Cai Xin
The "Cloud Thinking Clothes - Silk Road Clothing Culture Special Exhibition", which brings together 186 pieces/groups of exquisite cultural relics from more than 20 cultural and museum institutions across the country, is being held at the Chengdu Museum. The exquisite clothing kingdom and the humanistic and historical pictures infiltrated with thousands of years of cultural self-confidence are presented to people one by one, which has attracted a lot of attention.
From the allusions of the mulberry forest praying for rain and the divine tree hibiscus, to the historical facts of domestication of silkworms and silk reeling, the story of silk shows the harmonious thought of "harmony between man and nature" in Chinese philosophy.
Through the Silk Road, silk has had a profound impact on the Chinese clothing culture and even human civilization around the world.
At the same time, China enjoys the reputation of "Kingdom of Clothing and Crowns", which is actually inseparable from the continuous development of traditional clothing in cultural integration.
Especially when a piece of clothing, a piece of fabric, a strand of silk thread, and a cluster of silkworm cocoons travel back and forth on the Silk Road with trade, ethnic integration, and technological exchanges, colliding and blending, extending too many vivid plots of the rich Chinese clothing culture. .
[Chu and Han splendours and the beginning of the Silk Road]
Witness material exchange with the existence of square objects in different places
On the Eurasian continent, people in various regions migrate frequently, which invisibly derives the exchange of clothing culture.
The earliest nomadic peoples recorded in history, the Scythians, moved eastward and southward, and brought the pointed hat image and weaving method on the reliefs of Persepolis to the Turpan area in the east of Tianshan Mountain.
This kind of straight and hard high-pointed hat made of hair as the main material has become an important clothing symbol in Subeixi culture, one of the birthplaces of "three ancient cultures in Xinjiang".
At about the same time, the silk of the Central Plains in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods also traveled westward across the Altai Mountains through a natural channel that did not have scale and stability, and then traveled to the north.
Although it is difficult for today's people to distinguish the authenticity of the narratives of strange books and classics such as "The Biography of Mu Tianzi", the romantic patterns of Chu Feng and the brocades exclusively produced in China at that time were found in the ancient tomb of Bazerek in distant Russia. Existence, it really shows the highlight moment of the Chinese culture carried by silk in this ancient past.
The brocade robe with phoenix and bird flower patterns unearthed from Mashan Tomb No. 1 in Jingzhou not only reflects the basic standard of traditional Chinese clothing, "dress is beautiful, and brocade is the predestined relationship", but also shows the unique identification of the noble and mysterious phoenix bird in the imagination of the Chu people. Spend.
The embroidered horse scorpion with bird pattern on silk ground found in the ancient tomb of Bazelek is represented by the most traditional Chinese stitch embroidery which originated in the Shang and Zhou dynasties; the divine bird with round chest and abdomen and slightly curved lower limbs has a distinct head crown, The long tail is good at dancing, and it is connected with the graceful branches and leaves hanging upside down on the corolla.
From clothing to harnesses, it is also a kind of customs on the Silk Road.
This brocade robe is also a typical deep garment.
Shenyi was the most popular item at that time. It replaced the early two-part clothing with top and bottom. It can be described as a model of the materialized expression of traditional Chinese Confucianism: the top and bottom of Shenyi are connected, the silhouette is concise, the length is suitable, and it is convenient to wear. It has a flush hem for fairness, a vertical midseam for integrity, and a square collar for selflessness.
Shenyi is widely used in the life of the world as the regular clothes of scholars above the class, the auspicious clothes of scholars, and the sacrificial clothes of common people.
The famous brocade with dancing figures and animals was also unearthed in the Mashan Chu tomb. One piece has pairs of dragons, phoenixes, unicorns, and dancing people lined up in a zigzag frame. It is considered to be the oldest in China. Oversized jacquard fabric.
Although the brocade pattern at this time was not exquisite, it was a little monotonous and childish, but China was the only country that mastered the production technology of brocade, and the simple geometric pattern brocade was also spread to the Bazelek Basin.
