In our modern society, men generally have short hair, while women are accustomed to long hair. The short hair habit of men is not long after, and it is only more than a hundred years.
But women's long hair habits have been preserved for thousands of years, and even in today's diverse society, long hair is still very common among women.
A woman's hair has long been regarded as a kind of pride for women, it is a symbol of youth, but also represents the deep cultural heritage of the mainland.
Since ancient times, Chinese has grown and curly hair, and has invented various hair styles for this purpose. At the same time, in order to enhance the beauty of the bun and better fix various hair buns, people have made a variety of hair accessories.
In the circulation of thousands of years, the culture of women's hairstyles and hair accessories displayed in various historical periods provides a window for us to intuitively understand the social landscape of each historical period.
In different periods, how big is the difference in women's hairstyles and hair accessories culture? What are their characteristics?
First, the green silk vines, how many Shaohua Fangnian has been amazed
The history of human hair growth and curling has a long history, dating back to the primitive social period.
At that time, ancient humans already had simple hair buns, and in the Neolithic Age, with the advent of grinding stone tools, people also used jade, stone, bone and other materials to grind a variety of hair ornaments.
Although the processing technology at that time was very backward, the exquisiteness of the hair ornaments produced could not be compared with those of later generations. But, as the saying goes, the meaning of going from zero to one is far greater than going from one to one hundred.
In the pre-Qin era, as human beings gradually entered the civilized society, people's aesthetic level also improved to a certain extent, so a variety of hair cultures were formed.
At that time, the reason why people liked to grow hair was related to the worship of the gods. At that time, people worshipped nature and were also full of reverence for life.
Therefore, we attach great importance to the hair on people's bodies, believing that these things are obtained from heaven and will be returned to heaven in the future.
At that time, if a person had his hair shaved off, the person was either a lunatic or a punishment for committing a crime.
Since you have hair, you have to think about how to take care of your hair. The Central Plains peoples were not allowed to wear a shawl, and some of the surrounding ethnic groups at that time, such as the ancient Yue people, had the custom of hair tattoos.
In the eyes of the Central Plains, only barbarians would do this. Therefore, most of the residents of the Central Plains would take care of their own hair, and in the Shang Dynasty, people habitually kept braids, and this hairstyle could be used regardless of gender.
A jade man unearthed from the tomb of the Shang Dynasty women had a long braid, but the braid was not hanging down, but coiled on the top of the head, and then wrapped in a crown hoop, this crown also had no top, like a birthday hat.
Some women will make their hair into two buns, the front is tall and the back is slightly smaller. In some women, their sideburns will be rolled up on their shoulders, and then they will wear a crown without eaves on their heads.
In the Zhou Dynasty and even the Spring and Autumn Warring States period, women's hairstyles were still mainly braided, and the specific braiding methods would be different, some people liked to tie the long braids, some people liked to slew it, and double braids had also appeared at that time.
It is even said that some people will feel that the braids are not long enough, so they will add a wig so that the braids can hang down above the knees.
Regarding the hairstyles of the Qin and Han dynasties, there are a large number of excavated pottery figurines and murals as an example. As for the Qin Dynasty, the most understood at present is the man's hair bun, after all, there are thousands of terracotta warriors for reference.
Women's hairstyles have developed to a certain extent in the Han Dynasty, when there were various hair buns, such as flying buns, concentric buns, deer buns, three round buns, nine buns, twelve buns and so on.
A flying bun is a towering bun that pulls the hair up to the top of the head and then splits into multiple strands to form a curved ring.
And the bun is a layer like a wheel, from top to bottom, one layer is larger than the other. Nine buns and twelve buns are to comb the hair into multiple rings, which was more popular with young women at that time.
In the Wei and Jin dynasties, a hundred flower buns appeared, and this bun was shaped like a flower, hence the name. There are also screw buns, anti-buns, which originated in Buddhism, and anti-buns are a hairstyle that rolls the bun from the back to the front.
There are also many types of hair buns in the Sui and Tang dynasties, such as high buns, panhuan buns, cicada buns, etc., which are inherited from previous generations.
The innovative hair buns in the Sui and Tang dynasties have more than ten kinds of hair styles such as LingXu Bun, Xiangyun Bun, Guiqin Bun, Wu Man Bun, Lily Bun, etc., but unfortunately, due to the long age, we have no way of knowing what these hair styles really look like.
During the Two Song Dynasties, etiquette was once again valued by the state, and people of all ranks had to wear clothes according to certain norms, using hairstyles and hair ornaments.
At this time, there is a hairstyle in which a woman wraps her hair in a bun with a cloth bun, called a "bun bun", and then knots a flower shape on the cloth bun.
In addition, there are some buns with Song Dynasty characteristics, such as Panfu Dragon Bun, Double Bun, and Luan Bun, while the second and third buns are specially designed for girls.
During the Ming Dynasty, the hairstyle was relatively single, and the more typical was a nest of silk, that is, the hair was directly coiled on the head, and a net pocket could be added to cover the hair, which was called "瓒".
Women in the Ming Dynasty also liked to wear a bun on their heads, and the bun here is actually not a bun, but more like a crown.
Originating in the Song Dynasty, Di Bun developed from the bun and crown, generally made of gold wire, silver wire, ponytail, silk, hair or paper and other materials, covered with a layer of black veil on the outside, shaped a bit like a cone, used to cover the bun on the top of the head.
In the Ming Dynasty, di ji was not worn by everyone, and only married women could use it.
Most of the hair buns of Han women in the Qing Dynasty followed the Ming Dynasty, and the more typical ones were Huixin Bun and Hanging Bun.
Among them, the hanging bun has a long history, as early as the Han Dynasty has been formed, the method is to hang the hair behind the head, and then pull it into a bun at the end to form a bun.
