Why do concubines in the Qing Dynasty wear nail covers?

I believe that under the influence of the Qing Dynasty drama, many friends had the experience of putting pen caps on their nails when they were young, thinking that it was the patent of concubines in the Qing Dynasty. However, in fact, the history of nail house is very old, and it is not exclusive to the Qing empress. Nail covers, also known as finger protectors, appeared at the latest in the Warring States Period. I used to chat with friends in the archaeological direction of Qin and Han Dynasties. Speaking of this, I learned that gold fingernails were also unearthed in the Han Dynasty, which should be regarded as the most precious. In addition, a silver cast nail sleeve was unearthed in Xi, Shaanxi Province, which looked like a drum-shaped ring and extended a silver "nail". Ten pieces were unearthed, which is a complete set.

However, due to the few fingernail covers unearthed before the Qing Dynasty, many scholars even think that fingernail covers appeared late as a kind of jewelry. Although this statement cannot be completely miscalculated, it still separates the origin of the development of finger protection.

In the Qing Dynasty, aristocratic women all liked to grow long nails. In order to protect and decorate, they are very particular about the use and manufacture of fingernails. Because the standard-bearers are privileged, especially those descendants of the royal family, the wives of princes and nobles, who are obsessed with nail houses.

However, the nail cover is not the patent of a strong woman. It can also be worn by maids in the palace and some large families, and it is also very popular in families with better private economic conditions. In historical research, people's perspective is more easily projected to the upper class of society. Coupled with the influence of modern court dramas, many people mistakenly think that fingernails are exclusive to concubines in the Qing Dynasty. This is actually a misunderstanding. In terms of material selection, workmanship and style, the fingernails worn by aristocratic women are of course the most elegant, but they are inferior to those used by ordinary people.

The popularity of fingernails in Qing Dynasty did not appear out of thin air. In the Ming Dynasty, court women and ladies attached great importance to nail decoration, just like many women today. At that time, "nail polish" made of gum Arabic, alum, protein, beeswax and dyes was applied to your nails.

After the Qing army entered the customs, the standard-bearer enjoyed the privilege, and aristocratic women did not have to work like ordinary people, so they grew long nails willfully. According to the image data of the late Qing Dynasty, the most typical one is Empress Dowager Cixi. Her ring finger and little finger have nails several inches long, and the other fingers have nails one or two centimeters long.

The cultural origin of the popularity of staying and covering nails should be related to the Confucian thought of "being the mother of skin", but the most fundamental thing lies in people's love for beauty. Beauty always comes at a price. It takes a year and a half to leave an inch of nails, which will crack and break if you are not careful. In addition, too long nails will affect normal life. Therefore, even a person as powerful as Cixi failed to leave a few inches of nails on ten fingers.

It is said that in order to maintain her nails, Cixi Media has to soak them in warm water to repair them, and specially made nail covers to protect her beloved nails. Because the original intention of keeping nails is to love beauty, the nail cover should be more exquisite. In this way, fingernails flourished in the Qing Dynasty.

In a word, wearing nail sleeves is not the patent of empresses in Qing dynasty, and it has a history of more than two thousand years. The practical function of this kind of ornament is to protect nails, and it also has decorative function.