1. Costume art pursues the beauty of etiquette and order. China's ethics has an extremely important influence on China's aesthetic culture. During the development of China's clothing art for thousands of years, Confucian ethics thought became its core idea. Only clothes that abide by ethical norms are beautiful. The crown service system formulated by the Zhou Dynasty has influenced China for thousands of years. Crown clothing is the general name of all kinds of clothing named after different hats. There are strict and detailed rules about what kind of hat to wear and what kind of clothes to wear. In different etiquette occasions, people of different grades should wear clothes that suit their status. These clothes have different regulations in terms of color, material and size. The crown service system in the Zhou Dynasty was very strict. As a leather coat, it should be graded according to the leather and color. The emperor wears white fox skin, princes, doctors and scholars wear blue fox skin and yellow fox skin, and ordinary people wear dog sheepskin. Since the Zhou dynasty, the shape of the crown clothing has been passed down from generation to generation. Although it was slightly changed according to the wishes of the rulers of various generations, its basic shape is similar, especially the connotation of expressing class differences has never changed.
Second, the Confucian aesthetic view of clothing "quality" and "culture" is quite broad in China's philosophy. Quality refers to the beauty of one's qualifications, while literature refers to the beauty of one's clothes.
"On Quotations Wei Linggong" records: "A gentleman's righteousness is quality, courtesy is behavior, sun is behavior, and faith is achievement." The "quality" mentioned by Confucius here refers to the inherent ethical quality of human beings.
"On Language Taber" records: "Confucius said: Dayao is king! Awesome! Only the sky is big, and only Yao is it; Swing! People can't name names. This is a success, this is an article! " Confucius' so-called "Wen" here refers to the decorative patterns or literary talents on clothing, such as decorative patterns, white horses, carvings and carvings. It can be seen that Confucius attached great importance to the beauty of clothing.
The Confucian aesthetic view of clothing with unified literature and quality is closely combined with the concept of hierarchy. The development and changes of ancient Chinese costumes were deeply influenced by Confucianism, especially in the upper class. As far as its cultural connotation is concerned, Confucian ethics, as an important part of "ceremony", has penetrated into many details such as costumes and hats. Whether it is a "gentleman" or a lady's dress, it is dominated by this concept, and the influence of loyalty and filial piety on dress has spread to almost all levels of society. These are one of the reasons why ancient Chinese costumes are unique.
The development and changes of ancient Chinese costumes were deeply influenced by Confucianism, especially in the upper class. For thousands of years, it has directly influenced China people's clothing concepts and styles. For example, after the establishment of the Western Han Dynasty, the new rulers learned the lessons of the Qin Dynasty and made very detailed regulations on the dress etiquette system, which not only strictly standardized the style and color of Guanbai costumes, but also restricted folk costumes. At that time, people could only wear real linen clothes, not other colors. In addition, detailed and complete provisions have been made on daily necessities, such as related basic needs of life, such as clothes, hats, shoes and socks, chariots and horses, daily necessities and so on. In the Han Dynasty, colors, varieties, materials and colors were strictly classified.
In the heyday of feudal society in China, both human thought and material production reached a certain historical height in the Tang Dynasty. Dress decoration shows the hierarchical system of feudal etiquette in the form of unique "signs". There is a record about the origin of China's official clothing supplement in Old Tang Book: "Every day, the February Dynasty is given, and the embroidered robes are given, and the eight-character inscriptions are embroidered on the back of each robe ... The king is decorated with dragons and deer, the prime minister is decorated with Fengchi, and the minister is decorated with geese." You can see the embroidered robe given to Guan Bai by Wu Zetian, which is dominated by bird and beast patterns, and the decorative parts are on the front and back. This practice is symbolic to some extent. As a tangible cultural symbol, it is directly expressed in clothing, which makes it have obvious Chinese etiquette and cultural characteristics.
