern

In modern times after 1840, Western culture penetrated into China's local culture. Many coastal cities, especially metropolises like Shanghai, took the lead in western fashion due to the mixed residence of China and foreign countries, and clothing began to undergo potential changes. In the early days, there was little variation in the style of clothing, and the folk still used the long gown and mandarin jacket as men's clothing; Women put on their coats and skirts. Later, commercial trade became more prosperous, foreign goods poured into the market, and the market was flooded with feather yarn, woolen cloth, foreign silk, calico, etc., which changed the traditional clothing. Foreign clothing materials became popular because of their low prices, which took much time and labor. Traditional handicrafts such as rolling, inlaying, embroidery and so on with exquisite craftsmanship gradually declined, and western sewing methods began to become popular. Women's fashion, in particular, has a great influence because of its refined sewing and style in line with the trend of the times. The cheongsam, which was popular in the 1920s, originated from the Manchu women's clothing in the Qing Dynasty, and was shaped by the Han women's absorption of Western clothing styles in their wear. When there is no professional clothing research center for fashion, clothing style changes through thousands of households and is constantly changing under the influence of the fashion of the times. From the 1920s to the end of the 1940s, Chinese cheongsam has been popular for more than 20 years. The style has changed several times, such as the height of the collar, the length of the sleeves, and the height of the slits, making the cheongsam completely break away from the old style, changing the old look of Chinese women who have long been tied chests and hunched backs, fully showing the women's posture and curvaceous beauty, which is suitable for the fashion at that time, And made great contributions to women's liberation. The green cloth cheongsam was the most popular among female students at that time. It spread all over the country and almost became the typical dress of new Chinese women in the late 1920s. It is worth mentioning that the fashionable ladies, socialites, movie stars, etc. who were leading the fashion trend at that time also promoted the development of cheongsam by their innovative ideas on the style of cheongsam. For example, Tang Ying, a socialite, was the first one to set up Yunshang Fashion Company in Shanghai. Since the 1930s, cheongsam has almost become the standard dress for Chinese women. Folk women, students, workers, wives of dignitaries and dignitaries all wear it. Cheongsam has even become a dress for social occasions and diplomatic activities. Later, the cheongsam was also spread abroad to be imitated by other women.

The Costume Culture of Chinese Ethnic Minorities

The costumes of Chinese ethnic minorities are colorful, exquisite and unique. It is an important part of the outstanding history and culture of all ethnic groups.

Clothing production maintains distinctive national and regional characteristics from raw materials, textile technology to styles and decorations. The Hezhe people, whose main economic life is horn fishing, used fish skin as clothing in their early years, and the Oroqen, Ewenki and other people, who had been engaged in hunting for a long time, sewed clothes with roe deer skin and animal tendons. Mongolian, Tibetan, Kazak, Kirgiz, Yugur, etc., who are engaged in animal husbandry, wear mostly livestock furs. Ethnic minorities engaged in agriculture use locally produced cotton, linen and silk as raw materials to spin cloth, silk and sew clothes. The styles of Chinese ethnic costumes are numerous and varied. Generally, there are two types of gowns and short clothes. People wearing robes usually wear hats and boots, while people wearing short clothes often wear handkerchiefs and shoes. There are also various forms of robes, including the high collar and large placket style of Mongolian, Manchu, Turkish and other ethnic groups, the collarless oblique placket style of Tibetan, Mamba and other ethnic groups, the right oblique placket style of Uygur and other ethnic groups, and the waistcoat style gown. Short clothes are different from pants and skirts.

In China, a country with a vast territory, many nationalities and unbalanced social development, due to the differences in economic life, cultural literacy, natural environment and geographical climate, it leads to a variety of national costumes, which should be said to be one of the characteristics of folk costumes. Embroidery, batik and other techniques of Chinese ethnic minorities are quite developed and widely used in costume decoration, which is another feature of national costumes. Embroidery is a popular craft of all ethnic groups. It is generally used in scarves, belts, aprons, skirts, shoulders, hems, cuffs, trouser legs, skirt edges and other vulnerable parts. It not only plays a decorative role, but also has practical value. Embroidery includes peach blossom, applique, embroidery and other crafts. Embroidery techniques include flat embroidery, knitting embroidery, knot embroidery, plate embroidery, etc. Pattern patterns include natural scenery, auspicious patterns and geometry Pattern Etc.