Clothing usually directly reflects the wearer's living environment and economic and cultural form. Due to the arid and cold weather conditions, the Mongol people living in the northern steppes had to wear thick and long clothes to resist the cold winds from the mountains. Because of their nomadic and hunting interests, most of their clothes are made of fur.
Sima Qian's "History" recorded for the first time in the "Records of History" the clothing and food of the steppe people in northern China, "from the king down, salted and ate animal meat, clothed in leather, and covered with clothes." "Beginning with Emperor Gao of Han, he sent large quantities of silk, cotton cloth and other things to Shan Yu of the Xiongnu. This shows that since the Han Dynasty, nomads in the north have worn clothing, in addition to clothing dominated by fur, but also clothing, which is dominated by fabric. This is also confirmed in the historical records of the Mongols.
In the Song Dynasty, Peng Daya and Xu Ting's "Black Tartar Story" has this passage: "Its crown is haired and bunned, winter is brave and summer is up, and the woman is the old aunt." His uniform, right and square collar, old with felt leather, new with Lining silk gold thread, red purple cyanosis, tattooed with sun, moon, dragon and phoenix, no noble and inferior" This painting depicts the clothing of the Mongol dynasty in the 30s of the 13th century, and also reflects the changes in the clothing materials of the Mongols at that time. In addition to leather and wool, the new clothes were made of silk and gold. From the material point of view, it is very similar to the Hanfu on the mainland, plus the sun, moon, dragon and phoenix pattern above, it should be related to the clothing material on the mainland.
With the expansion of the empire and the establishment of a transportation network from south to west, the clothing of the Mongols also developed in a new way, mainly reflected in the diversification of clothing materials and clothing. The characteristics of this change can be felt in the accounts of some Western travelers.
The Frenchman Rubruck once wrote: "As for their clothing and customs, you must know that the silk and gold weaving materials and cotton cloth they wore in the summer were transported to them from the Khitan and other eastern regions, as well as from Persia and other southern regions. From Rus and Mosar, and from Tabriar and Pascatir, i.e. Greater Hungary and Kyrgyzstan, all the northern lands that were forested and submitted to them, and furs of all their value were transported to them, which I had not seen in our homeland, and which they wore in winter.
They have to make at least two leather robes for the winter, one with the fur inward-facing and the other outward to protect themselves from the wind and snow. The latter type is often made from wolf, fox or baboon skins. But when they sat in the house, they put on another light robe. The poor used dogs and sheep (skins) to make the outer ones (robes). "Rubruck told us where the raw materials for clothes came from in the Mongol kingdom.
This can also show the clues of Mongolian clothing, and there are obvious differences in clothing between upper-class and lower-class Mongols. Indeed, in the process of development and evolution, clothing has never abandoned its own external characteristics such as nationality, era and class, and it carries the internal genetic map of a national folk culture.
From some incomplete materials in the "Secret History of Mongolia", we can glimpse the general appearance of Mongolian national clothing in the 13th century. There are fourteen places in the Secret History that mention dressing, including hats, accessories, and shoes, which bring us something useful.
For example, the Mongols dressed in the 13th century. Wear it on your head for protection. The head is the highest part of the human body and a symbol of the entire body. Therefore, the headscarf with natural protection is more respected than other headscarves. Mongolian headdresses are divided into male and female headdresses according to the differences between men and women, and there are certain differences in styling and wearing ceremonies. In the "Secret History", there are five records of "doukata". One is the female hat, which is Caleb's mother's hat; There are also 4 men's hats, from Timujin,
Hesar, Theb Tengri, Qu out of the body. In verse 74 of the Secret History, there is an article about his mother, wearing a hat on her head, running around the river, picking wild fruits and vegetables and raising her children. Gugu in the "Secret History" is worn on the head, which translates as Gugu on the head, and Li Heitaza on the body. The "gugu" is a top hat worn by Mongolian noble women in the thirteenth century. As for the "Gugu", in the first half of the thirteenth century, the people of the Central Plains who traveled on the Mongolian steppe recorded it as an exotic clothing.
For example, "Journey to the West in Changchun", "Mengtar Record", Peng Daya and Xu Ting's "Black Tartar Strategy" all have certain descriptions of the materials and morphological characteristics used in the "Gugu hat".
In addition to these, there are also records from the West. Let's look at Rubruck's Gugu hat: they had a headdress they called Polk, made of bark or whatever light substance they could find, as large as two hands together, more than a foot high, and as wide as a capital. This Polk, they wrapped in precious silk, it was empty inside. ...... They have a peacock feather on top and a diamond made from the tail of a duck. The ladies wore such hats on top of their heads, and they pressed the hat down with a bib, pierced a hole in the top of the hat, then tied it down with their own hair, and pulled Polk tightly under their chins.
The Bok mentioned here, according to the Rouke Yi annotation, is called boghtahg in Mongolian, and translates to "Gugu" in Chinese. It is clear that the "Liheita Thorn Zhou" in the Secret History and the "boghtahg" in Mongolian are the same, and it is also the grammar of Mongolian. Otherwise, just seeing the word "Gugu" from Chinese literature is likely to be misunderstood. Rubruke's accounts make it clear that in the mid-13th century, in Mongolia, a noble lady also wore a gugu hat, which was then called "boghtahg".