In the Song Dynasty, influenced by Zhu Cheng's Neo-Confucianism, people in the Song Dynasty burned gold ornaments and simple clothes to obtain elegant beauty, and made detailed and strict regulations on women's clothing. The clothing system in Song Dynasty is closely related to Zhu Cheng's Neo-Confucianism. Clothing in Qing Dynasty is the peak of China's clothing development, and the decorative effect of clothing patterns at this time has also reached its peak. In the Qing Dynasty, the design of patterns inherited the patterns of the twelve chapters, and on the basis of the Eight Auspicious Patterns of the Ming Dynasty, the decorative function of patterns was integrated, which made it complicated. During this period, a kind of decoration called "Buzi" appeared on the clothing, and the pattern of "Buzi" represented the official position. The difference of "Buzi" mode reflects the strict hierarchical system in Qing Dynasty. In addition, the hats in Qing dynasty changed the styles and styles of previous dynasties, paying attention to the decoration of wearing flowers on the hats, and embodying different official positions with different flowers.
The difference between the costume development in Qing Dynasty and that in previous dynasties is mainly manifested in the complicated stacking of various costume decorative patterns and the embodiment of hierarchy in the patterns. It can be said that "courtesy" is an important support of China's ancient legal right system. In this process, clothing plays a very important auxiliary role.
China's clothing system has always been closely linked with China's etiquette thought, which makes the patterns of ancient Chinese clothing always develop according to etiquette.
The ritual system promoted the characteristic development of ancient Chinese costume patterns. The etiquette in ancient China was formulated in the era of "Three Emperors and Five Emperors". By the time Yao Shun arrived, there had been a written Five Rites. If you want to see the images of the ancients, the sun, the moon and the stars ... will be suitable for five colors to serve you. "The leaders of various alliances applied colorful colors to clothes during the sacrificial activities, and twelve patterns were applied to the coronation clothes through painting and embroidery. This is the origin of the Twelve Chapters of the Emperor's Bitterness. In chapter 12, the order of decorative patterns is sun, moon, star, dragon, mountain, China insect, fire, Zong Yi, seaweed, rice flour, Erlang fish and Nuo, which shows that the clothing patterns at that time were already very distinctive. By the time of Yin and Shang Dynasties, there had been a hierarchy in society, but the shape of clothing had not yet been formed. By the Zhou Dynasty, the system of rites, music and costumes of the Chinese nation was gradually formed. With the establishment of various etiquette systems, from the emperor to the common people, no matter how high or low, they must wear corresponding costumes and regulate their lives with the spirit of "courtesy." Having fun, the system is politics, living in harmony with people, singing and singing ",
1. Clothing, as a cultural form, runs through the ancient history of China from the content of pattern theme. From the evolution of clothing, we can see the historical changes, economic development and the evolution of China's cultural aesthetic consciousness.
Each of the twelve patterns has a specific symbolic meaning, such as the sun, the moon and the stars, which glow in the light, implying the brilliance of the three lights; The dragon is a symbol of the gods, but at the same time it is unpredictable, taking its meaning to adapt; The mountain symbolizes the worship of the king; Hua chong (pheasant), taking its literary color, means that the king has the virtue of literature; Zong Yi said that there is a profound knowledge and a strong virtue; Seaweed, a symbol of purity and cleanliness; Fire, pick it up; Powder rice represents rich food; Catfish is the shape of an axe, symbolizing decision; The two works are opposite to each other, symbolizing the distinction between good and evil. Different modes, different grades. The clothes of the son of heaven are all used in Chapter 12. Governors can only use eight kinds of dragons and six kinds of algae, doctors use four patterns of algae, rice and pink rice, and scholars use two patterns of algae and fire. The boundaries are clear and insurmountable. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the decorative patterns of complementary colors used to indicate the rank of official uniforms were the product of the spirit of etiquette and one of the symbols of feudal monarchy.
2. From the perspective of pattern color, it shows that the colors of China traditional costumes are different and hierarchical, and their color application has distinct specificity, which has become a symbol and symbol of the ruling class's power and hierarchical differences. From the Western Zhou Dynasty to the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the patterns and colors of the costumes of rulers and officials were different. For example, "Zhou Li" stipulates: "The Yellow Emperor is crowned, and the twelve chapters are dressed in black (black) and red (red) dresses. From the duke's point of view, the emperor's clothes will be used first. " The colors of the twelve chapters recorded in Shangshu are: "The mountain dragon is pure green, the Chinese worm is pure yellow, the Zong Yi is pure black, the algae is pure white, and the fire is pure red." In addition, the rulers should wear blue when offering sacrifices to heaven, mystery when offering sacrifices to ancestors, and green when offering sacrifices to mulberry. Since the Qin and Han Dynasties, the change of clothing colors has made only the colors adopted by the imperial court, and the clothing colors in Shu Ren are strictly prohibited. Civilians can only wear cloth, white clothes and soap clothes, so they are called "Ding Bai" and "Thousand Hands". After the middle period of feudal society, the regulations became more and more clear and detailed. For example, in the Tang Dynasty, officials were distinguished by the color of their official uniforms. Except that the emperor can wear yellow clothes, "scholars can't wear red and yellow clothes."
