In order to be beautiful, modern women make the standing posture and walking posture more charming, graceful and colorful, and wear high heels. In fact, the history of high heels in China can be traced back to the Zhou Dynasty more than 2200 years ago, and in the "Jade New Yong", there are also relevant descriptions of high heels, such as "walking on high suspicions, and opening the special wind." ”
By the time of the Qing Dynasty, Manchu aristocratic women wore not high heels, but similar "flower pot bottom shoes". This kind of flower-pot bottom shoe, also known as flag shoe, was a kind of shoe worn by Manchu women during the Qing Dynasty. It is made of wood as a base, the sole is 5-15 cm high, and the highest is 25 cm. Such high shoes are inconvenient for elderly women to wear, so most of the people who wear flower pot bottom shoes are aristocratic young and middle-aged women over the age of thirteen or fourteen.
The flower pot bottom shoes of the Qing Dynasty, also known as "high-soled shoes", because of its thin and lower width, front and back round, the floor marks are like horseshoes, also known as "horseshoe bottom" shoes.
More than ten centimeters of shoes, Manchu noble women wear on their feet, are they not afraid of falling? We can't help but wonder and worry about them. In fact, Manchu women wear such high shoes, if not used to it, it is still easy to fall, such as in "New Zhu Gege", the little swallow who has just entered the palace put on the bottom of the flower pot, at first not very accustomed, directly in front of Qianlong and the empress fell on four feet to the sky, making the Qianlong Emperor stunned. It can be seen that the little swallow is outside the palace,
Regarding the origin of the pot bottom shoe, there are probably two types.
According to the first legend, Manchu women often go up the mountain to collect wild fruits, mushrooms, etc. before entering the customs. However, in the deep mountains and old forests, there are many insects and snakes, which are very unsafe, and they tie wooden blocks on the soles of their shoes to prevent insects and snake bites. In this way, the bugs are difficult to bite the women. Later, the Manchus entered the customs, and the flower pot bottom shoes became more and more exquisite, and gradually developed into high-soled shoes.
According to the second legend, in order to cross a mud pond (that is, the Jurchens), the ancestors of the Manchus (that is, the Jurchens) crossed the mud pond, defeated the enemy, and regained the lost land, so they learned the appearance of the white crane, tied high branches to their shoes, crossed the mud, and finally won the victory. Therefore, the Manchus believed that this shoe blessed them, and in order to commemorate the merits of the tall wooden shoes, women put on these shoes. Later, after improvement, it evolved into Manchu flower pot bottom shoes.
After the Manchu Qing Dynasty entered the customs, the concubines in the palace no longer needed to go up the mountain to pick wild fruits and mushrooms in person, in other words, there was no need for this kind of "flower pot bottom shoes" that were easy to wrestle, and should be abandoned. But why do these concubines still love the pot-so-soled shoes that are more than ten centimeters high?
First of all, manchu noblewomen wore these "high heels", increased their height, and their figures looked more slender, dignified and generous. This is the same as why modern women love high heels so much. They are all women, and they love beauty, and everyone has it.
Secondly, Manchu women wear these "high heels", and the cheongsam does not mop the floor and does not expose their feet. Friends who have watched the Qing Palace drama know that those concubines and gege are wearing beautiful qipao. If they are paired with more than ten centimeters of high heels, they can add points in front of the emperor and get favor.
Finally, the Manchu concubines wore these "high heels", and there was another advantage, mainly for the "convenience" of the emperor, so that the emperor remembered himself.
In the harem, the emperor has many concubines such as empresses, imperial concubines, noble concubines, ordinary concubines, Chang Zai, and promises, although it is not as exaggerated as the harem beauty three thousand, and there are dozens of them. The emperor was very clever, and it was difficult to remember all his concubines. If the emperor was walking in the harem, met a concubine who was not very favored, and remembered the title and name of the concubine, it would be a joke. Now, he only needed to remember the "flower pot bottom shoes" of these concubines.
The pot-soled shoes worn by different concubines are very different, because the "pot-bottom shoes" of these concubines are very different. They embroidered various embroideries, carvings, and beads on the "flower pot bottom shoes", and some also hung small spikes and gemstones on the tip of the shoes. In short, the pattern of the flowerpot bottom shoes of the concubines is very different, just to let the emperor remember himself. If the emperor is walking in the harem and meets his concubine, in case he can't call her name, he can know who she is according to the "flower pot bottom shoes".
The flower pot bottom shoes are also divided into the bottom of the flower pot and the yuanbao bottom, and the difference in the heel also represents the difference in identity. For example, "YuanBaodi" only people with extremely high status have the opportunity to wear it, such as empresses and imperial concubines, and ordinary Manchu women are naturally not qualified to wear it.
epilogue
There may be many more origins of the pot bottom shoe, which are not described here. Because it was loved by Manchu women, especially the emperor's concubines, it was gradually passed down. Finally, the "flower pot bottom shoes" became more and more exquisite, each with its own characteristics, which provided convenience for the emperor to remember and distinguish concubines.
To be honest, the "flower pot bottom shoes" are equivalent to today's high heels, which is the favorite of every beauty-loving lady. I think that back then, "flower pot bottom shoes" were all the rage in the imperial palace, and now high heels are loved by the majority of female comrades, and there are similarities. It seems that what has changed is the era, the unchanging aesthetic.