The "Secret History" says nothing about the shape of the Mongolian man's hat. According to the portrait of Genghis Khan in the collection of the Guan Museum, this hat was figuratively described as the "raptor hat", and later called the "crown of the eagle". The Secret History records that when the beggars fled in a hurry, a force found a five-year-old boy wearing an obsidian hat on his head in their tent. The clothes on his body were very valuable, and he also had fire in his eyes, so he was adopted by Horun's mother. Later, under Genghis Khan, he grew into a ruler called Qude (also ancient out).
From this it can be seen that his family conditions are very good, otherwise how could he wear a black furry hat, which shows that the Mongolian nobles of that era had high requirements for wool. On the other hand, a person wearing a cloak can also see his social status from the material of the hat. At some point, it also represents authority and majesty.
Genghis Khan took off his top hat in memory of saving his life, held the top hat in both hands, and kowtowed nine times in a row, showing his piety. Suspecting that Hesar was plotting to seize the throne, they took off his hat and tortured him to extract a confession. This is tantamount to the removal of the title of Hesar. In both stories, people untie their belts at the same moment, so we can assume that the hat and belt bear the same symbol. In some cases, the hat is the head of the person who wears it on the head, and if his head is taken off, it is his death, as in the parable above, Tengri's death is like that.
In the Black Tartar Story and the Rubruck Chronicle, the materials and styles of Mongol clothing in the 13th century are clearly described, so there should be no major deviations in this situation. The "Secret History" also records some records of clothing, such as when Xiao Zhier traveled with Genghis Khan, wearing only a blue robe, and Hetaan wearing a red robe, went to Genghis Khan to rescue her husband from the battlefield.
This shows that the Mongols wear wool and cloth in spring and summer, a typical example: the poor people choose the best wool and the best wool to make clothes. However, Xiao Huerchu was not a pauper, but the son of the famous rich Nahu Boyan, and his family was not poor, which may have something to do with the weak foreign economic and trade activities in the early Mongol Dynasty.
In winter, they generally wore sheepskin coats, as was the case with Belgutai's mother and Wang Khan when they were seven years old. The only difference was that Belgudai's wife wore a worn-out sheepskin coat, while Wang Khan wore a sheepskin coat embroidered with black patterns.
Mink, in particular, in this era, was the exclusive possession of dignitaries, symbolizing status and wealth. Timujin gave King Khan a congratulatory gift, a sable, that he had received as a minor monk. Overjoyed, King Khan promised to help Timujin destroy the contemptuous beggars and bring back his captive wives and abandoned people.
A mink's fur can cause such a big sensation, which shows that its price is definitely not low. In another matter, which can be used as evidence, Genghis Khan found a boy wearing golden satin and a pair of trousers sewn from sable in the dilapidated barracks of Tatar, and he gave these pants to his mother, Jia Erlun.
When his mother saw him, she said, "He must be a good child, and later, they took him as a sixth child, called Ji Chu Bald." It is probably because Horun's mother still praised him as a descendant of a family with a good relationship based on the satin mink on the boy's body.
There is not much record of jewelry in the "Secret History", but there is a clear record of the costumes of the unlucky and bald. He wore a pair of gold earrings around his neck, and in general, swords, fire sickles, and arrows were necessary for Mongol men to go out, especially during times of frequent war.
Verse 80 of the Secret History records that Tiemuzhen hid in the forest to escape the pursuit of the Taiyi beggars, and spent nine days and nights without any food. Because the road was blocked, he used a small knife, cut a line on a branch, and then went down the mountain. Obviously, Timu really had a dagger on his body. Old man Suoerhan only prepared a bow and two arrows for Timujin, and did not give him the fire sickle. As for why he didn't send the fire sickle and why he only sent two arrows, I think that Old Man Suoerhan wanted him to go back as soon as possible, so as not to be delayed during the journey, so he sent two arrows just in case.
In the Secret History, there is a record that a child wears a pair of doe shoes, not an adult's shoes. Mongolian men and women have a habit of wearing leather boots. The only difference is the color of the shoes. The women's boots are brighter. The material of the shoe is divided into leather and cotton.
In extremely cold weather, people often wear felt boots. "Women do not have bow shoes, and men have boots, and the soles of the boots are very thin, which is convenient for riding." Obviously, Mongolian women, like men, are also used to facilitate horseback riding.
Clothing is the most important material culture carrier of a country, and it is the crystallization of the best traditional culture of a country. The clothing of the Mongols not only conforms to the natural climatic conditions in which they live, but also conforms to their unique economic production methods, and can also reflect the historical characteristics of the period they lived in and the degree of their social development.
Bibliography:
[1] History [M]. Chung Hwa Book Co., 1999.
[2] Peng Daya, author; Xu Ting, Shu Zheng, Black Tartar Story [M]//Wang Guowei, Notes, Selected Historical Materials of Inner Mongolia: Series 3 Hohhot, 1985.
[3] Berlang's guest Mongol Xingji, Rubruck Dongxing [M] Rouke Yi, translation; Geng Sheng, He Gaoji, trans., Zhonghua Bookstore, 1985.
[4] Xiao Daheng, Northern Customs[M]//Wang Guowei, Selected Historical Records of Inner Mongolia: Hohhot, 3rd Series, Hohhot, 1985.