Clothing is an indispensable part of our country's culture. It is a reflection of the material civilization and spiritual civilization of a certain period, and is related to all aspects of society. The Tang Dynasty was the most prosperous era of development in ancient my country. Its clothing culture was also the result of historical traditions and foreign cultures. It was of inestimable value at that time and even today. This article will start with the Tang Dynasty's skirts to understand the Tang people's clothing culture. Aesthetic concepts.
Overview of skirts before the Tang DynastyClothing is a product of the development of human civilization. Ancient Chinese clothing was even more diverse and was known as the "Kingdom of Clothing." As an important part of our country's traditional culture, clothing has a long history and records the development of past dynasties, which is of great significance.
Ru skirts in the Tang Dynasty can be divided into three parts: Ru, shirt and skirt. Rut refers to short clothes and short coats. The length of underpants is short, most of them can only reach the waist, and the longest does not exceed the knees, so it is also called "waist underpants".
Shirt refers to a single garment made of silk, with a double-breasted style, wider sleeves, and a lighter, softer texture. The function of this kind of clothes is to absorb sweat, and they are mostly worn in spring and summer.
Skirt had two meanings in ancient times, one refers to a shawl, and the other refers to a lower garment. To differentiate, the skirt used as a lower garment is usually called a "lower skirt". According to historical records, women wearing "lower skirts" only became popular after the Han Dynasty. Before that, skirts could be worn by both men and women. After the Tang Dynasty, they were mainly worn by women.
The skirt suit is actually a style of matching clothes. It is a form of clothing matching formed by matching a skirt or a shirt with a skirt. China has a long history, and clothing is constantly changing, but most of them are inseparable from two rules: the top and bottom of clothes are jointly signed and the top and bottom are connected.
The forms of these two types of clothing evolved alternately. Before the Shang and Zhou dynasties, most of them were in the form of tops and lower skirts. In the entire history of clothing evolution, the form of wearing tops and bottoms has been the longest and most popular. The Tang Dynasty skirts also evolved on this basis.
According to archaeological discoveries, as early as the Warring States Period, there wereThis way of wearing an undershirt and a skirt appears in the tomb of King Zhongshan in Pingshan, Hebei. Similar styles of dressing can also be found in brick carvings of the Eastern Han Dynasty, "Pictures of Admonitions of Female History" and jade carvings of dancing girls.
Since the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, women's daily clothing has become shorter and shorter, with tops and sleeves becoming shorter and shorter. The waistline of the lower skirt has gradually risen, so the length of the undershirt has gradually become shorter until it reaches the waist.
The clothing of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties had a great influence on the clothing design of later generations. During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, women's clothing had already formed a decorative pattern with a rut on the top and a skirt on the bottom. Moreover, the clothing of this period also had characteristics, showing a thrifty top and full bottom, short tops, wide skirts, tight waistlines, and high waistlines.
It can be seen that as early as the Wei and Jin Dynasties, Ru skirts had become an independent form and had a certain popularity in society, which laid the foundation for the development and popularity of Ru skirts in the Tang Dynasty.
The Development of Ru Skirts in the Tang DynastyThe skirt suit is mainly a top and a skirt. In addition, people in the Tang Dynasty were more particular about clothing and paid attention to the overall effect of the clothing. Therefore, in addition to the top and skirt, a half-arm and shoulder-length shawl is also worn outside.
The half sleeve is mainly matched with the underskirt, and is usually worn outside the upper skirt. Because the length of the sleeves of the half sleeve reaches half of the arm, it is named so. It is also called "half sleeve".
The half-arm style first appeared in the Han Dynasty. Most of the clothes were double-breasted and reached to the waist. The sleeves were relatively wide and did not exceed the elbow. During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, etiquette was strict, and it was rare for women to wear half-arms. It was not until the Sui Dynasty that the number of women wearing half-arms gradually increased, and it became popular in society during the Tang Dynasty.
The half-armed dress was first popular in the palace, and was mainly worn by harem ladies to facilitate labor. Later, it gradually spread to the people. Because it is convenient and practical to put on and take off, it gradually became a popular costume in society.
Moreover, half-arm clothing became common in the early Tang Dynasty and became popular in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. It was not until the middle and late Tang Dynasty that although there were still poems about half-arms in society, they were already seen in tomb murals, Dunhuang murals and other paintings at that time. It's rare to see this style of clothing anymore.
The main reason for this situation is that the popular tops in the early Tang Dynasty were narrow-sleeved and tight-fitting, and were suitable for wearing half-arms on the outside. However, the clothes in the late Tang Dynasty were relatively wide, and the shape of half-arms was no longer suitable for wearing.
