Awareness of Chinese dress culture

Chinese dress

Chinese dress has a long history, from the primitive society, the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period, the Qin and Han Dynasties, the Wei and Jin dynasties, the Sui and Tang dynasties, the Song and Liao dynasties, the Jin and Yuan dynasties, the Ming and Qing dynasties, and the modern times, all with distinctive features for the world to see.

Primitive social clothing

The Warring States period people wrote "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals", "Shiben" and a little later, "Huainan Zi" mentioned that the Yellow Emperor, Hu Cao, or Buru Yu created the clothes. From the examination of excavated artifacts, the origin of the history of clothing can be traced back to the late Paleolithic period of primitive society. At the site of Shanding Caveman (about 19,000 years old) in Zhoukoudian, Beijing, one bone needle and 141 pieces of drilled stone, bone, shell and tooth ornaments were found. It was confirmed that simple clothes could be sewn with natural materials such as animal skins at that time. This is the beginning of the history of Chinese dress culture.

About 10,000 years ago, into the Neolithic era, the invention of textile technology, clothing materials from the artificially woven cloth and silk, clothing changes in the form of function has been improved. The cloak-style clothes such as the Guanhou clothes and the Phi Shan clothes have become the typical clothes, ornaments are also becoming more and more complex, and has a significant impact on the formation of the dress system. After the emergence of textiles, the through the head clothing has developed into a stereotypical clothing style, in a fairly long period of time, a very wide range of regions and more ethnic groups in the general application, basically replacing the Paleolithic parts of the clothing, as the human clothing of the crude type. In addition to the Neolithic Age, there is a generalized type of clothing, but also from some ceramic sculpture relics found to have a crown, boots, headdresses, pendants.

Shang Zhou clothing

From the Shang Dynasty to the Western Zhou , is to distinguish between the hierarchy of the upper garment under the clothing system and the crown and clothing system as well as the service chapter system gradually established period. Shang Dynasty clothing materials are mainly leather, leather, silk, hemp. Due to the progress of textile technology, silk and linen fabrics have played an important role. Shang Dynasty people have been able to fine weaving very thin silk, jacquard geometric pattern brocade, qi, and twisted loom of the Luo yarn. Clothing with thick colors.

Western Zhou Dynasty, the gradual establishment of the hierarchy, the Zhou Dynasty set up a "Division Clothing", "within the Division Clothing" official position, in charge of the royal family dress. According to documentary records and excavated artifacts analysis, China's crown system, initially established in the Xia and Shang Dynasties, to the Zhou Dynasty has been complete and perfect, the Spring and Autumn and the Warring States period was incorporated into the rule of etiquette. Royal officials to show dignity and majesty, in different ceremonial occasions, the top of the crown should be both coronet order, wearing clothes with clothes must also use different forms, colors and patterns. From the Zhou Dynasty unearthed humanoid artifacts, clothing decorations, although different, but the upper garment under the clothing has been clearly defined, laid the basic form of Chinese clothing .

Spring and Autumn and Warring States period dress

Spring and Autumn and Warring States period of weaving and embroidery technology of the great progress, so that the dress material is increasingly fine, varieties of names are increasingly numerous. The flower brocade of Xiangyi in Henan Province, and the ice dandy, qi, yiwu and wen embroidery of Qilu in Shandong Province were popular all over the country. The spread of craftsmanship, so that a variety of exquisite clothing and costumes stand out. Spring and Autumn and Warring States period, not only the princes and lords themselves a gorgeous dress, from the ministers are also the Secretary of the foot decorated with pearls and guillotines, waist gold and jade, clothing, fur, crown and shoes, all for the noble. Ancient people wore jade, respect for the inferiority and superiority, and endowed with personality symbols. Influence, the upper class people, both men and women, must wear a few pieces or groups of beautiful carved jade. Sword, is the new weapon, the nobles to show courage and self-defense, and must wear a gold embedded jade sword. Leather belt around the waist is also popular with a variety of hooks, compete with each other. Men's and women's hats, more striking, delicate with thin as cicada wing gauze, precious with gold and jade; shape, such as overlay cup on the shrug. Shoes, mostly made of small deerskin, or with silk, fine grass woven; winter leather jacket extremely heavy white fox fur, worth thousands of dollars. Women love to use fur set in the cuffs of the edge of the garment made of front, and half of the thin brocade gloves with exposed fingers, all exceptionally beautiful. Spring and Autumn and Warring States period of clothing, the upper class characters of the broad, the lower class of the narrow, has become very different. The deep clothes, which meant to hide the body y, were the casual clothes for the scholarly class at home and the dresses for the common people, and were common to both men and women. In 307 B.C., King Wuling of Zhao issued the Qin-Han dress order for the implementation of hu clothes for riding and shooting, which facilitated the riding and shooting activities. During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods, clothing styles were unprecedentedly rich and varied, not only in the deep clothes and hu clothes. The musicians wore wind hoods, the dancers had sleeves as long as several feet, and some people often wore scops' horns or magpie-tailed crowns, small-sleeved long dresses, and undergarments with oblique arm folds. These are all related to the colorful social life.