In the Han Dynasty, on the one hand, the government "emptied" the desert oasis Silk Road and operated the Western Regions, and on the other hand vigorously developed government-run weaving institutions. These great achievements made silk a commodity in the trade between the East and the West and gradually became a representative cultural symbol of Chinese civilization. provide assurance.
In the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, the phenomenon of Hu people wearing Han clothing and Han people wearing Hu clothing began to appear; in the early Eastern Han Dynasty, the clothing system centered on imperial power was fully implemented.
From the perspective of the foreign exchange of silk as an important material, in the Western Regions and the world further west, it has left a colorful imprint of Han-style scriptures.
During the Qin and Han Dynasties, the emperors paid special attention to the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven and earth. Qin Shihuang and Emperor Wu of the Han had all held the ceremony of Fengchan on Mount Tai. Therefore, Han brocades also displayed the characteristics of the times with the images of extraordinary clouds and rare birds and animals.
The Han-style "cloud-like animal pattern brocade" has relatively fixed color and pattern combinations, following the yin-yang and five-element theory of five-colored flowers, continuous cloud patterns, real or imagined animals, and inscriptions interspersed with good wishes.
Such exquisite fabrics that contain the core ideas of Chinese classical philosophy are also irreplaceable high-end gift options.
The "Five Stars Out of the East Benefiting China" brocade unearthed in the high-standard main tomb of the Niya site has been made into a must-have armguard for the locals when they hunt, and it is likely to be a classic from Shu.
If you look closely, there are animals that are not produced in the Central Plains such as ostriches and peacocks wandering in the auspicious atmosphere of this brocade.
In a similar period, the patterns of foreign elements such as grapes and hunting beasts also appeared on the silk.
After the opening of the Silk Road, the multi-cultural exchanges have been exchanged, and the grand occasion of each other's radiance and radiance can be seen from time to time.
[The Wei-Jin Merry and Hu-Han Parallel]
Witness the mixing of customs with the mutual learning of Hu and Han clothing items
Over time, the cultural fusion that took place along the Silk Road became deeper and more frequent.
During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the unique silkworm breeding technology originally created in China spread westward along the Silk Road.
This is often shown on the mural bricks of Gansu Gaotai in the "Wei Jin Social Comics".
The pictures of mulberry picking, silk picking machine tow, clothes drying, cloth cutting, and unpacking pictures on the portrait bricks express daily life scenes such as picking mulberry, raising silkworms, reeling silk and weaving through the "bricks" (pictures), which proves that The spread of sericulture and textile skills at that time also allowed us to see silhouettes of popular clothing at that time from the clothing of the characters.
In the Han Yuefu poem "Moshang Sang", the beautiful and steadfast Qin Luofu is described in this way, "Hangqi is the lower skirt, and Ziqi is the upper skirt".
Women wearing upper and lower skirts appeared as early as the Warring States Period. It was also common for men in the Han Dynasty to wear upper and lower hakama. During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the typical Han costumes and skirts became popular again, and the size of the sleeves of the ru skirt was popular. Reflects the social class of the wearer.
From the Wei and Jin Tombs in Jiayuguan New City, which has the reputation of "the largest underground gallery in the world", bricks with pictures of traveling pictures, pictures of milking pictures and pictures of ladies have been unearthed.
The protagonist in the milking picture is wearing a skirt with small sleeves, indicating that she is a commoner who does daily labor.
The waistline of the small-sleeved Ru skirt gradually increased, and it was often matched with aprons of different colors, which continued to be popular until the Sui and Tang Dynasties.
In addition, there are large-sleeved sur-skirts based on small-sleeved sur-skirts, which are mostly used by noble women. Like male ru-skirts, they are influenced by the wind of Baoyi Bo, wide sleeves and elegant.
The "Broad Clothes" is a true portrayal of Wei and Jin's style in clothing.
In the Wei and Jin Dynasties, famous people were romantic, they came in and out calmly, and they looked like gods. In the Southern Dynasties, Baoyi Bodai was more sought after by literati and doctors, and it also penetrated into all classes.