Women in the Tang Dynasty liked to put a silk scarf on their shoulders, which was called "Pi silk". It is usually a long scarf draped over the shoulders and wrapped between the arms. Sometimes the shawl is hung casually on the chest and hangs down naturally; sometimes one end is fixed on the thin belt of the skirt and the other end is placed on the arm and hangs down; still another is the shawl is draped on both shoulders and hangs down. Part of it is concentrated on the chest, like a long vest.
There are generally two types of shapes of shawls. One is very wide but has a limited length, and is often hung on the shoulders when worn, like a cloak; the other is relatively narrow, but the length can reach more than two meters. This kind of shawl is often wrapped around the arm when used. It looks like two streamers when walking.
Ruskirts were the most important way of dressing for women in the Tang Dynasty and were widely used on various occasions and in different classes. After the Sui Dynasty unified the world, small-sleeved clothing has gradually become popular in society. Although wide sleeves are still more important in upper-class official uniforms and dance costumes, narrow sleeves have become common in women's daily wear.
Most of the policies and culture of the early Tang Dynasty were inherited from the Sui Dynasty, and jacket skirts were no exception. Women's clothing in the early Tang Dynasty was generally long skirts with narrow sleeves. The clothing styles of this period were tight-fitting, with wider skirts and skirts that could reach the floor. This style of clothing was a social fashion in the early Tang Dynasty.
In addition to the narrow sleeves and tight-fitting clothes, the design of underskirts at that time also gradually became bolder and more open, with rich expressions in the design of the collar. Collar types include cross-collar, round collar, square collar, straight collar, "U"-shaped collar, etc. Cross-collar was the most common type of skirts in the Tang Dynasty.
"U"-shaped collars were also very popular in the Tang Dynasty and were also called bare collars. The neckline of this kind of collared clothes is very low, fully displaying the beauty of women. At first, it was only seen on concubines and kabuki actors in the palace, but later it gradually became a more popular costume in the Tang Dynasty.
The "U"-shaped collar is depicted in "Lady with Hairpin Flowers" and "Pounding Practice" by the Tang Dynasty painters Zhou Fang and Zhang Xuan. The sleeves of the clothes are relatively loose, the skirts are wide, and they are very extravagant and gorgeous, fully demonstrating the luxurious life of the court and aristocratic women in the Tang Dynasty.
After the prosperous Tang Dynasty, skirts gradually developed in the direction of looseness and fatness. After the mid-Tang Dynasty, women's clothing in the Tang Dynasty became more and more wide, long and richly decorated. The width of the skirt was more than four feet, and the length of the skirt trailed four to five inches on the ground.
During Tang Wenzong's period, he also ordered the princesses not to wear short clothes. He encouraged the wearing of loose clothes. In the following years, the development of loose clothes became faster and faster. At that time, most of the loose skirts were sewn with five or six pieces, and some even used twelve pieces.
As the width of the skirt increased, the pleats on the skirt also increased significantly, until later the style of pleated skirt gradually formed. At that time, such skirts consumed a lot of financial and material resources and exceeded the limitations of clothing production. Therefore, the country had to issue policies and bans at that time and made specific regulations on women's clothing. However, at that time, such loose clothing was still prevail.
As the most common attire for women in the Tang Dynasty, the skirt suit was worn throughout the Tang Dynasty by women from all walks of life. The main emerging styles are high-waisted skirts. The characteristic of high-waisted skirts is that the skirt waist is raised very high, and some can even reach up to the armpits. This style of clothing was very popular throughout the Tang Dynasty.
High-waisted skirts were divided into two forms at that time, one was a skirt with a waist that could cover the breasts, that is, a skirt with a high waist and a breast-covering skirt, and the other was a skirt with a waist below the breasts, that is, a skirt with a high-waisted breast.
The main feature of the high-waisted breast-covering underskirt is that the skirt waist can be raised to cover the breasts, and a long skirt tie is tied under the armpits as a waistline. This kind of clothing was very popular in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and was only popular in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. The sleeves of the high-waisted breast-covering skirts in the Early Tang Dynasty and the High Tang Dynasty were in line with the tight-fitting clothes that were popular at that time.
The high-waisted breast-covering skirts in the middle and late Tang Dynasty had loose sleeves, and the sleeves gradually became wider with the development of society. The shawl during this period was an indispensable accessory for the high-waisted breast-covering skirts.
The main feature of the high-waisted underbust skirt is that the waistband of the skirt is lifted under the breasts and is fixed with a belt. This kind of undershirt can also be divided into four types according to the different forms of collars: high-waisted topless undershirt, high-waisted double-breasted underskirt, cross-collar high-waisted skirt, and round-necked high-waisted skirt. They were very popular in the Tang Dynasty. Popularity.
