Things that come out of the long river of history always carry their unique times and regional characteristics. We glimpse the style and features of an era from cultural relics, and at the same time walk into the corresponding culture. This time we will pass through Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes. Let's get a glimpse of the corresponding traditional Chinese culture behind it.
As we all know, Mogao Grottoes was built in the Sixteen Kingdoms Period. The monk Lezun passed a mountain and suddenly saw golden light shine like ten thousand Buddhas, so he dug the first cave on the rock wall. Later, after continuous development, Mogao Grottoes gradually prospered. In the Sui and Tang Dynasties, with the prosperity of the Silk Road. The construction of Mogao Grottoes has reached its peak. According to historical records, there were more than a thousand caves in the Wu Zetian period.
These caves contain cultural connotations and time stamps, and are rich in image materials such as murals and sculptures. These caves are rich in image materials such as murals and sculptures. The grotto murals are richer in content, depicting a variety of Buddhist scripture stories, reflecting the relationship between man and god, and recording all kinds of scenes of the working people at that time. It is precisely because of this that the content of the murals and unearthed cultural relics of Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes have a very high reference value for the study of ancient Chinese costume culture, and their credibility is very high. The Tang Dynasty was a highly prosperous period of Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, and the cultural connotation of its costumes was deeply reflected. This is also our theme today, starting with the murals of Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, and analyzing the costume culture of the Tang Dynasty.
一 The social fashion of the Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was a very prosperous dynasty in historical records, with stable political situation, developed economy, and the people living and working in peace and contentment. People praised it as the heyday of the Tang Dynasty. It is precisely because of this that it has a high degree of openness and tolerance, which corresponds to the social customs of freedom and openness. This spiritual temperament is also deeply reflected in the costume culture of the Tang Dynasty.
1. Bold and revealing outfit
The clothing change of the Tang Dynasty is usually reflected in a top-down trend. Popular clothing is often admired among princes and nobles, and then spread to the people. It is imitated by many civilian women to catch up with the trend and flourishes for a while. Therefore, to a large extent, the popular clothing of the Tang Dynasty reflects the ruling class and Aristocratic aesthetics. The noble women at this time were bold and open-minded, pursuing feminine beauty. Under this specific thought, the most representative female costume of the Tang Dynasty was also derived: the topless costume. The neckline of the topless dress is designed to be very low, exposing the woman's neck, and at the same time semi-exposed. In the Tang Dynasty, when fatness was regarded as beauty, this special bold dress design perfectly showed the curvaceous beauty and plumpness of women.
The popularity of topless clothing in the Tang Dynasty also experienced a special period of development. At the beginning, the neckline design of topless clothing was not so low, and relatively speaking, it was relatively conservative. In the heyday of the Tang Dynasty, the neckline was very large and low, but at this time, the topless dress was only worn as a special holiday costume. It wasn't until the late Tang Dynasty that the topless dress gradually became popular as an ordinary dress, which had both aesthetics and practicality. In the mid- and late Tang dynasties, the scope of application of topless clothing became wider, even lower-class working women often wore them. As recorded in Cave 329 of the Dunhuang early Tang frescoes, the women who came to worship wore a topless, large round neck and narrow-sleeved gauze, and a high-waisted long skirt underneath.
2. Unique men's and women's wear
In addition to boldly displaying the curvaceous topless outfits of women, the women of the Tang Dynasty also developed unique men's and women's wear.
The round neck robe is one of the most typical Hufu in the Tang Dynasty, and it is also the most comfortable one among men's clothing. It was once a favorite travel clothing choice for women in the Tang Dynasty. In the image, there are 9 maids behind him, 8 of them are wearing round-neck robe-style menswear, with belts around their waists.
From the perspective of changes in clothing preferences, it reflects to a certain extent the improvement of women’s social status in the Tang Dynasty. It has a specific era imprint. It reflects the highly enlightened society during the Tang Dynasty and reflects the economic and cultural changes at that time. Prosperous and prosperous, it has become a beautiful scenery in the history of Chinese costumes. From a practical point of view, the women’s social activities in the Tang Dynasty were very rich. They were no longer confined to high walls and between boudoirs, but often traveled, riding horses, playing polo, and hunting.Special competitive entertainment activities, therefore, also provide unique conditions for the popularity of Hufu.
2. Inclusive of Tang Dynasty costumes
The political situation in the Tang Dynasty was stable and enlightened. Under the guarantee of strong national political power, a series of economic development policies were introduced. The most distinctive feature is the opening-up development policy chosen by the Tang Dynasty. Under the guidance of this economic policy, the continuous development of foreign trade has promoted inter-ethnic integration and inter-ethnic cultural exchanges. Under such a background, the costumes of the Tang Dynasty also absorbed the costume characteristics of the surrounding ethnic minorities, and the traditional Chinese costumes added exotic flavors to the classical charm.
