Source: World Wide Web
In 2013, the tombs of The Sui Dynasty Emperor Yang Guang and Empress Xiao were discovered in Yangzhou, becoming one of the most important archaeological discoveries of the year (1). The most attractive thing about Xiao Hou's tomb is a badly corroded but well-preserved crown ornament, which was moved back to the laboratory and cleaned up and restored by the Shaanxi Institute of Cultural Relics Protection. After two years of work, a press conference was officially held in September 2016 to publicize the restoration results and display the "Phoenix Crown" of Xiao Hou in Yangzhou. Empress Xiao of the Sui Dynasty was born in the Liang Dynasty royal family, after the murder of the Emperor, exiled to the rebels, the Eastern Turks, Tang Zhenguan returned to Chang'an in the fourth year (630), after four dynasties, Zhenguan died in the twenty-first year (647) and was buried in Yangzhou by Emperor Taizong of Tang with the Sui Emperor as empress. This crown in the tomb should be made by the Zhenguan of the Early Tang Dynasty, and it is an extremely rare tang dynasty concubine dress crown (Fig. 1-1, Fig. 1-2) (2).
Figure 1-1: Restoration of Xiao Houguan exhibited at the Yangzhou Museum
Fig. 1-2: The original of Xiao Houguan ornament
If you look closely, it is easy to find a strange thing, and there is no trace of the "phoenix" on this crown? Indeed, for a long time, phoenix birds rarely existed in the dress jewelry of the highest status of ancient Chinese queen concubines. Tang Qianfeng has not yet fully become a symbol of noble female status, and the direct simulation of natural environmental elements has become the main decorative composition of the dress crown, and the head is often a group of flowers and trees, birds and flowers, birds and animal scenes, the most real core component is the "flower tree" developed from the step shake. On the basis of the flower tree, elements have been added through the generations and developed into a grand and grand dress crown. The empresses of the Han Dynasty adopted the pattern of false knots (buns), step shakes, and hairpins, and the Wei and Jin southern and northern dynasties successively added tin and bo sideburns, and changed the step shake to flower trees; the Sui and Tang dynasties established a combination mode of flower trees, tungsten, plutonium, and bo sideburns on the basis of the system of the Han and Jin dynasties and the southern and northern dynasties, and divided the ranks by the number of flower trees and tungsten; Song Ming continued to decorate dragons and phoenixes, immortals, and birds and finches, but still preserved the basic elements of flower trees, tungsten, and bo sideburns. The phoenix crown of later generations was not originally used for dresses, but originated from another kind of regular jewelry in the Sui and Tang dynasties. The two go hand in hand, and the two routes have evolved over thousands of years.
First, from the canopy of flowers to the crown of the phoenix
After Emperor Wen of Sui ascended the throne (581), on the basis of the Northern Qi and Northern Zhou systems, and with reference to the profit and loss system of the Southern Dynasty, a new order of service was initially issued. The empress dress is set as a robe, a bow dress, a green dress, a Zhu costume, etc., of which the robes and bow clothes used for sacrifices, pilgrimages, silkworms and other ceremonies, jewelry is composed of flower trees, two bo sideburns, with different numbers of flower trees to distinguish the grades, the queen flowers twelve trees, corresponding to the emperor Gong Crown Twelve, the following according to the grades are nine, eight, seven, six, five, three trees, the second class dress for the emperor, feasting on guests, then "to flower" does not use flower trees. The jewelry system of the Sui Book of Sui, Book XII, Seventh Book of Etiquette, is as follows:
Queen jewelry, flowers twelve trees. ...... Qingyi, Qingluo for it, go to the flowers. Zhu Yi, Qiu Luo, made like Qing Yi.
Crown Princess, Princess, Princess, Third Division, Third Duke and Duchess, One Pin Life Woman, and Nine Trees. Lady Hou, the Second Pinnacle Woman, and eight trees. Lady Bo, The Lady of the Three Pins, and seven trees. Lady Zi, ShiMu and Crown Prince Zhaoxun, Si Pin has been ordered to be a woman, and six trees. Lady Man, Lady of the Five Pins, Five Trees. Empress Dowager and Crown Prince Liangdi, Miki.
(Since the queen has been under, the number of small flowers and large flowers, and two bo sideburns also.) )
After the Sui Dynasty Emperor ascended the throne, in the first year of Daye (605), the edict of the official Shangshu Niuhong and other officials changed their uniforms. Due to changes in the hierarchy of women in the harem, the system of concubine jewelry was also fine-tuned. The empress dress jewelry maintained the combination of the northern dynasty flower tree, the flower tin and the Bo sideburns, and the internal and external women's jewelry referred to the Southern Dynasty system (3) as the combination of flower tungsten and bo sideburns, and the number and grade correspondence were also slightly adjusted, the duchess who was originally regarded as one pin nine trees was changed to two pin eight tin, and the hou lady of the original two pin eight trees was changed to three pins and seven tins (Table 1). In addition, the jewelry of the empress dowager and the crown princess have two sideburns, while the outer concubine does not explain. The jewelry system of the Sui Book of Sui, Book XII, 7th Rites, is as follows:
Queen's suit... Robes, jewelry flowers twelve tungsten, small flowers and twelve trees, and two bo sideburns. Sacrifices and pilgrimages are obeyed in all matters. Bow coat, small flowers twelve trees. Yu Zhun Is dressed, pro-silkworm suit also.
