Everyone has a heart for beauty.
Choosing the right and appropriate clothing can make people look energetic. From the pre-Qin dynasty to the Republic of China, men's clothing also underwent a series of changes, gradually shifting from class to adaptability.
At the same time, men's aesthetic demand for clothing is gradually increasing, and even many men who pay attention to clothing have set off a fashion frenzy.
So how has men's clothing evolved?
The sun and the moon are in the arms, and the jade tree is in the wind: the development process of men's clothing
The development of pre-Qin clothing has gone through a long process from simple to complex.
With the establishment of the etiquette system, men's clothing also evolved a complete crown dress system. Dignitaries have a high social status, so they can wear crowns. When men wear crowns, they must wrap their hair in cloth and comb it into a bun.
Moreover, the Qin Dynasty people wore clothes on the upper body and clothes on the lower body. The top of the reader is relatively long, also called a deep coat, and ordinary people wear short linen clothes. Because in labor production, short clothes are more convenient to operate.
Under normal circumstances, the Qin people would press the right collar with the left collar, which is the so-called "right collar". If you are not careful and suppress it, then it means that you are a member of an ethnic minority, or someone in your family has died.
Han inherited the Qin system, men's clothing basically followed the style of the Qin Dynasty, but there were also many innovations in shape and design.
By the time of the Wei and Jin dynasties, men would basically wear small shirts and half sleeves. Because of the integration of nationalities, there are products such as draped veils.
And at that time, there was also a very popular Xie Gongxie. The inventor of Xie Gongxi is the personable and handsome Xie An. The front of the shoe is short and the back is long, so it will be more labor-saving when walking rough mountain roads, and the bottom of the shoe is still very thick, so it can also prevent slipping to a certain extent.
During the Sui and Tang dynasties, men liked to wear round-necked robes, and also absorbed the characteristics of Hufu - lapels, placket, narrow sleeves.
In the Song Dynasty, the shirt became the most popular clothing for men. The doctors' regular dresses were hoodies, and they wore black gauze hats and dengue boots.
It is worth mentioning that men not only work on clothes, they also put care into headdresses, and men prefer hairpins in addition to hats. In fact, as early as the Warring States period, people can find from Qu Yuan's poetry that men have the habit of wearing vanilla.
Ouyang Xun of the Tang Dynasty also described the phenomenon of men wearing hairpin flowers during the Chongyang Festival in "Art and Literature Cluster".
This shows that the thing of hairpin flowers has appeared in the Tang Dynasty, and later in the Song Dynasty, the emperor will also give flowers to his courtiers. Emperor Taizong of Song also used to give flowers to Jin Shi when the imperial examination was released. Obviously, at this time, the hairpin flower has been linked to honor.
Song dynasty men favored hairpin flowers, and they not only chose very colorful fresh flowers, but also excelled at making elephant flowers. They wear hairpin flowers at every grand traditional festival, so in a sense, this is also a cultural inheritance.
Qing dynasty men's clothing was mainly robes and horse coats, and their sleeves would be made in the shape of horseshoes, which did not appear in previous generations. The shape of the robe is basically simple, with a straight collar.
And because the Manchus liked to ride and shoot at that time, they basically wore four-sided slit robes. The robes worn by ordinary people do not need to be slit. Men also wear an extra horse coat over the robe, which is above the knee.
Men during the Manchu Qing dynasty also liked to wear a variety of accessories on their clothes. In addition to the more common gold, silver and jade, there are even people who will hang tweezers, toothpicks and other daily necessities on their bodies, and some more common guns or small blades, which are also good choices.
Most of the banner costumes were changed to Han clothes, and official robes were cut into short clothes: Western thought and Chinese tradition
In the early Republic of China, the ideology and concepts of the Chinese people had not yet been thoroughly liberated and developed, and this was reflected in their clothing. But in general, men's dress gradually transitioned from bloated monotony to simplicity and comfort.
