The rainy season has arrived, the Dragon King of the Four Seas in the sky seems to be waiting for the Jade Emperor's instructions at any time, and the land that has experienced a long period of cold and drought is already looking forward to a spring rain as expensive as oil.
For modern people, rainy days are suitable for dazes, suitable for sleeping, suitable for emo, not suitable for travel alone. For the working people in ancient times, rainy days were important days for field work. In order to work in the rain, the "cloak" came into being.
The coat is a rain gear made of grass or brown as a material, divided into two parts: top and bottom, which is in line with the characteristics of the ancient Chinese costume "top and bottom". The top of the coat is draped over the shoulders, called the "cloak cloak": round neck, two shoulders extended, the front and back pieces of clothing are semi-circular, the front is open, and can be fastened by brown rope;
The bottoms are a short skirt with a bib, called a "skirt". Some are slightly longer, from the waist up to the chest, a bit like a woman's slip dress.
However, due to the fact that the brown material is very hard and there are many fine fibers, direct contact with the body will be very piercing, and it is not suitable for hats and shoes to use. Therefore, on rainy days, wear a coat, but also with "bucket" and "clogs". Therefore, we see the scene of the forty-fifth time in "Dream of the Red Chamber", when Bao Yu wears a bucket hat on his head, wears a cloak, and wears clogs on his feet to visit Daiyu.
Seeing Baoyu's dress, Dai Yu joked, "Where did the fisherman come from", which means that there is another use for the coat. The Book of Poetry, Xiao Ya, Wu Yang, says: "Ermu Laisi, He Jiao He Kasa". The Shuowen notes: "So I prepare for rain, and I put myself in the heat." From this point of view, the coat can be protected from rain, and the bucket can be shaded from the sun. Therefore, this set of equipment is also often used for fishing and hunting.
Over time, the garment has developed a unique clothing culture. Together with the image of the "fisherman", it became a symbol of the pursuit of freedom and noble personality by generations of literati and scholars.
"Lonely boat Kasawong, fishing alone in the snow of the Cold River", "The egret in front of Mount Xisai flies, and the peach blossom flows with mandarin fish fat." Green straw, green coat, oblique wind and drizzle do not have to return", "self-shelter a green crab, followed by green grass everywhere". One poem after another depicts scene after scene for us: a flood of rivers, a lonely boat, a fisherman, a coat. Between the vast world and the endless river water, the fisherman and his lonely boat, as small as a grain of sand, faced with the baptism of wind and rain, but always lonely and proudly held a territory. This is the integrity of the ancient literati, the mentality of a limited life in the face of infinite nature and the unknown, the courage not to be afraid of challenges; it is also in a complex social environment, in the face of decay and shackles, maintaining a posthumous and independent posture and yearning for freedom.
If it is said that in the "Album of Cao Xia, the SeedEr", the image of the fisherman painted by Cao Xueqin is his speculation on the turbid state of the present world after he is well versed in Lao Zhuang's thoughts; then Cao Gong's choice of "the residue is cold and hot, it is better to write the book Huangye Village", which is to express his spiritual pursuit with practical actions.
The seventh painting of the "Painting Album of Cao Xia of the Planter", The Fisherman Father
Back to the forty-fifth time of "Dream of the Red Chamber", Baoyu's "fisherman" and Daiyu's "fisherman", are precisely a clear stream that exists outside the desire of many people in the book to pursue fame and fortune. The two are wearing a coat, wearing a bucket hat, stepping on the clogs, under the wind and rain, in the mud, the water is not wet, the filth is not dirty, and they pursue and yearn for true love and freedom.
A small cloak can be as light as a feather, helping the free soul to spread its wings and fly high; it can also be as heavy as armor to escort the noble personality.
No wonder Dongpo has a saying: bamboo sticks and shoes are lighter than horses, who is afraid? A cloud of smoke and rain is a life of peace.
Resources:
1. "Folk Rainproof Appliances - A Study of The Cloak" Yang Xinhui
2. "A Brief Analysis of the Living Fossils of Chinese Primitive Clothing——— Clothing" Xing Dezhao
3. "Research on the Shape and Aesthetic Culture of the Cloak", Chen Minxin
4. "I don't know where I am in the picture" - 2020 Cao Xueqin Research, No. 4 Author: Li Baoshan