Don't do research, don't compare, just write at random.
What is the most famous dress in Dream of Red Mansions?
Readers who are familiar with "Dream of Red Mansions" should have the impression that they are "Bird Gold Qiu" and "Yan Jing Qiu", which were originally treasured by Jia's mother, and later given to Baoyu and Baoqin respectively. Among them, the "finch gold fur" for Baoyu was accidentally burned by fire on the back placket, burning a hole, and he didn't dare to let the old lady and his wife know, so he asked his mother-in-law to take it out and ask the craftsman to weave it, but the weaving craftsmen and tailors in the whole city didn't dare to take it, so Qingwen was sick overnight to make up for it, which is also an important plot of "Qingwen mends Qiu" in "Dream of Red Mansions".
Interestingly, in order to emphasize the rarity of the "Bird Gold Qiu", the author Cao Xueqin deliberately wrote it as a product of "Oh Ross", which is a foreign product. This description, although it highlights the extravagance of Jiafu's "white jade as a horse for gold", does not conform to historical facts. Cao Xueqin described the finch gold fur as "golden and brilliant, and the blue color is shining", which very appropriately reflects the rare and magnificent effect of precious fabrics such as gold weaving and peacock feathers in ancient China. In the early Qing Dynasty, Ye Mengzhu's "Reading the World" said: "Today, there are peacock feathers woven into the satin, the name is Mao brocade, the flowers are more gorgeous, each horse is only 12 feet, worth more than 50 taels of silver." "As early as the Tang Dynasty, most parts of the world were ignorant of the secrets of silk, and in China people were already skilled at twisting the fine velvet of bird feathers into threads, which were woven together with the silk threads into luxurious clothing. Tang Xuanzong's cousin, Princess An Le, once asked Shang Fangjian to weave two long skirts with "a hundred bird feathers", these two bird feather skirts "are seen as one color, look at one color from the side, one color in the day, and one color in the shadow", and "see the shape of a hundred birds", using the principle that pheasant feathers such as pheasants can change different colors under different lights. What's even more wonderful is that these peacock feather threads and bird feather threads are used as a kind of colored weft threads, which are wrapped around the shuttle, and together with other weaving shuttles with ordinary colored threads, the white silk threads are used as warp threads to weave the whole fabric into a whole piece of fabric. The result, the result is a smooth, coloured silk with a partial pattern of peacock feather or bird feather thread here and there.
In addition to highlighting the illustrious luxury of Jiafu, the main thing here is to portray Qingwen, and then show her relationship with Baoyu.
("Dream of Red Mansions" fifty-two episodes) Qingwen listened to it for a long time, and couldn't help but turn over and say, "Just take it and I'll take a look." It's just that if you don't have that blessing, you'll be in a hurry!" Baoyu smiled: "That's right. As he spoke, he handed it to Qingwen, and then moved the lamp to take a closer look, and Qingwen said, "This is the peacock gold thread." Now let's also take the peacock gold line, which is like a boundary, but I am afraid that it can be mixed with the past. Musk Yue smiled: "The peacock line is ready-made, but who else will be the boundary here besides you?" Qingwen said: "If you say no, I'll just earn my life!" Baoyu hurriedly said: "How can this be better, how to do it?" Qingwen said: "I don't need your scorpion sting, I know it." As he spoke, he sat up, pulled his hair up, and put on his clothes, but he felt that his head was heavy and his body was light, and his eyes were full of Venus, and he couldn't hold it. If you don't do it, you are afraid that Baoyu will be in a hurry, so you have to grit your teeth and hold on to it, so you will order Musk Yue to only help pull the line. Qingwen first compared one to the other, and said with a smile: "Although this is not very similar, it is not very obvious to make up for it." Baoyu said: "That's very good, where to find a tailor from Russia?" Qingwen first dismantled the lining, used a bamboo bow the size of a teacup, nailed it on the back, and then scraped the four sides of the break loosely with a gold knife, and then sewed two with a needle to separate the warp and weft, just like the law of the boundary, first the boundary out of the ground, and then according to the original pattern, back and forth weaving. If you can't make up three or five stitches, you will lie down on the pillow and rest for a while. Baoyu was beside him, and at one time he asked if he wanted to eat some boiling water, and at one time he ordered him to rest, and at another time he took a gray squirrel cloak to drape on his back, and at another time he took a pillow to lean on. The anxious Qingwen said: "Little ancestor, you just have to sleep." After staying up for another half of the night, Ming'er's eyes were picked, so how could it be good?" Baoyu saw that he was in a hurry, so he had to fall asleep indiscriminately, but he still couldn't sleep. For a while, I only heard that the bell had struck four times, and just finished mending it, and slowly cut out the hairs with a small toothbrush. Musk Yue said: "This is very good, if you don't pay attention, you won't be able to see it again." Baoyu hurriedly asked to take a look, and said with a smile: "It's really the same." Qingwen had coughed a few times, and it was easy to make up for it, and said: "Although it has been made up, it is not like it." I can't anymore!" and he fell asleep.