Qin and Han costumes

This period was richer than the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods, and the deep clothes also got new development. Particularly in the Han Dynasty, with the establishment of the public opinion clothing system, the dress of the official rank hierarchical distinction is also more stringent. The fabrics of Qin and Han clothing were still heavily embroidered. Embroidery patterns mostly have mountain clouds, birds and animals or vine plant patterns, brocade has a variety of complex geometric diamond pattern, as well as weaving text through the width of the pattern. Western Han Dynasty Jianyuan three years (138 BC), Yuanhao four years (119 BC), Zhang Qian was ordered to make two missions to the Western Regions, opened up China and the Western countries of the land route, thousands of silk source out of the country, through the Wei, Jin, Sui and Tang Dynasty, has not been interrupted, known as the Silk Road. As a result, Chinese dress culture spread to the world. Since the Qin and Han, deep clothes have some development and change. From the upper level of society in the Eastern Han Dynasty, the robes of the general cut were transferred to the institutionalization. The Qin Dynasty clothing system was not very different from that of the Warring States period, keeping the basic shape of the deep clothes. Western Han men's and women's clothing, still following the form of deep clothing. Regardless of single, Mian, more than the upper garment and the lower garment cut and sewn together as a whole, the upper and lower still do not pass the sewing, do not pass the width; outerwear inside the middle garment and underwear, the leader of the edge of the exposed, and become a stereotyped suits. Underneath, they wore tight-fitting pants, maintaining the style of the "praiseworthy coat and skirt". The feet were made of manifold footwear. The belt was tied around the waist.

Qin Dynasty clothing system, the color of clothing is still black. In the Han Dynasty, there was a mikoshi system. There were more than 20 kinds of dresses, court dresses and regular dresses for the emperor and his ministers. The difference in the level of dress has been very obvious. Mainly in: ① crown on the basis of inheritance of the old system, the development of the basic mark of differentiation of rank; ② cord system established as a mark of differentiation of rank.

Wei-Jin and the North and South Dynasties dress

Wei-Jin and the North and South Dynasties period, the hierarchical dress has changed, the national costume is greatly intermingled. Crowns and hats have been mostly used by the literati used instead of scarves, there are folded horns scarf, rhombus scarf, purple spandex scarf, white spandex scarf and so on. At the beginning of the Wei Dynasty, Emperor Cao Pi formulated the system of nine official positions, "to purple scarlet and green colors for the difference between the nine grades". This system has been followed by successive generations and used until the Yuan and Ming. Jin Dynasty, in addition to the first dress for the community to follow, there are official men also wear a small crown, and the crown and then add a hat called the lacquer yarn cage crown, this is the system of the two Han warriors, the transmission of the transmission, not only for the male officials, and spread to the people and men and women in general.

North and South Dynasties, northern minorities dominated the Central Plains, people living in the wrong place, political, economic, cultural customs penetrate each other, the formation of a great integration situation, the dress is also changed and developed. The short hakama of the northern ethnic groups gradually became the mainstream, and could be worn by both men and women, regardless of their status. Women's clothing was "thrifty on top and plentiful on the bottom". From the end of the Eastern Jin Dynasty to the Qi Dynasty and Liang Dynasty, the dress was a jacket-skirt suit, originally from the Han Dynasty, and in the Jin Dynasty, it was characterized by a short upper garment and a wide lower skirt. The footwear was popularized by the use of wutou shoes and high-toothed shoes (a kind of lacquered wooden clogs). On the other hand, ethnic minorities were influenced by the Han Dynasty's rules and etiquette and wore Han clothing. After the Northern Wei Dynasty moved its capital to Luoyang in the 18th year of the reign of Emperor Taihe (494), Emperor Xiaowen of Wei carried out the policy of Chineseization, changed the surname of Tuoba, and led the "ministers to wear the clothes of the Han and Wei Dynasties". The original Xianbei people wearing small-sleeved clothes with collars this reform of the old custom, known as the Xiaowen reform, so that since the Qin and Han Dynasty, the old system of crowns and costumes to continue to promote the development of Chinese dress culture.

