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Text/Lu Mengjia
The recent popular TV series "Qing Ping Le" has attracted much attention because it highly restores the costumes and makeup of the Song Renzong period. The female characters in the play are all displayed on the screen in a soft and elegant image. Whether it is clothing, pearls and makeup, they all show the beauty's weak and elegant temperament. It makes people wonder what the aesthetics of the Song Dynasty, a thousand years ago, looked like?
Song, anonymous, "Songle Songs"
is beautiful as thin
Yan Shu , Yan Jidao , once praised the beauty Li Shishi, "the distant mountains have long eyebrows, thin willows with waists. After makeup, the spring breeze is clear, and a smile is a few golds." It can be seen that Shishi is a light figure, thin waist and bright eyes, and a fresh and elegant character like a "fairy sister". In the writing of Ouyang Xiu , the beauty of the Song Dynasty may appear more soft and delicate - "The green clouds are two-piece and the golden cheeks are inserted. The age is so beautiful. The Han concubine Shu Su, the little weeping willows all occupy the waist of Luocheng." These descriptions reflect the delicate and exquisite beauty of the Song Dynasty in terms of makeup, demeanor and dress. In the "Song and Music Scroll" drawn by the Southern Song Dynasty, the singing and dancing girls in the painting are slim and are playing and rehearsing Song Dynasty dramas. They all wore red narrow-sleeved back coats, their hair was combed with high buns and hair accessories with three flowers. Their appearance was protruding from three corners, and they looked like three flower buds that were about to bloom from a distance. In terms of image, they all have shoulders, flat chests, and willow waists, which have a sense of elegance that "being out of the mud without staining", which is completely different from the graceful and luxuriousness of the Tang Dynasty.
Song, Qian chooses , "Picture of Lady of Cool"
In this Qian chooses "Picture of Lady of Cool", the aesthetic taste of thinness as beauty can still be seen by the audience. The maid was wearing a low-cut dress, a narrow skirt on her lower body, and a long coat, which made her whole body look slender. The lady on the right is wearing a "Quick Tower" crown. This kind of flower crown is even as high as two feet. Its crown made of lacquered yarn can also vaguely reveal the bun inside, making people feel light and delicate. The ladies on the left wore the "magnolia bud" crown on their heads, which looked very much like the noble ladies with a group crown in "The Moon Walking on the Yaotai". They all looked slender and weak in their outfits. The round fan in his hand blew the breeze, further highlighting the implicit and delicate beauty of the woman "still holding a pipa and half-covering her face."
Song Dynasty, Liu Zonggu's "Walking on the Moon"
"Crown" is beyond ancient and modern
Since the Tang Dynasty, it has been influenced by the treasure crown of Buddhism and the lotus crown of Taoism (such as "Sitting on the Map of But Sitting"), women like to wear various crowns on their heads. The beauty of women in the Song Dynasty was the standard of Guanyin Bodhisattva, and it became even more prosperous.
Song Dynasty, anonymous, "The Book of Que" Lotus Crown
"Qing Pingle" Zhang Guifei Lotus Crown
"The History of Dust" records: "Those who weave bamboos into balls are painted green, and then change and use horns to make them, which is called a round crown." In other words, the round crown was originally woven into a round shape of bamboo strips and painted green, and was named because of its shape like a ball. In the Song Dynasty, when women go out on the street, they only have to be decent if they wear crown ornaments.
Song, anonymous, "Portrait of Empress Renzong of Song"
In the old collection of "Portrait of Emperors and Empresses of All Dynasties", there are two portraits of the "Dragon and Phoenix Flower Hairpin" on the portraits of Empress Renzong of Song are very dazzling. The crown ornaments of "Portrait of Queen Renzong of Song" are inlaid with complex gems and pearls. There are images of dragons and phoenixes, flowers, trees, birds, and Queen Mother Fairy, and three hat wings are decorated on both sides, which is a very gorgeous "shoulder crown" style. "常" means sagging, and is named after the surrounding crown decorations sag to the shoulders.
Stills of "Qing Ping Le"
From the stills of "Qing Ping Le", the magnificence of this crown ornament is clearly restored. According to research, the number of jewelry on the crown reflects the difference between superiority and inferiority. The queen had as many as twenty-four flower hairpins, which were equal to the emperor's crown and beam. The Empress Dowager is also equal. The imperial concubines were reduced to eighteen.
"Seat of the Rear Sitting of Emperor Renzong of Song"
In "Seat of the Rear Sitting of Emperor Renzong of Song", the queen wears a dragon and phoenix flower hairpin and a cross-neck and a large sleeve flower brocade robe that complements each other.The queen has long and slender eyebrows, and the upper eyebrows, bridge of the nose, jaw, cheeks, and forehead are all white, making it look even more exquisite. In addition, her hair, eyebrows, and smiles on her cheeks are covered with pearls and flowers unique to the Song Dynasty, making her look even more luxurious. The Song people were obsessed with pearls.
