In the previous article (related reading: 5,000 years ago, the necklace, is even more fashionable than it is now?) Revealing the past and present lives of the necklace (Part 1), Mr. J took everyone to see the development history of the necklace before the Wei and Jin Dynasties.
Qing gold necklace Collection of the Palace Museum
So, after the Wei and Jin Dynasties, what changes will occur in the style of necklaces, which are unique ornaments?
Next, let's follow Mr. J to get to know more about it
Sui and Tang Dynasties
The Tang Dynasty was the most prosperous period of feudal social development, social stability, life is rich, Tang Dynasty women pay more attention to dressing themselves, necklaces became one of the indispensable accessories for Tang Dynasty women to dress themselves.
Crystal necklace, collection of Xi'an Archaeological Research Institute, arterial photo
Due to the vigorous development of foreign trade, imported products such as "Seser Pearl" and Ying Luo became popular during this period.
Image source: Costume restoration
The "Cersei Bead" is a kind of turquoise gemstone imported from outside the region, and due to its high price and rare quantity, most of the wearers are royal nobles.
As for the types of gemstones, posterity is still inconclusive, the mainstream is said to be turquoise, sapphire, and lapis lazuli. (But Mr. J has a different opinion on this, and will make a reference in the next article, so stay tuned)
Dunhuang Mogao Cave Cave 61 Donor Mural
Among them, the most representative is the "Se Se Zhu" that fell in the Ying Luo excavated in the tomb of Li Jingxun in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province in 1957.
A piece of Ying Luo excavated from the tomb of Li Jingxun in Xi'an, Shaanxi
Crafted from pure gold, this necklace consists of 28 spherical gold chain beads studded with small pearls, 14 on each side of the left and right sides, in a symmetrical structure, threaded with gold thread, and the necklace buckle is inlaid with intaglio lazuli with a deer pattern.
The round gold ornament centered at the lower end is inlaid with a blood-red chicken blood stone surrounded by 24 pearls.
Directly below it hangs a gold-rimmed waterdrop-shaped "Seser Bead".
Source arterial shadow
This period of Ying Luo, due to the influence of Western culture, whether from the design style, or the choice of materials, has a strong exotic style.
Women in the Sui and Tang dynasties wore ying luo
From the style point of view, the pattern of Ying Luo is gorgeous and complex, the lines are undulating and almost perfect arcs, the technical process is very exquisite, and the style is extremely elaborate, mostly single-layer necklaces and multi-layer necklaces.
(Related reading: What is Ying Luo?) Imported from India, full of Buddha-nature necklaces, which can be seen everywhere on porcelain today)
Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes Tang Dynasty painted sculptures
During the Song Dynasty
During the Song Dynasty, there were frequent wars and disputes, but under the concept of heavy agriculture and commerce and respect for culture, not only the economy and culture were extremely prosperous, but also the development of folk handicrafts was very prosperous.
Southern Song Dynasty gold necklace
Because of this period, people generally followed the Han cultural tradition since the Zhou Li and Qin and Han Dynasties: "heavy headdress, light necklace", so few people wore necklaces.
With the prevalence of Buddhism, some Buddhist believers, especially women, often wear rosary beads (referring to the beads used to count during chanting) as a necklace after chanting, and this way of wearing was unique to the Song Dynasty.
Song Crystal Rosary is in the Nanjing Museum
Of course, the material of the rosary beads is also very rich, in addition to the most common incense wood, there are gold, silver, crystal, pearls, lotus seeds, bodhi seeds and so on.
In the tomb of Song Of the East Lake Production Team of Tuanlin Commune, Boyang County, Jiangxi Province, a crystal necklace was unearthed, and the crystals were full.
Song Tomb of The East Lake Production Team of Tuanlin Commune, Boyang County, Jiangxi Province Crystal Necklace
Yuan Dynasty
Necklaces from the Yuan Dynasty inherited the Song Dynasty, and there were also preferences for rosaries as necklaces.
As a gorgeous style of neck ornament, ying luo was loved by the royal family and nobles, especially among the dancers and maids in the court, especially among the dancers and maids in the court.
Yuan Dynasty Agate pure gold pendant
In Yuan Tao Zongyi's "Records of the Yuan Dynasty", it was recorded: "The emperor has been in power for a long time, neglecting political affairs, traveling and feasting, and sixteen palace women... Wear an ivory crown and wear a glittering robe."
In the Yuan Dynasty mural on the north wall of the Sanqing Hall of Yongle Palace in Shanxi, the "Heavenly Daughter" wears a gorgeous ying luo on the neck.
In addition to rosary beads and jewels, on paintings or murals of this period, it is often possible to see an ornament shaped like a jewel, called the Longevity Lock, which is an ornament with auspicious and blessing meanings.