The Tang Dynasty Ru skirt overall developed with the progress of society. The clothing also changed differently in different periods of society, with distinctive characteristics of the times.
Color expression of Tang Dynasty Ru skirtThe colors of Tang Dynasty Ru skirts were also very particular. Ancient China had a complete system for colors. Because the ancient ritual and music system was strict, colors were also integrated into the ritual and music system, and the hierarchy was obvious.
The Tang Dynasty was the first to subdivide colors on official uniforms. During this period, colors had the function of distinguishing between superior and inferior status. The Tang Dynasty also issued special laws and regulations that clearly stipulated various clothing styles, objects, occasions and colors of the emperor, queen, crown prince, crown princess, ministers, and wives.
"Tang Huiyao" records the colors of the official uniforms of officials in court. Those with official positions above the third rank wear purple, those with fourth and fifth ranks wear scarlet, officials with sixth and seventh ranks wear green, and officials with eighth and ninth ranks wear green. It is cyan, and the official's wife follows her husband's dress.
This shows that the state's regulations and interference on clothing colors have always existed in the Tang Dynasty, and this system was constantly being improved. However, although the Tang Dynasty made clear regulations on the color of clothing, there was still no way to implement it in real life.
According to records, in the fifth year of Xianheng Dynasty, common people and officials outside wore short shirts of red, purple and other colors under their clothes, and some even wore clothes of these colors openly in the countryside, so the state issued a ban.
Despite the country's many taboos on color, women in the Tang Dynasty never stopped pursuing the color of their daily clothing. Famous skirts at that time included pomegranate skirts, moonlight skirts, blue gauze skirts, etc. They were named directly after their colors, which shows that women at that time pursued the color of their clothes.
The Tang Dynasty's skirts were very rich in color, mainly red, yellow, green, white, blue, brown, purple and other colors. Before the Tang Dynasty, most people used steady colors. For example, the clothes in the Qin and Han Dynasties were mainly black, gray and dark red, and the colors were not bright. The underskirts of the Tang Dynasty boldly used bright colors, such as yellow, green, blue, purple, etc.
The most popular color in the Tang Dynasty was red. Whether it was upper jacket or lower skirt, red was the most widely used color, followed by yellow and green.
Red has been very popular since ancient times. During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, people had shown a preference for red clothes. Women in the Tang Dynasty loved red even more. Red was the dominant color in women's skirts in the Tang Dynasty and was favored by many women.
Not only that, Tang Dynasty Ru skirts are also very unique in the color matching of clothing.
The first is to match contrasting colors with each other. Among them, red and green are most frequently matched together. This is the boldest color combination in Tang Dynasty clothing. At that time, red jacket and green skirt and green jacket and red skirt were very common matching methods.
The second color matching feature is the combination of white and other various colors. White was also a very commonly used color in the Tang Dynasty. It can be seen in undershirts, skirts, half-arms and shawls. Among them, white is the most used in upper undershirts. You can see the combination of white and other colors on the dance figures in the tomb of Prince Yide and Dunhuang murals, such as a white jacket paired with a red or green long skirt.
The third is to match similar colors. This kind of combination was also very common in the Tang Dynasty. The same color but different shades looked very harmonious when paired together. For example, the combination of a dark red top and a pink skirt can be seen in paintings of the Tang Dynasty.
The fourth feature is the mixing and matching of multiple colors. In addition to the above-mentioned color matching methods, women in the Tang Dynasty were also good at mixing and matching different colors. For example, in "Spring Outing of the Lady of Guo State", the main tones of cyan, red and white are combined with other colors, and the whole is very harmonious.
On the whole, women's clothing in the Tang Dynasty was not only bold in design and open-minded, but also used a wide range of colors, transcending classes and breaking the shackles of feudal ethics. Women's clothing in the Tang Dynasty all shows the open, free and colorful style of the Tang Dynasty.
ConclusionThe Tang Dynasty was an era when my country's development reached its peak, and its cultural heritage was extremelyrich. The development of clothing in the Tang Dynasty showed the unprecedented improvement of women's social status at that time, and their minds were more open than before. This is not only the progress of women's thought in the Tang Dynasty, but also the progress of the entire thought of the Tang Dynasty. It is also the foundation of modern social culture and has epoch-making significance.
References:
"Complete Poems of the Tang Dynasty", "Hanshu", "History of Chinese Clothing", "Research on Ancient Chinese Clothing", "New Tangshu"
