shoe culture

From the perspective of cultural history, shoes are an important part of human clothing culture. They were generally called "foot clothing" in ancient times. Shoes have made great contributions to promoting the reform and development of human clothing. They not only focus on practicality, but also have aesthetics. Decorative function; some shoes also represent signs of rank, etiquette norms, and deeply reflect the good wishes of people of all ages, with strong cultural connotations. From the perspective of the production process itself, shoes are also a kind of art, with high cultural value, historical value and artistic value, and are closely related to folklore, technology, aesthetics, archaeology and other subjects. It is a country, The manifestation of the nation’s material civilization and spiritual civilization. The development of Chinese shoes has gone through the process of starting from scratch, from simplicity to complexity, from roughness to refinement. It has a long history. From ancient times to the present, there have been many creations, not only in colorful styles, but also in terms of shape, color and technique. results. In order to better carry forward the national cultural tradition, learn, inherit and carry it forward, it is very meaningful to explore the history of my country's shoe culture.

In my country's Old Age, primitive humans used various simple stone tools to capture animals. After getting the animals, they would bring them to their caves and "eat their meat and use their skins." This was the ape-man period in history when they "rubbed their hair and drank their blood" and "eat the flesh of plants and trees, and clothed themselves with the skins of animals and birds." In order to not be affected and threatened by external climate conditions and ground conditions, they not only made animal skin clothing to resist the wind and cold, but also knew how to use animal skins to protect their feet, that is, simply wrap their feet with animal skins to protect them from the cold. The purpose of not getting stabbed.

In ancient times, human clothing was divided into head clothing, top clothing, bottom clothing and foot clothing. Footwear is the general term used by the ancients for shoes and socks. At that time, social productivity was extremely low, and textiles had not been invented. "If a woman does not weave, she will be clothed with the skins of beasts" (Han Fei's "Five Beetles"). According to expert research, human beings experienced the barefoot period and later invented shoes. In this colder area, the primitive people at that time used a small leather strip to wrap the whole piece of animal skin on their feet, which was actually a kind of animal skin socks. This is the earliest "foot clothing". It has a history of more than tens of thousands of years. Because it is used for foot binding, it is also known as "foot binding leather". It is inferred that it is the oldest primitive shoe and the original form of today's shoes.

Although no such "primitive shoes" have been found in our country, the archaeological relics unearthed reflect the images of boots worn by ancient residents, which provides us with vivid information for studying the cultural history of ancient China.

In the autumn of 1973, a pottery from the clan period was unearthed from a Majiayao-type tomb in Shangsunjiazhai, Shaodatong County, Qinghai Province, my country. It showed a person wearing shoes with the toes turned up. Shoe curling is one of the most typical features of ancient Chinese shoes. There are historical records that Chinese shoe curling began in the Pre-Qin Dynasty. Judging from the discovery of the above cultural relics, the origin of shoe curling can be earlier. The Majiayao culture belongs to the Neolithic Age. According to determination, its specific age is between 5,000 and 5,800 years ago, which is approximately equivalent to the era from Emperor Yan to Emperor Huang in Chinese legend, that is, the transition period from primitive society to slave society. So, how did primitive people gradually transition from "foot-wrapping leather" to shoes? What materials were the shoes and shoe collars worn at that time made of? Are they leather boots, straw sandals, clogs? What about the specific shape? We are still in a state of ignorance.

Shoes in the Pre-Qin Period As early as the Yangshao Culture Period, our people were already wearing trousers, trousers, or shoes. At that time, there was no obvious difference between men's and women's shoes. By the time of the Yin and Shang Dynasties, the etiquette system had been initially established, and there were various types of shoes, including leather, cotton, cloth and grass. According to "Records": "Xia and Shang's shoes are all made of leather." The 3,000-year-old leather boots unearthed from the Wubao Cemetery in Hami City are good proof. Its boots are 12.7 cm long and 9.4 cm wide. It consists of three parts: boot upper, boot sole and boot waist, which are sewn with thin leather strips. The uppermost part of the waist of the boot is about 19.5 cm from the bottom of the boot. The toe of the boot is upturned, and there is a copper buckle on it, on the heel, and on both sides of the boot.

The aristocrats of the Shang Dynasty wore embroidery or Wei Gebi under their belly and pointed shoes in the style of a boat with an upturned head, while the warriors of the Shang Dynasty wore leather shoes with thin soles and pointed tips. The Shang Dynasty jade figures unearthed from Anyang, Henan Province were also seen wearing shoes and had their shoes turned up. In fact, during the Yin and Shang Dynasties, people had mastered silk weaving technology, and silk fabrics and textiles were generally popular. At that time, in addition to leather shoes, various types of hemp shoes and silk shoes were commonly worn among the aristocratic class.

In the Zhou Dynasty, based on the Xia and Shang etiquette systems, the etiquette system was further comprehensively improved and the clothing system was more complete. At that time, from the emperor to the ministers, there were different levels of clothing, and there was also a special post of "Commissioner of Clothing" to be in charge of the implementation of clothing. Shoe decoration is an integral part of clothing, and it is also included in the scope of "ritual governance" and has become an indispensable form of expression in etiquette. It is recorded in "Zhou Li Tianguan" that the official in charge of shoes is called "妦人". He is responsible for the clothes of Zhengzi and the Queen. The types include red shoes, black shoes, plain shoes, Gewei, etc., except for In addition, there were also shoes, boots, shoes and other shapes at that time.

During the Zhou Dynasty, leather shoes were already popular. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, a pair of shoes sewn with leather was unearthed from the Chu Tomb in Changsha, Hunan Province. It is more than 2,000 years ago. This is the earliest leather shoe existing in my country. It uses simply tanned leather as the base and is sewn by hand with leather threads. The upper consists of three leather parts: front cover, front tip and rear tail. The toe box is square. The style is strapless.

Another pair of Western Zhou leather boots from the ancient tomb of Zhahongluk in the Tarim Basin is made entirely of leather. The shape of the shoe is clear and beautiful, with wrinkles on the toe. The whole shoe is carefully matched and sewn. This shows that the shoe design technology at that time was already at a high level. (See Figure 3) In the Zhou Dynasty, there was a distinction between "felt boots". "Zhou Li Tianguan Palm Skin" records: "The velvet hair of the emperor is sticky and is used to help." Felt boots generally refer to a kind of long boots made of wool felt in cold northern areas. Strong sex. The ground is light and warm when you step on it. In order to keep out the cold, there was also a unique type of legged leather boots. The leather boots were unearthed from the Warring States Tomb of Subeixi in the hinterland of Turpan. Full boots are made of leather and have a high tube shape. They are tightly put on woolen trousers and form an integrated form with knee pants, trousers and shoes. They are not only good for keeping warm, but also strong and durable, and can also wade in water.