Recently, a set of survey data released by China Newsweek showed that six adults chose not to wear sandals in summer, and terms such as "why don't you wear sandals in summer" have frequently appeared on the hot search list. In the hot summer, sandals, slippers, etc. are people's magic weapon to cool down. As a symbol and memory, shoes have played an important role in long history, and are even national treasure items. The change of a pair of shoes reflects the civilization that "walks" under the soles of the feet.
Casual shoes on display at the Beta Footwear Museum in Toronto, Canada
Xie Lingyun transforms clogs
Because of the simplicity of production, the earliest foot items in human history resembled the construction of sandals, which evolved from primitive wraps. In the ancient civilization of each region, different forms of straw shoes appeared, just by tying straps or ropes to the soles.
At present, the world's earliest shoes were found in Missouri, USA, about 8,000 years ago. It is sandals made of plant fibers, worn by Native Americans, and straw shoes are made of straw, wheat straw, corn stover and other options. Straw shoes were also a necessity in ancient Chinese society. The Book of Poetry clouds: "If you entangle Ge Yi, you can walk the frost." Among them, Ge Yan is a straw shoe made of kudzu, and the pre-Qin people called this straw shoe "屦".
In the Zhou Dynasty, everyone could wear straw shoes, regardless of their status. Even the royal family of the Zhou Dynasty used straw shoes as the standard for summer shoes. The combination of shoes and clothes is related to identity and status. For example, shoes need to match the color and style of clothes, "Rites" says that in summer, wear kudzu "Xuanduan black yun" and "suji baiyi", that is, wear shoes made of kudzu in summer, if the body is black, you should wear black shoes, if you wear white silk clothes with pleats at the waist, then use white shoes to match.
Ancient sandals on display at the Beta Footwear Museum in Toronto, Canada
Su Shi's famous sentence in "Dingfeng Bo Mo Hears Through the Sound of Lin Hitting Leaves" "Bamboo cane mango shoes light victory over horses, who is afraid?" A cloud of smoke and rain is a life", and the mango shoes in it are also straw shoes. In ancient social life, straw shoes were an iconic cultural symbol that embodied the wisdom and hard work of working people, and ancient chivalrous hermits often took pride in wearing straw shoes. Because straw shoes are made of natural materials, even in modern times, people who admire nature still love to wear straw sandals.
With the development of the times, a new type of "sandal" - clogs appeared. It is more durable compared to straw shoes. In the Ningbo Museum, a pair of clogs originating from the Liangzhu period have been preserved, which has a history of more than 4,000 years and belongs to the Liangzhu cultural relics.
Clogs are the earliest style of slippers, and they were also called "Ding Daban'er" during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. It is generally made of hard wood boards, with cloth tapes, leather belts, etc. Li Bai wrote in "Sleepwalking in Heaven and Leaving Farewell": "With Xie Gongxi on his feet, he climbed the Qingyun Ladder. Among them, "Xie Gongxiao" is a kind of clogs, and its inventor is Xie Lingyun, the originator of the "Shanshui Poetry School" and the Southern and Northern Dynasties.
Xie Lingyun came from a well-known family, he had a free personality, did not care about officialdom, but was quite interested in sightseeing. He found that if the front teeth were removed when climbing the mountain, and the back teeth were removed when descending, it was better able to maintain the balance of the body during the climbing process. He improved the wooden slippers according to his ideas, making it a popular trendy product, known as "Xie Gongxie". This improved slippers are very popular, and even spread to Japan, North Korea and other places.
Brazilians made slippers a culture
With the development of the times, straw shoes, clogs, etc. gradually faded from view and became non-mainstream, and sandals and slippers made of natural materials such as leather, wood, bamboo, wheat straw, or lighter and softer rubber, plastic, etc. are more common.
For young people, "flip-flops", which represent freedom and happiness, are more loved by them than sandals.
Flip-flops, also known as "flip-toe slippers", just listening to the pronunciation of the English word (Flip-Flops), there is a sense of rhythm of kicking and tapping, conveying a sense of casualness and ease. There has always been debate in the medical community about wearing "flip-flops" that cause joint pain, ankle sprains, etc., but in some tropical countries or cities, flip-flops are still the first choice for summer shoes. Even in Brazil, flip-flops have become a fashionable cultural symbol.
