A Survival Guide to the Qing Harem

Chapter 11 The "Trendy Girls" in the Forbidden City (2)
As for the nobleman, Changzai, promise and official girls, I'm sorry, but you are not qualified enough to wear a court crown.It is inconvenient to attend many formal occasions.How about it?Is it exciting?Now you know why the palace fights are always so fierce, and the fight for the top position is always so popular, right?Not to mention being inferior, not to mention the different treatment, it is also difficult to pass in terms of dignity and face. Now that you have entered the deep palace, the only way to go is the right way.

After talking about the crown, let's talk about the accessories of this crown.how?Are you bothered?Being in this environment that must be exquisite, it is the most dangerous thing for you to feel troublesome, not to mention that the women in the harem have nothing to do all day long, and it is also a good way to pass the time if you have a chance to spend a few hours wearing fancy clothes.Besides, when dressing up becomes a system, there must be strict steps and regulations.

For example, this gold contract.What is a gold contract?In fact, it is also a kind of headgear, just like our hairpins today, but the material is more high-end, mostly made of gold, and there are beads hanging on the back.When the concubines wear the imperial crown, they must first wear the Jinyue, the purpose is to fix the hair and make it well support the imperial crown.Of course, the gold part is not simple. It is made of more than a dozen arc-shaped long gold supports, carved with golden cloud patterns, and decorated with oriental beads and lapis lazuli.The rank of concubine is displayed in the number of gold trays of Jinyue and the number of Jinyun and Dongzhu.

The empress dowager and empress with the most distinguished status have the same gold contract, which is composed of thirteen carved gold cloud pieces connected together, and thirteen oriental beads are decorated in the gold-woven satin.There is a turquoise knot with a gold title on the back, and five strings of pearls below, each string is divided into three sections, a total of 320 four, and each string starts with a big pearl, which is obviously different from the others.And there are two lapis lazuli knots with gold titles in the segmented place.The so-called gold-titled lapis lazuli actually refers to a craft, using a small oval-shaped gold plate surrounded by silk clouds as the base, with a lapis lazuli inlaid on it, and eight oriental beads and eight pearls each around it.At the end of this hanging five strings of pearls, there are also five gall-shaped coral pendants.

The imperial concubine's gold contract lacked a piece of carved gold cloud, and correspondingly, there were only twelve east beads for decoration.There are three strings of pearls attached to the golden turquoise knot at the back, and each string is divided into three sections, a total of two hundred and four pearls.There are also lapis lazuli knots with gold titles at the subsections, but the east beads and pearls decorated on the edge of the cloud have become six each.The rest is the same as the Queen.

In the golden agreement, the treatment of noble concubines and imperial concubines is the same, there is no difference in details.When it comes to the concubine, although there are also twelve carved golden cloud pieces, the Dongzhu has become eleven.The number of pearls in the string of pearls has also been reduced to 190 seven.

Compared with the previous ones, the gold contract used by the concubine is naturally a little more simple, but in the eyes of ordinary people, it is also extremely luxurious.Eight pieces of engraved golden clouds and eight east beads are used for decoration.At the back is a turquoise knot with a gold title, adorned with three rows of pearls, a total of 170 seven.

Speaking of which, let's take a sip of the good Xueding Hancui first and take a rest. After introducing such a lot, are you a little dizzy?Hundreds of thousands of oriental beads, pearls, opals, lapis lazuli... must be placed on a crown at the same time. Woolen cloth?In fact, you can know by referring to the physical map that these jewels are arranged closely and clustered together tightly. their superb craftsmanship.

And, as you should have noticed, we're really only talking about what's on your head.Now, move your eyes down a little bit, and let's take a look at the earrings of the concubines.

