According to the "New Tang Dynasty Book and Car Service Journal": "At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, the car clothes were all old, and Wude began to wear the order of car clothes in the fourth year."
In the early Tang Dynasty, women's clothing still inherited the tradition of the Sui Dynasty, and the style was relatively conservative, mainly based on narrow sleeves and long skirts, and the narrow style was popular, and the colors were relatively simple and elegant.
In the three-color female terracotta figurines unearthed from the tomb of Dugu Sizhen in the early Tang Dynasty and the mural ladies in the tomb of Princess Yongtai in the early Tang Dynasty, several women are wearing small sleeved tops and long skirts, the color is relatively simple, the style is natural and simple, and they look slim.
The simple and natural aesthetic style of the early Tang Dynasty is related to the political and economic background of the early Tang Dynasty and the people's recuperation, diligence and thrift.
In terms of politics and economy, the early Tang Dynasty experienced social turmoil in the last years of the Sui Dynasty, with a large number of people displaced, barren land, unstable people's hearts, and social instability.
At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, a series of policies such as lowering the age of childbearing, giving incentives to childbearing, population fertility and commercial development enabled the population to continue to grow, providing a strong guarantee for the subsequent economic recovery.
At the same time, in the early Tang Dynasty, attention was paid to agricultural production, the system of equalizing land and the regulation of rents and mediocrities, improving the tools of agricultural production, and mobilizing and increasing the enthusiasm of peasants in production.
This series of policies to recuperate with the people and restore the economy led to political and economic development and social stability in the early Tang Dynasty.
At this time, the whole country was busy with agricultural production and economic development, and had no intention of dressing up, forming a simple and thrifty social trend in the whole society.
This fashion also influenced women's clothing, which was narrow in shape and short sleeves, and simple and natural in color.
In terms of culture, in the early Tang Dynasty, after the rule of Zhenguan, the economy prospered, the people lived and worked in peace and contentment, and foreign exchanges were eclectic, open and inclusive, so that the whole society presented a vigorous, fresh, optimistic and open scene.
This sight also reinforces the fresh, natural style of women's clothing at the time.
During the Tang Dynasty, women's clothing from the short dress and long skirt in the early Tang Dynasty to the long skirt dragged to the ground, the ancestral chest exposed the breasts, and the clothes generally widened and lengthened.
The color of women's clothing in this period of the Tang Dynasty is even more bold and public, and the poet Wan Chu of the Tang Dynasty wrote in "Five Days of Prostitution": "The eyebrows are the daylily color, and the red skirt is jealous and kills the pomegranate red."
At this time, the colors of women's clothing are mainly red, purple, yellow, and green with extreme visual impact, which is majestic and magnificent. And this change is closely related to the political and economic heritage and cultural self-information of the Tang Dynasty.
In terms of politics, the Tang Dynasty went through the rule of Zhenguan of Tang Taizong, Wu Zetian to Tang Xuanzong Kaiyuan Tianbao, reformed the rule of officials, improved government institutions, political clarity, national stability, and the people were able to recuperate;
In the economic aspect, the agricultural system of equalizing land and regulating the use of rents has been implemented, iron plough and ox ploughing have been widely promoted, production techniques and tools have been innovated, water conservancy projects have been built, and agriculture has been vigorously developed.
And pay attention to handicrafts and commerce, in the Tang Dynasty, the silk weaving industry is superb, the ceramic industry has been developed, regular "city" and "set", there are Chang'an, Luoyang and other big cities, the scale is large, the population is large, the business is developed, and the foreign trade is set up to manage foreign commerce.
In this peaceful and prosperous era of vigorous political and economic development, the people of the Tang Dynasty had enough economic conditions and time to realize the complicated and gorgeous clothes, and due to the relative prosperity of politics and social economy, the ethnic relations were harmonious and harmonious, and foreign exchanges were flourishing.
During the Tang Dynasty, people were high-spirited and self-confident, so they boldly displayed the shape and color of clothing, highlighting people's high-spirited state and pursuit of subjectivity.
In terms of culture, architecture, engraving and printing, astronomy, and medicine in the Tang Dynasty were all in the leading position in the world, philosophy, historiography, and religion flourished, literature and art were glorious through the ages, and sports activities were also unprecedentedly active.
The ideology and culture of the Tang Dynasty not only influenced the neighboring countries, but also penetrated deep into the West, and eventually formed a Chinese cultural circle in the surrounding countries and regions, and also played a positive role in the ideology and culture of all countries in the world.
Due to the Anshi Rebellion, the Tang Dynasty turned from prosperity to decline, with social turmoil, barren land, and displaced people.
Coupled with years of war, the government has intensified the collection of taxes, making the people miserable.
In Du Fu's stone officials, he wrote: "In the stone trench village, there are officials who catch people at night. Although the old woman's strength is declining, please return from the night. In an urgent response to the Heyang service, you still have to prepare for morning cooking."
It can be seen that the government at that time imposed heavy taxes and miscellaneous taxes, and the people's lives were miserable.
At the same time, after the Anshi Rebellion, the world was formed to form a feudal town, and the central cluster was greatly reduced: the internal Niu Li party struggle, the imperial power declined, and the court was smoky.
Under this kind of internal and external troubles, the people of the society are panicked, and there is a sad atmosphere.
In this political and economic background, the status of women was reduced, the color of women's clothing faded from the grace and luxury of the Tang Dynasty, and became elegant and light, and the style also became grotesque and vulgar, so as to please others, and women were eventually reduced to playthings.
"New Tang Dynasty Book: Five Elements Chronicles" records: "The woman is a round mustache and vertebral bun, without bun ornamentation, no vermilion powder, but with black sound on the lips, pretending to be a mournful person."
In Bai Juyi's "Makeup of the Times", he also wrote: "The cheeks are not powdered. The black sound notes that the lips are like mud, and the eyebrows are painted with eight figures. Black and white lose their original state, and the makeup seems to be full of sorrow" These are all grotesque makeup of women in the Middle and Tang Dynasty.
From a cultural point of view, after the Anshi Rebellion, the Tang Dynasty was full of ups and downs, social turmoil, and people were full of panic, in order to maintain their rule, they began to vigorously advocate the development of Confucianism.
As a result, women's clothing began to return to tradition, the shape of the clothing became a wide-sleeved robe, and the color of the clothing was not as bright and bright as in the Tang Dynasty, becoming more mature and introverted, and the color became elegant and light, and the gorgeousness revealed the tragedy and desolation.
The changes in women's physical characteristics and clothing are actually closely related to social life, the social turmoil in the Middle and Tang dynasties, the overall aesthetic concept has changed, the living environment of women has become more and more difficult, and their individual value has also been suppressed and ignored, and they cannot even be regarded as a normal person.
Some poets described it as "a branch of red dew condensing incense" and "hibiscus like a face and willow like a waist", and women were objectified and became decorations for amusement banquets.
This also proves that the living environment of women at this time is much worse than before, and the social status has greatly declined, which is a manifestation of the overall regression of society.
At this time, the change of aesthetic concepts also has corresponding characteristics, and people's inner depression cannot be relieved, and they cannot see the way forward.
The Tang literati no longer praised the great rivers and mountains and the rule of the prosperous times, but showed a sluggish mental state.
The women's clothing at this time, although still brightly colored, presented a kind of pre-apocalyptic joy.