Text: South Lane Layman
Editor|South Lane Resident
The study of Ming Dynasty clothing culture has always been a key topic of concern in the clothing academic circles, and rich research results have been accumulated in the early research process.
The content involves the aesthetic characteristics and value of Ming Dynasty clothing culture, clothing patterns, clothing aesthetic psychology, etiquette levels in clothing fabrics, and the relationship between clothing and imperial power and etiquette.
It has laid a foundation for the follow-up research on other directions in the clothing culture of the Ming Dynasty. However, it is undeniable that there are few studies on the color of Ming Dynasty clothing in the early stage, and some studies are only limited to the perspective of materials and technology.
It does not delve into the relationship between clothing color and social factors such as politics, etiquette and economic development, and the research value is relatively thin.
So, what are the taboos and breakthroughs in the color of Ming Dynasty clothing?
A taboo in the color culture of Ming Dynasty clothing
At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, in order to stabilize the political situation and be anxious to restore the Han cultural system, the ruling class of the Ming Dynasty vigorously promoted strict clothing restructuring methods and clothing requirements.
And for the color, pattern, fabric and other contents of the clothing of different class groups have been made in detail, and gradually formed a distinctive clothing culture.
In terms of clothing colors, Zhu Yuanzhang proposed in the early Ming Dynasty that it was strictly forbidden to wear "variegated colors", "yuan colors", "flash colors" and other clothing colors used by rulers and nobles in the Yuan Dynasty.
In terms of specific group uniforms, it was requested: "Shishu is not allowed to use Huang Xuan, Legong crowns green swastika top scarves, and ties red and green silk belts." Shishu wives wear light-colored group shirts. The prostitutes wear soap coats, and they are not allowed to share the wives of the common people. ”
From the above information, it can be seen that the color rules of the early Ming Dynasty still adopted the theory in the "Five Elements Symbiosis Theory" put forward by Zou Yan, a thinker in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.
That is, yellow and red symbolize noble status, while light colors such as cyan and white represent ordinary people. In the upper social groups of the Ming Dynasty, the hierarchy and taboo of clothing colors were more detailed and distinct.
First of all, the color of the official uniforms of officials in the Ming Dynasty followed the requirements of "Zhaofu is dressed like the Tang system", and there were strict differences in the color of the clothes from the first product to the last product.
According to the "History of the Ming Dynasty: Yufu Zhi": "Officials of the first to fourth grades wear crimson robes, officials of the fifth to seventh grades wear blue robes, and officials of the eighth to ninth grades wear green robes." ”
In addition to the relevant documents, some of the paintings also reflect the differences in the color of the clothes of officials, such as the anonymous work "Ten Pictures of the Same Year" (Figure 1), which is now in the collection of the Palace Museum.
It depicts a gathering of 10 high-ranking officials in the 16th year of Koji, from which you can feel the hierarchy of status and inferiority among officials under different uniforms.
At the same time, the Ming Dynasty painter Xie Huan's "Xingyuan Yajitu" (Fig. 2), now in the Zhenjiang Museum, also depicts a similar form of official uniforms.
Secondly, the color requirements in the clothing of civil women are similar to those of officials, and they all have a strong hierarchy.
According to the record of "History of the Ming Dynasty • Yufu Zhi": "From the first product to the fifth grade, the color of the clothes is purple with the husband, the sixth and seventh grades, and the color of the clothes is crimson with the husband, and its large belt is like the color of clothes." ”
The above record not only shows a strict color hierarchy, but also shows the "husband is the wife" in the traditional "three outlines and five constants" thinking.
From the perspective of images, most of the figures in the "portrait of a wife" that prevailed in the Ming Dynasty conform to the characteristics of "clothes and husbands".
For example, in a certain "Portrait of a Seven-Rank Woman in the Ming Dynasty" (Figure 3), the color of the woman's dress is crimson. In another painting, Portrait of a Woman of Life (Figure 4), the color of the woman's dress is purple.
In addition to the distinct and strict requirements for the clothing of officials and noblewomen, due to the importance of the rulers of the early Ming Dynasty to the scholar class, the clothing of the scholars in the Ming Dynasty also had clear regulations.
It is recorded in the "History of the Ming Dynasty • Yufu Zhi": "The shirt of the student is made of jade-colored cloth, with wide sleeves and soap edges, and a soap strip soft towel drape. Those who pay tribute to the prison will not be obeyed. ”
Among them, jade color specifically refers to the color between cyan and white, and gradually approximates light blue in the later development.
In the Ming Dynasty Lang Ying's "Seven Cultivation Manuscripts", the jade color in the scholars' costumes was explained, that is: "Today's practice is easy to wear." Su Ji Yi to blue shirt. ”
At the same time, the "portrait paintings" created for the scholar class in the Ming Dynasty can also confirm the important evidence of this phenomenon of clothing color.
