Five-service system and ancient Chinese clothing system

Clothing, as a cultural form, runs through the ancient history of China. From the evolution of clothing, we can see the historical changes, economic development and the evolution of China's cultural aesthetic consciousness. Whether it is the solemnity of the Shang Dynasty, the orderliness of the Zhou Dynasty, the freshness of the Warring States, the solemnity of the Han Dynasty, or the thinness of the Six Dynasties, the fullness and splendor of the Tang Dynasty, the rational beauty of the Song Dynasty, the boldness and boldness of the Yuan Dynasty, the simplicity and elegance of the Ming Dynasty, and the exquisiteness of the Qing Dynasty. However, the aesthetic design tendency and aesthetic consciousness in a certain period did not come into being out of thin air. It must be rooted in a specific era. In the chaotic and complicated social real life, only by examining this specific aesthetic consciousness in a specific social and historical background can we see its true colors clearly.

First, the aesthetic consciousness of ancient people in China was deeply influenced by ancient philosophy.

The idea of "harmony between man and nature" is the essence of ancient culture in China, a philosophical view recognized and adopted by both Confucianism and Taoism, and the deepest source of traditional culture in China. This concept has produced a unique design concept, that is, all kinds of artworks are regarded as the products of the whole nature, and the design of handicrafts is viewed from a comprehensive and holistic perspective, and clothing is no exception. This design concept has been recorded in China's earliest craft work "Flower King Gong Ji", which says: "Sometimes, the weather is full, the materials are exquisite and the work is skillful. If you combine these four things, then you can be good. " As early as 2000 years ago, artisans in China realized that any technical design was not the behavior of isolated people, but the result of the comprehensive action of various conditions in the big system of nature. Weather is a seasonal climatic condition, local atmosphere refers to geographical conditions, beautiful materials are the performance conditions of process materials, and skillful work refers to production process conditions. As far as clothing is concerned, it refers to the dressing season, the dressing environment, and the texture and cutting techniques of the material. Only when these four things are harmonious and unified can there be exquisite design.

The Book of Changes affirms the unity and blending of man and nature, that is, man is not only a product of nature, but all human activities, from moral cultivation to utilitarian practice, must follow the revelation of nature and be restricted by natural laws, and there are also human factors in nature. Nature itself often has the enlightenment significance of social morality. There is often no absolute separation gap between man and nature here. The two influence each other and penetrate each other. Man and nature follow the unified law. Heaven and earth naturally have human social attributes, but also contain ethics related to personnel, which is biased in aesthetic feeling. In the eyes of ancient philosophers in China, man is the unity of form and spirit, that is, the unity of form and spirit, which is an inseparable whole. Therefore, both Taoism and Confucianism advocate the integration of spirit and flesh and the combination of beauty and goodness, while clothing embodies the aesthetic harmony between people and things and the externalization of natural expression. This aesthetic emotional consciousness tends to be exposed in clothing, which is also in line with the "natural" way. ("Ti" language), during the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the seven sages of bamboo forest were bohemian and paid attention to God and reason, so they were often informal in their costumes, regardless of their appearance and clothes. "Ren Xinyu's Birthday" contains: "Liu Ling tasted naked and rode a deer cart, drinking dissolutely".

Second, the ideology formed on a certain economic basis directly affects the aesthetic thought of clothing.

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Confucianism, represented by Confucius and Mencius, Taoism, represented by Laozi and Zhuangzi, Mohism, Legalism and other schools emerged due to the hegemony of the Seven Chivalries, the contention of a hundred schools of thought and academic contention. As a result, the ideologies of different factions infiltrated into costume aesthetics, resulting in different aesthetic opinions. For example, Confucianism advocates "charter civil and military affairs" and "meet with courtesy", Mohism advocates "frugality" and "after eating, seek beauty again, clothes will always be warm, seek beauty again, settle down and seek happiness again". Legalist Han Feizi denies the life of ghosts and gods, and he advocates that clothes should respect nature and oppose modification. "Huai Nan Zi Lan Mingxun" contains "the last seven countries are different, and the vassal legislation customs." It recorded the real situation of the special period of national autonomy at that time.

Wei and Jin Dynasties were the dynasties with the most personal aesthetic consciousness: "Zan Dai Bo" was a common costume in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, among which most of the literati. Wei-Jin period was the most chaotic economic and political period in history, but it was extremely free and liberated spiritually. Scholars want to enter the world, but they are afraid of the ups and downs of the official sea, so they have to be detached from themselves. In addition to indulging in wine and music, they also look for catharsis in their clothes and are proud of the world. Therefore, taking off his coat, he was shirtless with big sleeves, advocating the wind of metaphysics in Wei and Jin Dynasties, believing that everything in the world has no roots and emphasizing the return to nature. The most famous proposition of the Seven Sages of Bamboo Forest is "Taoist naturalism, attacking hypocritical Confucianism, and taking contempt for the imperial court and not entering the official career as a chic move." In clothing, it is bare-chested and bare-armed, and it is covered with hair to show informality. "Wei Jin Ji" contains: "Xie Kun and Wang Cheng's disciples copied the people in the bamboo forest, scattered their heads and covered their hair, and stood naked, which was called extending in all directions." "Search" wrote: In Won-Jung Kim Kang, your children are traveling and they are drinking naked. Literati are pragmatic, informal and bohemian. This naturalism and individualism in personality got rid of the shackles of Confucianism in the Han Dynasty. People directly appreciate the beauty of personality and respect personal values. The record of "Fei looks handsome, takes off his crown, is rude and confused, and people think it was then" in Shi Shuo Xin Yu vividly reflects the aesthetic consciousness at that time.

