It is believed that under the influence of Qing Palace drama, many people had the experience of putting pen hats on their nails when they were young, and thought that this was the patent of the concubines of the Qing Dynasty. However, in fact, the history of nail sets is very old, and it is not exclusive to the concubines of the Qing Dynasty.
The wind of armor began with the men's armor in the Warring States period
In 1979, during the archaeology of the Warring States Tomb of Zungar Banner in Inner Mongolia, it was found that the finger was made of gold sheets stacked and curled. In addition, in the tomb of the deep Han of the Old River in Yushu Dapo, Jilin Province, a pair of Golden Protective Fingers of the Han Dynasty have also been excavated, and they have the function of adjusting the thickness and fineness, which are now stored in the Jilin Provincial Museum.
There are long fingernails on the fingers, that is, armor, which is mostly believed to have begun from the aristocratic men of the Warring States period from archaeological or historical records. Unlike today, if a man has long nails, it is not only hot eyes, but also unhygienic. However, during the Warring States period, armor storage still had to have a certain status before it was allowed.
According to the "Han Feizi Neichu Sayings", "Han Zhaohou held a claw, and pretended to die with one claw, and the left and right were effective because of the cutting of his claw." Zhaohou took the blame for the dishonesty of his left and right subjects. The Marquis of Han Zhao's courtiers even used the "claw" to test whether they were loyal. After the armor is stored, it must be carefully cared for, and do not dare to destroy it at will, and do not expect to stain your hands if you are tired and tired. Therefore, for ordinary people, even if they are allowed, they cannot afford it.
Since the Qin Dynasty, armor has begun to change, allowing women to wear armor. From this point on, the largest group of armor guards changed from men to women, and the only constant was still the requirement of a certain status or social status.
Confucianism in the Han Dynasty became orthodox, and under the requirements of the "Filial Piety Classic" and the etiquette system, that is, "the skin of the body, by the parents, dare not damage, the beginning of filial piety" and other concepts, even the hair and nails can not be damaged at will, forming "most of the hair claws are not cut, occasionally fall off, but also properly disposed of."
From the Tang Dynasty, the Song Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty, during this period, the act of cutting armor was mixed with a large number of taboos, making things that seemed ordinary to modern people at that time also have the effect of auspiciousness and avoidance. When was the nail cut, once accurate to the hour, and before the nail cut, we had to see if it was in conflict?
Until the Republic of China, Zhou Songfang's "The Old System and New Fashion of Clothing in the Republic of China" also had "In the past, every time a woman kept long nails, she looked at beauty, and the elderly had three to four inches, which were as thin as onions and were trimmed when they were trimmed." There are also dyes with the juice of the hydrangea flowers, made of scarlet, and now it is danran. " of the record.
Qing Palace "Art at Your Fingertips"
The fingernail sleeves of the Qing Dynasty court, because of their characteristics of the flag people, also integrated the artistic elements in Han culture, and because of the extreme complexity of the craftsmanship, it was like "art on the fingertips". The Qing Dynasty court nail set changed the process of simply using gold and silver as materials in the past dynasties.
In addition to the above two materials, pure copper, jade and tooth bone horns are added as materials. On the outside, it is the most beautiful thing that can reflect its craftsmanship. Judging from archaeological findings, the appearance of early nail covers is very simple, only taking into account the practical and ignoring the beauty.
The nail sets of the Qing Palace are decorated with gilded or enamel colors on the outside, and are made of jade, and are mostly decorated with pearls, agate, coral, and tourmaline. In the late Qing Dynasty, nail covers became increasingly popular. In order to facilitate the removal of fireworks, the usual use of gold, silver, copper or jade materials, etc., were replaced by tooth bone horns, but the process was not inferior.
According to the "Yanjing Terroir Record", "Flag women, who have more food and clothing and no worries, and have nothing to do, they mostly entertain themselves by raising long armor." Nails are protected by nail covers made of gold or silver, which fit the fingers. The Qing Palace nails are extremely artistic, and its biggest promoter is Cixi during the Xianfeng period.
The role of nail covers in the Qing Dynasty is divided into grades
Manchu aristocratic women of the Qing Dynasty wore nail sets, and their original role was only to compensate for the shortcomings in clothing. At that time, it was common to comb two heads, and the hair was high, and the cuffs were covered by fatness, so that the beauty on the fingers could not be displayed. Therefore, it is formed to make up for the use of nail sets with clothing.
According to the "Qing Barnyard Banknotes", "Golden nails, women apply to the fingers as ornaments, to make their fingers as slender as spring onions, arrogant fingers are all outside." According to this statement, wearing a nail cover is any finger except the thumb. Judging from the nail sets left in the Qing Palace, they are all set of two. Therefore, this statement has also been questioned by many experts and scholars.
In Qing palace photographs, the middle finger is worn less often and does not require symmetry. If you look at the "Xiyi Autumn Garden" in the Daoguang years, the queen and concubine in the picture are wearing ring fingers and little fingers. In the Qing Palace archives, there are relevant records of the two hands worn by the court noble women.
In short, the Qing Dynasty concubines wore nail covers, nothing more than to protect nails and self-decoration, which was a living instrument for powerful women.