As mentioned earlier, women can also wear wooden shoes when they go out, but they can't do it when they are usually at home, so what shoes did ancient women usually wear? In addition to shoes, ancient people also had to wear socks, otherwise how awkward it would be to wear shoes barefoot! So what about ancient socks?
Strange stone - three-inch golden lotus
*Three-inch golden lotus with "embroidered shoes"
The shoes commonly worn by ancient Han women were called "embroidered shoes". Wearing embroidered shoes is the patent of women who bind their feet, because the feet of ancient women at that time, because of foot binding, were very small, so the most suitable for them was only embroidered shoes.
When it comes to women's embroidered shoes, we can't help but talk about women's foot binding.
Legend has it that during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, there was such an official daughter in the harem of the Southern Tang Li Houlord, she was called Qianniang. This man danced very well and was very pleasing to the Lord. A day later, the Lord asked the craftsmen to build a golden lotus flower six feet tall, and the feet of the lady were wrapped in cloth and wrapped in a crescent moon. When the lady danced in the golden lotus, it seemed to have a lingyun posture. After seeing it, Lord Li was full of praise. Since then, the custom of binding feet has spread among houguan and wealthy households. In the Song Dynasty, Han folk women followed suit, using foot binding as a symbol of beauty.
In the Ming and Qing dynasties, the "three-inch golden lotus" was used to describe the beauty of a woman, and if this woman were not for her small feet, she would probably not be able to marry. Foot binding became compulsory. With the advent of foot binding and the "three-inch golden lotus", embroidered shoes appeared. So what does this shoe look like?
First look at this upper, which is made of two masters, and the place where the stitching connection is made of floral thread. There is a "placket" at the heel, which is a set made of cloth. When the upper and sole are stitched, it is necessary to make the head of the sole upturned. Such shoes can generally only be made by women themselves, but also by mothers. Because it was under the constraints of feudal rites at that time, women's shoes were naturally regarded as private objects, not only for men outside, but even for their own fathers to see their embroidered shoes. The reason why this shoe is called "embroidered shoes" is mainly because when women sew shoes, they embroidered peonies, roses, jasmine, chrysanthemums and other patterns on the uppers, which implies that women are as beautiful as flowers.
Wearing embroidered shoes in the ancient folk is also particular, if the woman has a home, then she has to make three pairs of embroidered shoes as her dowry, this first pair of shoes is worn by the wedding don heaven and earth, named "Yutang Fugui"; This second pair of shoes was worn before sitting on a palanquin, and there was also a name called "Fushou Qimei"; After getting married, you will wear a second pair of shoes, which are called "Meilanzhuju". And the embroidered shoes worn at the wedding before, they were all to be pressed under the box.
Time has passed, foot wrapping destroys not the feet, but the spirit of Chinese women, customs have been abolished, but embroidered shoes still exist, today its workmanship is still very exquisite, and the style is more colorful and colorful, naturally has always been liked by girls.
*Do socks also have to be lace?
In addition to wearing shoes, the ancients wore socks just like today's people. However, the original socks of the ancients were made of animal skins. Wearing shoes is already warm, but why invent socks?
In fact, there is a custom in ancient times, that is, "take off your shoes", that is, when you visit someone's residence and go to the hall room, you must take off your shoes. After taking off your shoes, you can't stand barefoot, especially in the cold winter, and bare feet are also impolite to people, so you invented leather socks, wearing leather socks to stand on the cold mat, your feet will feel very warm, since then, leather socks have been popular for a long time.
In ancient times, this sock was called "footwear", and it still had to be tied! At that time, the sock style was actually very simple, just like the small pocket now, of course, in the tailoring, it was made according to the shape of the foot. It is about a foot long, and there is also a strap above the sock cuff, which is specially used to fix and tie the sock.
In the tomb of Mawangdui Han, socks like the one described above have been unearthed, but what was unearthed were two pairs of silk socks. This shows that in the Western Han Dynasty, socks were not only made of leather, but also silk fabric. Because, people find that compared with leather socks, it is more comfortable to wear stockings and cloth socks. Generally, this kind of cloth socks are made according to the size of the feet, generally flat with a flat head and heels, and the back of the sock barrel is open to cover the feet, and there are also straps to tie to the ankles.
Ancient men and women can wear socks, like a pair of women's socks unearthed on the mainland, this pair of socks is very brightly colored, made of yellow, white, purple three colors of silk, the quality is very soft, socks are straight, no heels. The men's socks also in this tomb are mainly red in color, and are embroidered with intricate patterns. The head of the socks is rounded and has a heel, which is the difference between ancient men's and women's socks.
In the Tang and Song Dynasties and later, the socks worn by folk men and women were mainly cloth, and in winter, in order to protect themselves from the cold, socks were woven with several layers of cloth, and some people thought of putting cotton cords in the socks, so that it was very warm. Today, people still wear socks, but all kinds of customs have faded, and the quality and comfort of socks have become an important criterion for people to buy socks today.
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