In recent years, with the popularity of costume dramas, people have more and more discussions about the clothes of the ancients.
In some costume dramas, the heroine is wearing a floor-length skirt when she goes out.
At this time, a sentence will float on the barrage: Won't the heroine really get her clothes dirty?
So what is the truth?
The "treatment" that accompanied the posthumous - the exposed hierarchical features of the ancient nobility
The gorgeous long skirt, the trailing hem, and the delicate silk texture are the exclusive use of ancient dignitaries at a glance.
They can squander expensive fabrics and dress up in the best of their might to attend a banquet.
Only they are worthy of such extravagant clothing.
However, these "rainbow silks" worn on the body are often actually only one-time consumption.
In history, some emperors "Huan Yi Mao, Huan Er Mao", that is, clothes are washed once and thrown away, and washed twice and thrown away, which can be regarded as relatively frugal.
More often than not, these gorgeous long dresses made of fine silk are discarded even on the day they are first worn.
You must know that in ancient times, there was a strict hierarchy in society, and the gap between commoners and nobles was extremely huge.
In the capital, ordinary people are thinly clothed and can only barely make ends meet from barren farmland, while those pampered dignitaries live in a completely different luxury.
According to historical records, the queen of a certain dynasty "served only a hundred people on the left and right", which shows the number of maids around the ancient nobles, and this is only the "saving" of the queen concubine, the real royal relatives, and the number of people who followed behind was countless.
They either cleaned the roads in advance, or raised the corners of their clothes in the back, just to keep a little dust from staining the rich silk. These maids waited around the day and night, for fear that the emperor's relatives would be disturbed by the mud under their feet.
These precious garments were nothing more than consumables for the nobles, which could be thrown away after washing once, or even discarded at all.
What's more, some aristocrats never even wore the same garment repeatedly, and they would make dozens of new clothes every time the solar terms changed, and they changed their clothes frequently every time they attended a banquet to show their wealth.
In their view, the multiple appearances of the same garment can only be seen as a sign of family constraints.
Of course, there are also misconceptions that you don't always dress gorgeously, and you only wear floor-length dresses on important occasions.
But even so, it is beyond the imagination of ordinary people.
It must be said that poverty limits the imagination of many people, and while we are still worried about the cleanliness of the clothes of the ancients, they have abandoned all the precious garments that were only worn once or twice.
Of course, not all dignitaries are so extravagant, and there are also thrifty people in history.
Besides, the ancient dress system was extremely strict, and there were completely different rules on what people from different classes could wear, and long skirts were not worn whenever they wanted.
Distinguished Extraordinary Clothes - On the Dress Regulation of Ancient Long Clothes
Clothes such as floor-length skirts are not the daily clothing of the ancients, but more like a kind of dress, which is only worn on grand ceremonial occasions.
In ancient times, the common people wore very simple and simple clothes, mostly coarse cloth or linen clothes, and the dignitaries were qualified to wear gorgeous dresses made of brocade and silk.
Even wealthy merchants are not allowed to wear extravagant brocade clothes at will, otherwise it will be considered a crime.
According to records, Emperor Wen of Han once favored a concubine named Lady Shen and gave her many brocades as favors.
Mrs. Shen got carried away and had a dress made with an excessively long back.
Seeing this, Emperor Wen of Han was furious, reproached Madame Shen for her extravagance, and immediately ordered the hem of her clothes to be cut off as a punishment.
This means that even wealthy concubines are not allowed to wear floor-length skirts at will, and the length of such skirts must be strictly in accordance with etiquette and cannot be overrun.
Not only that, but in different dynasties, the length and style of the floor-length skirt also differed.
For example, in the Han Dynasty, even if it was a long skirt as a dress, the length was just enough to cover the feet and mop the floor a little, and if the mopping was too long, it was regarded as extravagance and erosion.
Legend has it that Zhao Feiyan, the dancing queen favored by Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, once danced in a skirt with a flowing skirt, which was deeply loved by Emperor Wen, which also made the skirt popular in the Han Palace.