Manchu women have a tradition of piercing three ears in each ear and wearing three earrings respectively.This habit was naturally brought to the harem of the Qing Dynasty, and optimized on the basis of this tradition, creating a variety of earrings.Some highlight the brilliance of pearls, some emphasize the preciousness of gemstones, and some emphasize the unique shape.Generally speaking, earrings in the harem are divided into two categories, one is called earrings, which are characterized by tassels; the other is called earrings without tassels.In this earrings, there are also strict grade distinctions.

It is stated in "Manchuria Origins and Products": "Dongzhu flows out of the Hutong River and the rivers of Wulaning Guta, which are uniform, round and white, as large as half an inch, and as small as a bean (soybean)." Beads are also divided into grades, and the grades have been clearly defined in the Qing Dynasty.

The empress dowager and the empress wear three earrings on the left and right, and each earring is decorated as a gold silk dragon head, inlaid with two first-class oriental pearls respectively.The shape of earrings for imperial concubines is the same, but they use second-class oriental beads; concubines use third-class oriental beads; concubines use fourth-class oriental beads.

Whether it is a crown or earrings, they are all part of the crown clothing system. In fact, they are clothing for participating in major events. These complicated crown clothing not only pay attention to the style of design, the coordination of seasons, but also the matching of colors. It really covers everything.Moreover, the designers of these costumes were all the top costume designers in China at that time, and they were employed by the imperial court for life. Among the people, they could not enjoy this kind of treatment, even if they could feast their eyes on it, it would be difficult.

match!Matching is important | clothes, occasions and colors

We finished showing the ones on the head, now let's show off the ones on the body.What I want to say is that beauty tools like Meitu Xiuxiu are all out. In our harem of the Qing Dynasty, the clothes of concubines are more powerful and beautiful than what Meitu Xiuxiu can produce. Much more, without the backing of a blemish-masking tool!
Look at this court coat first.The court gowns of queens and concubines are divided into three styles, and their uniform features are round neck, double front, and back slit.The color is bluestone, woven with gold satin or silk, bordered with lacquer yarn, and the edge of the clothes will also be inlaid with pieces of gold.One style is that there are two standing dragons at the front and back of the embroidered text, and there are four layers of folds under the standing dragons. The official scientific name is "folding".The shape is just like our pleated skirts today.There are four dragons embroidered on these folds, and the words "Wanfu Wanshou" underneath.At the back of the collar there is a hanging strip decorated with pearls and gemstones, the color is the richest bright yellow.

This style is the uniform of empresses and imperial concubines. The court gowns of noble concubines and concubines are the same, but the biggest difference is the color of the ribbon behind the collar, which has dropped from bright yellow to golden yellow.

The second style of court gown has two dragons at the front and back of the embroidered text, and folds below, and four dragons embroidered at the waistline, and eight dragons at the bottom.The identity is also distinguished by bright yellow or golden ribbons behind the collar.

The third style of court coat has two standing dragons at the front and back of the embroidered text, no folds in the middle, and the pattern of "Eight Treasures Flat Water" is embroidered on the lower panel, and the positions are also distinguished by the color of the ribbon.

From the court gown, we can see that the color of the whole set of clothes is actually not so strict. It is not like what we have seen from movies and TV films, which must use yellow, which symbolizes wealth.It's just on the ribbon behind the collar to emphasize the rich and noble color.

Compared with court gowns, court gowns are relatively more complicated.First of all, it is divided into two types: summer robe and winter robe.

There are also three styles of winter court gowns. The first type, the collar and sleeves are both bluestone-colored, with two dragons on the collar, a dragon on the sleeves, and two dragons on the cuffs. Dragon.The underarms on both sides are edged with mink fur and a piece of gold is added, and there are also gold edges where the upper and lower shoulders connect with the gown.The embroidered text is the most beautiful, the golden Kowloon is set against the colorful auspicious clouds.There are no folds on the bottom, directly connected to the eight-treasure flat water pattern.There is also a bright yellow ribbon hanging from the back of the collar, decorated with jewelry.