The kings and ministers in the Dongpo Buddhist legend on the top of Cave 290 in the Northern Zhou Dynasty of the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang are dressed in robes and belts. It reflects the parallel characteristics of Huhu and Han.
Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty implemented the "Taihe Restructuring" and absorbed a lot of Han culture. Later, the Western Wei and Northern Zhou regimes implemented the policy of paying equal attention to Hu and Han, which also promoted the establishment of a clothing system that blended Hu and Han.
During this period, there were frequent regime changes, continuous wars, the rise of metaphysics, the introduction of Buddhism, Persia and Greece and other cultures from the west to the east.
On the brocades unearthed in Qinghai and Xinjiang, there are patterns combining the Greek sun god and Buddhist cultural elements, represented by the Northern Dynasty cluster four cloud beads sun god pattern brocade unearthed from the Shui Tomb in Dulan County, Qinghai.
The circular pattern in the middle of the brocade, the outer ring is composed of bead patterns and cirrus patterns.
Looking back at the cloud pattern on the brocade of the Han Dynasty in China, this cirrus pattern has obvious Hellenistic artistic characteristics, so it is also called "vortex cloud pattern"; the bead pattern is a symbolic decorative element in Sassanid Persian art.
In the visual center of the pattern unit, Helios, the sun god in ancient Greek mythology, is sitting on the lotus throne with his feet crossed.
The patterns also include Tianma, dragon heads, Buddha flags, and the symmetrical Chinese characters "Chang" and "Ji" outside the circle of beads.
Multicultural symbols are gathered here, borrowed from today's popular words - no sense of contradiction.
Zoroastrianism, which originated in Persia, became popular in Gaochang, Khotan and other places in the Western Regions during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties.
Animal images, such as wild boar pattern and winged horse pattern, which symbolize the gods in Zoroastrianism, also appeared in large numbers on fabrics and clothing, full of exotic flavors.
[Gorgeous and multi-source convergence in the Sui and Tang Dynasties]
Witness innovation after cultural overlap in novel style
The feat of connecting the outside world and expanding the influence of local culture in the Central Plains is culminated in the performance of the Tang Dynasty.
At that time, when the political reunification of the North and the South was achieved, when foreign relations extended westward to Central Asia, Persia, the Arabian Peninsula, and the Mediterranean region, and to the east to the Korean Peninsula and the Japanese island, Chinese culture was tolerant of all rivers, inclusive, and inclusive. It has opened a new chapter that connects the past and the future.
In the Tang Dynasty, a system of "quality clothing" was established, and the color of clothing was determined by the official product, and the color of the clothing was used to clearly distinguish the rank of the noble and the lowly.
The crown clothing system cooperates with the government's complete bureaucratic hierarchy, and has made detailed regulations on crown clothing and matching according to different levels and occasions.
Among them, the dresses that need to be worn on major occasions such as sacrifices and political activities are the embodiment of the traditional Confucian aesthetics and the spirit of the etiquette system.
Later, official uniforms and uniforms were also incorporated into the clothing system.
It can be seen that the ruler has perfected the marking system with clothing as a symbol, and based on this, he has the firm will and strong execution to consolidate the political power and stabilize the social order.
Men's clothing in the Tang Dynasty not only inherited the Han-style crown clothes, but also naturally chose the easy-to-wear and practical categories in the northern nomadic system, such as futou, round-neck robes, leather belts and long boots.
The painted male figurines unearthed from the Mutai tomb in Zhaozigou, Qingcheng County, Gansu Province are a common image of a man in the Tang Dynasty. The pendulum is tucked under the black leather belt at the waist.
Futou, as an important first clothing in men's clothing, developed and evolved from the scarf in the Eastern Han Dynasty; after the history, Emperor Wu of Zhou cut four feet on the square handkerchief, and knotted the four feet to the back, and the Futou was obtained from this. name.
Women's clothing in the Tang Dynasty inherited the ru skirt that was popular since the Wei and Jin Dynasties, with ru, shirt and jacket on the upper body, and a skirt on the lower body.
In the early Tang Dynasty, it is very likely that under the influence of Qiuci and other regions, the wearing method of half-arm and silk appeared.
