Horse-faced skirt, also known as "horse-faced pleated skirt", is one of the main skirt styles for women in ancient China. There are four skirt doors at the front, back and outside, two of which overlap. The outer skirt door is decorated, and the inner skirt door has less or no decoration. , the horse-faced skirt is pleated on the sides, and the waist of the skirt is mostly made of white cloth, which means growing old together, and is tied with ropes or buttons.
The word "horse face" first appeared in "History of the Ming Palace": "The drag strip has a continuous back collar, and there are swings on the sides, the front collar has two sections, and there are horse face pleats underneath, rising to both sides." But. The history of horse-faced skirts can be traced back to the Song Dynasty, because skirts in the Song Dynasty already had the shape of horse-faced skirts.
The spiral skirt is a functional "crotch-opening skirt" designed for women in the Song Dynasty to facilitate riding donkeys. Meng Hui said in "Slit Skirt": "This kind of Song skirt is composed of two pieces of skirt with equal area and independent of each other. When making the skirt, the two skirt pieces are partially superimposed together and then sewn. Connected to the waist of the skirt. Some unearthed cultural relics also have clues about the horse-faced skirt. For example, a statue of a maid from the Song Dynasty in the painted pottery of Jinci Temple in Shanxi has the shadow of the horse-faced skirt.
The spiral skirt of the Song Dynasty developed into the Ming Dynasty, and the horse-faced skirt gradually formed. During the Chenghua period of the Ming Dynasty, people in the capital liked horse-faced skirts. From the mother of a country to the common people, everyone wears horse-faced skirts. It's just that the texture, decoration and color of horse-faced skirts are strictly different among different classes. It's just that there was no name for "horse-faced skirt" at this time. The skirt was simple and unshaped, with beautiful colors, and the overall feeling was fresh and elegant.
The horse-faced skirt of the Qing Dynasty inherited the Ming Dynasty skirt style and gradually developed into the daily wear of Han women in the Qing Dynasty through further evolution, becoming the iconic skirt style of Qing Dynasty women. Horse-faced skirts developed the fastest in the Qing Dynasty, forming a unique decorative structural style, which was the basic shape of skirts in the Qing Dynasty.
Horse-faced skirt is the most typical style of women's clothing in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Its style has gone through a series of changes from the fresh and elegant in the Ming Dynasty to the gorgeous and rich in the Qing Dynasty, to the beauty and simplicity of the Republic of China. However, its "horse-faced skirt" “The structure has always been ingrained.
The design and production of horse-faced skirts require a delicate weaving and embroidery process. Generally speaking, it consists of three parts: top, skirt and trousers. Tops are usually designed to be tight-fitting and can highlight a woman's curves. The hem of the skirt is loose and draped, contrasting with the top. Pants are designed for ease of movement and can be hidden under skirts. The entire garment is usually made from high-quality fabrics such as silk and decorated with exquisite hand embroidery. These embroideries usually include various traditional patterns such as flowers and birds, cloud patterns and auspicious clouds, showing the unique charm of ancient Chinese culture.
As a representative of traditional Chinese clothing, the horse-faced skirt carries rich historical and cultural connotations. Through protection, inheritance and innovation, we can pass on the horse-faced skirt as a traditional costume to future generations and give it new vitality in modern society. Whether in specialWhether on special occasions or in daily life, horse-faced skirts are one of the important elements that show the charm of traditional Chinese culture. Let us work together to protect, inherit and promote Chinese traditional costumes, so that this treasure can continue to shine on the world stage.
