Chapter 2 Chapter 1 The Origin and Evolution of Clothing

In the distant ancient times, human beings lived in caves and lived a primitive life.At that time, people only knew to use leaves, grass and kudzu to block the scorching sun, prevent insects and snakes from biting, wind and rain, and protect their bodies.Or in order to hunt wild animals, they disguise themselves as prey, such as horns and heads on their heads, animal furs on their bodies, and long tails behind their buttocks, so as to get closer to the target and improve the hunting effect.Later, I gradually learned to wrap my body with the fur of wild animals such as red deer, spotted deer, bison, antelope, fox, badger [Huanhuan], rabbit, etc. Skin" ("Later Han Shu Yufu Zhi").And this purely practical consideration is the main reason for the production of human clothes and decorations.As for the purpose of concealing shame or embellishment, it is a later idea, which came into being only after human beings have formed a sense of morality, sexual shame and aesthetics.Of course, the animal skins, leaves, or animal horns, animal heads, and animal tails used as camouflage at the beginning of human beings can only be said to be the embryonic form of clothing.It was not until humans learned to grind bone needles, bone awls, and sew clothes that human clothing broke away from the embryonic state.This can be obtained from bone needles and bone cones made of various animal bones unearthed from the sites of Zhoukoudian Mountain Cave Man, Shuo County Zhi[shi]yu Man in Shanxi, and Hutouliang Man in Yangyuan, Hebei. prove.Although these bone needles and bone cones are far less sharp than today's steel needles and steel cones, the small holes of the bone needles, the short and smooth body of the needles, and the sharpness of the bone cones are already considered sharp in terms of the grinding level at that time. It's quite delicate.

In the remains of the cavemen and many ancient tombs, many headdresses and neck ornaments made of natural stones, animal teeth, fish bones, river mussels and sea clam shells have been hammered, ground and drilled. Jewelry and wrist ornaments and other decorations.They are of different sizes, some are round and some are flat. Although they look very rough today, it is enough to show that primitive people knew how to wear ornaments to commemorate their fishing and hunting victories and to beautify themselves.As Plekhanov said in "On Art": "These things were originally worn only as signs of bravery, dexterity and strength, and only later, precisely because they were signs of courage, dexterity and strength, So it began to arouse the aesthetic feeling, and it fell into the category of decorations."

About 5,000 to 6,000 years ago, the matrilineal clan society in China's primitive society entered a stage of prosperity, and primitive agriculture and handicraft industries began to take shape.People gradually learned to extract the collected wild hemp fibers, twist them into hemp threads with stone wheels or pottery wheels, and then weave them into linen cloth to make clothes that further adapt to the requirements of the human body.This is a brand-new beginning in the history of human clothing development, and it is also an important symbol of the progress of human society.

It is quite early in China to invent breeding silkworms and weaving silk.In history, it has been circulated that "Fuxi's family turned silkworms into silkworms" ("Huangtu Yaolan"), and the Xiling family of the Yellow Emperor's wife Lei (lei Lei) "began to teach the people to raise silkworms, and to control silk cocoons to produce silkworms." For clothes" (Luo Mi's "Road History") and other legends.Archaeological excavations have shown that in the Neolithic Age, people had domesticated silkworm moths and were able to weave finer silk fabrics.In the Yin and Shang Dynasties, sericulture was very common, and people had mastered the silk weaving technology proficiently.With the improvement of the loom and the invention of the jacquard device, in addition to the plain weave, there are also silks with border and wenge weaves.Coupled with the gradual maturity of embroidery and color dyeing techniques, clothing has become increasingly sophisticated.According to historical records, King Zhou of Shang rewarded 300 court ladies with a large amount of silk products at one time, which is enough to show that silkworm breeding, silk extraction, and silk industry had reached a considerable scale at that time.

The style of clothes develops from simple to complex.It was extremely simple at first.In the cold north, people often wear a complete animal skin regardless of men, women and children.Later, a hole was pierced in the center of the hide, or a notch was cut at one end of the hide to form the earliest clothes called tunics or cloaks.In areas with a warm climate, people initially just used a piece of square cloth to surround the lower body, which is the earliest skirt.It is very similar to the tube skirts worn by ethnic minorities in southwest my country today. It is a later thing to separate the clothes from top to bottom.Generally speaking, vests, sleeves, and trousers appeared earlier.Tops and bottoms appeared when people connected vests, sleeves, chaps and fig leafs.

