Miao Silver Jewelry References

Big for Beauty

Miao silver jewelry to big for the beauty of the artistic characteristics is self-evident, the Miao big silver horn almost for the height of the wearer of a Miao silver jewelry

half is a convincing example.

Heap big for the mountain, showing the beauty of the towering; water big for the sea, showing the beauty of the vast.

Miao silver jewelry to the beauty of the unique insight, with the aesthetic point of view is very reasonable.

Heavy for the beauty

Look at the heavy for the beauty, Guizhou Shi hole Miao women since childhood piercing the ear, that is, gradually thickened with a round stick to expand the piercing to ensure that you can wear the local popular round wheel-shaped earrings, the use of the weight of the earrings to lengthen the earlobes.

Some women have had their earlobes stretched by the weight of the earrings.

Local earrings can weigh up to 200 grams each.

Liping Miao women's basket flower silver row of rings to pay attention to the heavier the better, the heavier more than eight pounds.

More beauty

Miao silver jewelry on the presentation of the "more" artistic features, is also very amazing.

Many Miao areas wear silver jewelry to pay attention to the beauty of more.

Earrings hanging three or four, stacked to the shoulders; collar wear three or four pieces, no neck cover forehead; internal organs, waist ornaments all, all wear.

In particular, the Qingshui River Basin silver, the combination of parts that there are hundreds of more, overlapping and complex, showing a kind of complexity of the beauty of the bondage.

The materialization of this sense of flaunting is not difficult to see in other ethnic groups.

The Dai men's tattooing customs pay attention to tattooing parts of the wider, more complex patterns more beautiful; courtship period of the Hani girl wearing a dense body beads, shellfish; Qinghai pastoral Tibetan women's "Garong" back fully embodies the pursuit of large and more aesthetic principles; De'ang waist as much as thirty-four circles, can be described as the pursuit of the number of ornaments typical. The waistband of the De'ang can be as many as thirty or forty circles, which can be called a typical pursuit of the number of ornaments.

It is clear that the pursuit of more beauty, more than the Miao.

It is worth mentioning that, from the Guizhou Provincial Museum of silver jewelry in different periods of comparison, the Miao silver jewelry in pursuit of large, heavy, more footsteps has never stopped.

Especially after the 1980s, the development of Miao silver jewelry is more unprecedented.

This reflects from one side the continuous improvement of the living standard of the Miao people.

Edit this section of the history of silver

In the centuries after the Ming Dynasty, the Miao silver jewelry experienced a national aesthetic stereotypes to obey the needs of the interpretation, Miao silver

combination, mutation of the nationalization process.

First of all, all the original varieties of silver jewelry in the Miao aesthetic standards of trade-offs, some of the fundamental end of the acceptance, some of the introduction of the eliminated, some of the repeated transformation of the l] and the face is completely different, of course, there are basically retained the original characteristics.

In fact, the development of any national culture is actually a process of deepening awareness and understanding.

Secondly, the process of nationalization of Miao silver jewelry is at the same time a process of innovation.

Undoubtedly, human needs are the first source of artistic creation, and the aesthetic concept of the group is the norm of artistic creation.

The innovation of Miao silver jewelry follows this logic.

Due to the demand for silver ornaments, the aesthetic consciousness of the Miao people on clothing is gradually separated from the practical consciousness, and the dependence of material needs is diffused into the subject-object relationship of aesthetics.

As a result of the group aesthetic concept of norms, in the process of artistic innovation, Miao silver jewelry gradually formed its own distinctive national personality.

There are many aesthetic viewpoints that influence and regulate the modeling of Miao silver jewelry, so what is the most fundamental of them? The Miao people from ancient times to the present have "money for decoration" custom, historical data also shows that the "money" jewelry and silver jewelry is the same time into the field of Miao clothing.

This kind of rich mentality revealed through the "to be decorated with preserves" plays a crucial role in the aesthetic value orientation of the Miao silver jewelry, forming the most basic three major artistic characteristics of the Miao silver jewelry, i.e., the beauty of the big, the beauty of the heavy, the beauty of the more.

Edit this section of the silver craft

Processing

The processing of Miao silver jewelry is all done by hand in the family workshop.

According to the needs, silversmiths first make thin slices, strips or wires of melted silver, and then use the techniques of pressing, laminating, engraving and cradling to make exquisite patterns, and then weld or weave them into shape.

Miao Silver Jewelry

The process of Miao Silver Jewelry is very complicated, and a piece of silver jewelry can only be completed after one or two dozen procedures.

