Red skirts with wide sleeves, green shirts and white coats... Have you noticed that more and more people are wearing Hanfu in the streets and alleys today? This ancient costume is especially popular among young people. The beauty of clothing not only meets the needs of life and brings visual enjoyment, but its development also presents the characteristics of folk customs and culture of a period of time. How did ancient clothing develop and evolve? How did the ancients dye cloth and make clothes?
The name "Huaxia" is related to clothing
Hanfu is increasingly entering our lives. Some universities and communities have established Hanfu clubs; on e-commerce platforms, Hanfu has become a best-seller among young people; and various Hanfu shows are frequently reported in the press. The national style that has been passed down for thousands of years has become an element of the trend of the times.
Wearing Hanfu requires an understanding of traditional Chinese culture. In a sense, Hanfu enthusiasts assume a new role as disseminators of traditional Chinese culture the moment they wear Hanfu. Clothing is an important part of people's basic necessities of life. Where did Hanfu come from?
China has been called "Huaxia" since ancient times. The origin of this name is related to clothing. "Shang Shu Zhengyi" notes: "The crown of the crown is called Hua, and the great country is called Xia." Here, the beauty of hats and clothes is called Hua, and the country with a large population is called Xia. "Spring and Autumn Zuo Zhuan Zhengyi" says: "China has great etiquette, so it is called Xia; it has the beauty of rules and uniforms, so it is called Hua." It can be seen that the word Huaxia not only refers to the geographical level, but also the value of cultural deposits.
Hanfu, as the name suggests, is the traditional costume of the Han nation, also known as Han costume and Chinese costume. It is one of the oldest national costumes in the world. According to some ancient books, Hanfu "began from the Yellow Emperor and was prepared by Yao and Shun". It originated from the crown uniform worn by the Yellow Emperor, was finalized in the Zhou Dynasty, and formed a complete crown clothing system in the Han Dynasty.
In ancient times, clothing was not just for clothes, but also included a complete etiquette system including clothes, crowns, hairstyles, shoes, etc. The overall style of Han nationality's traditional costumes tends to be dignified, simple and elegant. Its basic features are crossed collars, right gussets, waistbands, and tied with ropes, which often give people a free and elegant impression. The so-called "cross collar" means that the left and right fronts of the clothes overlap and the two sides intersect to form a collar; "right lapels" means that the left side of the top front is long and the right side is short, and the front of the clothes is covered to the right. The birth of this costume embodies the national character and life realm of the ancient Chinese who were calm, generous and benevolent, and had no fight with the world. To a certain extent, it also reflects the ancient world view of the unity of nature and man.
"Common clothes" originate from the kudzu grown in the mountains
As an important carrier of Chinese civilization, clothing has been reflected in the poetry and songs of the past dynasties. There are even more clues in the "Book of Songs", the earliest collection of poems in my country. According to statistics, among the more than 300 chapters in the Book of Songs, more than 60 contain descriptions of clothing, from which we can also get a glimpse of the material, color and charm of Han clothing in the pre-Qin period.
Hanfu enthusiasts call each other "Tongpao", which is also related to the Book of Songs. There is an article in "Qin Feng·Wu Yi" that says: "How can we say Wu Yi? We share the same robe with the disciples." The "robe" mentioned here reveals the Han clothing at that time.The material is a long coat filled with linen. Linen clothes were the mainstream of Hanfu at that time.
The chapter "Zhou Nan Ge Tan" in "The Book of Songs" vividly records the process of making clothes at that time. At that time, the kudzu growing all over the mountains and plains was an inexhaustible source of clothing for people. Kudzu is a herbaceous plant. Its stems can be used to make ropes and its fibers can be used to weave kudzu cloth. It can be seen from the poem that the production technology at that time was relatively simple. People collected kudzu grass, vine branches, etc. from the mountains and soaked them in the flowing river water. The fibers can be woven into fine cloth to make close-fitting clothes; the coarse fibers can be woven into coarse cloth to make coats, which are thick and wear-resistant.
According to records, in the pre-Qin period, kudzu, fur, silk, etc. were the main clothing materials. Ge Duo was used by common people to make clothes. Common people who used linen as the main clothing material were called "commoners". Fur, silk, etc. were mostly used by princes and nobles. Animal fur is one of the earliest clothing materials used by humans. "The Book of Songs·Qin Feng·Zhongnan" records: "A gentleman wears brocade and fox fur." In other pre-Qin documents, there are also sheep, foxes, tigers, wolves, black There are records of mink and other furs being used as fur clothing or clothing.