In this style, the imperial concubine and the queen can enjoy the same style.But it is different from the noble concubine to the concubine, the color of the ribbon has become golden yellow.

In the second style, the collar, shoulders and sleeves are also stone blue, and the two armpits are gold-plated with sea dragon borders. There is a frontal dragon on the front and back of the embroidered text, a walking dragon on each shoulder, and four walking dragons at the waistline. It is eight dragons, and there are folds at the upper and lower intervals.This style is the same from the empress to the concubine, but there are differences in all the places where yellow appears. The empress and imperial concubine are bright yellow, and the others are golden yellow.

In the third style, the collar and sleeves are a piece of gold with a sea dragon edge, and the back is open. The rest of the shapes and patterns are the same as the first style, and the low-level differences are also the same as the first style.

The difference between summer robes and winter robes lies in the material. Think about it, in Beijing where the four seasons are distinct, how can it be possible to wear all kinds of fur in the hot summer?Of course, it has to be replaced with silk and gauze as light as onion wings.The texture becomes thinner and one style is missing, but there is basically no difference in embroidery and so on. For the two styles of Xia Dynasty robes, you can refer to the second and third types of Winter Dynasty robes.However, in terms of details, the Xia Dynasty robe has many accessories.

First of all, the Xia Dynasty robe should be embedded with a collar.The so-called collar, that is, the collar, is worn on the neck and binds the collar as an accessory.Before the Qing Dynasty entered the customs, the name of this thing was called a collar. Later, Nurhachi reformed the clothing system and gave it such an official name.And at that time, the collar was something worn by men, and it was also one of the costumes that became concubines later.

The empress dowager and queen's collar is the most luxurious, made of gold, hollowed out and carved, surrounded by dragon patterns.Eight pieces of red coral are evenly distributed on the collar, and each piece of red coral is decorated with a big east bead.At the junction of the two ends, two bright yellow ribbons about a foot long hang down.For the imperial concubine class, the collar has been changed to silver, and the decorative coral and pearls have also become seven, and the yellow that symbolizes status has also been changed to apricot yellow.The imperial concubine has the same system as the concubine, and the shape of the contract is also the same as that of the imperial concubine, except that the apricot yellow ribbon has been lowered to a golden yellow.When it comes to concubines, there are no more inlaid Dongzhu.

In addition to collars, court beads are also a must-have item for court robes.And this is also the uniform formal attire of our Qing emperors, princes and ministers, and concubines in the harem.The pilgrimage beads are made up of [-] beads, which are divided into four parts. There is an obvious large round bead with different textures at the interval, which is called "Buddha head". A gourd-shaped bead on the top is called a "pagoda", and the pagoda is connected with a string of back clouds, hanging down with yellow silk ribbons, with a gem in the middle, and a horn at the end hanging on the back.There are still contents on the shoulders of the beads, two strings on the left and one string of small beads on the right.Each string is made of ten beads, and the end is decorated with horns, which is called "remembrance".

When holding a grand ceremony in the palace, the concubines must wear three strings of court beads. The empress is the same as the imperial concubine, with east beads in the middle and coral beads on both sides; Hanging coral beads with amber beads on both sides.

This is hung in the front and draped in the back, a string on the left and a string on the right, a pile of pearls on this side, and a lot of precious stones on the other side. Although it is extremely luxurious, it is a bit tiring to think about it. No wonder when you are doing some activities, look at these concubines. A stern face and stiff body, it turned out that the uniform was too heavy, trying to tense up.But the key point is not over yet, the beige has not been put on yet!
Fortunately, the colored pendant didn't weigh much, it was just a colorful long handkerchief hanging in front of the court gown for decoration. The handkerchief was also embroidered with patterns and hung with needles and threads.But why is there such a thing? There is a saying in "Book of Rites: Nei Ze": "Women serve uncles and aunts, and the right ones are equipped with admonishments, pipes, threads, 纩, and Shi 縏袠." It means that sewing girls and other jobs are the duties of a woman at home.Whether you are a queen or a concubine, you are actually a housewife in the emperor's family. This cannot be denied.