"Qing Ping Le" Pearl Makeup
"Qing Ping Le" Concubine Zhang "Guan Qunfang" decoration
In "Qing Ping Le", we see Concubine Zhang full of pearls, the crown of the harem. According to "Dream of Tokyo" and "Dream of Dreams", the business of bead shops in Bianliang and Lin'an is very prosperous. It can be seen that the upper class of society has a wide range of needs and applications for pearls. The Song Dynasty government even set up a specialist in pearl mining in the South China Sea to solve the supply and demand problems of pearls.
"Qing Ping Le" Lady
"Flower" on the cake
"Seat of Song Renzong", the two ladies behind the queen wore small bunch of flower brocade robes, white jade belts, and the most distinctive "one year scene" flower crown in the Song Dynasty. It is made by woven the flowers of all seasons. The flowers in the corolla are made of silk, grass or colored paper. In "Qing Ping Le", Concubine Zhang brought this fashionable flower crown.
"Qingpingle Stills" "One-year Scenery" Flower Corolla
Lu You recorded in "Lao Xue'an Notes" that in the early Jingkang period, the capital weaving silk and women's jewelry and clothes were all equipped with four seasons. For example, the festival objects were spring banners, lamp balls, ferry, moxa tigers, clouds and moons, and the flowers were apricots, lotus, chrysanthemums, and plum blossoms were all spelled into a scene, which was called the 'One-year Scenery'". Flowers have become the darling of the fashion industry in , and both men and women like to embellish flowers between their heads. The emperor even gave the beautiful flowers and simulated branches to the ministers. Even the porter who walks around the streets wears flowers. In the market in Bianliang, the Northern Song Dynasty, there were not only shops selling flower crowns, but also craftsmen who specialized in cultivating crowns.
Song, anonymous, "Animalist" "Animalist" "Animalist"
Song, anonymous, "The Picture of Tian Yan's Drunk Returning" Tian Guan, wearing a square hat with a flower
dressing up
Song people love decoration fashion trends even to the point of luxury. In the harem, the queen and concubines wore "white horn crown", which is a huge crown made of rhino horns, as shown in "Picture of Zhang, the wife". Li Li "The Talk of Teachers and Friends of Jinan" records the scene of the public banquet: "The Empress and the Empress Dowager both have white horned crowns. There is only a white jade dragon hairpin in front and back. The clothes are yellow and the robe are not colorful. The concubine and the central palace are both carved with golden cloud moon crowns, and the front and back are also white jade dragon hairpin. The decorations are made of northern beads and red backs are all decorated with pearls." At that time, the demand for white horns was extremely great, and even reached the point where the domestic supply could not be supplied, which made the Indochina rhino extinct and imported from Africa. Song Renzong ordered a ban because he believed that the white horns were too extravagant: "Women's crowns are not as high as four inches, not as wide as one foot, and combs are not as long as four inches, and they still have no horns."
Song, anonymous, "Picture of the Lady Zhang" Baijiao Tuanguan
In the "love of beauty" complex of the Song people, we seem to be able to understand the prosperous past and humanistic atmosphere of the Song Dynasty. This fully demonstrated the prosperity of the economy and the improvement of people's thoughts and interests at that time. Before the Song Dynasty, ordinary women rarely wore crowns, usually with a comb bun, with a wig on top. However, in Tokyo City, which Ouyang Xiu described as "the world of beautiful wine, spring and strong flowers", women advocate thick hair, often change their hair buns, pay special attention to beautifying themselves, and even men have joined the camp of hairpin decoration, which shows the popularity of various fashion styles in the Song Dynasty. Liu Songnian 's "Picture of Beautiful Lady in Makeup" A woman slowly perfected her makeup and hairstyle. "Palace Maid Picture" shows the leisure and comfort of life in the palace. The women have exquisite makeup and beautiful dresses. One person danced gracefully, the other seemed to have just finished the female worker and embroidery. The garden is filled with flowers and trees. It seems like you are enjoying the leisurely "slow life" at midday.
Song, Su Hanchen , "Picture of Beautiful Lady"
Song, Su Hanchen, "Picture of Palace Maids"
From ancient paintings depicting characters, the prosperity and comfort of the Song people's life and the mood of people's life can be seen. This is a nationalized display of elegant aesthetics under the style of worshipping literature.How can such a charming dynasty and elegant aesthetics not be loved by people? (Article source: Art China)
Reference of this article:
Wang Miao: "Pearl Light and Green Shadow - History of Chinese Jewelry", Beijing: Jincheng Publishing House Published in 2012
Ma Dayong: "Red Makeup and Green Eyebrows: Classical Makeup and Beauty of Chinese Women", Chongqing: Chongqing University Press 2012
Shen Congwen : "Research on Ancient Chinese Clothing", Shanghai: Shanghai Bookstore Publishing House 2012
Source: Xinhuahao Xuchang Northern Song Painting Academy
