Why did Qing concubines wear long nail covers? In addition to being good-looking, it is more for the convenience of the emperor
In the Qing Palace drama, those ladies and concubines often carried a kind of nail set, which was long, like ghost nails. For modern people, wearing this thing is very inconvenient, basically can not do anything, but also easy to hurt others.
Therefore, many viewers can't understand this, although the aesthetics of the Qing Dynasty are somewhat different, so what is the logic of nail covers like this? Is there really another aesthetic to wearing this nail set?
In fact, the form of expression in the TV series may not be quite right, but the nail sleeves of the Qing Dynasty are not just for beauty, but there is a great deal of attention behind this small object.
Most people should know about the nail covers in the harem of the Qing Dynasty from Empress Dowager Cixi's TV series or literary works. Because every time Empress Dowager Cixi appeared on the scene, she must have a long nail cover at her small nails, and every time she went to take something or pose with a flower finger gesture, the long nail cover was particularly eye-catching.
To be honest, as a modern person, I am afraid that many people cannot understand this kind of dressing. Because, this long nail set is a bit like the shape of a female ghost, if the big night comes out, plus a little reflection, I am afraid that some men will be frightened. Moreover, after wearing this nail cover, basically this woman can not do any work, no matter what she needs to be careful, once the movement is too big, it is likely to hurt others or hurt herself. Therefore, in the eyes of modern people, this kind of decoration in the Qing Dynasty is not only not gorgeous, but also not practical. So what exactly is this kind of thing for?
In fact, there is really a certain logic behind the history of nail sets, and it is more exaggerated than we think.
First of all, in fact, as early as the Qing Dynasty, China's aristocrats began to pay attention to a logic, that is, the body hair skin was affected by its parents, and did not dare to damage. According to this logic, human hair cannot be cut arbitrarily, and human nails cannot be cut at will. Of course, during the Qing Dynasty, this rule was directly broken, forcing all Han Chinese to shave their hair. However, another tradition of the Han Chinese has been perfectly preserved, that is, the children of the nobility often let themselves have long nails in order to highlight their dignity.
If you have read the general history of China, you should find that the nobles of various countries in the whole world like to keep long nails, and these long nails basically have no aesthetics, but because they are long, they can show that they are noble and noble, and they never need to work.
The nobles of the Qing Dynasty naturally inherited this, so both men and women have left long nails, especially women in the harem, the nails are even longer to a certain point, if you go to shoot ghost films, the fingernails do not need to bring props.
However, the fingernails are too long and sometimes inconvenient, because as long as the slightest movement is easy to damage, even if it is only spent, it will also make the overall beauty lose. Therefore, the ladies and ladies of the Qing Dynasty began to wear nail covers, don't look at the long nail covers as if exaggerated, in fact, it is just a set of their nails.
Of course, this is only a small reason, because we all know that the women in the harem, their purpose of life is not entirely for themselves, and a larger part of the reason is for the emperor. Therefore, in order to facilitate the emperor and to benefit the emperor, no matter what kind of strange atmosphere is easy to spread in the harem.
Obviously, nail covers are also a phenomenon to satisfy the emperor, why say so? According to historical records, although these ladies and ladies of the Qing Dynasty could do whatever it took to rob the emperor at home, they could even lose their demeanor, but as long as they went outside, they had to maintain their dignity.
The reason is simple, because these people are not only women, but also the women of the emperor, and their every word and deed represents the dignity of the royal family. Therefore, when these ladies and ladies are walking outside, they should not focus on dressing up beautifully, but on dressing up decently. Generally speaking, to reflect a woman's modesty, it is not enough to rely on clothes alone, so as soon as something like a nail set is put on, it immediately appears that the woman is dignified and mature. I don't believe it can refer to the appearance of Empress Dowager Cixi, the slightly upturned orchid finger, completely let people feel the femininity, but feel a kind of majesty.
In addition, the nail cover can also facilitate the emperor when serving the bed, why is this? In the eyes of many people, the emperor's harem has three palaces and six courtyards and many women, so the happiest thing for him to do after work every day is to sleep with the concubines. However, in fact, after the emperor left work, especially when sleeping with the concubines, he was not particularly happy, because most of the time it was a routine.
When we look at China's great history, we know that China has always been the world, and the home is the country. Therefore, when the emperor came into contact with women, he must strictly follow the principle of having many children and equalizing rain and dew. In this context, the emperor did not have any feelings for many women, and even did not know each other very well.
You know, in modern society, if a person has 10 girlfriends at the same time, then when we communicate with these girls after work, it is inevitable that we will send the wrong message, and the result will be a big crisis. But the emperor did not have 10 girlfriends, but had more than 72 to 100 girlfriends, and many times he did not even know who the other party was. Although there was a name when the flop was played, I am afraid that the emperor could not remember when this woman entered the palace and what hobbies and characteristics she had.
For this embarrassing phenomenon, the eunuch next to him naturally can not be directly pointed out, but can not let the emperor scratch blind, so they introduced a nail set, different concubines have different levels of nail sets, even if the emperor is not familiar with these women, but as long as you master the other hand, look at his nail set, you know which level of woman he is.
Although this move could not alleviate the emperor's blindness to his concubines, it at least made the emperor aware of the rank of these women, so that he could better communicate with them.
In addition, if you stand in the perspective of the Qing Dynasty, in fact, in the aesthetics of the time, wearing a nail cover also has a certain aesthetic sense, although this makes modern people unacceptable. Therefore, the nail set can also make the emperor pleasing to the eye, which is another advantage.
The above is the role of nail covers in history, and when we understand all this, we look at this strange thing, and it should look less strange. And this also tells us a truth, in the feudal era, beauty and ugliness are not the most important, the most important thing is the hierarchy, when most of the costumes and dresses are in accordance with this principle.