The social division of labor between men and women weaving in Chinese society has formed people's extreme respect for women's textile handicraft skills. In the retrospective eyes, Qingwen's name is preceded by the word "Yong", why is it "Yong"? Because Qingwen was sick when she "mends Qiu", this highlights her relationship with Baoyu, and she knows that Jia's mother will make her and Baoyu concubines for Baoyu in the future (Chapter 78 Jia's mother: "... ... Qingwen's girl, I think he's very good...... What I mean, these girls are not as good as him in terms of appearance, speech, and needlework, and only he can call Baoyu in the future. 77 Qingwen: "Everyone is together" and "just a false name"), she has a deep love for Baoyu, and Baoyu also regards her as a confidant. Qingwen gave Baoyu all her love, talent, and even life, similar to Pu Songling's "Strange Tales from Liaozhai", which depicts Tian Qilang paying a heavy price of sacrificing his life in order to repay the rich son's rescue. What Baoyu gave her was appreciation, trust and tolerance.
"Mending the fur" is also in contrast to the plot that follows. Qingwen has not been mentally prepared for her later expulsion from the Grand View Garden, she left sick for four or five days without water and rice, only allowed to bring intimate clothes, the rest of the good clothes were left for other maids to wear, and died soon after returning home. We see that no matter how beautiful Qingwen is, how superb her costume skills are, and how desperately she tries to mend Baoyu's fur, she can't change the cruel fate of her expulsion from the Grand View Garden. When the chief "costume master" (Hu Wenbin) in the Grand View Garden was expelled, she was not allowed to take away any of her underwear, and her beauty and dexterity were regarded as "original sin" in Jiafu, which did not bring her happiness, but exacerbated the tragedy of her life. "Qingwen, love also. "Qingwen mends Qiu Qiu to show true love, but also sadness, infatuation, madness, beauty, good love, and no love.
Let's talk about the Soul Qiu. The head of the male is green, and the cheeks are the meaning of the face. When weaving a cloak, only the two small pinches of green feathers on the face of the male duck are used, and the woven fabric will change in color and shine in the light. How big can a duck's face be, how many duck feathers can be used to weave such a cloak?
The Palace Museum in Beijing preserves a fur gown, which is a round neck, placket, flat sleeves, and a back opening style, with a length of 145.5 cm, and the gown surface is made of 9.5 cm long and 6.2 cm wide and pressed together, which requires about 720 pieces. As it moves, it changes direction, flashing different colors, sometimes blue-green, sometimes purple. According to Wu Shichang's interpretation, "Xijing Miscellaneous Records" recorded that Sima Xiangru in Chengdu "used his quail and crane Qiu to drink wine in Yangchang, and enjoyed Wenjun." According to the cloud of "Erya Wing, Release Bird": "Quail eagles, water birds, and wild geese." Old Tibetan clouds: 'There are mandarin ducks, there are geese and cranes' (sù shuāng). Gao lure notes "Huainanzi" cloud: 'The long neck is green, and its shape is like a goose. So, it's likely that the quail fur was made of duck feathers. Also, "Jin Shu Wu Di Ji" cloud: "In November of the fourth year of Xianning, Xin Si, the imperial physician Sima Cheng presented a pheasant head Qiu. The emperor used strange tricks and strange clothes, and the ceremony forbade it, and burned it in front of the palace. Jiashen, there are those who dare to commit crimes inside and outside the edict. Again, "The Book of Nanqi: The Biography of Prince Wenhui" clouds: The prince "is good at making treasures, weaving peacock feathers for fur, brilliant and golden, too far away from the pheasant's head." This further illustrates the existence of the pheasant fur, which is a bird feather fabric closer to the fur. Qing Dynasty "Smell the Petal Fragrance Record" Ding Ji: "Smell the Petal Fragrance Record Qing Dynasty Futing "Smell the Petal Fragrance Record" Ding Ji: "Duck head fur, cooked duck head green fur sewn into the fur, green light flashing, gorgeous abnormal, high-ranking officials are mostly horse coats, on the horse clothes, not wet in the rain, but not warm, just outside." ”
In the forty-ninth time, Xue Baoqin was loved by Jia's mother when he first entered Jia's mansion, and in a blink of an eye, he gave Xue Baoqin a precious Qiu Qiu, just when it was snowing, Xue Baoqin appeared in a Qiu Qiu and appeared in the poetry club activities, even Xue Baochai was shocked, and it was recorded in the book:
As he was talking, he saw Baoqin coming, wearing a cloak with a collar, golden and brilliant, and I don't know what it was. Baochai hurriedly asked, "Where is this?" Baoqin smiled: "Because of the snowdrops, the old lady found such a piece for me." Xiangling came up and said: "It's so good-looking, it turned out to be woven by peacock wool." Xiangyun said: "Where are the peacock feathers? ”
A piece of Qiu Jing Qiu allows us to see the wealth and luxury of Jiafu, but Cao Xueqin wrote Qiu Jing Qiu mainly to write about people.
