Changes in the Customs of Clothing, Food, Housing and Transportation in the Song Dynasty

Changes in Clothing, Food, Housing and Transportation and Other Customs

1. Clothing: short clothes with small sleeves and narrow body; women's foot binding. This can be seen in the Qingming Shanghe Tu of the Song Dynasty.

First, the historical changes in the characteristics of Song clothing, from simplicity in the early years of the dynasty to extravagance at the end of the dynasty, indicate, on the one hand, socio-economic development and, on the other hand, the growing decadence of the ruling class.

Secondly, the influence of ethnic minorities was clearly reflected in the costumes of the Song Dynasty, Zhu Xi said, "The clothes of the present world, most of them are all Hu clothes, such as the upper collar shirt, boots and shoes, and so on, and the first king's crowns and clothes swept away to the end of the world." This is the result of a long history of ethnic interaction and national integration, so that students realize that cultural exchanges between ethnic groups play a role in enriching people's material and cultural life.

Thirdly, the emergence of the foot-binding custom in the Song Dynasty shows the decadence of the values of the ruling class and the low status of women at that time.

2. Food: the north was dominated by noodles, the south by rice; meat in the northern Song dynasty was mostly mutton, while fish was eaten in the southern Song dynasty; it illustrates the difference between the dietary customs of the north and the south and the influence of the ethnic minorities on the dietary habits of the Central Plains.

3. Dwelling: thatched huts, tiled houses, mansions. The difference between urban and rural housing.

4. Transportation: ox carts, donkey carts; sedan chair, donkey and mule riding. The main means of transportation in the Song Dynasty, people of different social status in the use of transportation.