In many of the works depicting scholars by Zeng Whale, a famous "portrait" painter of the Ming Dynasty, the colors of scholars' robes are mainly white, blue, and blue (Figure 5).
A breakthrough in the color culture of clothing in the Ming Dynasty
As the Ming Dynasty entered the Yongle period, there were some new breakthroughs and changes in the nature of social groups on the basis of insisting on the hierarchy of respect and inferiority, which was more intuitively reflected in the clothing images of different class groups.
During the Yongle period, due to the tilt of the policy of "compassionate to merchants and supporting merchants", the social status of the merchant class was greatly improved.
The merchant class, which had contributed greatly to the country's economic development, had more power to enjoy expensive luxury fabrics and changed the color of their clothes.
In the "Xinchang County Chronicles" in the Zhejiang region of the Ming Dynasty, it was recorded: "Before Chenghua, the common people, whether rich or poor, all obeyed the national system, and then gradually became extravagant. ”
This record expresses the change from the early Ming Dynasty to the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty, the clothing of ordinary class groups changed from strictly following the requirements of social etiquette and religion to transgressing in terms of clothing color and clothing shape.
At the same time, in the "Rare Local Chronicles of Japan and Tibet and China - Chongzhen Wucheng County Chronicles", it was described that rich men in some areas admired bright clothing colors:
"Today, the young man of Tongda uses red and purple as a strange dress, and uses silk as a robe Luo Qi, and the rich and noble family connives the servants, and also scarves and shoes, and the new ingenuity is repeated."
At the level of intellectuals, the color of clothing has also undergone relatively distinct changes. During the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, Shen Defu's "Wanli Ye Shu Compilation" recorded:
"Wu has Liu Ziwei (phoenix), Wenyuan Qisu also, dressed in red and deep clothes, embroidered cranes and pigs all over the place, and obeyed the defenders of the land. Gai Liu was the imperial historian and moved to Taiwan.
Therefore, do not forget to embroider the axe, the envoys and their old celebrities, but also let it. This can be described as a temporary demon. ”
From the perspective of visual images, the analysis of the color change phenomenon of this clothing can also find the corresponding specific presentation.
In the Ming Dynasty painter Qiu Ying's hand-me-down work "The Picture Scroll of the Southern Capital" (Figure 6), the author not only vividly depicts the market situation of Nanjing, the "capital of the Ming Dynasty".
At the same time, it also expresses the characteristics of a variety of clothing colors in the male social groups in the middle and late Ming Dynasty in more detail, whether it is a scholar or a businessman, the diversity of clothing colors has indirectly broken the strict requirements and taboos of clothing colors in the early Ming Dynasty.
In addition to the phenomenon of transgression in the color of men's clothing, the color of women's clothing in the middle and late Ming Dynasty also appeared in some social spaces to break through the routine and exceed the phenomenon of etiquette.
Although it is difficult to capture the relevant content expression from the existing documents, from the many works of the Ming Dynasty, such as "beauty paintings" and "Qinglou images", we can still feel the alienation and boldness of the clothing colors of ordinary women compared with those in the early Ming Dynasty.
For example, in the Ming Dynasty painter Dai Jin's Nanping Yaji Tu (Fig. 7), a woman in a bright red robe is crouching at her desk to create a handscroll, which stands out among the three scholars.
Combined with the social form of the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty and the relevant background of the work, it can be inferred that the woman in the painting is a singer or a geisha.
The bright red color of women's clothing shows the development of the taboo of touch in the early Ming Dynasty to the feminine femininity in a specific space in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, reflecting the color symbol of men's aesthetic tendency.
Similarly, in an anonymous painting of the late Ming Dynasty, A Thousand Autumn Splendid Pictures (Figure 8), the author shows the beauty of women in a variety of different forms through the creative process of "beauty painting".
Women's clothing is depicted in bold shades of crimson, camel, lake green, lake blue, and apple green.
The strong color contrast highlights the strong "feminine consciousness" of women's clothing in the middle and late Ming Dynasty and the desire to break through tradition and express themselves.
The constituent elements of the Ming Dynasty's clothing color culture
From the taboo and hierarchical characteristics of clothing color in the early Ming Dynasty to the gradual breakthrough and encroachment of clothing color in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the two characteristics were taken into account in the clothing color culture of the Ming Dynasty.
This phenomenon not only stems from the progress and development of textile technology, but also has a more direct relationship with the influence of a variety of social factors, which can be summarized into three aspects: economic policy factors, textile technology factors and aesthetic trend factors.
(1) Economic policy factors
Due to the early Ming Dynasty, the imperial court gave greater support to the planting industry, so the output of cotton, linen, mulberry and other fabrics has been greatly improved, and under the advocacy of Zhu Yuanzhang, the Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, fabric fabrics are more beneficial to the people.
