A mature Tang Dynasty man can live without a wife, but cannot live without a belt. As an essential part of Tang Dynasty men's daily wear, belts can better reflect the fashionable taste of the Tang Dynasty. A simple but not simple crotch belt allows the men and women of Chang'an City to exude a mature and confident light, becoming the finishing touch of the whole body. In contrast, today’s huge logos on belts that are so big that it makes people’s scalp numb are simply unbearable to look at.
As early as the Shang and Zhou dynasties, people discovered the need to use a belt to restrain unruly clothing. Records about clothing belts can be found in the Book of Songs: "The appearance is beautiful, and the hanging belt is palpitating." Ancient belts had many names and complex shapes.
Before the Qin and Han dynasties, the main belts in men’s clothing were leather belts and ribbons. Leather belts with hooks already existed in the Spring and Autumn Period. During the Warring States Period, as King Wuling of Zhao personally endorsed the "Hufu Riding and Shooting" platform, leather belts were further promoted in the north.
Later, various shapes of belt hooks were gradually used in leather belts. Some are used for belt heads, and some have hooks embedded into the belt body, with the hooks facing downward, for hanging various accessories. The nomadic people in the north lived in pursuit of water and grass, and a horse became their mobile home. They often carried the necessities of daily life with them. Large items are often tied to the horse, while small items are worn around the waist with a leather belt. This can be regarded as the prototype of the first generation of belts.
In the pre-Qin period, like many clothing systems, there were huge differences in the styles and materials of ribbons used from the emperor to the common people. Even after the belt is tied and knotted, there are strict regulations on the length of the remaining hanging part. Zheng Xuan mentioned in his work: "If Duke Hui wears a rongdao with Rui and Chui Shen with a three-foot belt, he will be palpitating but his actions will be measured."
Xu Shen of the Eastern Han Dynasty wrote in "Shuowen Jiezi" Summary: "Bei means gentry. Men wear belts and women wear silk ribbons." It has become a common social phenomenon that men wear leather belts and women wear silk ribbons. After the Three Kingdoms, belt buckles with a more rigorous structure and a circular buckle appeared, and finally completely replaced the belt hook that was once popular.
With the development of the times and the continuous integration of nationalities, Han and Hu knights wore more and more ornaments hanging on their waists, and finally a special form of belt came into being. The word "耀螞" is first pronounced as "鞢 (Gexie)", also as "(Weizhan)韘" and "(Gezhan)鞢". The original meaning is walking in small steps. Zhuo Wenjun mentioned in the bitter poem "Baitou Yin": "The crocodile is on the ditch, and the ditch water flows east and west."
A classic crocodile belt is mainly composed of a buckle, a belt, a belt, and a belt. It consists of a thallium tail, a small hanging belt and small hanging accessories, which is full of masculinity. "Mengxi Bi Tan" gives a detailed description of this: "Chinese clothing, since the Northern Qi Dynasty, has all used Hu clothes. Narrow sleeves, scarlet green, short clothes, long boots, belts, Hu clothes also... have a hanging cover. If you want to wear a bow and sword, use it as a bag, sharpen a knife, etc."
Each part has a practical purpose:
① "Buckle": It is also called "Jue" in the Tang Dynasty. ". It can be used to fix the leather belt around the waist. A buckle consists of a buckle, a tongue (pin) shaft, and a buckle tail (handle), similar to the belt head of today's belts.
② "With Kua": People in the Tang Dynasty also called it "Kua". There are various shapes of Kua, including round and semi-circular, which are called "round Kua" or "Tuan Kua"; some are square, called "Fang Tuan Kua"; a composite Kua that uses both shapes at the same time is called "Fang Tuan Kua"; Using only square Kuai is called "pure Fang Kua"; those with jade Kuai closely arranged on the leather belt are called "Paifang", and those with jade Kuai arranged sparsely but not tightly are called "Sparse Fang". Zhang Hu has a poem: "The red silk painted shirt comes out wrapped around the wrists, and the blue square crotch is carried on the waist." There is a flat hole under the Kua that can be used to hang the strap directly, which is called the ancient eye. Kua is the appearance of a leather belt, and whoever wears it is of better quality has a higher status.
③ "铓": the original belt of the belt. The "铓" in the Tang Dynasty was often a black leather belt, which is equivalent to the main part of our belt today. Pang Yuanying of the Song Dynasty described in "Wenchang Miscellaneous Records": "Although the emperors of the Tang Dynasty wore rhinoceros jade, they were all black. Only in the Five Dynasties were there red. The portraits of Emperor Ming of Luzhou are also black. The same goes for his ministers." The people of the Tang Dynasty were already well aware of this. , a dark-colored belt will have a better waist-cinching effect.
④ "Thallium tail": the decoration at the end of the belt. It has two functions, one is to protect the belt head from wear and tear, and the other is to play a beautiful role. In the Tang Dynasty, the ends of gold belts and jade belts would have inscriptions engraved on them.
The way to wear the tail of the belt is also very particular. Originally, it was inserted backwards from top to bottom. Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty ordered that the tail be inserted downwards and the head lowered. "New Book of Tang Dynasty? Cars and Clothes Records" says that "the belt wearer bows his head downwards, and is named Riwei, which means obedient." From the Middle Tang Dynasty, leather belts, in addition to single buckle and single tail styles, also had There is a double-buckle and double-tail style with a buckle and tail on each side of the left and right waist. After fastening, the double tail hangs aside to create a symmetrical decorative effect. This kind of leather belt was very popular in the Song and Jin Dynasties.