Empresses and imperial concubines wear ribbons embroidered with the pattern of "Five Grain Harvest" and the color is green; concubines' ribbons are also green, with "Yunzhi Ruicao" embroidered on them; Embroider any pattern.

We've finished talking about court gowns and court robes, but there is one more simple thing that hasn't been introduced, and that is court skirts.In fact, the most precious and status-defining things are basically finished. In comparison, the court skirt is really a simple dress, it just appears under the court gown and court robe to extend the length of these two clothes.But even so, the court skirt still follows the extravagant and luxurious style of the royal family.

Chao skirts are also divided into summer and winter, which are distinguished according to the material.The winter dress is made of gold and sea dragon edge, with red woven gold "shou" fields on the top, and azurite dragon makeup satin on the bottom.Summer skirts are made of satin yarn.

From these costumes, we can see that the preferences of the Manchu women are indeed quite different from those of the Han women.Look at the clothes of the Han women, the waist, the long skirts that reach the floor, and the skirts sway when they walk, like a delicate fragrance from far to near.And what about Manchu women?Wide sleeves, long robes and ankles, no matter fat or thin, can all be hidden under the clothes, no body curve can be seen, but the shape is correct.All the beauty is found in the modification of the details.Later, Manchu women lived in the Central Plains for a long time, and the clothes gradually became tighter and tighter, and the fabric was saved more and more, and finally there was a cheongsam that highlighted the figure to the extreme.

Look at our gorgeous Qing Dynasty special seven-point heels | flowerpot bottom shoes
For us beauty-loving women, high heels are such a thing, they will always attract your attention with just the right radian, classic shape and slender figure, when you put them on your feet, you will immediately feel confident The heart is bursting, the aura is strong, and even several years younger.However, when you walk in it, you suddenly feel that the sky is falling, and there is an irresistible but unbearable impulse to test your resilience until you get home and the moment you open the door and enter the house, I believe 90.00% Most of the time, you are the first to get rid of the high heels on your feet.Yes, it is such a love-hate thing, beautiful, but never makes you comfortable.Pain, but never let you forget.

Having said that, don't you have a strong empathy?However, you may not know that we women love beauty and love high heels. This is not something that started in modern times. It is not called "high-heeled shoes" in China, but is called "flowerpot bottom shoes". Of course, the shape is a little different from our high-heeled shoes today.

Remember the crown uniform system we mentioned earlier, what do the women in the harem wear?Yes, the cheongsam is right. It would be a pity if this beautiful dress that reaches below the knees or ankles and has slits on both sides is dragged on the ground. Not to mention the torture of the material, it is also prone to self-stampede incidents. Think about it, if you are accompanying Watching the emperor's husband stroll around the imperial garden to enjoy the flowers, and accidentally stepped on his skirt and fell, it would be embarrassing. If the emperor adds fuel to the fire and punishes you for the crime of "immorality in front of the imperial court", you will die for the rest of your life. Isn't it over?
Therefore, we would rather put in more effort when entering the palace, practice the ability to wear high heels, and when it is time to show off, we can also hold our heads high, swing our arms naturally, and look forward to look good.

In fact, these flower pot bottom shoes are what the Manchu people once called "flag shoes".There are some legends about the origin of this shoe.

Among the Manchus, there has been a custom of "cutting wood for shoes" since ancient times.One theory holds that in ancient times, Manchu women went up to the mountains to collect wild fruits and herbs. Because snakes and insects were infested on the mountain, they tied wooden blocks to the soles of their shoes and drove away snakes and insects by the sound they made while walking.Gradually, this shape of tying wood on the sole was combined into a pair of shoes, and the manufacturing process became more and more sophisticated, and developed into the later high-soled shoes.

(End of this chapter)