However, this kind of long skirt is extremely expensive, and ordinary families cannot afford to imitate it, it is mainly the dress of the elite class, in order to show their status and status.
By the Tang Dynasty, ordinary commoners could only wear coarse cloth clothes, and they needed to gain fame through the imperial examination before they could wear high-quality silk.
Even the length of women's skirts has strict rules, not too long, if it is found that the skirt is more than five inches on the floor, it must be forced to shorten by three inches, which is enough to see that the ancients were very strict about the length of clothing.
In addition, the laundry conditions are poor, and the excessively long hem is easy to get dusty, so the floor-length dress is not as dirty and messy as later generations imagined.
At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, it was even stipulated that even if someone in a peasant family became a merchant, the whole family was not allowed to wear silk and satin, and their clothing was no different from that of a peasant.
It can be seen that the status of wealthy businessmen was also suppressed, and they were not allowed to wear the same quality of fancy clothes as officials.
In ancient hierarchical societies, clothing was an important symbolic symbol, with only the upper nobility having the right to wear long skirts, while the common people were subject to many dress regulations.
The people's clothes are not extravagant, and the short wage is conducive to labor
Clothes were supposed to be a basic daily necessities to keep warm and cover shame, but in ancient times, it carried more of a symbolic meaning of hierarchy.
What clothes to wear represents what identity has become an unspoken rule that the ancients had to follow.
As a result, we can only see those brightly colored and intricate robes in TV dramas, but in fact, the real ancients wore simple and rough short clothes most of the time.
Short clothes, also commonly known as "short hits", are made of fine linen or coarse cloth that barely covers the body.
According to the "Treatise on Heng and the Four Secrets", the clothes of the ancients should be "short without seeing the skin, long without being covered by soil", which means that the clothes should be moderate, neither exposing the skin nor dragging on the ground.
The reason why it is "short" is because of the consideration of saving fabric, in ancient times, there was only a little bit of cloth that could be obtained, and if it was wasted on clothes, it would not be able to meet the needs of the whole family.
What's more, short clothes are more convenient for labor, will not be soiled by the soil, the life of the ancients is extremely hard, busy with farming and weaving every day, how can there be leisure and elegance in clothing.
According to historical records, in many poor homes, women even worked naked at night, and there was no cloth to cover their bodies, which further illustrated the necessity of short beatings.
The popularity of short clothes was also closely related to the economic situation of ordinary people in ancient times.
Their income is meager, just enough to fill their stomachs and they have done their best, not to mention buying expensive fabrics, it is estimated that their annual income cannot afford to buy two pieces of cloth, and wearing two short dozens can save the cost of cloth to the greatest extent.
You must know that before twist was widely used, clothes were mostly made of fragile hemp, and they were scrapped after a few cleanings.
In order to reduce the consumption of clothes, the people had to choose short and short clothes.
It can be said that the poor are short, and the rich are robes, and the clothing of the ancients is closely related to the living situation, and the shorts have witnessed the poverty and struggle at the bottom.
However, the simplicity of the short fight does not mean that the ancients completely abandoned the pursuit of beauty.
Even on a short garment, they will give it a unique beauty through clever weaving, embroidery and other techniques, such as adding a little lace to the neckline and cuffs, or painting a few peony flowers on the placket.
While this may mean forgoing a meal, it is worth a little luxury as long as it brings a little goodness.
Of course, the life span of a short dozen is also much longer than that of a long robe, which is often worn only once and then discarded, while a short dozen can be used for many years.
The saying "three years of the new, three years of the old, and another three years of sewing and mending" vividly reflects the durability of the short fight.
Therefore, in ancient times, the common people wore short robes, not only for economic reasons, but also because of labor needs, and only a few upper classes had the conditions to wear long robes.
Most of the scenes in the TV series are court nobles, giving the audience the illusion that clothing is prevalent and mopping the floor.
But for most people, short fights are the daily routine.
In today's society, we basically no longer need to worry about food and clothing.
The seemingly simple short fight actually carries the spiritual symbol of diligence and self-improvement of the ancients.
Looking back at the shortage, we see not only the clothing, but also a piece of history.