Li Yu said in "Xian Qing Ou Ji": "One hairpin and one ear can accompany you for a lifetime", which means that in a woman's daily life, there are one or two finely crafted, ingenious and unique hairpins and earrings. It is enough to make appropriate modifications for yourself. It can be seen that earrings are the first choice accessories for women to dress up and enhance their charm.
However, in the ancient feudal social environment where "the body, hair and skin are inherited from the parents and should not be easily destroyed", and where women's "full virtue and full shape" were regarded as beautiful, ear-piercing and jewelry became a shameless behavior. Because of this, he was despised by people. Therefore, before the Song Dynasty, ear piercing was not popular among Han men and women. It was not until the Song Dynasty that the vigorous promotion of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism caused women's social status to plummet. Since then, in order to distinguish the superiority of men and women, ear ornaments and foot binding have become necessary for women.
Therefore, the Song Dynasty was not only a period of great transition for women’s social status, but also a turning period for the fate of Chinese earrings. After the Song Dynasty, ear-piercing jewelry became really popular among the Han people.
1 The aesthetic tastes of all social strata tend to be secularized
The early days of the Tang Dynasty were accompanied by the further development of centralization of power and the strengthening of the feudal autocratic monarchy. In order to control power, the court Select outstanding officials and establish the imperial examination system. The implementation of the imperial examination system fundamentally broke the old official selection system restricted by family status, allowing a large number of intellectuals from small and medium-sized landowners and farmers to enter the court, participate in and control political power at all levels.
As a result, in the Tang Dynasty, a large number of emerging landlords and civilians became the main body of state officials and intellectual elites. By the Northern Song Dynasty, these scholar-bureaucrats had achieved comprehensive rule in all aspects of economy, politics, law, and culture. In other words In other words, the scientific examination became a bridge for these emerging scholar-officials to move from the countryside to the court and from the countryside to the city. After that, the general trend of social development began to move towards the development of civilian society. After a large number of lower-class scholars entered the upper class through the imperial examination, they became secular The modern and civilian aesthetic taste gradually replaced the single and implicit aristocratic aesthetic taste in the past.
In addition, as the political situation of the Song Dynasty stabilized and the economy became increasingly prosperous, landlord activists no longer needed to continue their aggressive struggles. They began to satisfy their immediate vested interests and pursue a secular hedonistic life. For example, Mr. Li Zehou wrote in the book "The Journey of Beauty" "This secular landlord class, which began to dominate the upper class of society in the Northern Song Dynasty, although on the surface flaunted Confucian teachings, was actually immersed in its own various hobbies in life: either enjoyment, leisure, or addiction. Indulge in sensuality, or indulge in pastoralism. The former - claiming that literature and art serve feudal politics under the banner of Confucius and Mencius - developed into the literary and artistic views of Song Dynasty scholars and Neo-Confucianists. The latter - immersion in real secular life. Sighing has increasingly become the real theme and object of literature and art."
Therefore, since the secular landlord class became the dominant force in the ruling class, the aesthetic taste of the entire society has changed. They are "indulged in sensuality and have nothing to avoid." They miss the singing halls and terraces. Reluctant to leave the place, the female beauty they pursue is weak and pretentious, and they are addicted to modification. The secular beauty they guide is wealth and splendor. Therefore, not only earrings, but also rings, bracelets, necklaces, and accessories that have never flourished before the Song Dynasty. And so on, they all flourished together in this dynasty.
2 The decline of women’s status and the emergence of women of a specific class
The Song Dynasty was a transition period from a relatively loose to a rigorous relationship between the sexes in our country, and an important factor leading to this situation was the The moral concept of "preserving natural principles and destroying human desires" advocated by Zhu Neo-Confucianism once became the moral shackles that imprisoned and suppressed women. Therefore, under such feudal ruling ideas of ethical women's education, the distinction between men and women in the Song Dynasty went to extremes.
On the one hand, women must not only abide by women's ethics and education in spiritual and ideological aspects at all times, but also keep in mind the concept of chastity that "starving to death is a small matter, but being unchaste is a big deal." Physical behaviors are also restricted, such as foot binding and Ear piercing. The three-inch golden lotus binding on the feet makes it inconvenient for women to walk, and their fragile bodies are trapped within the courtyard walls for life. Ear piercing makes it difficult for women to hide their identity, and they can no longer disguise themselves as women and show themselves in public.
On the other hand, under the influence of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, Confucian moral values ??on gender also experienced complex conflicts. Men required women at home to abide by women's ethics and be chaste and self-loving, but they spent their time living and drinking outside, especially Some powerful aristocrats or wealthy businessmen spent a lot of time and money on the "love affairs" and "fireworks" women in singing houses and brothels to satisfy their pleasure.
In addition, the emperor of the Song Dynasty implemented a policy of emphasizing civility over military affairs. Song Taizu also publicly advocated that the heroes should "accumulate more money, silk fields and houses, so that they can leave their children and grandchildren, and sing and dance girls to live their whole lives." This further encouraged the aristocratic bureaucrats to wantonly Corruption and indulgence have become the trend, so buildings, restaurants and brothels compete for prosperity for a while. In addition, those literati who are familiar with Confucianism, believe in Buddhism and Taoism, and are good at poetry love to sing, drink and sing with the singing girls and dancers who can write poems and paintings. Reciting poetry and painting.