Moreover, the silver jewelry modeling itself is very strict on the silversmith's handmade technology, and it is difficult for non-experts to complete it.

In addition to the hammer and anvil labor is a master, the Miao silversmiths are also masters in the design of the modeling.

The reason for this is that on the one hand, Miao silversmiths are good at drawing inspiration from women's embroidery and batik patterns.

On the other hand, as a member of the branch, and in order to gain a competitive advantage among their peers, Miao silversmiths emphasize innovation in the details or local carvings according to the traditional habits and aesthetic interests of the branch.

Craftsmanship excellence, so that the Miao silver jewelry is perfect.

Of course, all this must not touch the overall shape of the silver jewelry as a prerequisite.

Miao silver jewelry in the shape of its stability, once the ancestors to determine the shape of the system, that can not be changed, often forming an important symbol of the branch.

Miao women decorate silver, love its whiteness, cherish its flawlessness.

Therefore, in addition to processing silver jewelry, the Miao silversmiths are also responsible for removing dirt and dust from the silver jewelry, commonly known as "silver washing".

They coated the silver with borax water, burned with charcoal to remove the oxidized layer attached to the silver, and then put a burst of alum boiling water in the purple copper pot, washed with water, and then cleaned with a copper brush, the silver is as bright as new.

Raw materials

Historically, silver jewelry processing raw materials are mainly silver dollars, silver ingots.

That is to say, the Miao people work at sunrise and sunset, week after week, over the years, the accumulation of silver currency, almost all put into the furnace.

Because of this, silver jewelry around the silver purity to the local popular silver coins prevail.

For example, during the Republic of China Qiandongnan territory is to Leishan as the boundary, the north side of the silver from the ocean, higher purity, the south side from the two millimetres, the silver color is poor.

After the 1950s, the party and *** fully respect the customs of the Miao people, the annual low price allocated to the Miao special silver.

Silver jewelry culture

Witch culture dominates the spiritual connotation of Miao silver jewelry

In a variety of silver jewelry patterns, images implying witchcraft and beliefs occupy the main position of the decorations.

For example, Danjiang Miao back silver has a "temple" image modeling, which is the core pattern of the Miao primitive religious beliefs, the significance of its sorcery is heavy, it has the position of the whole body of the silver piece of clothing.

Therefore, each piece of silver clothing are indispensable to this "temple" pattern, and the general stability, can not be created at will, deformation.

There are also silver flowers on the head circumference of the horseback warrior and the child's silver cap on the idol, are also so.

The Hmong totem worship, is an important modeling of silver jewelry.

Hmong totems are several images that are related to the Hmong.

In the ancient Hmong song, it is sung that the maple wood gave birth to the butterfly mother (i.e., the sister list of sisters sister略), and the butterfly mother gave birth to twelve eggs, which were hatched by the magpie yu bird to the Hmong's ancestor, Jiang Yang, and the twelve brothers.

In this way, there are four totems related to the Hmong ancestor.

The buffalo is the brother of the Hmong ancestor Jiang Yang.

The silver horns of the Hmong in Xijiang, Shidong and Paihang are the graphic shape of the bull's horns.

The buffalo is the main force of rice farming, and the water bullock is a sacrifice to the ancestors.

Legend has it that the ancestors of the Miao people Chi You is the head with horns.

According to the record, "the record": "between the Qin and Han said, Chiyu ear temples, such as the sword, the head has a horn, and Xuanyuan fight, to goblet people with horns, people can not be to the o." The Miao people believe that the water buffalo is an animal with divinity.

Leishan Miao often called the cow "cow mother cow father", on New Year's Day will not forget to treat the cow, to give the cow to eat meat and wine and glutinous rice.

They took back from the silversmith of the newly made silver horns, in addition to pay for the work, but also to send glutinous rice, etc., to thank the silversmith to their own families made of auspicious objects.

In the silver horn to take home to say: "open the door, pull the cattle!" And prepare wine and meat to celebrate.

The Miao believe that, in addition to heaven and earth, the maple tree is the ancestor of the ancestors.

The maple tree is also certainly expressed in silver jewelry.

The hanging flower on the silver jewelry is mostly a triangular maple leaf pattern, which also serves as an intermediary shape linking other patterns.

More than ten species of birds are mentioned in the ancient Hmong songs, and the magpie bird, which helps the mother butterfly to hatch twelve eggs, is said to be a type of swallow.