Sui-Tang costumes

Sui-Tang period, China by the division and unification, by the war and stability, economic and cultural prosperity, the development of clothing, whether the material or clothing style, are showing an unprecedented scene of splendor. Color brocade, is a variety of colors are ready to weave all kinds of patterned silk, commonly used for half-arm and collar edge clothing. Special Palace brocade, patterned with pheasants, fighting sheep, phoenix, swim scales of the shape, chapter color gorgeous. Embroidery, five-color embroidery and gold and silver thread embroidery. Printing and dyeing patterns, multi-color overdyeing and monochrome dyeing. Sui and Tang Dynasty men's crown clothing is mainly characterized by upper-class figures wearing robes, officials wear turban, people wearing short shirts. Until the Five Dynasties, there was little change. The official clothes of the Son of Heaven and the hundred officials used colors to distinguish their ranks and patterns to indicate their official ranks. Sui and Tang Dynasty women's clothing is rich in fashion, often by the competition for the court women's clothing development to the folk, were copied, and often by the Northwest ethnic influences and distinctive. The most fashionable women's clothing in the Sui and Tang dynasties is 襦裙, that is, a short blouse with a long skirt, skirt waist with a silk belt high tie, almost and armpits.

Sui-Tang women were well dressed. From the court spread " half-arm ", has not failed, and later men also wore. At that time also popular long scarf, the Department of silver flowers or gold and silver powder painted flowers made of tulle Luo, one end fixed in the half-arm of the chest strap, and then draped over the shoulder, twisted between the arms, called Phi Pali. Tang Dynasty women's hair ornaments are diverse, each with a special name. Women's shoes are generally flower shoes, mostly made of embroidered fabrics, colored silk, leather. Tang people are good at integrating the Northwest ethnic minorities and Tianzhu, Persia and other foreign cultures, the Tang Zhenguan to the Kaiyuan years very popular hu clothing new clothes.

Song, Liao, Xia, Jin and Yuan costumes

Song dynasty basically retained the style of Han Chinese clothing, Liao, Xixia, Jin and Yuan dynasty costumes with the Qidan, Danghou, female and Mongolian national characteristics. The costumes of the various ethnic groups were once again exchanged and fused.

The Song Dynasty clothing has three styles, namely, official clothes, casual clothes and old people's clothes. Song dynasty official clothing fabric to Luo-based, the government because of the old system of the five generations, every year to give the pro-government ministers brocade robe material, divided into seven Song dynasty vulture ball pattern brocade robes and other different colors. The official uniform color follows the Tang system, more than three products service purple, more than five products service Zhu, more than seven products service green, more than nine products service green. The official uniforms are roughly similar to the late Tang's long-sleeved robes, but the first clothes (crowns and hats, etc.) have been flat-winged silk hats, the name of straight-footed 幞幞檚头, and the officials and ministers are all wearing them, and they have become the customized ones. Song dynasty official uniforms and inherited the Tang dynasty chapter clothing of the fish system, qualified to wear purple, scarlet uniforms of officials are required to wear at the waist "fish bag", the bag contains gold, silver, copper made of fish, in order to distinguish between the official grade. The "square heart" is also a feature of the court dress, that is, the court dress collar set on the round below the ornaments. Song dynasty officials public service, uniforms outside the daily civilian clothes, mainly small-sleeved round neck shirt and cap with downward soft winged turban, still Tang style, the foot but changed to more convenient for the usual living in casual shoes. The representative clothing of the Song dynasty relics was a wide-fitting robe with a collar and large sleeves, and a Dongpo scarf. The robe is edged with dark-colored material to preserve the ancient style. Dongpo scarf for the square tube-shaped high scarf, rumored to be a great writer Su Dongpo created, the revival of the ancient scarf, the Ming Dynasty, the elderly gentry also often wear with.