Left: Heavenly Maiden Wearing a Long Life Lock Right: A boy wearing a Long Life Lock
Ming dynasty
In the Ming Dynasty, the "longevity lock" that appeared during the Yuan Dynasty became one of the most popular styles of necklaces worn by women and children.
Part of the mural paintings of fahai temple in the Ming Dynasty in Beijing
There is no empirical evidence as to when the long-life lock first appeared, but it is certain that it evolved from the long-life wisp during the Han Dynasty.
According to the Taiping Imperial Records and Customs, "On the fifth day of May, those who tied their arms with colorful silks sent soldiers and ghosts to prevent people from getting sick and plagued. ”
Long life
During the Dragon Boat Festival of the Han Dynasty, in order to exorcise demons and ward off evil spirits, people often tied colorful ropes to their bodies or hung them at the door of their homes, and this multicolored rope was called "longevity".
During the Song Dynasty, the longevity wisp was no longer a simple five-colored rope, and people also stringed various jewelry such as pearls in it, and the shape was more diverse and rich.
After a long period of evolution, by the time of the Ming Dynasty, the long life wisp gradually became a symbol of auspiciousness "long life lock", becoming a kind of necklace that could be worn from the noblewoman down to the Plain Ming.
Longevity locks are mostly made of gold, silver, jade, red rope and other materials, in the shape of a lock, and both sides are decorated with auspicious ornaments, and some are also engraved with auspicious characters.
【Yong Yu Le】 Foot silver long life rich lock Jeweler for sale
The ancients believed that by wearing it on the chest, they could turn evil into evil and dispel disasters.
【Man Ting Fang】Foot silver gilded filigree butterfly baby lock Jeweler for sale
Qing Dynasty
In the Qing Dynasty, the materials of the necklace were not only diverse, but also rich in shape and unique.
Qing Dynasty crystal necklace Shenyang Palace Museum collection Source: Heritage Jun
Necklaces of this period can be roughly divided into four types: beads, collars, longevity locks and beads on the front placket.
Among them, the imperial beads are ornaments hung on the chest by qing emperors or high-ranking officials on special occasions, and are not allowed to be used by ordinary people.
Qing tourmaline aquamarine treasure chaozhu, liaoning museum collection, arterial shadow photography
The beads are made of 108 beads, and every 27 beads need to be separated by a Buddha's head, in addition to which there are three twists and a back cloud.
Jiaqing Emperor Dongzhu Chaozhu
Because the beads need to be prepared by the officials themselves, the officials are very particular about the material of the beads, and the beads have become one of the objects used by officials to show their status.
Lapis Lazuli Chaozhu Qing Palace Museum Collection
In addition to the chao beads, in the Qing Dynasty, a female ornament worn on the head and neck was also popular, called the collar.
(Related reading: Clothes labels are not removed? The queen is so poor that she can only wear crystals? You may have misunderstood a bit about the Yanxi Raiders)
In terms of form, it is a gold-plated ring with an open-closed opening and a loose mouth, inlaid with gemstones, and two tapestries hanging from the living mouth.
Silver-encrusted coral collar about the Collection of the Palace Museum of the Qing Dynasty
The Qianlong Dynasty of the Qing Dynasty stipulated that the empress dowager, empress, imperial concubine, concubine, concubine, concubine, concubine in the court, the wife and daughter of the high-ranking clan, and the one-pin to seven-pin women outside the court should wear the golden covenant and the covenant when wearing the imperial dress.
From queen concubines to concubines, they are used for great gifts.
Gold-encrusted lapis lazuli leads to the collection of the Palace Museum of the Qing Dynasty
Long-life locks in the former dynasty are still very common among Women and Children of the Han Nationality.
The long-life lock of this period is not only richer in materials, but also more exquisite in production, and the necklaces using hollowing and filigree techniques are endless.
Qing silver engraved enamel color rich and glorious pattern butterfly-shaped collar long life lock
Modern
Today, necklaces have become one of the indispensable jewelry in people's jewelry boxes.
Le Jardin Exotique pink tourmaline necklace, by Farah Khan
With the development of industry and manufacturing, the material of necklaces has gradually enriched, in addition to the traditional gold and silver pearls, various pearls, gold-plated and other materials of necklaces have also become popular.
Freshwater pearl necklaces are on sale by jewelers
The style of necklaces is also more diverse, in addition to some simple and generous designs, some design accessories are also deeply loved by people.
Wendy Yue ruby gold necklace
Mr J said:
Although the necklace is an ornament used to embellish the neck, after thousands of years of development, it has become an important part of the development of Chinese history.
With the change of the times, the style and material of necklaces are constantly changing, but people's pursuit of beauty and yearning and vision of a better life have never changed.
Note: The pictures in this article originated from the network, if there is infringement, please contact Xiaobian to delete
Resources:
1. Wang Miao Zhuguang Cuiying The history of Chinese jewelry