In the four years of Zhenguan, two or more products were purple, and five or more products were princesses. Song Yu Fu Zhi stipulates the color of the clothing of officials of civil and military affairs: "Officials of civil and military affairs wear three or more purple colors, four purple colors and five pale colors." Since the Sui Dynasty, yellow has gradually become the special color of the emperor and a symbol of kingship.
3. From the decorative form, the pattern decoration of traditional clothing in China is still restricted by customization and stylization to a great extent. The position of decoration should be "matched" according to the requirements of ancient clothing or the needs of modeling and composition. In the Ming Dynasty, the Records of Yu Fu recorded: "From Huang and Yu, Yuan Nong was divided into twelve chapters. Sun, Moon, Stars, Mountains, Dragons and China Insects are in the order of six chapters from top to bottom. Zong Yi, algae, fire, glutinous rice, flounder and glutinous rice are six chapters from bottom to top. " In the third year of Yongle, it was decided that "Yuan Yi has eight chapters, the sun, the moon and the dragon are on the shoulders, the stars are on the back, and the fire, insects and Zong Yi are on the sleeves ..." Generally, the decorative positions of clothing patterns are centered, symmetrical, echoing and landing.
Confucianism said: "Virtue is greater than harmony, and Tao is in the middle." All designs with specific meanings or signs are centered, such as the dragon robe in Ming and Qing Dynasties, and the dragon is centered and orthomorphic.
For example, the correspondence between the sun and the moon and the correspondence between dragons and phoenixes, which are common in traditional clothing patterns, are interrelated and cooperate with each other in decorative position. This decorative form is common in the application of folk costumes. Ground patterns are widely used in women's clothing decoration, including realistic flowers, geometric skeletons extending in all directions, ground patterns arranged on the ground and so on. , with rich imagination and free arrangement. To sum up, in ancient China, "ceremony" has transcended the boundaries of spiritual civilization and become an important support of the legal system. In this development process, clothing embodies a very important auxiliary role and has a strong color symbol of "ceremony".
Fourthly, the comprehensive view of Confucianism and ancient costumes, from the aspects of decorative style, content theme, decorative color and decorative form, expounds the development characteristics of ancient Chinese costume patterns under the spirit of etiquette and the embodiment of traditional cultural connotation.
China's dress system is based on the rites of the week, which integrates "courtesy" and "virtue". Dressing and wearing a hat is not a festival of life, but a festival of morality. In this regard, we will elaborate from three aspects: the virtue of a gentleman, the virtue of a woman and the thought of loyalty and filial piety. "Gentleman's virtue" is the moral standard of men in upper class. "Gentleman" is relative to "villain". A gentleman refers to a person with high social status and noble morality; A villain refers to a person with low social status and no morality. The basic principle of gentleman's clothing is "Don't dare to take it unless you are the first king."
Dress according to etiquette rules, neither arrogant nor forced. Based on this principle, a series of norms of aristocratic men's wear have been formed.
Not only is it a question of how to wear it, but some clothing styles themselves have also been injected with moral content. Even the attitude towards clothes is related to morality. The first is to regard the way of dressing as a moral norm.
At the age of 20, the ancients performed a grand coronation ceremony and wrote a word to show masculinity. Shu Ren can only use towels. Therefore, the crown is also the identity of the bachelor's class or above. Under normal circumstances, it is impossible to take off the crown. Often referred to as "disheveled".
Confucian rules of incorruptibility. Secondly, it regards "strange clothes" as a major violation and severely condemns and prohibits it. In ancient times, strange clothes were called "obeying demons", which was regarded as an ominous sign of personnel confusion, that is, the so-called "when heaven goes against it, it is a disaster, and when the earth goes against it, it is a demon."
