Most fingernails are decorated with different jewels according to different grades, and the carved lines are not the same, so as to show the different identities of the wearer. The concubines wear multiple nail covers on their hands, not only to protect their nails, but also to show their noble status of pampering themselves and keeping their fingers out of the water.

There are many styles of nail covers, mainly including diamond-encrusted tortoise shells, jade sunflower tortoise shells, gold armor, diamond-encrusted tortoise shells, Hua Die tortoise shells, and rice-beaded longevity tortoise shells.

The origin of nail sleeve

There is no record about the origin of nail house in history, but according to historical records, nail house should have been popular a long time ago, but it reached its peak in Qing Dynasty. This nail sleeve also has a unique name, called Jin Drive. In ancient times, people's class status was clearly divided. Those who don't have to work in the fields will have long nails and put on nail sleeves. In ancient times, nailing sleeves was used to show a person's noble status.

At that time, nail sleeves were the most popular among Manchu women. At that time, all the concubines in the harem had long nails and then put on exquisite nail sleeves. Those nail sleeves are also made of different materials, such as gold, silver or other exquisite things. The style is relatively simple, and it is generally hollow design, so that wearing fingers in winter will not feel oppressive, and the production of hollow styles is more complicated, which can better show the identity of the wearer.

At that time, the more exquisite the nail sleeve was, the more it could show the identity of this person. Therefore, the concubines living in the harem should not only compete for the favor of the emperor, but also compete for your superiority to me in these details. And for the harem concubines, whether they have children or not, whether they are favored by the emperor can be seen from the nail sleeves they wear, so nail sleeves have become one of the accessories for the harem concubines to compare with each other.

According to the Records of the Three Kingdoms, during the Warring States Period, all courtiers around korean king Han Zhaohou wore long armor.

What's so particular about the fingernails worn by Qing women?

First, decorations, in order to look good.

In the dramas of the Qing Dynasty, concubines were elegantly dressed. They all wear long fingernails with auspicious dragon and phoenix patterns carved on them. Some are inlaid with precious stones, and some are hollowed out with beads, which are very luxurious and beautiful. Women please themselves. Aren't they dressed up to attract the emperor's attention?

Second, it can protect concubines' nails from external forces.

Although the concubines in the harem are the king's concubines, they also live a golden life. Every day, maids-in-waiting eunuchs take turns to serve themselves and do nothing. As time goes on, nails will get longer and longer. In order to protect their beautiful nails, concubines in the harem began to wear nail covers, which can not only protect their nails from damage, but also be said to be very beautiful. But not everyone can wear this kind of nail sleeve, only those concubines with high status are qualified to wear it.

Third, the appearance of the nail sleeve can be inlaid with gems to show the distinguished status of the wearer.

In the harem, concubines wear different clothes. For example, in "Empresses in the Palace", when Zhen Xuan first entered the palace, she was dressed in plain clothes, but when she finally became a imperial concubine, she was gorgeous. Relatively speaking, the fingernail is constantly changing with the position. It may just be some delicate lines at first. When there are more and more places, you can put jewelry on your nails so that outsiders don't have to be around, and you can guess who is coming by dressing up.

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There are many fingernails handed down in Qing Dynasty, which may be related to the dress of Manchu women. Manchu women's dress is very suitable for finger protection. So it was very popular in Qing dynasty. At the same time, on the basis of practicality, it gradually develops into a delicate, beautiful and precious trend, which makes female finger protection form a culture.