1. Hu Fu was popular in the Tang Dynasty
The Silk Road in the Tang Dynasty was very prosperous. Through the Silk Road, the Tang Dynasty started corresponding trade with the surrounding ethnic minorities, which was brought about by economic exchanges. Cultural exchanges also drove the Huhua style of Tang Dynasty costumes. The Huhua style mainly came from the Western Regions, Central Asia, and West Asia on the Silk Road, including Qiuci, Japan, Korea, and Tubo. The Gaochang Uighurs were especially popular. Hufu was the most popular in the heyday of the Tang Dynasty. At that time, the traditional and typical Hufu dress was embodied in narrow sleeves, tight trouser openings, boots, a high-cap and a waistband. Noble ladies from the court, and ordinary people down to the common folks all love this light and concise Hufu decoration.
Among them, Hu hats are a major feature of Hu clothing. Hu hats were originally popular among ethnic minorities in the north, and then introduced to the Central Plains. It is a kind of leather hat or felt hat. In the Tang Dynasty, in order to combine beauty and practicality, women often used a hood and a veil to cover the head and face. When the weather is cold, the women of the Tang Dynasty will also wear the corresponding style of cloak. For example, in the wall paintings of Cave 217 of Mogao Grottoes, there is a picture of a woman wearing a hood, riding a horse and wearing a red cloak in the mountains.
2. Alien costumes were all the rage in the Tang Dynasty
Tang Dynasty costume culture involves a wide range of costumes. The topless clothing and Hu clothing mentioned earlier are some of the clothing for daily travel, and the dance clothing of the Tang Dynasty is also very characteristic of the times and exotic. There is also the influence of the introduction of exotic dances on the costumes of the Tang Dynasty. On this basis, the Tang dynasty's dress wax, long-sleeved, cloud crown, and brocade dance costumes have all been greatly improved. In the 66th and 108th caves of Dunhuang, there are records of "Ji Letian" dance clothes. This kind of dance clothes is the product of the combination of Central Plains costumes and Indian costumes. In addition, the yoke, which was very popular among women in the Tang Dynasty, was first introduced from India to Northwest China and then to the Central Plains, and was loved by the majority of women. This custom has also been passed on to later generations.
Three. The dresses of the female supporters of the Tang Dynasty in the Dunhuang frescoes in various periods
The Tang Dynasty has experienced hundreds of years of ups and downs. These changes are not only reflected in politics, but also in economic, ideological and social life and other aspects. The costume culture that existed in the background of the times also changed to a certain extent, so the costume culture in various periods of the Tang Dynasty also did not exist.
1. Women's clothing in the early Tang Dynasty
The social and folk customs in the early Tang Dynasty were relatively simple, natural and simple, and the status of men and women was relatively equal. Society also promotes free love, and love is based on free choice. The number of Dunhuang frescoes reflecting the characteristics of the costumes of this period is as high as more than 300. On the basis of social freedom, there are many types of people who come to worship. The identities of worshippers are complex and diverse, ranging from princes and noble officials to ordinary civilians. At this time, the clothing differentiation is also very significant, the action styles of the characters are different, but most people choose to stand with a silk scarf in hand.
2. Women's clothing in the Mid-Tang Dynasty
The prosperous Tang Dynasty lost its absolute land control right after the Anshi Rebellion. The Hexi region has also been ruled by the Tubo population for ten years. The Tubo people adopt a discriminatory policy against the Han people. They enslaved the Han people while exporting their own culture, forcing the Han people to wear clothing accessories with Tubo cultural characteristics. On this basis, there has been a trend of fusion of Han costumes and Tubo costumes. Some clothing with the characteristics of the time also came into being, the most typical and prominentThere is nothing more representative of Tubo costume. People have made improvements to traditional men's clothing, changing from a robe to a design with a lapel slit and missing crotch. At the same time, it is more troublesome in printing and dyeing to make the color more outstanding, the clothing pattern is also complicated, and the visual effect is very outstanding. Later, this clothing design gradually became popular among women and was praised by the majority of Tang Dynasty women, that is, the Tang Dynasty women we mentioned earlier liked men's clothing.
3. Women’s clothing in the late Tang Dynasty
The brutal rule of Tubo aroused dissatisfaction among the local people. The uprising Zhang Yichao led the masses and successfully recovered Dunhuang and Jinchang area. At this time, people in these areas had closer and frequent exchanges with the central government, but the costumers retained certain ethnic characteristics.