Song dynasty folk first clothing also have all kinds of popularity. Men popular turban, scarf, women are popular flower crowns and cover the head. Women's hair and flower crowns, is the focus of the pursuit of beauty at that time, the most expressive of the changes in the Song Dynasty attire. Tang and the Five Dynasties of women's flower crown has become increasingly dangerous, the Song Dynasty flower crowns plus the development of changes, usually in the form of flower and bird hairpin hairpin comb grate inserted in the bun above, there is no wonder.

Liao, Xixia, Jin for the ancient Chinese Khitan, Danghang, the Jin dynasty, respectively, the establishment of the regime, the dress reflects the long-term cultural exchanges with the Han Chinese people, each carry forward the development of national traditions of the trajectory. Women of the Danghang ethnic group mostly wore Hu clothes with turned-up collars, and the embroidery between the collars was exquisite. Khitan, the female Genocide generally wear narrow-sleeved round-necked knee-length coat, foot with long boots, suitable for immediate combat hunting; women wear narrow-sleeved cross-collar robes, long Qi foot back, are obeisance, is the opposite of the Han people, used to wear the fishing dun to the mainland had been widely popular.

The Liao and Jin regimes, taking into account the reality of mixed *** existence with the Han, have set up a "South official" system to rule the Han people within the Han, Han officials using the old system of official uniforms of the Tang and Song dynasties. Liao Dynasty to silk official clothing on the landscape birds and animals embroidered patterns to distinguish between officials, affecting the Ming and Qing official clothing grade identification, the Jin Dynasty to official clothing on the size of the flower pattern set the inferiority and superiority, the lowest grade with no pattern or small diamond pattern of sesame seed Luo. The Khitan, the female genitalia men's clothing because of ease of action, also adopted for the Han people.

The Yuan Dynasty in the first year of the Yanwu (1314), the reference to the ancient and modern Mongolian and Chinese clothing system, on the upper and lower officials and the people of the uniform provisions of the service color. Han officials still more for the Tang-style round-necked clothes and turban; Mongolian officials are wearing a collar, wearing a four-sided corrugated hat; the lower and middle layers to facilitate the horse, the most fashionable waist pleats braided line jacket (round-necked tight-sleeved robes, wide hem, folded pleats, braided line around the waist), wearing a hat.

The Yuan Dynasty textiles have Nashi Yagin Jin Jin, Hun Jin Hitchhiker, Jin Duanzi, Tuluo Jin, three pronged Luo, big damask, small damask, south silk, north silk, wood brocade cloth, Fan Jin Cloth ...... all kinds of names. Yuan dynasty held more than 10 times a year, when thousands of officials wore the same color, style and decorative nashi yagi gold brocade jewels of high-level dress, known as the quality of the Sun clothing, waste for the past few dynasties. This style of clothing to the Ming Dynasty but was used as an errand boy clothing.

Ming and Qing costumes

The Ming Dynasty to Han traditional clothing as the main body, the Qing Dynasty to Manchu clothing for the majority. And the two generations of the upper and lower classes of society's clothing have obvious levels. Upper class official clothing is a symbol of power, has always been the importance of the ruling class. Since the Tang and Song dynasties, the dragon robe and yellow color has been used exclusively for the royal family. Since the North and South Dynasties, the purple color has been the most expensive. Ming dynasty because of the emperor's last name Zhu, so Zhu for the right color, but also because of the "Analects" has "evil purple to take Zhu also", purple from the official uniforms in the abolition of the use. The most distinctive feature is the use of "patch" to indicate the grade. Patch is a piece of silk about 40 to 50 centimeters square, embroidery on different patterns, and then sewed to the official clothes, chest and back one. Civilian officials with birds, military officials with beasts, each divided into nine classes. Usually wear a round neck robe with clothes length and sleeve size to distinguish identity, the older for the honor. The main first dress of the Ming Dynasty officials followed the Song and Yuan turban and slightly different. The emperor wore a turban with the wings of the hat raised from the back. Officials wore a winged lacquered turban for court dress and a black hat for regular dress. By the granting of the official wife, mother, there are also patterns, decorations to distinguish the level of the red big-sleeved dress and various types of Xia Phi. In addition, the upper class women have been wearing high-heeled shoes, and there are in the high bottom, outside the high bottom of the points. Ming Dynasty common people's clothing or long, or short, or shirt, or skirt, basically inherited the old traditions, and the variety is very rich. Dress with color, civilian wives and daughters can only dress purple, green, peach and other colors, so as not to mix with the official color; working masses are only allowed to use brown. General cap, in addition to the old since the Tang and Song dynasty is still popular, Zhu Yuanzhang personally formulated two kinds, issued by the nation, the general public. One is a square barrel-shaped black lacquer gauze cap, called the four sides of the Ping Ding scarf; one is a hemispherical cap synthesized by six pieces, called the six unity cap, meaning the four seas, the world to one. The latter has been passed down, commonly known as melon hat, the Department of black velvet, satin and other made.