Over a long period of time, women of a certain class who entertain people with sex have become a generally recognized phenomenon in society. In order to make a living and cater to social needs, these women naturally need various clothing and jewelry, which has contributed to The booming development of various jewelry categories including earrings.
1 The pattern of ear ornaments pursues "external images"
According to historical records, the Song Dynasty was the dynasty with the most complete imperial examination system in Chinese history, and the Song Dynasty was the first to fully implement the imperial examination The dynasty used scholars to select officials for the court. In addition, the court also encouraged and gave preferential treatment to scientific examinations in various aspects. Therefore, among the senior officials of the Song Dynasty government, those who came from the imperial examinations accounted for an overwhelming advantage. It can be said that "all the nobles in the dynasty are scholars." "For this reason, the Song Dynasty is also called the era of "Wenzhi".
These literati and officials are not only the controllers of national power, but also artistic creators. They are also officials, writers, and painters. Driven by their superb artistic accomplishment and enthusiasm for secular life , the style of the entire era tends to be in the realm of elegant aesthetics.
For them, "Poems and prose can have 'beyond words', music can have 'beyond sounds', and paintings can have 'beyond images'." As a result, many images with metaphors or expressive aspirations and emotions are used as decorative patterns in secular life.
Among them, the "Four Gentlemen" - plum blossom, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum - which symbolize the spiritual character of scholar-bureaucrats, are common themes in decorative patterns. As we all know, plum blossoms bloom in the cold and are independent of spring. They are often painted by literati. The metaphor of nobility and strength is widely used in women's clothing and jewelry. For example, a plum blossom-shaped earring was unearthed from the Southern Song Dynasty tomb in Santianmen, Huzhou. Two plum blossoms are connected. The flower is a double plum blossom, which is extremely delicate.
Bamboo-related patterns can often be seen in the earrings of the Song Dynasty. For example, a pair of gold earrings with bamboo leaves were unearthed from the Sanxiang Winery in Changde, Hunan. The hook-shaped ring is engraved with scattered pieces. Bamboo leaf pattern, small yet delicate.
"Chrysanthemum is the hermit flower." For literati, chrysanthemum means "not following the common customs, being independent, elegant and elegant." Therefore, chrysanthemum is often used in jewelry patterns, such as Zhejiang A pair of chrysanthemum gold earrings were unearthed from a Song Dynasty tomb in Xiawang Village, Dayang Town, Jiande.
For scholar-bureaucrats, in a noisy and powerful social environment, expressing their emotions and borrowing objects to express their aspirations may give them some hope for an ideal life.
2 The patterns of earrings tend to be popular and full of life
The famous historian Mr. Qi Xia once said: "During the three hundred years of the rule of the two Song Dynasties, my country's economic and cultural development development, ranking at the forefront of the world, and was the most advanced and civilized country at that time." Indeed, although the political development of the Song Dynasty was not smooth, it was the most prosperous era of the commodity economy in ancient Chinese history. The development of the commodity economy and the urban system of "uniting the city and the city" caused the city to continue to expand. , In addition, the land system of the Song Dynasty changed the "equal land system" of the Tang Dynasty and implemented the "tenancy system", which to a certain extent worsened the economic situation of farmers. A large number of farmers lost their land and moved into the city, which in turn led to an increase in the urban population. .
The development of cities has led to the blooming of entertainment industries. For example, Bianliang in the Northern Song Dynasty "had a vast population, adding tens of thousands of people without adding more, and subtracting without realizing it was less. The so-called flower formation wine There are ponds, fragrant mountains and medicinal seas. There are also secluded lanes and alleys, and Yan Pavilion and Singing Tower. There are thousands of them, and I don’t want to overwhelm them.”
In a social environment with prosperous commerce and an increase in the number of citizens, urban life has accelerated its pace towards secularization, and decorative patterns full of market atmosphere have also emerged. Specifically, the people use things from daily life to Creative patterns, such as ordinary people's window sills and courtyards, common plants in the fields, and various flowers and fruits are widely used as jewelry patterns. In addition, many earring patterns with auspicious meanings appeared during this period.
For example, the earrings with branches and leaves of pumpkins and fruits unearthed from Yang Ming's tomb in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province have two symmetrical melons in the middle, with stems and vines entwining the front and back, which means "the melons are endless". There are also three gates in Huzhou. Purple eggplant pattern earrings were unearthed from Song Dynasty tombs. They were covered with purple robes, which symbolized the success of high-ranking officials and the blessing of many children.
It can be seen that as long as patterns go to the market and integrate into secular life, those so-called noble and solemn image forms will become rich and auspicious, because "the real purpose of market art is that the people like to hear and see it."
For modern people, whether to wear earrings or not is a completely personal choice, an aesthetic attitude and personal preference. Even earrings are no longer a female exclusive, and a large number of men have also joined in. Join the ranks of wearing earrings. But in China's feudal society, wearing earrings was not so simple.
The famous historian Mr. Qian Mu once said: "The characteristic of Chinese culture is 'rituals', which are the norms for all customary behaviors in the entire Chinese world and mark the uniqueness of China." In fact, families, clans and countries in ancient China were all established according to the principle of "ritual". People's clothing, food, housing, transportation, clothing and earrings also all conformed to the requirements of etiquette. Therefore, in ancient times, earrings not only represented women The social status is also a symbol of class, and it is also the embodiment of the cultural characteristics and living customs of each dynasty.
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