Concubines, Concubines, and Concubines are for the three concubines. Jewelry flowers nine tin, and two Bo sideburns. Shunyi, Shunrong, Shunhua, Xiuyi, Xiurong, Xiuhua, Chongyi, Chongrong, Chonghua, is for the nine concubines. Jewelry flowers eight tin, and two Bo sideburns. Jie Yu, jewelry flowers seven tin. Beauty, talent, jewelry flowers six tin, and two Bo sideburns. Pauline, jewelry flowers five tin, and two Bo sideburns. Crown Princess, jewelry flowers nine tin, and two Bo sideburns. Princesses, concubines, princesses, princesses, three duchesses, one pin life woman, jewelry flower nine tungsten, duchess, county lord, two pin life woman, jewelry eight tungsten. Hou, Lady Bo, Lady Sanpin, Jewelry Seven Tungsten. Lady Zi, Lady of the Four Pins, Jewelry Six Tungsten. Male lady, five-pin life woman, jewelry five tin.
Table 1: Comparison of the grades of the sui dynasty emperor and the concubines of the great cause of the women's dress jewelry system
After the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, Gaozu Wude promulgated the "Wude Order" in the seventh year (624), which for the first time stipulated the tang dynasty dress system in the form of a state decree, which included relevant provisions related to the jewelry of the concubines (4); the "Tang Kaiyuan Ceremony Sequence" promulgated in the twentieth year of the new century (732) also recorded the "empress and princess internal and external order women's clothing and jewelry system"; the "Internal Officials, Palace Officials, Internal Servant Provinces, Shangfu Bureau" in the "Tang Six Classics" in the Twenty-sixth Year of the New Century (738) and the "Shangshu Ceremonial Department" The dress system for the queen concubine and the internal and external concubines is also recorded in detail.
The records of dress jewelry in the order, ceremony and administrative codes of the above three attributes are basically the same, and the jewelry system for concubines and women of the Tang Dynasty can be obtained after excerpting and comparing them as follows (Table 2):
Queen's dress: Robes, jewelry flowers and twelve trees (small flowers such as the number of large flowers, and two bo sideburns), receiving canons, assisting sacrifices, pilgrimage and other major events, then obey. Bow clothes, jewelry and robes are the same, and silkworms are served. Dressed in ceremonials, twelve taels, when the guests are feasted, they are served.
Crown Princess Dress: Qiu Zhai, jewelry flowers nine trees (small flowers such as the number of large flowers, and two Bo sideburns), receiving canonization, offering, and meeting all major events, then obey. Bow clothes, jewelry and robes are the same, from the silkworm to serve. Tungsten dress, nine tungsten. When you meet the guests, you will serve them.
Inner and outer women's clothes: Zhai yi, flower noodles (Shi Liangbo sideburns, Bao Dian ornament). The first pint of flowers is nine trees (Baodian quasi-number of flowers, the following is quasi-this); the second pint of flowers is eight trees, the third pint of flowers is seven trees, the fourth pin of flowers is six trees, the fifth pin of flowers is five trees, and the women of the inner life are registered, from silkworms, and pilgrimages, then obey. The marriage and ordination of foreign wives, the silkworms, and the great pilgrimages are also permitted. Tungsten dress, the first pin nine tin, the second pin eight tin, the third pin seven tin, the fourth pin six tin, the fifth pin five tin. The internal women usually see, and the outer women's pilgrimage, resignation and ceremonies are obeyed.
Liu Shang, Bao Lin, Imperial Daughter, Cai Female Official, etc. dressed in ceremonial clothes, no jewelry and silk.
Where the wedding flower is dressed, the six wives and daughters who have married are to wear them; (their dowry is only covered.) His two sideburns are decorated with gold, silver, and miscellaneous treasures. Secondly, the flower dress is dressed, and the maid of honor is dressed. (The plutonium is decorated with gold, silver, glass, etc.) )
Although the original text of the above system is complicated, it can be understood after induction that the Sui and Tang Dynasty concubines' dress jewelry can be divided into two categories: the full version and the simplified provincial version, which are used for first-class dresses and second-class dresses, respectively, and the basic components include bo sideburns and a number of flowers and trees, tin and plutonium. First-class dresses, namely the Empress's robes and bow clothes, the Crown Princess Concubine Zhai and The Bow Dress, and the Inner and Outer Destiny Women's Zhai Dress. It is suitable for the most important ceremonial occasions such as canonization, worship, pilgrimage, and silkworm kissing (from silkworm). Its jewelry consists of a complete version of the flower tree (花钗), BaoDian (宝钿), and Bo sideburns. (Judging from Lingwen alone, there are two modes of subdivision according to identity, the queen and the crown princess are large and small flower trees, left and right two Bo sideburns, and the inner and outer women are the flower noodles, BaoDian, and left and right Bo sideburns.) The number of flowers and trees or flowers and treasures decreased from the queen down according to the grade, respectively, twelve, nine, eight, seven, six, and five, and the configuration was grand and gorgeous, which was the prototype of the crown of the concubines in later generations.
The second-class dress is the tungsten ceremonial dress, that is, the Green Dress and Zhu Dress of the Sui Dynasty. It is suitable for the empress and crown princess to meet guests, the internal women are commonly seen, and the foreign women are relatively secondary ceremonial occasions such as pilgrimage, resignation, and ceremonies. Its jewelry is also similar to that of the Sui Dynasty, retaining only an unequal number of tungsten, removing the flower tree or the flower noodles and bo sideburns, which is a relatively simple and provincial jewelry model.
Table 2: The tang dynasty concubine dress jewelry system