Looking at the entire belt, the belt has the richest content, has high visual appeal, and supports the entire appearance. In the Tang Dynasty, belt knives had many textures, such as jade, gold, silver, rhinoceros, copper, iron, etc., which could all be ground into relevant shapes to make belt knives. Among all materials, jade is the most precious and of high quality. It can be used for 180 years without any problem. Therefore, the jade belt became the handle of the leather belt in the costumes of the Tang Dynasty. In "The Twelve Hours of Chang'an", the belt around He Jian's waist is a piece of jade, which complements the noble purple robe on his body.
In addition to the material, the number of pieces and patterns on the straps do not reveal low-key luxury, and they always reflect the identity of the wearer. In the Tang Dynasty, common kuai were either plain or engraved with human and animal patterns, among which the exotic patterns of barbarians and beasts were the most common. The white jade kuai unearthed in Hejia Village, Xi'an has a lion pattern carved on it. A wading belt was unearthed in Liaoyang, Liaoning Province, and the jade kuai was embossed with the pattern of a boy holding a vase.
In the Tang Dynasty, the belt not only became a popular style, but also rose to the level of national regulations. The government of the Tang Dynasty specially formulated the "Dadai System" for its people, using the belt to distinguish official grades. Du You recorded in "Tongdian": "In August of the first year of Shangyuan, the civil and military officers of the third rank and above were given gold and jade belts, twelve crotches; the fourth rank, gold fish bags, eleven crotches; the fifth rank, gold belts, ten crotches; the sixth rank, gold belts, ten crotches; Rank 7 and 7 wear silver belts with nine crotches; rank 8 and 9 wear stone belts with eight crotches; and ordinary people wear brass and iron belts with six crotches. "Officials of different ranks wear belts of different materials and quantities. There is a belt and a strict hierarchy.
Since the birth of the belt, functionality has been placed first in design. Some people use it to hang accessories, and some use it to hang themselves. The belt follows the design concept of the previous dynasty and fully displays its functionality. It can not only distinguish the rank of officials but also has a powerful storage function. It can hang items such as kettles, wallets, fans, sachets, knives, swords, musical instruments, arithmetic bags and other items. As long as you have useful possessions, you can hang them on your belt. Their waists have become a small mobile warehouse.
There are usually seven items hanging on the belt: "calculation bag, knife, sharpening stone, Qibizhen, Kejie, syringe, and flint bag", which have a loud and elegant name. "Seven things to do". Du You's "Tongdian" once again recorded: "In April of the second year of Jingyun, the pardon document was issued, and the internal and external officials were ordered to follow the edict of the first year of the Yuan Dynasty. The civil and military officials had seven things to do (note: it refers to sabers, knives, whetstones, and Qibi Zhen). , Kejue, syringe, flint bag, etc.)"
The reason why people in the Tang Dynasty wanted to hang these things was inseparable from the powerful and practical functions of the ornaments.
A knife is a small dagger-like tool that was widely used in ancient times. Similar to the multifunctional Swiss Army Knife that is popular among wilderness survival enthusiasts today. The whetstone is the whetstone. People in the Tang Dynasty loved their knives as much as life. Even if they were as sharp as Tang knives, they could not withstand rust. Therefore, the hard-working Tang people hung their whetstones around their waists and sharpened them as needed.
The syringe is usually made of bamboo, which is equivalent to the current document tape. People in the Tang Dynasty put some important papers and silk books into bamboo tubes, which made them easy to carry around and avoided damage. Flint, a tool used by ancient people to make fire, is equivalent to today’s lighter. People in the Tang Dynasty used steel "fire sickles" to strike flint to make fire. No matter where they went, the fire could be lit.
Qibizhen is Qibizhen. Qibi, originally one of the Tiele tribes, was a strong and war-savvy Xianbei tribe. Their culture is very backward, and they basically use engraving to write. The Qibi needle is their special tool for carving characters.
The effect of Kejue is quite magical. This awl-like object is used to untie knots. During the Zhou Dynasty, nobles loosened their clothes and tied their belts. In order to prevent their clothes from falling loose, lovely people often tied their belts into tight knots. Tying the knot in this way effectively avoids exposure, but untying the knot is really a headache. Therefore, the clever ancients invented the 哕Jue specially used to untie knots.
The crotch belt was once a men's show patent, but with the popularity of women's men's clothing in the Tang Dynasty, women in the Tang Dynasty also began to use the crotch belt.
The serious and regular round-neck robe and the quilted belt seem to be a natural pair, which can make the waistline of women more obvious. Chang'an beauty leader Princess Taiping likes this look very much. "New Book of Tang Dynasty" records: "At Emperor Gaozong's internal banquet, Princess Taiping folded her purple shirt, jade belt, and soap silk scarf, and sang and danced in front of the emperor. Why do you dress like this? "It's almost like a demon."
After Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty opened the Yuan Dynasty, the imperial court stipulated that ordinary officials no longer had to wear gauze belts. From then on, the belt changed its name and entered the wardrobe of women in the Tang Dynasty. They omitted the original "seven things" and changed the crotch belt into a narrow leather strip. The functionality gradually disappeared and became purely an accessory for women. It is exquisite but not exaggerated. It can be worn whether in the palace, workplace or on a date. The whole audience.
In "The Grandmaster", Ip Man became a disciple of Chen Huashun, and his master warned him: "A belt, a breath, and you must live by this breath in the future." For the men and women of the Tang Dynasty thousands of years ago, a belt The belt represents their fashion life.