Chapter 44 Section 3 Ladies Crown Clothes

There are two types of crown clothing for ladies in the Ming Dynasty: dress and ordinary clothes.Queen's dresses are used in grand ceremonies such as receiving books, visiting temples, and court meetings.The crown worn by the queen during the grand ceremony is called the phoenix crown.The shape of the phoenix crown in the Ming Dynasty is more complicated than that in the Song Dynasty.In the third year of Hongwu (AD 1370), it was stipulated that the queen's phoenix crown should be decorated with emeralds outside the round frame, decorated with nine dragons and four phoenixes, plus 12 branches of large and small flowers, and two temples on each side of the crown (a kind of cloud-shaped decoration, Like drooping crown wings), with 12 flower tins.In the third year of Yongle (1405 A.D.), there was another regulation that the phoenix crown was more gorgeous than before.The actual Ming Dynasty phoenix crowns that we can see today are the four crowns unearthed from Dingling.These phoenix crowns are well preserved because they are stored in special red lacquer boxes.Empress Xiaoduan (wife of Wanli Emperor Zhu Yijun) crowned with three dragons and two phoenixes.The crown is oval-shaped with a gold plate, dyed red, surrounded by flowers inlaid with bright pearls and gemstones of various colors.Outside the crown shell, the blue feathers of the kingfisher are used to paste layers of clouds, and three three-dimensional golden dragons are inserted on it.A dragon in the middle, with its head up and tail up, holds a string of beads made of pearls and gemstones (similar to drooping tassels), galloping among the colorful clouds, very vivid.There is a dragon on the left and right sides of the crown, the dragon's head stretches out to both sides. The dragon's mouth holds a "knot" (like a drooping tassel) strung with pearls and gems. ,Energetic.Eight large flowers made of pearls, red and sapphires are dotted among the clouds outside the crown shell. Two golden phoenixes flying with wings are inserted on the main flower on the front, highlighting the theme of the phoenix crown.On the left and right sides of the back of the crown are three scrolls on the temples, decorated with pearls, gemstones and dangling tassels.These six tail fins make the appearance of the phoenix crown plump and add an aesthetic effect.The inside of the phoenix crown is a circular cone made of lacquered bamboo silk, with a gold ring on the edge.The other phoenix crowns are roughly the same, but the number of dragons and phoenixes is different.Each phoenix crown is inlaid with more than 5,000 pearls and more than 100 gems.One of them was worth five or six hundred taels of silver, which was equivalent to about 140,000 catties of rice at the time.It is said that some gemstones were purchased from Ceylon and India at that time.In addition to the phoenix crown, the dress also has Zhai clothes.The clothes are dark blue, with cross collars, large sleeves, woven with Zhai patterns, and small round flowers in between.The collar, sleeves and hem are inlaid with woven golden cloud and dragon patterns.When wearing Zhai clothes, it is lined with a jade-colored gauze middle sheet, and is tied with a knee cover with the same color and pattern as the clothes.There are also jade leather belts, large belts, blue socks and shoes, with pearl gold decorations on them.In addition to the phoenix crown, the queen's regular clothes also include real red sleeves, Xiapei, red Luo long skirt, and red trousers.During the Yongle period, the clothes were changed to yellow shirts with round necks, right lapels, wide sleeves, and dragon patterns embroidered on the front chest.The deep green xiapei is decorated with various ornaments such as pearls and jade, and there are also scorpions, Juyi, edge skirts, etc. The color, material, pattern, etc. are all regulated.The clothes of emperors and concubines mostly use weaving and embroidery.Brocade weaving in Ming Dynasty is a famous handicraft.The robes and brocade unearthed from Dingling have extremely beautiful patterns. Although they have been underground for more than 300 years, they were still shining golden when they were unearthed.In particular, a Baizi garment made of Luo used by Empress Xiaojing is embroidered with the word Shuanglongshou, and the whole body is embroidered with gold threads such as pine, bamboo, plum, stone, peach, plum, plantain, ganoderma and other eight treasures and various flowers and plants. There are hundred sons.The postures of the hundred sons are different: some are catching birds, some are holding and beating cats because they catch butterflies, some are playing hide-and-seek, some are climbing on stools to pick peaches, some are playing fish together, and some are taking a bath in a water basin. There are those who spray water next to them, those who fly kites, those who hold umbrellas, those who skip rope, those who read books, and those who pretend to be teachers.The expression is natural and lifelike, reflecting the superb weaving and embroidery skills of silk weavers in the Ming Dynasty.Of course, behind these shiny silk fabrics, we seem to be able to see the blood and tears of the weavers.

The Ming Dynasty also had strict regulations on the attire of grandmothers, mothers, and wives of titled officials.The dress of the commanding wife is used in grand ceremonies such as meeting the emperor and empress and participating in sacrifices.There are mainly ceremonial crowns. According to the Ming Dynasty, except for the queen and concubines, other people are not allowed to wear phoenix crowns.Although the shape of the ceremonial crowns of internal and external wives is the same as that of phoenix crowns, phoenixes cannot be used on the crowns, only Jinzhai can be used.By the middle of the Ming Dynasty, this regulation had been broken.During the Jiajing period, Yan Song’s family had more than a dozen phoenix crowns, and their decorations were as rich as empress crowns.After Yan Song lost power, his son Yan Shifan was killed and his family property was lost. From his mansion, there were six pearl five-phoenix crowns and seven pearl three-phoenix crowns.In addition to the crown, the dress of the married woman also includes Xiapei, big-sleeved shirt, and beige.The pearls and various jewels and emerald ornaments on the ceremony crown increase or decrease according to the grade.The patterns on the dresses of the commanding wives are determined according to the official ranks of their husbands or sons.