What is the cultural connotation of ancient Chinese costumes?

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. 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.

Clothing is a unique achievement of human labor, not only the crystallization of material civilization, but also the connotation of spiritual civilization. Human society has been marching slowly from ignorance and barbarism to civilization for hundreds of thousands of years. After bidding farewell to apes, our ancestors wandered in the wind and rain for countless years, finally striding into the threshold of civilization, knowing how to keep warm and creating another material civilization. However, pursuing beauty is human nature. Clothing people, like gold to Buddha, not only covers the body and warms the body, but also beautifies it. Almost from the day when clothing originated, people accumulated their own life customs, aesthetic tastes, color hobbies, as well as various cultural mentality and religious concepts in clothing, and constructed the connotation of clothing culture and spiritual civilization.

China's clothing, like China's culture, is produced by the mutual penetration and influence of all ethnic groups. Since the Han and Tang Dynasties, especially after modern times, it has absorbed and melted a large number of excellent crystals of foreign cultures of all nationalities in the world, and only then has it evolved into a set of so-called China costume culture with the Han nationality as the main body. This is the conclusion of Ying Fei, an American anthropologist: "Whether a cultural project is the result of foreign infiltration or the product of natural independent invention is very important for those who care about historical heritage and for those who use comparative research methods. We can say with certainty that in all cultures, more than 90% of the content first appeared in the form of cultural infiltration. "

Clothing is a symbol of identity, a symbol, representing the political and social status of individuals, so that everyone can abide by their duties and be insurmountable. Therefore, since ancient times, the monarch has been the way to govern the country, and clothing is a very important item. When the clothing system is completed, the political order will be partially completed. So in China, traditionally, clothing is a part of politics, and its importance far exceeds the status of clothing in modern society.

Triple Connotation of China Traditional Costume Culture;

Clothing is the external characteristic of a nation, so the cultural characteristics reflected by different ethnic costumes are also different. China traditional costume culture has experienced thousands of years of brilliant development, and its connotation is extremely rich and colorful. However, from a macro perspective, the most representative are the three connotations of "harmony" culture, "prominent label" culture and "diversity" culture.

Harmonious and unified culture is the essence of China traditional costume culture. Throughout the history of China's clothing development for thousands of years, the harmony and unity of rules is the essence of its culture. Since its birth, Huafu has been following the unity of body fever and aesthetic expression, symbol display and symbolic expression, highlighting personality and happiness, and achieving harmony and coordination between clothing and nature, clothing and society, and clothing and people to the maximum extent. The beauty of scene blending is the most precious quality of China traditional costume culture.

Marking and highlighting culture is the most basic element of China traditional costume culture. This element is mainly manifested in the labels of rank, occupation, behavior ethics, age structure and gender in the expression of clothing concepts produced by people in long-term production practice and social practice. From the symbol of primitive tribal leaders and hunting heroes to the symbol of feudal emperors' official uniforms, from the symbol of civilian military attache to the symbol of modern military uniforms and professional uniforms, from the ritual system of official uniforms to today's casual clothes and evening dresses, it shows its outstanding cultural connotation. Logo display is not only the requirement of "system" (legal system), but also the norm of social morality. This concept of clothing logo function has been pushed to the peak of culture, which has also greatly promoted the development of traditional clothing culture in China. It can be asserted that the honor of "clothes kingdom" is impossible to obtain without the protection of the class social crown service system for thousands of years.

Variety culture is another feature of China traditional costume culture. From a vertical perspective, there are great differences in costume culture in China. As far as the evolution track of China's clothing "institutional form" in the class social form in the past three thousand years is concerned, Zhou Li is different from Hanfu; There are also great differences between the Tang system and the Qing system. Basically, every dynasty has its own dress code and specific etiquette requirements. Horizontally, due to China's vast territory and numerous ethnic groups, there are great differences in the pursuit of clothing style, the taboo of clothing color, the technical level of clothing materials and the image expression of clothing at different times, places and places, and sometimes there are great oppositions. This diversity not only reflects the richness of China's traditional costume culture, but also reflects the characteristics different from other countries.