However, in the Han Dynasty, this hanging bun was combed on the back, while in the Ming and Qing dynasties, it hung behind the neck or behind the head. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, only elderly women often combed this bun, and until modern times, this bun still exists.
Second, the steps are slow, and Fanghua is always full of style
In the late primitive society, with the evolution of human social organization and the improvement of civilization, our ancestors gradually learned how to coil their hair, and if you want to maintain this shape, you must have certain tools to assist.
In the earliest days, people used branches to fix their hair, which is the origin of later hair ornaments.
With the advancement of manual craftsmanship, people no longer use branches to fix their hair, and at this time, there are grinding hair ornaments made of stone and bone, and head ropes made of wool, hemp and other materials.
The earliest hair ornaments appeared as the buns, and later, hairpins and pins also appeared. It was an ornament used to hold hats or hair, and at first people used bone and mussels, and later stone and jade fences appeared, and bronze fences appeared during the Shang and Zhou Dynasties.
The earliest excavations in China originated from the Hemudu site, which indicates that China's hair ornament culture originated very early.
In ancient mainland china, men were crowned when they reached adulthood to mark their adulthood, while the symbol of a woman's adulthood was the ichijō, and under normal circumstances, a woman had to perform a ceremony at the age of fifteen, after which she could marry. During the Qin and Han dynasties, with the progress of society, the 笄 was gradually replaced by the hairpin.
Plutonium is a kind of jewelry with two branches, shaped like a fork, generally twisted into a strand of two metal wires, and decorated with tassels at the end, which is a kind of jewelry that evolved from hairpins.
The Book of the Later Han Dynasty once said: "The ancients helped silkworms and wore tortoiseshells", and the most important thing for the ancients was the plutonium decorated with tortoiseshells.
In ancient times, court ladies also used some exquisite headdresses, such as Huasheng and Bu Yan. Huasheng is a title of jewelry, the meaning of the victory here is the jewelry used by women, and Huatong flower, together means flower-shaped jewelry, the shape of this jewelry is very gorgeous.
Women in the Han Dynasty liked to paste kingfisher feathers on Huasheng, a craft called "diancui".
The step shake is also a traditional Chinese jewelry, because this kind of jewelry will shake when walking after wearing, so it is named step shake. The "Interpretation of The Name and Interpretation of Jewelry" writes: "Step shakes, there are hanging beads on it, and steps shake also.".
This kind of jewelry is generally made of gold, made into the shape of phoenix, butterfly and other animals, plus tassel pendants, and then embellished with various gems and pearls on it, its complex shape, the cost is not cheap, which is destined to be this kind of jewelry most of the time can only be a symbol of ancient aristocratic status.
In addition, as early as 4,000 years ago, our ancestors have formed the habit of inserting combs into their hair, and in ancient China there were two kinds of combs, one is an ordinary comb and the other is called a grate.
The comb and grate are not much different in appearance at first glance, but on the comb teeth, the grate is a little more delicate.
Because of the fine density, the grate is well cleaned and is often used to scrape dandruff and lice from the hair. But at the same time, grate is also an ornament, is used to fix the bun, and often the production process of this grate is very exquisite, the finished product is more exquisite.
Generally speaking, combs and grates are made of bamboo and wood materials, and from ancient times to the present, the materials used by people include but are not limited to stone, bone, jade, ivory, gold, silver, rhino horn and other materials.
Before the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the shape of grates was mainly horseshoe-shaped, in the Sui and Tang dynasties, trapezoidal grates were popular, and after the Song Dynasty, they were mainly half-moon shapes.
In addition to the grate, there is also a forehead ornament. This ornament is decorated in front of the forehead and plays a role in pressing the hair. The origin of the forehead ornament is also very long, thousands of years old, and the earliest was also made of materials such as bones and shells.
Later, forehead ornaments of different materials such as gold, copper, and rhino horn appeared. The biggest change was in the Ming Dynasty, when the role of the forehead became the forehead, and the forehead was a silk scarf made of Uya yarn.
When used, use a foreheadpa tied from the front of the forehead to the back of the head, covering the hair on the forehead and the front of the head.
The foreheadpa is not necessarily a monotonous piece of cloth, which can also enhance the aesthetics by adding decorations, which can also satisfy women's beauty-loving psychology while adding convenience.
In the three generations period, the mainland has formed a relatively complete crown clothing system, out of the emphasis on grooming, hairstyles and hair accessories have received high attention from people, are moving towards refinement.
The more you develop, the richer the styles of various buns, and the more delicate the hair ornaments. Until the Sui and Tang dynasties, it reached a peak height.
The women's hairstyle and its decoration during the Tang Dynasty were the most abundant, not only the achievements of the previous generation were inherited, but also further developed on this basis, forming a situation of a hundred flowers blooming.
After the Tang Dynasty, due to the conservative state of mind of feudal society, the hair style and its decorative culture did not produce a breakthrough development.
During the Qing Dynasty, due to the integration of national cultures, some new characteristics of China's Hair style culture appeared, and the overall trend of pluralism appeared.
The long-established hairstyle culture not only shone in ancient societies, but also influenced the lives of our contemporaries.
However, due to the fast-paced lifestyle, modern women's hairstyles and decorative culture tend to be concise, and because of the influence of Western culture, they have richer style characteristics.
The evolution of the hair style and its decorative culture reflects the development of the political, economic and cultural level of human society and the aesthetic characteristics of a nation, and the more rich and diverse it is, the more it indicates the progress of a society.
Resources:
"A Review of Women's Hairstyles and Hair Accessories in Ancient China"
"On the Evolution and Development of Ancient Chinese Jewelry"