According to research, Brazilian flip-flops are derived from Japanese getas. In Brazil, flip-flops are listed as a necessity along with coffee beans, bread and milk. Brazil's national treasure-level flip-flops brand can sell tens of millions or even hundreds of millions every year. Even the former president of Brazil wore flip-flops on camera, which shows that this shoe is extraordinary in the country.
Brazil's national treasure-level slippers have also been used on important occasions such as the Oscars and the World Cup football match, and have become Oscar nominees' souvenirs and "peripheral" items for the World Cup football matches. This is inseparable from its high quality and sense of design.
Flip-flops were introduced to Europe in 1962 and were initially available in black and dark blue. In the 90s of the 20th century, Brazil introduced colorful flip-flops, which brought a breakthrough development to the market, although the price was twice as high as the original. Later, more colorful and bright styles were designed, and jewelry such as crystals were added, some soles were made into thicker models, and the prints on flip-flops were more and more personalized, making them more youthful and energetic.
Brazilians love flip-flops and this is also related to their local materials. Brazil's natural rubber is world-renowned, with high production, good quality and long economic life, and shoes made of this material are softer, better fitting and more wear-resistant.
Why traditional sandals are snubbed
From the perspective of historical evolution, shoes are a microcosm of the development of human civilization, technology and aesthetic ability, and at the same time record the change and development of social values and living habits.
In a social survey on sandals by China Newsweek, nearly six adults chose not to wear sandals in summer, of which more than 60% were "post-00s", more than other age groups. Among the reasons why you don't like to wear sandals, "easy tanning on your feet" ranks first. Many netizens jokingly commented: "Sandals themselves did not expect that it was not other new products that beat them, but the 'sun protection' that could not be beaten." From sunscreen clothing to sunscreen hats, sunscreen masks, and not wearing sandals, modern people, especially young people, are really "armed to the toes".
The reporter found that other reasons for "not wearing sandals in summer" are related to modern ways of living and working. For example, turning on the air conditioner with cold feet, commuting to work is not fast, taking the subway and bus for fear of being stepped on, and driving is inconvenient. These reasons are not unreasonable, and the change of shoes is always carried out according to the needs of the generation.
Sandals on display at the Spanish Shoe Art Exhibition
Therefore, compared with traditional sandals, more and more variant sandals stand out and are loved by people. For example, young people love cave shoes, which have more advantages than traditional sandals in summer walking, air-conditioned room warmth, etc. Another example is breathable mesh sports sandals and sports slippers, which are related to sports trends and fashion in recent years, and can be better matched in clothes and life scenes, suitable for modern life.
In Toronto, Canada, there is a museum dedicated to shoes, built in 1995, called the Beta Footwear Museum. The museum has a collection of more than 12,000 pairs of shoes, from straw shoes from ancient Egypt, to exquisite satin women's shoes and sports casual shoes loved by modern people, spanning thousands of years of history.
The museum also has a collection of shoes of many celebrities. Such as Queen Victoria's ivory pajamas, Churchill's leather boots, Elizabeth Taylor's silver slippers, etc. Interestingly, during the performance of the drama "Love in the City" in Toronto, a pair of leather shoes worn by Leung Ka-fai in the play was photographed by the museum and exhibited in the museum, which is also the first time that the shoes of a Chinese star have been collected by the museum.
A variety of shoes on display at the Beta Footwear Museum
In addition, the museum also has shoes of various materials, such as animal skin, porcelain clay, wood, flowers and plants, metal, silk, etc., with incredible shapes. The sources of shoes range from deep mountain hunters to royal aristocrats, from China's three-inch golden lotus to sand sandals from the Sahara, from 14th-century Egyptian reed shoes to skates for world skating champions.
Leonardo da Vinci once said that the human foot is a masterpiece of engineering and a work full of art. The same goes for shoes. From the evolutionary history of shoes, we can taste the civilization that "walks", its vitality always comes from the needs of the moment, and its innovation is also worth looking forward to.
(Image source: Xinhua News Agency)
Editor-in-chief: Gong Danyun
Source: Author: Peng Wei