The Qing dynasty, the violent implementation of shaved hair and easy to dress, according to the custom of the Manchu unified men's clothing. Shunzhi nine years (1652), the "dress color shoulder ordinance" promulgated, since the abolition of the strong Han national colors of the crown clothing. In the Ming Dynasty, all men stored their hair in buns, wore loose-fitting clothes, stockings and shallow shoes; in the Qing Dynasty, they shaved their hair and left their braids behind their heads, and wore thin horseshoe-sleeved argyle clothes, tight socks and deep boots. But the government and the people dress according to the law is clearly distinguishable.

The main varieties of official dress in the Qing Dynasty for the robe and waistcoat. The official hat and the previous dynasty is very different, where the sergeant, the difference above the military and political personnel are wearing like a bucket hat and small latitude cap, according to the winter and summer seasons have a warm hat, cool hat points, but also depending on the level of grade on different colors, materials, "top", after the cap drag a bunch of peacock plume. Plume called plume, senior plume on the "eye" (feathers on the round spots), and have a single eye, double eyes, three eyes of the difference, more eyes for the noble, only Prince or meritorious ministers are rewarded to wear. The emperor sometimes also rewarded wearing a yellow coat, to show special favor. Influence, other colors of the waistcoat in the officials and gentry gradually popular, become a general dress. Four, five or more officials also hanging beads, with a variety of precious jewels, made of incense wood, constituting another feature of the official dress of the Qing Dynasty. Silk spinning, embroidery and dyeing and a variety of handmade professional progress, for the Qing Dynasty dress varieties created conditions for the richness.

Women's clothing in the Qing Dynasty, Han, Manchu development is different. Han women in the Kangxi and Yongzheng period also retained the Ming Dynasty style, fashionable small-sleeved clothes and long skirts; after the Qianlong period, the clothes are gradually fat and short, wide cuffs, and then add the cloud shoulder, the pattern of renovation can not be stopped; to the late Qing Dynasty, urban women have gone to the skirt with pants, clothes set lace, rolling teeth, a coat of the expensive most of the money spent on this. Manchu women wearing "flag dress", comb flag bun (commonly known as two head), wearing "flower pot bottom" flag shoes. As for the later generations of the so-called cheongsam, long-term mainly for the court and the royal family. In the late Qing Dynasty, the cheongsam was also copied by Han Chinese noblewomen.

Modern dress (since 1912)

The Xinhai Revolution put an end to more than 2,000 years of feudal monarchy, and the dress of the Chinese nation entered a new era.

Before that, reformist Kang Youwei in 1894 and Foreign Minister Wu Tingfang in the early years of the Xuantong era had written petitions to reform the system and style of dress, and Chinese students had switched to wearing suits. With the strengthening of Sino-foreign exchanges, the colorful costumes finally overcame the hierarchy of clothes and crowns. Traditional robes, shirts, jackets, pants, skirts more and more to accept the influence of Western dress, and was replaced by many new varieties of new styles. ①Men's clothing. In the early years of the Republic of China, there was a parallel situation of suits and robes and coats. Wearing a suit with a bowler hat is considered the most solemn dress. 20s around the appearance of Zhongshan suit, gradually popularized in the city. The majority of rural areas have been using the traditional jacket and pants, wearing a felt hat or bucket hat, with the feet of the family sewing cloth shoes. Women's clothing. The Xinhai Revolution brought diversification, a jacket and pants, and more with a jacket and skirt suit. 20 years, women love cheongsam, cheongsam gradually become fashionable and not decline.

After the establishment of the Chinese People's **** and the State, the dress advocate simple and practical. 50 ~ 70 years, the Zhongshan suit gradually become the main clothing for men, in addition to the popular military casual wear, people's clothing; women's clothing by the Soviet Union, dresses are popular in the city, in addition to the popularity of the Lenin outfit. But in the countryside, the top and bottom of the pants has been the traditional attire of most peasants. 1978, China implemented the reform and opening-up policy, reflecting the spirit of the times, with the Chinese national characteristics of the dress as a spring-like development, a new look.