If the "praise belt" in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties is a release of inner spirit and a standard of personality, it hates exquisite clothing and attaches importance to nature, while the clothing in Tang Dynasty is a release of beauty and a bold pursuit of beauty. Its gorgeous colors, emphasis on decoration, and the openness of women's clothing have never been seen in previous dynasties, and even modern people are amazed by it. Zhou Shi's poem: "I am used to wearing a skirt with a half-exposed chest" seems to describe this kind of dress, which is the boldest in ancient China, showing the openness of the Tang people. There was a fashion trend in the Tang Dynasty, and pomegranate skirt was the most popular for the longest time. It can be seen that in the "Yanjing May Song", "Pomegranate flowers are burning all over the street, and branches are falling, and thousands of households can't buy them, leaving their children in red skirts." Princess Anle's bird skirt is a masterpiece in the history of China's weaving and embroidery, but the official women will copy it, causing the birds and animals in Shanlinqi to sweep the floor, which fully showed the appeal of fashion at that time. Clothing style is inseparable from reality. The Tang Dynasty, with its prosperous economy, developed handicrafts, frequent foreign exchanges, learning from others and numerous countries, was called "Paris" in ancient China.

Compared with any previous dynasty, the Tang Dynasty has added new aesthetic factors and colors. The aesthetic taste in Tang Dynasty changed from reappearance and objectivity in the early stage to subjectivity, art and feminine beauty in the later stage, which reflected the precipitation of aesthetic consciousness in Wei, Jin and Six Dynasties. In the historical process from the early Tang Dynasty to the late Tang Dynasty, people's social consciousness and mental state have also undergone profound changes. "The original vigorous and enterprising passion has gradually been replaced by self-serious and worrying concerns. The previous active exploration and feeling of the outside world gradually turned into the passive feeling and experience of the inner spiritual world. Therefore, the unrestrained masculinity in aesthetics has to give way to the delicate and subtle feminine rhyme. (Quoted from Aesthetics of the Six Dynasties) This change in aesthetic tendency is inseparable from the background of the Tang Dynasty when the economy turned from prosperity to decline and the whole country worshipped Buddhism.

In the Song Dynasty, influenced by Zhu Cheng's Neo-Confucianism, people in the Song Dynasty burned gold ornaments and simplified their costumes in order to obtain the beauty of simplicity and elegance, while the Ming Dynasty was the most prosperous dynasty in the history of the development of ancient Chinese costumes, with gorgeous costumes and heavy decorations. This is because the Ming dynasty has entered the late feudal society, and the feudal consciousness tends to be autocratic, advocating colorful beauty and pursuing whitewashing and auspicious blessings. Therefore, embroidered auspicious patterns prevailed in Ming Dynasty clothing. In addition, in the mid-Ming Dynasty, capitalism sprouted in the south, handicrafts were developed, and foreign exchanges were frequent, which made its costumes pursue luxuriousness from materials, colors and patterns, forming a luxurious atmosphere. By the end of feudal society, western culture gradually spread to the east, and foreign students took off their robes and jackets and put on suits and ties, which was also closely related to the ideological changes in society at that time.

Thirdly, "rank" is a symbol of class society, which has influenced the aesthetic consciousness of ancient people's clothing in the whole ancient society.

In ancient China, the hierarchy was strict. Under the influence of this hierarchical system, ancient costume culture, as the externalization of social material and spirit, is an important part of the ceremony. In order to consolidate its position, the ruling class put the function of clothing in a prominent position. In addition to improving our health, clothing is also regarded as a tool to distinguish the noble from the humble, and it is the image spokesperson of class society.

Clothing is like a symbol. In ancient society, clothing was strictly distinguished. Different clothes represent that a person belongs to different social classes, which is a sign of "politeness". There is a clear stipulation in the Book of Rites on the level of clothing: "The emperor is the dragon, the people are waiting for you, the doctor is waiting for you, the scholar is dressed in mysterious clothes, the emperor is the crown, the green algae, and the people are waiting for you. I am also responsible for this person. " There is a record in Zhou Li: "When you enjoy the first king, you will be crowned, which means that all emperors and officials wear dresses when offering sacrifices and gifts." During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, hundred schools of thought also had insightful views on the function of "ceremony" in clothing. For example, it is polite for Confucianism to advocate "charter civil and military". This view is inseparable from its image as a defender of the feudal hierarchy.

The function of this "ceremony" is also reflected in the color of clothing. For example, Confucius once declared that "evil purple captured Zhu Ye" (The Analects of Yang Huo). Because Zhu is a positive color and purple is an intermediate color, everyone should be assigned to the positive color and the intermediate color artificially to consolidate the hierarchy. In history, almost every dynasty of "white", "bud head", "soap official" and "crimson purple" had relevant regulations on clothing color.

For example, "Costumes of China in Past Dynasties" records that during the Qin and Han Dynasties, the colors of scarves were "Shu Ren black, coachman red, mourning white, bearers yellow, cooks green and political slaves green". Tang looked at official property by the color of official clothes. ""this is called township tribute to raise hemp thorns. "In the fourth year of Zhenguan in the Tang Dynasty and the first year of Shangyuan, the regulations on clothing color and wearing were promulgated twice. In the Qing dynasty, besides the official uniforms, the number of pythons was used to divide official positions, and yellow was also forbidden. For example, the crown prince uses apricot yellow, the prince uses golden yellow, and the subordinate kings and other official positions must not be rewarded with yellow.

Throughout the development of ancient Chinese costumes, we can clearly see the influence of the aesthetic consciousness of the ancient people in China on costumes in different dynasties and periods. Clothing has gone through a long time from the earliest function-covering shame and protecting body, through the passage of years and historical evolution, from the spokesperson of hierarchy to the symbol of personality later, and aesthetic consciousness runs through it. Knowing this is also very beneficial to our modern fashion design. Only by grasping the pulse of fashion,