Hats and shoes are produced with clothes.People first put a leaf or bark on their heads to avoid the scorching sun and the dripping rain. This is the oldest hat.Later, it gradually developed into wrapping the head with animal skin or cloth.People wrapped their feet with bark or animal skins to protect against thorns and gravel, and to resist the severe cold of ice and snow. This is the earliest shoe.Later, it gradually developed from bound feet to shoes. After entering the class society, my country's clothing has become more and more closely related to the economic foundation, political system, ideology, customs, and aesthetic concepts of the society.Its development and evolution are always affected and restricted by various social conditions.For example, as people's possession of wealth began to become unbalanced, the awareness, concept and even worship of wealth gradually formed, and people's clothing concepts also changed, and the beauty of clothing was infused with richness and poverty.For another example, with the emergence of religion, the influence of religious concepts has also been clearly reflected in the development of clothing.The so-called black color is used for the upper garment like the sky (when it is not yet clear), and yellow is used for the lower garment like the ground. This black and yellow is undoubtedly influenced and restricted by the primitive religious concept of worshiping heaven and earth.As for the establishment of sacrificial and mourning clothes, it is obviously due to the superstition and awe of heaven and earth, ancestors and the dead, and the fantasy depends on the worship of heaven and earth, ancestors and the dead to help oneself survive various disasters.

China's crown clothing system was initially established in the Xia and Shang Dynasties, and it tended to be perfected in the Zhou Dynasty.Before that, ancient men usually had long hair shawls, or tied it a little, or braided their hair, and wore crowns.Only prisoners had their hair shaved.The hair style of ancient women is roughly the same as that of men.During the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, the crown clothing system has become a thing that reflects the will of the ruling class and distinguishes between high and low. Crown and official uniforms and various accessories that symbolize power and rank have gradually become the mainstream of clothing development.In the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period (722-221 BC), the crown and clothing system was further included in the scope of "rule by rites" and became a form of etiquette, fully reflecting the feudal hierarchy.According to the "Zhou Rituals", when holding a sacrificial ceremony or court meeting, the emperor and all officials must wear mianfu or bienfu.Its specific shape varies according to the status of the wearer.The main form of clothing in this period is the upper garment and lower garment system.Most of the tops have small sleeves that reach to the knees, and the bottoms are divided into front and back, with a gap on each side, and the waist is tied with a sash [tao Tao] belt.

During the Warring States Period, clothing changed significantly.This is the emergence of "Shenyi" and "Hufu".Shenyi is a garment that sews the original top and bottom together (somewhat like a dress in later generations), because "the body is also deep" (meaning that the area covering the body is large. See "Book of Rites·Shenyi") named.Hufu is the clothing of ethnic minorities in northern my country.It generally consists of short jackets, trousers and boots, with a tight and narrow body, which is convenient for nomadic and hunting.In order to strengthen his country's army, King Zhao Wuling first adopted Hufu as military uniform in the Central Plains.As a result, wearing Hu clothes became popular for a while, resulting in the first major change in the history of ancient Chinese clothing.

After Qin unified China, various systems were established, including the clothing system.At the beginning of the Qin Dynasty in the Han Dynasty, the Qin system was generally followed.By the time of Emperor Ming of the Eastern Han Dynasty, referring to the clothing system of the Three Dynasties and Qin Dynasty, the Han Dynasty crown clothing system with the crown and hat as the main symbol of class distinction was established.The clothing presents a dignified and elegant style as a whole.Men in the Qin and Han dynasties mainly wore robes with loose coats and large sleeves.It can basically be divided into two types: curved train [juju, skirt] and straight train.Qufu is the deep garment of the Warring States Period; straight garment is also called 襜褕 [chanyu mixed in], which can be worn on other occasions except for sacrifices and court meetings.Another feature of the costumes of the Han Dynasty is the implementation of the wearing ribbon system.

