Changes of wedding dresses from ancient times to the present.

I. Historical origin

In the Paleolithic Age, before the emergence of agriculture and animal husbandry, human beings lived a primitive life. At that time, the so-called "clothes" were nothing more than the fur of wild animals obtained by hunting and the leaves and grass collected. However, in the late Paleolithic period, the situation changed, and the development history of ancient Chinese clothing is described as follows:

Table 1: the development of ancient Chinese clothing

age

Clothing development

Discover or record.

Early paleolithic period

hide

"Book of Rites": "In the past, the king had a palace and lived in a camp in winter. He doesn't cremate, eats the flesh of plants and animals, drinks their blood, looks like their hair and wears their feathers. 」

Late paleolithic period

Sew clothes with bone needles

Beijing Zhoukoudian Neanderthal Site. (The beginning of China's costume culture history)

Neolithic Age

Gemabu

Tomb of Peacock River in Loulan, Xinjiang

Neolithic Age

silk

Yangshao Cultural Site in Yin Xi Village, Shaanxi Province and Qianshanyang Cultural Site in Zhejiang Province.

Source: According to the contents of this book, Lu compiled his own table.

Second, the composition of China clothing

Any kind of clothing is composed of style, material and color. The difference between civilian clothing and aristocratic clothing is reflected in these aspects. Therefore, if you want to understand civilian clothing, you must first understand the basic situation of these aspects.

Table 2: Composition of Clothing in China

Constitutive form

kind

Explanation or characteristic

Take advantage of dynasties and occasions

Style [1]

collar

The tail of clothing, close to people's face, is the key part of clothing. As far as modeling is concerned, there are square collar, cross collar, curved collar, round neck, oblique collar and straight collar.

Fang Ling: Deep Clothing in Pre-Qin and Confucian Clothing in Han Dynasty

Oblique collar: A monk and hermit in the Tang Dynasty.

Curved collar: the household clothes of ordinary people

Front of clothes

Open intersection of clothes

Shang and Zhou Dynasties

sleeve

Where clothing is sold, the change of clothing style is often determined by the purpose of the clothing itself.

Farmer and Woodcutter: small sleeve.

Noble: big sleeves

Knight archer: quiver

Dancer: Long sleeves.

Clothing edging

The hem or lower back of a garment depends on the style of the garment, including straight, curved, swallow and long.

Qu Qu: The Age of Qin Shihuang

Straight Luan and Yan Luan: Women's Wear in Early Han Dynasty

Longzhai: Han, Wei and Six Dynasties

Material [2]

Ge Ma [3]

Stiff, cool and hygroscopic.

Neolithic Age

Silk [4]

Clear, smooth, elegant and gorgeous

Yinxu Site in Anyang, Henan Province

cotton

Smooth and breathable

Han Wei

fur

Thick texture, mostly used as winter clothes.

Shang and Zhou Dynasties

woollens

Compact texture, soft to the touch, mostly used in aristocratic clothing.

Qinghai Dulan Zhou Dynasty Site

colour

mine

Such as cinnabar, ochre, stone yellow, azurite, stone green and so on. , commonly known as "stone dyeing".

Paleolithic Age: Dyeing Behavior [5]

Shang and Zhou costumes: color-oriented [6]

Clothing in Han Dynasty: yellow and purple.

Clothing in Jin and Six Dynasties: white is the main color,

Tang suit: red is the main color.

Plant extract

Such as madder, perilla, camel, Sophora japonica, green bristlegrass, indigo and so on. , commonly known as "grass dyeing"

Source: According to the contents of this book, Lu compiled his own table.

China clothing modeling category.

China's costumes in the past dynasties were rich in shapes and types, and there were thousands of kinds of costumes recorded in historical books. To be sure, there are still many clothes that have not been recorded. Compared with stone tools, bronzes, ironware, pottery, wood products and other cultural relics, it is more difficult to preserve cloth and silk clothes. With the changes of the times, most of the clothes were lost due to drowning, and only a few were passed down from generation to generation. Although ancient civilians were not as hierarchical as aristocratic clothes and complicated manners, they were rich in shapes. According to the category, it can be roughly divided into four categories: initial clothing, clothing, pants and full clothing. Each category can be divided into several categories, as described below.

Table 3: Clothing Types in China

kind

explain

function

First service [7]

a piece of cloth

Bubba used to wrap the head, also known as "headscarf"

About hair, warmth and protection functions

Men's headdress worn in ancient China

The first dress a man used to wrap his bun was made of thick cloth and silk.

Yuefa

A headdress used by ancient literati men, made of silk.

Yuefa

cap

Hat.

Prevent messy hair and keep out the cold.

Putou

The first dress evolved from a square headscarf.

Yuefa

erase from

A kind of headscarf, which is tied from the back to the front and to the forehead.

Headscarf, keep out the cold.

A large bamboo/straw hat with a conical crown and wide edges.

The rain hat of the ancient people was called "wearing a hat", or "wearing" for short.

Used as rain gear.

Coat [8]

Thick clothes

The clothes are connected and the quilt is deep. The method of opening the placket adopts bending [9].

As casual wear.

Zhan Jian

The clothes are connected and the quilt is deep. Lapel and lapel are straight purlin [10].

As casual wear.

gown

A kind of long clothes. That is, horizontal collar, lapel overlap and cross down.

As winter clothes.

unlined garment

Large sleeves and light clothes, light yarn. Only one layer, no lining.

Simple in shape, worn in summer.

Short jacket

Short coat, about the waist.

Such as a shirt or coat.

A lined Chinese coat/jacket

Short coat is between robe and cloak, shorter than robe and more common than cloak.

As an agent.

Half arm

Short sleeves. Also known as "half sleeves".

As casual wear.

Kushang

Skirt (worn in ancient China)

It is made of two pieces of cloth and silk, one in front and one in the back, one in the left and one in the right.

Shame.

Knee covering

Clothes covering the thighs. Only the front film, no back film.

Cover your thighs [1 1], similar to today's apron.

skirt

It is made of several pieces of cloth and silk, only one piece. Wear it from the front to the back, leaving only a gap at the back.

Women's household clothes.

pants

Two trouser legs, no waist and crotch.

Protect Gaskin from the cold and keep warm.

Full set of clothes [12]

socks

Textiles were originally made of animal skins, but later they were made of cloth.

Keep your feet warm.

shoe

The floorboard of shoes.

Take care of your feet.

wooden sandals

Wooden soled shoes. Also known as "clogs"

Used for travel [13].

Paragraph [14]

Woven with rope, it is tightly organized, tough and light, and made of Miscanthus, which is called "straw sandals".

Used for walking shoes and rain boots.

Cotton high boots

Made of leather.

Most of them are noble shoes.

Source: According to the contents of this book, Lu compiled his own table.

Fourth, the use of folk costumes in China.

Clothing has many functions, such as preventing cold and summer, hiding shame, beautifying and protecting the body. In addition to these basic uses, it is also a symbol of etiquette. China is a country that pays attention to etiquette. "Etiquette" plays an important role in ancient social life, especially in feudal society. Everyone's behavior should be regulated by etiquette, such as offering sacrifices, making crowns, marrying and mourning, and so on. Clothing has always played an important role in these etiquette activities. This is divided into the following tables:

Table 4: Usage of Folk Clothing in China

project

Dress

Start a dynasty

dress code

offer sacrifices to ancestors

Sacrificial clothing

Zhou dynasty

Zhou Dynasty: Yi Ming [15].

Tang dynasty: raw silk and single clothes.

Song dynasty: new clothes.

Official gift [16]