The common people had more power to wear fabrics such as silk, yarn, and silk, while the merchant and aristocratic classes were severely restricted and demanded.
There are few opportunities to wear expensive clothing, resulting in the development of the silk industry is limited to output, but the development of application and technology improvement is slow.
According to the record of "Ming Shilu": "Where a peasant has five to ten acres of land, half an acre of mulberry, hemp, and kapok are planted, and those with more than ten acres are doubled." The rate of those who have more fields is considered to be poor, and there are divisions to supervise and persuade laziness, and it is better to punish those who order ......".
During the Hongwu period, the government controlled the stability and development of the silk textile industry through clear rewards and punishments, although its direct purpose was to consolidate the stability of the regime, but it also indirectly had two effects.
On the one hand, it laid the foundation for the prosperity of the textile industry in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, but on the other hand, the excessive "emphasis on agriculture and suppression of commerce" led to more "self-sufficiency" than sales or exports.
From the Hongwu era to the Yongle era, the Ming Dynasty experienced great social and economic changes. First of all, the policy of abolishing "silver circulation" implemented during the Hongwu period was transformed into an increase in the share of "silver circulation" during the Yongle period.
This policy change, on the one hand, promoted the stability of the imperial court's finances, and on the other hand, due to the large-scale circulation of silver, foreign trade and foreign exports began to increase year by year.
Because of this trend, the silk industry became an important trade and circulation commodity in the Yongle period.
Secondly, the professional status of businessmen and the importance of the state to business have been greatly improved, and businessmen have the right to engage in all aspects of the textile industry.
Therefore, government-run textile factories have appeared one after another, and the imperial court has paid more and more attention to the weaving of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and has set up a special person to manage it.
In addition, during this period, the layout of important silk towns in the south and north of the Ming Dynasty gradually took shape, such as Fujian, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang in the south, and Shanxi, Hebei and other places in the north.
It is based on the above policy changes that the jacquard skills of silk in the Yongle era have been improved, the types of silk products have been gradually enriched, and the dyeing skills and textile production tools have been qualitatively leapfrogged. Due to the change of economic policy during the Yongle period.
The economy of the Ming Dynasty flourished for a period of time, and the aristocracy's hierarchical requirements for clothing, the rich and the intellectuals' expression of the meaning of clothing gradually increased.
As a result, the texture, textile techniques and color presentation of clothing fabrics need to meet the requirements of users.
(2) Textile technical factors
In terms of textile technology, in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, on the basis of inheriting the jacquard skills of the Tang and Song dynasties, the gold weaving skills were integrated, and gradually evolved into the jacquard process with rich colors and vivid patterns.
At the same time, the invention of the "flower floor machine" and "base color" process enhanced the color texture and level of clothing fabrics in the Ming Dynasty, and met the luxury requirements of some aristocratic groups for clothing fabrics.
Whether it is in terms of color saturation, gloss or variety of color spectrum, it has been greatly improved compared with the previous era.
Through the relevant data collection and analysis, new types of clothing fabric colors such as brown, lotus, sauce, eggplant and jade appeared during this period.
The dyeing tools and steps in the middle of the Ming Dynasty combined the advantages and experience of fabric printing and dyeing in the previous period, and the actual technology had a great breakthrough.
(3) Aesthetic trend factors
Susan B. Kaiser, in the chapter "Appearance and Self" in the Social Psychology of Clothing, mentions:
"Just like clothing styles, the various ideal images given by culture will change with the changes of fashion. In fact, the ideal body image of a particular era is closely related to the style of clothing. ”
The group aesthetic consciousness of an era directly affects the aesthetic standards of clothing in the society of that period, and produces the corresponding clothing production skills.
In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, it was precisely because of the "extravagant style" of clothing advocated by bourgeois businessmen that caused the royal family and nobles to the common people to use this trend as a new symbol label for clothing aesthetics.
The colors of the costumes are richer and more diverse, and the novel colors of the clothes chosen by different class groups conform to the standards of group aesthetics in this period, and the characteristics of etiquette, respect and inferiority between groups, and artistic trends are contained in the colors of the clothing.
conclusion
The color culture of clothing in the Ming Dynasty contains the coexistence of taboo and breakthrough, which on the one hand stems from the harsh political environment.
The color of clothing gradually changed to show the level and follow the intuitive way of etiquette, and produced specific requirements and settings in the clothing of officials, women, scholars and ordinary people.
On the other hand, with the elevation of the status of merchants in the society in the middle and late Ming Dynasty and the spread of the style of advocating luxury from the bottom up, the color of clothing became more and more diverse, and was reflected in a wider range of social groups, and the phenomenon of clothing color transgression.
From the perspective of social factors, the characteristics of the color culture of clothing in the Ming Dynasty also depend on the transformation of economic policies in the Ming Dynasty, the improvement of textile technology and the guidance of the group's aesthetic orientation.