Women in the Han Dynasty generally combed their hair back and tied it into a bun.There are so many names of bun styles, it is impossible to list them all.In addition, step shakes and flower hairpins are inserted on the heads of noble women for decoration.The slaves usually wrap their heads with scarves.Women's dresses in the Han Dynasty were deep clothes, which were different from those in the Warring States Period.There are also those who wear skirts and trousers (mostly only have two trouser legs, similar to today's trousers). Shoes in the Han Dynasty also had strict grade regulations.

The costumes of the Wei, Jin, and Southern and Northern Dynasties were significantly influenced by social politics, economy, and ideology. From the Wei and Jin Dynasties, which still followed the old system of Qin and Han, to the mutual influence, mutual absorption, and gradual integration of the costumes of various ethnic groups during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, thus forming China. The second major change in the history of ancient clothing.The clothing of this period is mainly characterized by natural, free and easy, elegant and sparse.At that time, the rulers of some ethnic minorities were influenced by Han culture, and they were obsessed with the Han costumes with bobbed clothes and belts, and began to wear Han costumes; Wear ethnic costumes.From then on, the original deep clothing shape gradually disappeared among the people, and Hu clothing became popular.Baotou with scarves and silk is the main first service in this period.The more popular one is a "cage crown" in which a cage is added to the small crown.The clothing of Han men in this period is mainly shirts with wide cuffs, which are not bound by clothing (qu drive, cuffs).Minority men's clothing mainly consists of tight trouser pleats [zhe] and crotch (liang dang 两东).The hair ornaments of Han women are also quite characteristic.Mainly the fad of the chignon.The clothing of Han women first inherited the old system of the Qin and Han Dynasties, and then changed.Most of the clothes are double-breasted, with long skirts and silk belts around the waist.In addition to shirts and skirts, women of ethnic minorities also wear crotch and trouser pleats, which are almost indistinguishable from men. The clothing of the Tang Dynasty was a link between the past and the future, and "legal clothing" and "common clothing" went hand in hand.Legal clothes are traditional dresses, including crowns, crowns, clothes, skirts, etc. Regular clothes, also known as "public clothes", are clothes worn on general formal occasions, including round-neck gowns, Fu (Fu) head, leather Belt, boots. "Pin color clothing" has formed a system in the Tang Dynasty.Commoners mostly wear white clothes.The updo style of women in the Tang Dynasty is complicated.There are also those who insert golden hairpins and rhino horn combs on the buns.Aristocratic women's facial makeup is "forehead yellow", "huadian [dian shop]", "makeup dimple [ye night]" and so on.Women's clothing in the Tang Dynasty mainly consisted of skirts, shirts, and pei [pei Pei].Since the Tang Dynasty was in the heyday of my country's feudal society, it adopted a policy of extensive collection and extensive collection in cultural exchanges, and adopted an eclectic collection of clothing from the Western Regions and Tubo, so "undressed" and "timely makeup" became popular.Aristocratic women's clothing presents a unique phenomenon in Chinese feudal society, which is characterized by thinness, revealing, and transparency to show the beauty of female body and temperament.This can be said to be the third major change in the history of ancient Chinese clothing.Different from the previous two major clothing changes (north-south exchange), this time is characterized by the east-west exchange of clothing. The costumes of the Song Dynasty generally followed the old system of the Sui and Tang Dynasties.However, due to the long-term internal and external troubles of the Song Dynasty, coupled with the influence of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism and other factors, the clothing of this period advocated simplicity, rigor, and subtlety.The soft-footed Futou in the Tang Dynasty has evolved into a "Futou hat" lined with wooden bones and covered with lacquered gauze.The emperor and the dignitaries wear their heads with their feet on their heads.Tolerances, servants, etc. wear footless headdresses, and Confucian scholars wear headscarves.Men's clothing in the Song Dynasty was still dominated by round-neck gowns.Officials wear gowns except for sacrifices and ceremonies, and are distinguished by different colors.The hair style of women in the Song Dynasty is the high bun that was popular in the late Tang Dynasty.It has become a common practice to insert flowers in hairpins.The women's skirts in the Song Dynasty were narrower than those in the Tang Dynasty, and had fine pleats, "as many as frowning"; In the three dynasties of Liao, Jin and Yuan Dynasties, ethnic