Qiu Jingqiu wrote about Jia's mother's taste. When everyone saw Baoqin standing on the hillside wearing a beautiful fur, and there was a maid holding a bottle of red plum behind her, Jia Muxi smiled and said: "Look, this hillside is equipped with his character, this dress, and this plum blossom behind it, what does it look like?"
Mandarin duck said that it was like Qiu Shizhou's "Shuangyan Picture" hanging in Jia's mother's house, which was denied by Jia's mother, and Jia's mother shook her head and smiled: "There is this dress in the painting? People can't be so good!" Therefore, there is still a delicate taste in Jia's mother to dress up people.
Qiu Jingqiu wrote Xue Baoqin's graceful demeanor and outstanding talent. After Xue Baoqin came to Jiafu, he became a beloved figure. Jia's mother loves her, saying that she is like a person in the painting, and she still pulls Baoqin to sleep with herself, Jia Muji also moved the idea of marrying Baoqin to Baoyu, and later Aunt Xue said that Baoqin has a marriage contract, and the other party is the son of Mei Hanlin, so she gave up. Mrs. Wang also recognized her as her goddaughter. The sisters in Daguan Garden and Jia Baoyu are also very friendly to Xue Baoqin, and they all praise her as the most beautiful girl ever, "even her sister and these people are always inferior to her", when Lu Xue Guanglian poem, everyone unanimously saw Xue Baoqin's extraordinary talent and cleverness, and praised this girl. Baoqin Lixue and Xue Xiaomei newly compiled nostalgic poems...... In these texts, Xue Baoqin has become the "protagonist". The housekeeper's daughter-in-law, who is the most observant of words and emotions in Jia's mansion, naturally saw Xue Baoqin's different status in Jia's mansion, and immediately sent her two pots of narcissus and two pots of plum - you know, this is a good flower that even Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu didn't get!
After Jia's mother gave Xue Baoqin a beautiful Qiu, she let her shine in the Grand View Garden. Xue Baochai saw that Jia's mother loved Baoqin so much, and said half-jokingly and half-seriously: "You don't know where this blessing comes from! I don't believe that I'm inferior to you. ”
She wrote about Xiangling's tragic fate. When Baoqin appeared in a beautiful fur, "golden and brilliant, I don't know what it is". This cloak is golden and emerald, a shimmering green. Peacock feathers are also green, although Xiangling is from a good background, but she has a bad fate, naturally not as well-informed as Xiangyun, in her cognition, the cloak made of green hair, the most valuable is about peacock feathers.
The relationship between the characters was written. Bao Chai said that she was not as good as her, Xiangyun laughed at Daiyu: "Sister Bao, although your words are stubborn, there are people who really think so." The "person" here naturally refers to Lin Daiyu. Here are written Baochai's scheming, Xiangyun's "madness" and Xiangling's "stupidity".
The author borrowed the classic scene of "Dream of Red Mansions" to write about it. The white snow, set off by plum blossoms, Baoqin is dressed in a green green dress, harmonious color matching, and a beautiful picture. Fat batch: "This time the clue is in the cloak." Baoqin cuiyu cloak, given by Jia's mother, said that his relatives also; Baoyu red gorilla felt cloak, for the back snow draped lining; Daiyu white fox skin cloak, clearly weak; Li Gong's cloak is Doluo, Zhao Qi's quality; Baochai cloak is a lotus green bucket pattern brocade, to its text; Jia's mother is a big cloak, respectful words; Sister Feng is wearing a cloak, just like the palm of the family; Xiangyun has a cloak that is not worn, and it acts in a strange way; Xiuyan has no cloak, and it is poor. It's just a cloak, and it's written so that it shines brightly before and after." The beauty of the background, demeanor, youth, soul and interest of the characters converge, and the beauty of the material, style, color, pattern and rhythm of the clothing are on the paper. People have to sigh: this scene should only exist in heaven, and the world can see it a few times!
Whether it is a finch gold qiu or a jingjing qiu, they are all symbols of the author Cao Xueqin's reminiscence of the past. Cao Xueqin was born in a weaving family in the south of the Yangtze River, and is very proficient in clothing, and he describes the costumes of hundreds of people of different identities, ages, and genders on different occasions in his novels, and describes these clothes in detail in terms of clothing, patterns, and styles. Mr. Huang Lingyun once said: "Yunjin is a precious item that the Cao family paid tribute to the royal family when they were in the south of the Yangtze River, and it is also a symbol of the family's glory, and it has become a symbol for the author to recall the past in Dream of Red Mansions. Cao Xueqin's reminiscences in "A Dream of Red Mansions" about the gorgeous Finchgold Qiu and Jingjing Qiu, revealing his sadness and sigh that the prosperity of his family is no longer prosperous, the glory of life is disillusioned, and the true love of youth is eternal, or "This love can be recalled, but it was already lost at that time".