In "The Book of Songs", there are as many as forty or fifty articles related to silkworm production, mulberry, silk, etc., which shows the status of silkworm rearing at that time. According to legend, the sericulture technology was invented by Leizu, the concubine of the Yellow Emperor, and archaeological discoveries also support this statement. After the founding of New China, archaeologists discovered silk pieces dating back thousands of years at the Qianshanyang site in Zhejiang; and an urn coffin with traces of silk was found at the Qingtai site in Xingyang, Henan. These discoveries all show that Chinese ancestors used silk to weave ropes and weave cloth very early.
"Green clothes and yellow clothes" all depend on dyeing
During the Spring and Autumn Period, ancient costumes already had "green clothes and yellow clothes", and clothes had colors. The dyeing process has reached a relatively high level.
The poem "Green Zijin, lingering in my heart" in "The Book of Songs" talks about cross-collars and green tops; poems such as "Only clothes and scarves" and "Only clothes are like filters" can also be seen in the clothes. Multicolor. Jian refers to white silk, and Qijin refers to a light green skirt. It is a hemp plant that can be dyed red. At that time, clothing appeared in many colors such as red, yellow, blue, green, white, etc. Among them, the nobles especially advocated vermilion.
Many poems in "The Book of Songs" mention dye plants, including zhe, indigo, green, phoenix, etc. For example, "昘" mentioned in "Daya·Huangyi" refers to yellow mulberry, which can be used as a yellow dye to make yellow clothes. "Xiaoya · Picking Green" says: "If you pick green in the end, you won't be able to get a single straw... If you pick blue in the end, you won't get a straw..." "Green" here is synonymous with "艉", which is a kind of herbaceous plant. , can be used to make yellow dye. And "blue" is also a kind of herbaceous plant, referring to polygonum indigo, etc., which can be used to make cyan blue dye.
“Under ancient technical conditions, blue was easy to dye.” Shi Jun, a member of the Scientific Squirrel Society and a doctor of botany, said that there are many blue raw materials, mainly including woad, polygonum, etc. "Shuowen Jiezi" has a description: "Blue, dyed green grass. "This refers to woad, a clothing dye at that time. Woad is the collective name for cabbage vegetables in ancient Chinese. Oil cabbage and Chinese cabbage are both within the scope of "woad". Woad is more suitable for planting in the north, so it is also called It is called "Northern Isatis Root". The flowers of Polygonum indica are like bunches of small flowers of "Stigma". The number of its cultivation is much lower than that of Woad, and there are not many opportunities to appear in China.
As early as the Zhou Dynasty, clothes were not only used to protect against cold and warmth, but were also given special political and ceremonial functions, from which we can see the "image of the thoughts" of our ancestors.
People have special requirements for clothing on special occasions. For example, in formal occasions, nobles wear clothing corresponding to their status to show their status and express respect for each other. It is described in "The Book of Songs·Xiaoya·Cai Shu". The scene where the emperor rewards the princes - "What should I do with it?" Xuangun and Fu. "Xuangun" refers to a dress embroidered with black dragon patterns, and "黼" refers to a dress with black and white patterns. At that time, "Pi Bianfu" was also the earliest court dress in ancient times. This kind of court dress was generally made of animal skins. , often decorated with animal bones and jade. "缁衣" is also a kind of court dress made of black silk in ancient times.
Inheriting the culture of clothing is not just retro
Before the Qin Dynasty, the "deep clothing" Hanfu system was formed. After that, each dynasty formed its own style of clothing according to the characteristics of the times and society.
During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Hanfu did not deviate from its original style. On the basis of characteristics, many bright floral patterns can be seen in women's clothing, the artistic style is strong, and the clothing is more gorgeous. In the Song Dynasty, simplicity, freshness and simplicity were not enforced, and the folk dress system was still used. Han clothing is the main one, but Mongolian clothing and Han clothing showed a trend of influence. During the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the world to "reproduce the clothing system as it was in the Tang and Song Dynasties", restoring the tradition of Han clothing, and the Qing Dynasty implemented more varied clothing styles. With the policy of changing clothes, the tradition of Hanfu was forced to end.
In the Republic of China, the government issued a law on cutting braids and changing clothes. Influenced by the international trend at that time, the clothing culture of all ethnic groups gradually recovered. , Chinese and Western cheongsams and Chinese tunic suits are all the rage. In recent years, my country’s economy and culture have developed rapidly, and its international status has gradually improved. Chinese style has become a leading fashion trend, and Hanfu has entered ordinary life and even gone abroad.
Many experts pointed out that wearing Hanfu does not mean inheriting traditional Chinese culture. Our understanding of Hanfu and related cultures cannot be superficial and become a retro form. As "Hanfu lovers", we appreciate the elegant, free and smart aesthetics of Hanfu. On the basis of this, we should also deeply explore its cultural connotation and explore the traditional Eastern thoughts and virtues such as the unity of man and nature and tolerance of all things. While spreading the Hanfu culture, we should also promote the spirit of ancient craftsmen and combine it with the characteristics of the new era. The new connotation of Hanfu.