It is also worshipped as a totem by the Hmong because it is made from the top of the ancient maple tree that was cut down.

Thus, the silver bird is an extremely important pattern modeling in the Miao silver jewelry.

The main body of the Leishan Danjiang by the silver finch composed of silver hairpin, there are four silver finches, the middle of a was made very realistic, the demeanor alive, even a piece of a piece of the feather texture is also clearly visible, the small finch is abstract and abbreviated.

Duyun Wang Division of the silver finch hairpin body is a realistic realistic bird, it spread its wings to fly, the body of the feathers are also a piece of micro-open, the mouth also holds a silver cage.

The butterfly pattern modeling can be seen on almost all silver ornaments such as silver scarf, hairpins, silver combs, earrings, coat and hat ornaments, necklaces, press collars, silver coat pieces, back belts, waist chains, pendants, bracelets, - rings, cigarette cases, waistband silver plates, etc., because the mother butterfly is the legendary mother of the Miao people.

Several of the above mentioned totem pattern shapes are indispensable for Miao silver jewelry.

And the period of the various animals, flowers and plants pattern modeling can be flexible with the silversmith left a broad imagination and creative space.

Different from the traditional Chinese culture of the dragon

In the "Classic of the Mountains and Seas - the Great Desert North" in this way wrote: "Chi as soldiers to attack the Yellow Emperor, the Yellow Emperor was made to Yinglong attacked the field of Jizhou." Legend has it that Chi You is the ancestor of the Miao, but the dragon is Chi You's opponent.

Therefore, the Miao in the ancient song "twelve eggs" in the "water dragon" is just one of the eggs, and no supreme status.

In the history and culture of the Miao people, some regions have the custom of inviting and receiving the dragon, and regard the dragon as the supreme.

But there are also several regions that do not have special dragon worship.

The legend of the Shidong Dragon Boat Festival is very representative of the relationship between the Miao people and the dragon: a long, long time ago, there was an old man living in the mouth of a small river named Baogong.

One day, he took his grandson Jiu Bao down the river to fish, and the old man went ashore first.

After the old man had been gone for a while, suddenly the clouds rolled in and he lost his grandson.

At this point, the old man ignored the wind and waves and dived into the water to look for his grandson.

The old man saw an old hole underwater, he quietly went in and saw that the dragon was sleeping on the pillow of his grandson's body.

The old man was furious, but he didn't startle the dragon, instead he swam back to shore, used a fire scythe and fireweed to zap the pig's urine in the blisters, and dived back into the dragon's hole, setting it on fire.

But the smoke from the burning of the dragon cave filled the air over the entire Qingshui River.

Seven days and seven nights in a row, no sunlight, darkness.

Birds don't nest, chickens don't crow, cows don't plow, and people can't make a living.

The only place for children to play is under the water spout of the roof with a mallet and a grain stick.

In their mouths, the children shouted, "Dongdangduo! Dangdangduo!" like the sound of a drum.

At this point, the sky slowly dawned, and everyone was excited.

Soon, the river floated up a four-foot-long, bucket thick, green and flowery dragon body.

In Shengbingzhai in Shi Bing County, the dragon corpse was fished up.

Zhai Lao from all over the world was greeted to eat the dragon meat, and then people from all the cottages went to grab the dragon meat.

It did not take long to grab the whole dragon.

Sheng Bingzhai divided the dragon's head, Pingzhai divided the dragon's neck, Tanglongzhai divided the dragon's body, Yungshanzhai divided the dragon's waist, Shidong's people went a little bit later, divided the dragon's tail, Yangjiazhai went to the latest, only a little bit of the dragon's intestines.

When people divided the dragon meat away, the night, the dragon's spirit will give everyone a dream, said: "I killed the old man's grandson, he also lost his life, you if you use the cedar tree to make my body model, rowing in the Qingshui River for a few days, so that I am alive again, I will bless you with good weather and a good harvest." As a result, the custom of rowing a dragon boat emerged in the area of Shidong.

Based on this cultural background, in the Shidong and other places in the Miao costume embroidery, the dragon is everywhere, good and evil, good and evil interchangeable, and a variety of animals can be "grafted" a symbol.

However, silver jewelry is more influenced by Han culture than embroidery, and the dragon pattern in Miao silver jewelry is most often seen in headdresses.

Especially the silver horns worn by women, most of them are double dragons playing beads and other auspicious patterns.