minorities held power.The costumes not only have their own national characteristics, but also show the characteristics of integration with other nationalities.Khitan clothing in the Liao Dynasty was paralleled with Han clothing.Khitan men have "kun [kun] hair" and wear leather robes and fur [kun kun].Women's faces are often decorated with "Buddha makeup" (painted with gold), and they wear straight-collar left lapel shirts and floor-length skirts.In the Jin Dynasty, the Jurchen costumes were generally maintained to meet the needs of nomadic life, and protective clothing prevailed.Men usually have their hair braided, soapy scarves wrapped around their heads, and they wear jackets with round collars and narrow sleeves, and black leather boots on their feet.Women's braided hair is turned up into a bun, and the clothing is mainly skirts.The statutory costumes first inherited the Liao system, and later absorbed the characteristics of the Song Dynasty costumes, forming the characteristics of the Jurchen, Khitan, and Han trinity.After the Yuan Dynasty destroyed the Southern Song Dynasty, the racial hierarchy was strict, and there were many restrictions on clothing.When emperors and ministers go to court, they all wear one-piece tight "grandson clothes" of the same color, and the grades are distinguished by different textures.Winter clothes and summer clothes are also customized.The aristocrats are covered in red and purple, and are proud of being decorated with gemstones.Women generally wear fur hats, brocade gowns with narrow sleeves on the left lapel, and boots.Its most distinctive female hat is the "aunt's crown".It is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, like an upside-down vase.Mongolian men all shave "pojiao", wear fur hats, leather jackets with lapels on the right lapel, and boots.Liao, Jin and Yuan military uniforms are characterized by being easy to ride and shoot. Not long after the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the wearing of Hu clothing was banned and the Tang Dynasty clothing system was restored.Therefore, in the Ming Dynasty, the situation of legal clothes and ordinary clothes reappeared.The legal uniforms in the Ming Dynasty were basically the same as those in the Tang Dynasty, except that the Jinxian crown was changed to Liang crown, and the Zhongjing crown, Baohe crown and other crown styles were added.Officials in the Ming Dynasty wore black gauze hats and round-necked gowns.In addition to the regulations on the quality of the robes, there are also patches on the chest and back, and the different patterns embroidered on the patches indicate the difference in official rank.Officials' belts have different textures due to different grades.Out of the need to strengthen the centralization of power, strict hierarchical restrictions became a major feature of Ming Dynasty clothing.Scholars usually wear straight skirts [duoduo] or dragging [ye leaves], and wear scarves.Civilians wear short clothes, caps or net towels.Women in the Ming Dynasty also had many bun styles, and they often tied a pocket on their foreheads, which was called "Zhimeile".The clothes and skirts are similar to those of Song and Yuan Dynasties.But underwear has a scoop neck and buttons at the neck.The body is longer, decorated with gold and jade pendants, plus cloud shoulders, bijia (big vest) and so on. After the Qing soldiers entered the customs, in order to consolidate their rule in the Central Plains, the "hair shaving order" was enforced, and the official and civilian clothing system and clothing color system were successively formulated.As a result, the traditional crown clothing system was eventually eliminated, forming the unified status of Manchu clothing, and thus the fourth major change in the history of ancient Chinese clothing.In the Qing Dynasty, men all shaved their foreheads and wore long braids behind them.Clothing has robes, jackets, shirts and other shapes.Officials wear gowns with slits and arrow sleeves, and gowns outside.There is a patch on each chest and back, with various patterns embroidered on it to distinguish the rank of officials.In addition, the quality of the material of the hat crest is also used to represent the difference in the rank of officials.Women's clothing in the Qing Dynasty coexisted with the Manchu and Han systems.Manchu women wear braids or buns, or "two heads" and "big wings".Wear a flag dress, that is, a cheongsam, a waistcoat, and high-soled shoes.Han women still wear shirts and jackets, skirts and trousers.This form has been popular for more than 200 years. When the gunshots of the Wuchang Uprising pierced the sky and the Revolution of 1911, men abandoned their robes and jackets, cut off their long braids and wore Chinese tunic suits or suits, and women flocked to cut their long hair and wear Westernized clothes. The cheongsam and the knee-length skirt set off another new and greater change in the history of Chinese clothing.The development of clothing has returned to a free state.