In fact, strange clothes often appear in the period of weak platform and lax etiquette, and the ensuing personnel turmoil and even dynasty changes are inevitable. Third, clothing symbolizes morality and unifies clothing and moral education. The shapes or meanings of some clothes are interpreted by moral standards, making them textbooks to wear, which can be said to be China's creation, and we can also see the subtleties of moral education. The most typical clothing is deep clothing. Deep clothing is a kind of men's clothing, which can be worn from the king to Shu Ren. Although it is not a legal costume, it is worn by saints and loved by the late king (King Zhou Wen), while Shu Ren's auspicious costume only has thick clothes. The ancient deep clothes were also very strict in shape.
Mourning is the focus of the ceremony, because people can only die once in their lives, so it is particularly important. Therefore, it is advocated that we should not only have a thick upbringing, but also have a thick burial. At the same time, in order to entrust the feelings of the living to the dead, there are mourning. Due to the huge and complicated patriarchal clan system established by China since the Western Zhou Dynasty, the family system has been enduring. There are dozens or hundreds of miles of settlements. Often a family has a hundred celebrations and a family has a hundred funerals. Cousins, uncles, three relatives and four relatives are intertwined, and naturally there are close relatives and distant relatives. According to the principle of etiquette, there are five kinds of mourning clothes, which are called "five clothes" (cutting decline, Cui Zi, making meritorious service, making meritorious service and getting rid of illness), and they are used according to the relatives and friends of the deceased. The closer you get, the thicker linen you use. For example, coarse cloth is used to block aging, and the use of crown, ear, belt and sandals at the same time is the mourning for parents, grandparents, in-laws and husbands, and it is also the heaviest of the five clothes. Cui Zi sewed the edges together with coarse cloth in memory of his stepmother, wife and great-grandparents. Due to different objects, the mourning time is different, ranging from three years (actually 25 months) to March. This series of elaborate mourning clothes has a strict and direct relationship with etiquette and is unique to China. Plain white clothes without any decoration are also used to accuse the emperor.
In the face of major natural disasters, the son of heaven also blamed himself for this. Today, there are still remnants of the custom of taking plain clothes as mourning clothes, and there is also the infiltration of black as mourning clothes in Europe. Black and white are commonly used, which is crude and can be tested. Sacrificial clothes are different from mourning clothes, pay attention to solemnity and belong to auspicious clothes. "Wen Fu Embroidery" often mentioned in the Book of Rites refers to sacrificial clothing. The ceremony before the burial of the deceased is called drinking, and the ceremony after the burial is called sacrifice. Ancestor worship is the most important of many ancient rituals. The emperor sacrificed to the ancestral temple and wore a coronation suit. At this time, it is no longer sorrow, but "ancestral temple support, descendants protection." "When things die, they are born, and when things die, they are filial. .
There are some costumes in the system of chapter clothes in past dynasties that have been directly endowed with the meaning of loyalty and filial piety. For example, the Fu of Loyalty and Righteousness in the Ming Dynasty was used by officials when they lived in Chongzhen, which means "thinking hard, retiring and atoning". The "loyalty and filial piety belt" in Qing Dynasty is a kind of towel hanging around the waist, which is a wide and short belt with cloth first and silk later. There are different opinions about its use, one of which is that the emperor hanged himself when he was given death, which is not very credible. In the late Qing dynasty, the word loyalty and filial piety was embroidered on the belt, which made officials never forget loyalty and filial piety. Moreover, as soon as a scholar enters the official door, he must wear loyalty and filial piety. In the 29th year of Guangxu, Shoupeng Wang, a native of Shandong, was chosen as the top scholar because of his name meaning "the king of all ages". He was surprised and confused when the scholar called his name. He got an answer from a fellow countryman, dressed him in a band of loyalty and filial piety and a lotus-colored dress, helped him to a single pen, and then went to the palace to appear before the emperor. Now, history has turned a new page, and ancient Chinese costumes have gone through her whole journey. China people's clothes and costumes can no longer be bound by Confucianism. However, China is China after all, and modern clothes also have our norms. As for how to critically inherit the Confucian moral concept, that is another problem worthy of our in-depth discussion. As an important part of China's traditional culture, ancient Chinese costume art is inextricably linked with China's other arts and his aesthetic thought, forming its own independent and complete aesthetic thought system. Chinese ancient costume art stands in the world cultural treasure house with its rich historical and cultural connotations and unique style characteristics. The profundity and profundity of "well-dressed ancient country" costumes are inexhaustible. Embodying and inheriting the essence of ancient Chinese costumes is an indispensable part of modern costume culture.