It should be a kind of "fashion" produced in China under the influence of West Asian culture, and it has gradually developed into the Xiapi in the women's clothing of Song and Ming Dynasties.
Half-arms, also known as half-sleeves, are short-sleeved tops worn over long-sleeves.
The round neck and half-arms with slanted plackets collected in the Chengdu Museum are particularly elegant, showing the times in style and patterns.
The main pattern is a large group of treasure flowers. This pattern is symmetrical from top to bottom and left and right, which is gorgeous and rich.
There is a treasure-patterned brocade robe in the collection of the National Silk Museum of China. The treasure flower of the big nest has eight frontal petals as the flower core, and then eight blooming side-style treasure flowers as the second layer, and the outermost layer is also composed of eight flowers and leaves. Preserved treasure flowers, layers of treasure flowers bloom.
Treasure pattern is a name for Tuanhu flowers in the Tang Dynasty. The shape is mostly symmetrical and radial. The blooming or half-open flowers, buds and leaves are combined to form a more decorative group.
Baohua was relatively simple in the early stage, and then combined with the popular honeysuckle and curly grass in the Mediterranean region, as well as grapes and pomegranates in Central Asia, to form more complex and magnificent patterns.
Not only the pattern level, but also the essence of the rapidly developing Central Asian weft brocade in the process of western transmission of traditional Chinese weaving techniques and clothing culture to create new varieties.
The appearance of weft brocade is an important milestone in the history of Chinese textiles, and it has gradually become the mainstream of embroidery in later generations.
He Chou mentioned in "Book of Sui" and Dou Shilun mentioned in "Records of Famous Paintings in Past Dynasties" are two masters of arts and crafts who made outstanding contributions in this process.
After receiving the exquisite golden brocade presented by Persia, Emperor Wen of Sui asked He Chou to imitate it and obtained a more exquisite fabric than the original.
During the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, Dou Shilun broke through the decorative style of traditional brocade, absorbed foreign cultural elements, and organized and designed many new patterns of brocade and damask on the basis of Baohua.
Its main feature is that it is surrounded by flower clusters or scrolls of grass, and contains corresponding animal patterns such as pheasants, fighting sheep, flying phoenixes, and youlins.
Later, because Dou Shilun was named "Lingyang Duke", these patterns are also called "Lingyang Duke".
The technique of kesi may come from the technique of kesi in the Western Regions, and kesi products have appeared since the Tang Dynasty at the latest.
Kesi adopts the weaving method of "connecting the warp and breaking the weft", using the natural color as the warp and the colored silk as the weft, and using a small shuttle to weave the various colored weft threads in a plain weave according to the drawing.
In the Song Dynasty, Kesi achieved many ingenious arts and crafts works, and then in the Yuan Dynasty, it became the main craft of making royal portraits for the royal family of the Mongolian Empire.
The rhythm of China, the culture is long; the clothing is good, the Silk Road echoes.
The cultural exchange on the Silk Road went to the Tang Dynasty to form a "paragraph summary".
In subsequent regime changes, it still inherited the clothing system and continued technical innovation.
The costumes of the Song Dynasty mostly inherited the styles of the Tang Dynasty. At the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Zhu Yuanzhang, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, "restored the clothes like the Tang Dynasty", and always regarded the establishment of the clothing system as an important measure to consolidate the country's society.
Overseas, the island of Japan and the Korean Peninsula are also deeply influenced by Chinese culture, often taking Tang as the benchmark; the "Twelve Singles" representing the classic kimono, as the typical clothing of aristocratic women, still retains the influence of Tang culture.
The Korean Peninsula adopted Tang Dynasty official uniforms after Silla unified the Three Kingdoms. For a long period of time, "Tangyi" was still used to refer to the dresses used for ceremonies and major festivals.
On the Silk Road, the cultural integration of various ethnic groups and regions is an important driving force for the renewal of Chinese culture.
With the in-depth development of ethnic integration, the complex clothing culture formed by multiple cultural exchanges finally merges into the new Chinese cultural symbol system.
(The author is an associate professor at the School of Clothing, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University)