IV. The clothing color of the female patrons of the Tang Dynasty
1. The clothing color of the early Tang Dynasty
The clothing of the early Tang Dynasty inherited the style of the Sui Dynasty, focusing on fresh and elegant color matching. Therefore, the main color of clothing likes to use pink green, and the auxiliary color is basically silver gray and gray blue. On the whole, it gives a sense of swaying life.
2. The costume color of the female patrons in the Mid-Tang Dynasty
During the Mid-Tang Dynasty, the economy and politics of the Tang Dynasty continued to develop, and the costume colors gradually became gorgeous, which was reflected in the Dunhuang murals. It has also begun to become more mature, with thicker colors, giving people a very strong sense of decoration. From the color point of view, it also reduces the practicality of clothing to a certain extent.
3. The dress color of the female sponsor in the late Tang Dynasty
The political and economic development of the Tang Dynasty in the late Tang Dynasty gradually declined. This country has entered the moment when the sun’s twilight is sinking to the west. At this time, the mural style of Mogao Grottoes in the late Tang Dynasty has gradually become simple and deep. Correspondingly, the clothing of the women of the Tang Dynasty in the late Tang Dynasty is relatively In the Tang Dynasty, it was more simple and concise, and dark tones, such as silver gray and brown, were used extensively in the use of colors.
Five. Style and color flow
The development and changes of clothing are reflected in all aspects of clothing details. The color and design changes of the Tang Dynasty costumes in the Dunhuang murals also reflect the development and changes of the times during the Tang Dynasty.
1. Popular and generous clothing
Compared with the traditional Chinese aesthetics of slenderness as beauty, what is still popular in the Tang Dynasty is that it takes fat as beauty. This kind of fatness as beauty is not only reflected in the body shape preference, but also in the clothing design.
On the whole, the clothing in the early Tang Dynasty is still more close-fitting, emphasizing the practicality of the clothing, and improving the daily travel choice of clothing as much as possible. Women in the early Tang Dynasty still followed the style of the Sui Dynasty. The overall simplicity and elegance. Women like to wear narrow short skirts and close-fitting long skirts to express the gentleness and solemnity of women.
and in the heyday of the Tang Dynasty, that is, the Kaiyuan period, women's clothing gradually changed to the pursuit of gorgeous, aesthetics greater than practicality. Therefore, I also began to pursue generous robes to express the atmosphere. For example, the female supporters in the 159th cave of Mogao Grottoes in the Middle Tang Dynasty wore large, wide-sleeved shirts, high-waisted loose skirts, and silks, and their overall profile showed an O shape.
From an aesthetic point of view, perhaps the large long skirt does not conform to the traditional aesthetics, but it is this unique clothing culture that reflects the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty. Under the background of the country's prosperity and social stability, people have the courage to pursue the beauty they expect, seek inner freedom and liberation, and people's values are open and diverse. Therefore, behind this clothing culture, what is reflected is the unique prosperity of an era and a dynasty.
2. Abundant clothing colors
The exquisiteness of a piece of clothing is often reflected in the richness of the material, color and style of the clothing. In the Tang Dynasty, the handling of details of costumes far exceeded that of previous dynasties. Especially the color choices of Tang Dynasty costumes are brilliant and colorful, which can be described as contending with each other. The political, economic and cultural background hidden behind the color of clothing can also be spied on. earlyIn the Tang Dynasty, people's choice of colors was very gentle and elegant. The colors of clothing were mainly composed of earth red, earth green, gray blue and dark brown. The overall clothing was relatively conservative. During the prosperous period of the Tang Dynasty, the society and economy were prosperous, and the colors of clothing were often very bright. For example, the female supporter in Cave 375 of Mogao Grottoes wore a high bun, a small shirt with a narrow sleeve with a collar on the inside, and a high waist with a half-arm outside The wide skirt is a combination of pink green, orange and taupe. In the late Tang Dynasty, people's choice of colors, along with the decline of the country, the hardship of the people's lives, turned into a simple and deep life.
Summary
All in all, the costume culture of the Tang Dynasty is unique and unique in history. This was inseparable from the stable political situation and open economic policy of the Tang Dynasty. All of this, coupled with the prosperity of the Silk Road in the Tang Dynasty, greatly promoted the integration of Chinese traditional costumes and ethnic minority costume culture. While innovating costume culture, it also promoted friendly exchanges between ethnic groups, thereby driving other people. The exchange and integration of various cultures eventually formed an open, diverse and colorful Tang Dynasty, all of which played a circular role.
All kinds of splendid cultural fusion and development, finally created the rich costume culture of the Tang Dynasty as we now know it. So far, this is still a cultural treasure house, waiting for us to further explore.
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