Most of our understanding of the clothing of the ancients comes from film and television works with ancient themes, and last year's "Menghualu" won a number of hot search terms during the hit period, which not only triggered a heated discussion of the audience's life in the Song Dynasty, but also led to the fire of the Song and Han uniforms because of the rigorous study of clothing.
Walking into the streets and alleys of cities and cities across the country, you can almost see young girls dressed in various Chinese costumes, shopping and playing, or taking photos.
When we see their clothes fluttering and their skirts fluttering, we can't help but wonder: Can the ancients live normally with such long hems? Aren't they afraid to drag on the ground and stain their clothes?
Were the clothes of the ancients really long?
Most of the Hanfu we often see in our daily life now have been improved by modern technology, and although its shape, fabric, dye color are made according to ancient books and paintings, they are very different from the ancient people's dress requirements.
In ancient times during the feudal period, people divided classes by different styles of clothing.
In ancient times, ordinary people often used fibers such as cotton and linen and silk weaving to spin into cloth, and then cut into ready-to-wear clothes that were conducive to action.
The exquisite robes we often see in film and television dramas are exclusive to the nobles, and the fabric is soft luster and tender silk satin, which is hand-embroidered by embroiderers on the satin to symbolize the noble pattern.
In order to facilitate work and not need to be cleaned frequently, ordinary people who live a normal life between the cities will choose more wear-resistant and dirt-resistant hemp or heat-absorbing and sweat-absorbing cotton "short beating" when working, and the top is often dark clothing, and later there are robes, jackets, jackets and other styles; The underwear is pants, long pants, shorts, calf nose pants, etc.
Not only are the clothes of nobles and commoners different, but nobles also rely on the length of clothing to divide ranks, in general, the longer the robe implies the more noble the status rank. In the Shiji, officials of the Qin and Han dynasties all "robed the dynasty" and used their robes to show their differences.
Not every dynasty wore long clothes, and clothing evolved accordingly
The Shang Dynasty costume was based on a two-stage system of upper and lower garments, mostly small sleeves, in a tight and narrow form, and the length was about above and below the knees, so that the length was bent and convenient for movement.
During the Qin and Han dynasties, there was little distinction between commoners and nobles in the shape of clothes, and most of them were curved clothes, which means that this shape of clothing had a backward curved tunic. In order to prevent stepping on the dress when walking, often wear "upturned shoes".
After the research of experts and scholars, Hanfu has roughly 14 types of forms, such as "deep clothing", "top and bottom", "skirt", curved shirt, straight skirt, chest-length skirt, round neck robe, and pants. Each grade has its own corresponding requirements such as shape, pattern, material length, etc. that should be used.
By the Tang Dynasty and the Song Dynasty, people's innovation in the shape of clothing was more obvious, and large-sleeved shirts and wide-sleeves were popular, and the length of the clothes changed with the sleeves.
"When sitting, the clothes are covered with grass, and the skirt sweeps down the plums", in Meng Haoran's poems, it is enough to see the length of women's clothes in the Tang Dynasty.
Since the Yuan Dynasty was governed by the steppe-loving Mongols, the shape of the clothes was changed to favor the "grandson clothing" that favored the horses, which were shorter robes and narrower, with many folds on the waist for easy adjustment.
Contrary to the top and bottom length of Tang clothing, clothes during the Ming Dynasty gradually lengthened the length of the blouse and shortened the length of the exposed skirt. The robe is one inch long from the ground, the sleeves are longer than the hand, the sleeves are one foot wide, the cuffs are nine inches wide, and the big red shoes are typical of the style.
The Qing nobles were very different from the nobles of previous dynasties due to the solidification of the feudal class. The Manchu noble women wore the unique Manchu cheongsam, which was mainly one-piece and medium-length, and also wore high flowerpot-bottomed shoes so that the cheongsam did not fall to the ground and did not show their feet.
The robes and clothes of the nobles are not afraid of getting dirty
Compared with the "short fights" often worn by commoners, the robes of nobles not only consume time and energy in the process of craftsmanship, but also require personal servants to serve when worn, which is not suitable for labor.
Because this layered robe was a symbol of status in ancient times, and the nobles wearing robes and costumes never lacked manpower, material and financial resources.
In the "Chen Shu Liebian No. 1", it is recorded that Empress Shen "lived frugally, her clothes were not ornamented, and there were hundreds of attendants on the left and right." ”
This historical source wants to reflect that Empress Shen was thrifty and simple, with only more than a hundred attendants. But from our modern point of view, what about the frugal people, and what about those who like extravagance? It's unimaginable.
In those elaborate dwellings, the nobles were always available to their close attendants to do all kinds of complicated errands for them.
When they go out to visit and enjoy the scenery, they are escorted by a sedan car, and there are personal entourage behind them, who hold up the hem of their clothes in time to prevent contamination. It can be said that "clothes are not dusty" and "feet do not stick to the ground".
So what if it's dirty? A historical official once praised Song Taizu as "the clothes of ordinary clothes, and the huan is beautiful again." The meaning of this praise remark is that the clothes that the emperor usually wears, washed once and then put on his body, are worthy of people's learning and respect.
It can be seen that the second wearing of clothes was rare in the life of ancient nobles, who never washed clothes, and they were discarded after wearing them once.
What's more, some of the nobles with beautiful clothes, although they did not wear them, were also buried with them, and even some nobles who only made enough clothes would be praised as thrifty.
The nobles had a lot of clothes, clean and tidy dwellings, and tens of thousands of slaves. With the combination of these conditions, they never need to worry about hygiene when mopping their clothes.
The robes of the nobility were also not often worn
Robes were not worn daily by the nobility, and for them, ornate robes were also extremely extravagant for everyday wear.
In general, dignitaries would dress up as ceremonies and banquets, wearing robes just to show their identity, while observing etiquette and showing exquisite beauty on the robes.
However, under the influence of Confucian culture, many ancient emperors advocated the style of thrift, educating the people with a simple style and stabilizing the people's hearts, often "making clothes not dragged to the ground, and drapery not to embroider, in order to show simplicity and be the first in the world." ”
summary
The clothes of the ancients dragged on the ground for a long time, were they not afraid to stain their clothes? The answer is actually quite simple.
In ancient times, nobles had their servants to serve in peacetime, and their clothes were changed at any time, and they were rarely contaminated with dirt. And the common people have few opportunities to wear robes in their lives, how can they get dirty?
The ornate robe is in fact an outward manifestation of the hierarchical hierarchy of the feudal system, which used to be unique to the feudal aristocracy, but today, we can buy and wear them on shopping sites such as Taobao, and we should cherish our clothes while marveling in shock at the luxury of ancient clothes.
#历史开讲 #