On the collar, the dragon pattern is more common, and with other patterns, animals with particularly rich, where the dragon is just an ordinary member of the family of animals, it can be and a variety of animals and plants equal **** on top of a collar.

Such as Huangping, Guizhou, Kaili, a popular: "dragon and phoenix grab treasure single layer ringing silver collar", it is a single-sided relief double dragon, double phoenix grab treasure ornamentation, in the middle of the relief dragon box, the lower ring along the pendant with cats, deer, fish and dragons ringing bells charm.

Another example is a popular ringing silver necklace around Shi Bing, Guizhou, its chain body pendant phoenix, bats, tigers, toads, chickens, horses, fish, people and a string of ringing bells, necklaces in the middle of the pendant a round box, one side decorated with embossed cow head pattern, one side of the decoration of the sunflower pattern, the box under the pendant knives, swords, ear spoons and other pendants, that is, in the practical shortsword, but also burin has a very simple dragon pattern.

This dragon pattern, is at the bottom of the most inconspicuous place.

It also reflects the unusual status of the dragon in the minds of the Miao people.

There are various kinds of dragons in Miao, such as bull dragon, snake dragon, fish dragon, bird dragon, pig dragon, goat dragon, horse dragon, silkworm dragon, centipede dragon, earthworm dragon, snail dragon, shrimp-bodied dragon, chicken-head dragon, double-head dragon, taotie dragon, accustomed to the dragon, unicorn dragon, pangolin dragon and so on.

However, the Shi Dong area dragons of this "unusual" is also conditional, such as children wearing silver hat ornaments, there are Bodhisattvas, fairy children, and lions, tigers, unicorns and rare beasts, there is no picture of the dragon, which seems to reflect the unusual nature of the dragon.

Because the child is young, can not afford this honorable dragon.

Miao silver jewelry in the unique migration culture

Although the Miao silver jewelry appeared late, but due to the Miao oral culture generation after generation of inheritance, the long migration and conquest of the course of the Miao people have been settled for many years in the life of the Miao people are still engraved indelible imprints, they are still mindful of their ancestors migration and conquest of the thousands of difficulties and dangers, memories of migration on the way to the wind, worship of ancestors of the brave and strong. The first time I saw this, I was in the middle of the night.

Therefore, their silver jewelry on the long-term campaigns of the Miao, migration, migration culture is reflected.

For example, in Taijiang and Leishan Danjiang and the silver flower head circumference, there are warriors with swords and clubs riding horses in the shape of Mercedes-Benz.

Shi hole women wear a fine silver horse around the Pa, the middle is jewelry embedded mirror, the left and right sides of each of the seven swarthy men with high buns on the head holding weapons on the back of the horse, each other and gallop, vivid shape.

This is the ancestors galloped to the frontiers of the constant westward movement of the battle scene, showing the Shi Dong people to the ancestors of the memory of the memorial.

The back of a Shidong Miao woman's coat - a piece of silver - also has a pattern of a man riding a horse.

Lushan also has a kind of weaponry silver pendant, which hangs various knives, swords, and digging spoons on women's waists, which are the marks of conquests and migrations back then.

In addition, the lion this beast and peony flowers in Guizhou Miao region has never been, but Taijiang, Shi hole generation of women's chest ornaments, engraved with lions and peony flowers of the silver clothing piece, engraved with peony lion silver bracelet, children silver cap, Huaxi area of unmarried women wearing silver locks chest ornaments, Liping's double-dragon and double-lion silver ornaments pendants ... ... ... are inseparable from the lion, silver jewelry is often peony pattern, which can be seen as the Miao ancestors living in the Central Plains, and absorbed the Han cultural factors portrayed.

Fish is an indispensable food in the life of Miao people in the eastern riverside and seaside.

In addition to the fertility worship meaning of fish, the ancient song of the Miao people sings: "The list was born to eat fish ...... fish a lot! Wear square as big as the carp.

Here to get fish for her to eat, the list slightly good joy." After the Miao migrated to the western mountains, not only in the paddy fields fish continuation of the habit of eating fish in the East, but also in the silver jewelry on the full reflection of the fish is the Miao from head to toe a variety of silver jewelry indispensable patterns and shapes.

There is also a unique ornament in the Miao silver jewelry is ringing bells, whether it is a collar or hanging cards, tags, waist pendants, are often worn with ringing bells, which is also a migratory legacy.

In the ringing ***, people walked through a path of water, before calling hand should never be separated.

Perspective on the lack of equality in feudal society

Miao silver jewelry was produced in the Ming Dynasty after the hierarchical feudal society.