And influenced by Western thought, many elegant men pursue more fashionable and modern clothes, and it can be said that the aesthetics have also been greatly improved.
From the perspective of clothing styles, men tend to prefer Zhongshan suits, robe and horse coats and suits.
After the Xinhai Revolution, Dr. Sun Yat-sen specially designed Zhongshan clothing suitable for men, because he felt that the suit style was too complicated and not suitable for the daily life of Chinese. The traditional gown does not introduce new elements, and it is difficult to reflect a positive spiritual outlook.
So Dr. Sun Yat-sen referred to the student clothing that was popular in Japan at that time, and by adding four pockets and pockets in front of the clothes, and then changing the previous standing collar to a lapel, the improved Zhongshan suit was basically formed.
From the appearance point of view, the practical characteristics of Zhongshan clothing are very obvious, because the four large pockets add a lot of capacity to the clothes, and many bits and pieces that are needed daily can be put into it, and it is not easy to drop. Such a simple and convenient design was quickly favored by men, and finally Zhongshan clothing became a cultural symbol of China.
Although many people's thinking has undergone earth-shaking changes during the Republican period, there are still many feudal remnants.
A person's class and social status can be judged just by his or her external clothing, and economically powerful merchants will choose high-end silk, so what they wear daily is basically a long robe. And some officials and upper-class people in the center of power will choose dignified and straightforward Zhongshan uniforms and military uniforms.
Many elites who have returned from studying abroad prefer suits. Xu Zhimo often wears a straight suit, and he looks really personable. Ordinary country men are still dressed in robes and horse coats.
Compared with the previous generation, because the Republic of China is in a special period of alternation between the old and the new and the collision of ideas, it has also collided with many clothing products that combine Chinese and Western cultures. Tradition and innovation are so skillfully combined, which is also the fundamental reason for the diversity of costumes in the Republic of China.
Alternation of old and new, development and innovation: the demeanor of the talented man of the Republic of China
Some of the great intellectuals of the Republic of China tended to choose Western-style clothing. Shao Xunmei, who came from a famous family, is known as a beautiful man with a Greek sculpture. Shao Xunmei's ancestors were officials of the Qing Dynasty, so he didn't have to worry about his livelihood. In a period of such scarcity of material conditions, he was able to invest heavily in printing houses.
Shao Xunmei's wife is Sheng Xuanhuai's granddaughter, and it is said that the two brought a very rich dowry when they got married. He is also quite generous in making friends, Xu Zhimo once borrowed money from him to subsidize the family, and Shao Xunmei only borrowed from abroad, but never asked her friends to pay back.
Shao Xunmei is an out-and-out fashionista in the Republic of China and is quite particular about her dress. When Shao Xunmei returned from studying in Cambridge, she loved to wear both suits and robes, and his favorite things were British leather shoes and Egyptian cigarettes.
When he talks to others, he sometimes speaks Chinese and sometimes English. His own skin is snow-white, but he still has to apply grease and powder before going out, because in his eyes, this is a Tang style, and from a distance, Shao Xunmei really has a bit of a famous demeanor.
Not only clothing, Shao Xunmei's personal life also reveals the characteristics of the integration of old and new.
He has a wife, a concubine, and even openly cohabits with American female writers, which may sound unacceptable in modern society, but in the Republic of China, especially among the elites who have returned from studying abroad, it is normal to abandon his wife and find a few confidantes.
Shao Xunmei is not only a fashionable person in the Republic of China, but also has a merry emotional experience.
Whether it is the pre-Qin dynasty or the Republic of China, whether conservative or open, a clothing history is also a Chinese history. If we have the opportunity to touch the costumes with historical memories again, we will definitely be impressed by the temperature that is within reach.
Behind the costumes is an unspeakable history and era
Bibliography:
"The Psychology of Clothing under the Evolution of History"
From robe and coat to suit and leather
"Pre-Qin Rite Music"