Han Dynasty period of women's dowry why slippers, when did the earliest appear?

Ancient China has a long history, has bred a splendid culture, mainly in social life, life in small details everywhere reflects the wisdom of the ancient working people.

From the pre-Qin period to the Qing Dynasty, from the slave society to feudal society, accompanied by the people's lives and there is no interruption of a trivial necessities - modern collectively referred to as slippers.

Slippers have a long history, the development of its course is the ancient desire for a better life and play their own ingenuity, continuously improve the process of life's necessities, and its historical significance is also the ancient working people in the life of the ingenuity brought to daily life, cultural content as well as the influence of other countries. countries.

Ancient development of slippers

1. The material of slippers

The productivity level of ancient times was limited and could not produce composite materials like plastic for making slippers. Therefore, under the limitation of the productivity level of the ancient society, the materials used to make slippers were generally natural raw materials or simple primitive materials.

From the whole history of the use of slippers, the earliest, most widely used and most popular material is still wood.

From the beginning of the invention of slippers, productivity is even lower, the history of more ancient pre-Qin period seems to be the most common use or bushes.

Particularly before the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, the princes and nobles down to the common people, the summer is to wear bushes compiled straw shoes.

The Western Zhou period, bronze smelting technology has been more advanced than at that time, but does not mean that the whole period of productivity level of advanced, even the son of heaven in the summer can only wear straw shoes.

That's why straw shoes still occupy an important position in later history. And wood and bushes also became the main materials for making slippers in ancient times.

2. The two main types of slippers in ancient times

Different periods of time on the slippers of the name is not the same, the different materials used in the production of slippers will also make the slippers have a different title, the use of the most common, the longest history and the most popular slippers there are two categories, in fact, in the time there is no superiority or inferiority, all history are history! Very long history and culture carrier.

But there is a distinction between the two categories of slippers, especially from the degree of favorite and the degree of dissemination, the degree of retention.

Ancient slippers had the greatest impact on the ancient society, and are generally regarded as the main body of ancient slippers and the most representative slippers category, which is called clogs.

Clogs are slippers made of wood, the soles are made of wooden boards, and small round holes are cut out of the boards to tie on the straps, which will not fall off when you walk, and they have a very long history, which can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and there are still countries in the world that use this simple way of manufacturing. The clogs are still made in countries all over the world using this ancient method of manufacturing and simple materials for use, and the legacy has never been interrupted.

Other than that, straw shoes are made of various kinds of tough and unbreakable grasses, such as cattail and yellow grass, which are resistant to wear and moisture.

While grass shoes are simple to make, and the raw materials are cheap, which is often considered low-end nowadays, in fact, in the period of the Wei, Jin, and North and South Dynasties, such grass shoes were still popular among the aristocrats.

3. The cultural content of ancient slippers

The use of slippers by the ancients reflected the simple desire of the ancients to pursue a better life in the context of the small peasant economic production.

While it is true that the traditional culture of ancient China is profound and far-reaching, it is also undeniable that the level of productivity of the ancient society was indeed limited, especially for the lower class people.

In ancient feudal China, the ruling class occupied most of the productive resources of the society, and the people's life was relatively plain and simple and even suffered from oppression from time to time.

It is precisely for this reason that the lower class people still face life in a positive way, and the use of slippers reflects not only the higher standard of living of the upper class, but also the pursuit of a better life of the lower class people, who also longed for a convenient and stable life.

And in the pre-Qin period, when the productivity level was very low, slippers in the form of grass shoes and wooden clogs were produced.

While they could not jump out of the limitations of the productivity level, they were able to utilize their ingenuity to create a simple method of making slippers such as wooden clogs under the limited conditions and environment.

The discovery of tough, moisture-proof crops such as cattails and their use in production and life, and the use of unique drying and weaving techniques to weave cattails into thick threads, which were then woven into grass shoes, greatly reflected the wisdom of the ancient working people.

The impact of ancient slippers: the exchange between China and Japan

1. The impact on daily life Slippers were a daily necessity that provided convenience and comfort in daily life, and had an important impact on the daily life of the ancient people.

In ancient times, the nobles of the rich and powerful had the habit of changing slippers in the bedroom, which could be more convenient and keep the cleanliness of the room, and the usual bathing time, although the ancient people's bathing frequency is relatively small, but wearing shoes made of cloth or animal leather into and out of the room , the activities are always restricted. was always restricted.

In addition to this, slippers can also play a cooling effect. In the summer heat, especially in the southern region, clogs are cool and can provide a more comfortable living experience.

It has been written that Confucius wore clogs when he traveled around the world and lectured in the southern countries during the summer.

During the Han Dynasty, clogs became a daily necessity, and even during the Han Dynasty, when a woman got married, her mother's family would prepare a pair of delicate clogs as a dowry, which was meant to make the marriage go smoothly for the woman.

All in all, clogs are not formal enough, but they are a small ingenuity in daily life, and they were a kind of wealth for the ancients, which enhanced the quality of daily life.

2. Spread to Japan as a national necessity Japan is often considered the first country to produce slippers, mainly because to this day, Japan have retained the traditional custom of wearing kimonos with clogs and the clogs have retained a similar style of clogs to that of the ancient Chinese. The Japanese clogs are still made of wood, which is similar to the ancient Chinese style of clogs, still, and they have an ancient flavor.

In fact, clogs were used by the aristocracy during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, and were popularized among the people during the Han Dynasty.

Unlike many of the creations and inventions that characterized the rigid hierarchies of ancient Chinese society, clogs were not as strictly worn, and quality depended on one's ability to spend.

Although there are other types of slippers besides clogs, such as cattail, animal leather, and bushes, they are not as resistant to moisture as clogs. And the manufacturing process of wooden clogs is actually not difficult, and the principle is also very simple, which is why the clogs quickly spread to Japan after Japan took the initiative to come to the dynasty in ancient times, and the Tang Dynasty established a closer connection.

Besides clogs, straw shoes were also popular in Japan for a while, because they were made of cheaper raw materials and were lighter and more convenient than wooden clogs.

As for aesthetics, both clogs and grass shoes have a unique flavor. Straw shoes were the most popular in ancient China during the Wei, Jin, and North and South Dynasties, when the scholarly men liked to wear them, and they would also make decorations and markings on them, which can be said to reflect the beauty of small ingenuity in the simplicity of the clogs.