People's clothing and jewelry in the Ming and Qing dynasties were subject to certain hierarchical rules.

This can be seen from the important painter Chen Hongshou's Kui Long Complementary Gun Figure at the end of the Ming Dynasty.

Picture *** three ladies, in front of a slightly older is dressed in gorgeous noblewoman, the other two on the age of young, for the identity of the courtesan.

The noblewoman's hairpin is also inserted above the bun hairpin headdress, the courtesan's according to dress at a glance to see the difference.

To the Qing Dynasty, the court to the Empress Dowager, down to the official official dress of the noblewoman specific provisions and supporting a variety of jewelry, in the "Qing Canon" volume and "Qing Tongli" volume are recorded, no one shall exceed.

But the same living in the Ming and Qing dynasties of the Miao, in the wearing of silver jewelry but with the same dress, no hierarchical distinction.

Regardless of whether you are a village old, the old man, Tusi, drum Tibetan head and his family or ordinary people, as long as living in a community, everyone can wear the same silver jewelry.

For example, the previously mentioned Huangping Miao girls get married when the dress headdress, extremely elegant, but it is not exclusive to the noblewoman, that area of the Miao girls get married can be worn.

Xijiang Miao girls must wear silver horns when they get married, if not at home, you can go to friends and relatives to borrow, people are happy to borrow.

This also reflects the original spirit of equality inherited from the ancient Miao society.

Miao silver jewelry has a kind of display

Han jewelry is just a kind of embellishment, and with the development of society more and more simplified.

Most women no longer wear jewelry in modern daily life, and even less wear silver jewelry.

And the Miao in the festival or wedding and other important moments of life, are to wear silver jewelry up dress with, and is to more for the United States.

The Miao folk proverb says: "No silver, no flowers, no girl." Some people start to build silver jewelry for their daughters at a young age, accumulating a little bit a year and storing it in a special wooden box.

When the daughter grows to more than ten years old, in the grand festivals and the wedding day, the girl will dress up and show to her compatriots.

Xijiang Miao to be in a full set of silver jewelry ready after the production of silver horns, and in the festival with or without silver horns show, can reflect the girl's social status, not wearing silver horns of the girl, jumping Lusheng dance can only be lined up in the back of the wearer of silver horns.

Leishan Danjiang Miao silver flower head round, to make the wearer's entire forehead are surrounded by silver flowers.

Shi hole girl's a vine-shaped silver jewelry circle often wear to the mouth are covered, earrings also hang three or four, the heaviest one has 4 two.

A hollowed out silver clothes by 44 silver pieces sewn on the back of the front of the garment.

A pair of silver phoenix crowns in Huangping weighs more than 2 kilograms.

A pair of 13 silver rows of circles from Jiangxi Mountain weighs nearly 2 kilograms.

In some places, the whole body of the Miao women dress silver jewelry add up to two or three hundred taels.

This is a display of beauty, strength and wealth.

This kind of display leads to the exchange of silver jewelry art, which makes the Miao people's artistic aesthetic ability to improve, thus promoting the continuous prosperity of silver jewelry art.

Miao silver jewelry pays special attention to the matching of costumes

In festivals and major celebrations of life with dress costumes, and with a full set of dress silver jewelry, there is a kind of pearl effect, more elegant and noble, and baked a happy and warm atmosphere of festivals and celebrations.

Daily life with casual clothing with casual silver jewelry, so convenient, simple, generous, easy to daily labor.

Xijiang and Danjiang Miao casual dress, headdress only with a soldered with four small silver beads of silver hairpin, both for decoration and as a fixed bun with.

As long as the women of the above two places who wear Miao hair buns, they must use this silver bun.

There are also girdle plates and girdle chains, which are not only decorative, but also used to fix the girdle.

The ear pillars used to be worn with casual clothes, but now there are fewer young women wearing ear pillars on a daily basis.

In the relatively developed agricultural production in the Shi Dong area there is a sub-dress, in some ceremonial occasions to wear, and with the corresponding silver jewelry, so that both solemn and decent, but also to facilitate the action.

In addition, the pattern of the silver jewelry itself, generally pay attention to symmetry.

For example, the back of the silver piece of silver clothing, a variety of animal patterns are one side of a child's silver cap on the idol, is also symmetrical left and right.

But in the hairpin, there are often asymmetric modeling, this asymmetry makes the silver jewelry appear more dynamic, more present the natural state of life.