It is a tradition for women in China to wear jewelry with a long history. From a certain point of view, behind the jewelry worn by ancient women, there is also a very heavy traditional cultural heritage. Such as hairpin, hairpin and step shake, were once the carriers of traditional etiquette culture and aesthetic technology.
Hairpins play an important role in ancient jewelry. Its literal meaning is relatively simple: it is a long needle used by the ancients to insert a bun or connect hair with a crown. With the evolution of the times, it gradually developed into one of the special ornaments for ancient women to fix their hair bun.
From this explanation alone, the role of hairpin is obvious. Used for fixing men's and women's hairstyles, belonging to functional jewelry. Having said that, there is a broader connotation behind the hairpin.
(1) Etiquette and custom requirements of hairpin harmony.
The real name of this hairpin is Mao. Yes, it is a "gift" of women's behavior and gift, so behind the hair, it is the bearing of traditional manners and customs culture.
When it comes to etiquette and custom culture, it is natural to mention the Western Zhou Dynasty, where etiquette and music flourished. For men, there is a saying called "twenty weak crowns", which means that when a man is twenty years old, he needs to be crowned and paid tribute, and then it means that he is an adult.
Being crowned with a man is equivalent to being crowned with a woman. In the Zhou Dynasty, when a woman reached the age of 15, it was necessary to hold a rite of passage. On this day, the female elders at home will set the hair for school-age girls and fix it with hairpins.
After the completion of etiquette, a woman means adulthood, and then she is qualified to get married and fulfill her obligations and mission as a woman. On some special occasions, for example, women need to be filial, and the day of giving gifts needs to be postponed, but generally they cannot be over 20 years old at the latest.
According to relevant records, many customs and cultures, including adult ceremonies for young men and women, are mainly popular in aristocratic families. For this reason, aristocratic women need to enter the palace or learn relevant etiquette in the imperial clan after accepting gifts.
Obviously, this traditional etiquette culture has its obvious advantages and disadvantages:
As far as shortcomings are concerned, the process of ancient women's salute is not as complicated as that of men's crown, which implies the ancient idea that men are superior to women. In other words, women's behavior and gifts, although the society attaches importance to traditional etiquette, are also one of the necessary guarantees that bind women.
Through gifts, women's fate and rights are so arbitrarily fixed in a relatively narrow range. Of course, women walking and giving gifts also have some advantages.
Giving gifts to women is to help them realize their responsibilities and obligations in life. Although its purpose is not very friendly, it has played a certain role in stimulating and encouraging personal growth.
(2) The style of hairpins has been continuously improved with the development of the times.
As early as the Neolithic Age, hairpin had already appeared. Its original function is certainly not to cater to the so-called etiquette needs. On the contrary, it is inserted into a woman's bun to make it stick to it. However, the ancient hairpins are still a little rough.
It was not until Shang Dynasty that bone needles made of bones became common jewelry. At its tail, there are also pictures of birds and animals, gluttony and people. It can be seen that since the Shang Dynasty, women who love beauty have realized that they have spent a lot of time on hairpins to show their beauty.
In the Qin and Han Dynasties, developed materials and styles were further developed. The hairpins of aristocratic women are made of precious jade, and their patterns are becoming more and more diverse. It shows that the hairpin at this time is both practical and decorative.
At this time, the hairpin has a new nickname, called "Jade Grab the Head". According to "Miscellanies of Xijing", Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty once loved Li Furen very much, and he often wore some luxurious ladies' clothes on his head. On one occasion, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty took off the hairpin on Li Fu's head and scratched his head with it. Since then, Hosta has been called "Jade Scratches the Head".
Compared with the Han Dynasty, the hairpins in the Wei and Jin Dynasties also had a wider choice of materials. For example, rare items such as tortoise-shell agate and jadeite were added to the hairpins to show the luxury and beauty of their owners.
The Tang Dynasty is a rare prosperous dynasty and the peak of the development of ancient costume culture. During this period, the form, style and wearing method of hairpins gradually developed new techniques. Many exquisite styles and styles of hair clips in later generations also come from this.
It can be seen that the hairpin at this time has corresponding aesthetic value on the basis of both practicality and aesthetics. After the Song Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty, ladies began to wear some precious jewels on their hair clips. At this time, the craft level above the hairpins has reached a new height.
Hairpins, similar to hairpins, play a role in fixing hair. In later generations, they were also used as decorations. As mentioned above, the ladies of the Song Dynasty are often full of hair. But there are still obvious differences between hairpins and hairpins.
The original basis for distinguishing the two is that the hair pin is a long needle, while the hair pin is a double-headed needle, which is also evolved on the basis of the hair pin.
First, the difference between issuing cards
Hairpins are also rich in styles and materials. From the material point of view, hairpin simply distinguishes ladies from ordinary women:
Rich women's hairpins are usually called Baochai and Yuchai. For example, "The spring is bright, and the jade hairpin is curled up in Lv Yun", which can reflect the beauty and elegance of the woman wearing the jade hairpin. Baochai is a general term, such as emerald hairpin, coral hairpin, hawksbill hairpin and amber hairpin.
Among them, Baochai made of tortoise shells is often very important. According to the records of Huayang Guozhi, "There is a big turtle in Fuling Mountain, whose armor is predictable, and its edge can be used as a hairpin, which is famous in the world." In fact, the most pleasing implication of ancient hairpins is the auspicious patterns on them. At that time, tortoise shell was a precious gem.
Tortoise shell, originally a kind of chinemys reevesii, is a very popular gem made of this turtle shell. Because the tortoise in the eyes of the ancients had the meaning of exorcism, auspiciousness, longevity and happiness, tortoise shell gems were often placed on the hairpins. "Continued Han Shu" mentioned: "Noble people help silkworms wear tortoise shells." It can be seen that the tortoise shell is a symbol of aristocrats.
Corresponding to Baochai is the Chai Jing worn by civilian women. According to archaeological findings, the original materials for making hairpins are branches, thorns and bones. Among them, Chai Jing is made of Vitex negundo.
However, in The Legend of the Heroic Woman, Qi Mei woman Meng Guang was cited as an example. After she married Hongliang, she wore a "Chai Jing cloth skirt". Because of this allusion, Chai Jing has gradually become synonymous with civilian women. Later, the iron hairpin and copper hairpin, which were cheaper than Baochai and Yuchai, were collectively called Chai Jing.
The ancients liked modesty, because according to Chai Jing, when many men called their wives outside, they often called them Jingfu besides concubines.
Hairpin is a symbol of love.
As mentioned above, the biggest difference between hairpins and hairpins is their double-stranded structure. Because of this, firewood is often regarded as a symbol of love by women.
"Why comfort separation? It' s awkward behind the ear. " When ancient women separated from their beloved men, they would split their hairpins in two and give half to their beloved men. There is a similar record in Bai Juyi's Song of Eternal Sorrow:
"But it kept a branch of the hairpin and a side of the box, broke the gold of the hairpin and broke the shell of the box." "I only expressed my love for old things and sent him back a shell box and gold hairpin through his special envoy."
The previous poem shows that the hairpin is divided into two parts, which play the role of a token of love; The last sentence is to hope that men and women will meet again.
In Tang Xianzu's The Purple Hairpin, the implication of the hairpin is vividly described. Li Yi, a young scholar in the Tang Dynasty, became attached to Huo Xiaoyu, the daughter of a famous family, because of a purple hairpin. They fell in love at first sight, and after many ups and downs, they finally got married.
When Yuchai first appeared, it actually suggested that Li Yi and Huo Xiaoyu would have an unusual experience. Later, Yuchai was recovered, which also revealed the happy ending of the two.
Strictly speaking, foot pad is not a basic hair accessory, but a special form of hair clasp. For this reason, the value of stepping is more reflected in its aesthetic significance and decorative value. As for practicality and functionality, it is even less.
Having said that, it is not difficult to understand why Bu Yao first appeared on the hair accessories of the ancient queen. According to China's Notes on Ancient and Modern Times, "After committing adultery, you should wear three clothes, namely, the dragon step shake, the tassel comb and the pearl, and take the long step shake. If you wait, comb the su and shake it one by one, so it is called step shake. " This record provides us with two necessary information:
First, what is a step shake? As a kind of headdress, it will shake according to women's walking, giving people a rather intuitive aesthetic feeling.
Secondly, the formation of Step Shake is quite ancient, and it was one of the standard items of Empress in Shang and Zhou Dynasties. As a kind of jewelry with strong decoration, treading is more and more loved by people with the enlightenment of social atmosphere.
History has proved time and time again that many things that are popular among nobles can always spread to the people. After Wei and Jin Dynasties, Bu Yao began to move down.
After the Tang Dynasty, the rocking step became quite common and became a common ornament for ordinary women. For example, in Tang Yulin, there is a saying: "In Changqing, women's jewelry in Beijing is very beautiful, and it is called' I don't know'."
As can be seen from the introduction, walking is a very aggressive jewelry. Although it is based on hairpins or hairpins, with the gradual release of ancient women's love for beauty, walking has become one of the favorite ornaments of many aristocratic women.
Not only that, although it spread to the people, it is still one of the magic weapons for court women to decorate themselves. Its materials tend to be luxurious, such as gold, jade, turquoise, amber, coral, glass and so on. Coupled with its cumbersome process, Step Shake once became the benchmark for women's makeup.
When Yang Guifei was in favor, she liked Jin Buyao and "the clouds in her hair, the petals on her cheeks, the golden ripples of the crown when she moved", which looked quite attractive and attracted countless imperial ladies to follow suit.
Hairpin, hairpin and treading are the three magic weapons of ancient women's decoration and hairdressing. But if we distinguish them carefully, we can find that the meanings behind these three kinds of jewelry are completely different.
Hairpins and hairpins are both functional jewelry, but with the rise of ritual and music culture, they have evolved new meanings due to different structures. Hairpin is one of the representatives of etiquette and custom culture, and hairpin is the token of love between men and women.
As for the more decorative step shake, it was originally associated with the hairpin, which is the embodiment of identity in the etiquette culture. With the enlightenment of social atmosphere, it gradually moved down to the people.
Of course, in addition to the above three magic weapons, there are other kinds of ancient female ornaments.
For example, "Sheng" is also an ancient headdress. For example, Watson, Fang Sheng and life all have their own unique meanings. It can be seen that ancient women's jewelry, because it is closely related to traditional culture, has a variety of rich expressions.