A brief history of Manchu flag uniforms

 

A brief history of Manchu flag uniforms

 

After listening to the wise man Agudengba's narration, Azhuo and Chu Sanxing were very curious. But Yadan, Dawa, and Xiangqima were not interested in these historical events.

Yadan asked Agudengba: Mr. Agudengba, the wise man, can you tell us some folklore and life stories of the Ming Dynasty?

Burmese musician Dorje held a cultural lecture on a meadow on the bank of the Irrawaddy River. The audience was mainly the Mongolian dance team of his Naypyitaw song and dance troupe, and also invited his friends Agu Demba, A Zhuo, Chu Sanxing and Dawa, Xiang Qima and others. His daughter Yadan suggested that Agudengba could tell some stories about the folk customs and costumes of the Ming Dynasty.

Agudengba smiled and recommended that Mr. Duoji, who is rich in knowledge, tell everyone about the history of clothing in the Ming Dynasty.

Dorje agreed. He said: To understand the history of clothing in the Ming Dynasty, we have to start with the cheongsam and mandarin jacket that were popular at that time, which involves the stories of the Jurchens and Manchus wearing them.

Dorje asked the dance team to take some Manchu costumes from the costume box. He said:

In the early Ming Dynasty, the Manchus who moved south to the Liaodong area wore clothing of this type, using both cloth and leather.

Dorje said:

The Manchus are mainly distributed in the three eastern provinces of China, with the largest number in Liaoning Province. In addition, there are a small number of scattered Manchus living in provinces and autonomous regions such as Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Shandong, and Xinjiang, as well as in large and medium-sized cities such as Beijing, Chengdu, Lanzhou, Fuzhou, Yinchuan, and Xi'an.

The Manchus have a long history, which can be traced back to the Sushen culture 7,000 years ago. Their descendants have been living in the north of Changbai Mountain, the middle and upper reaches of Heilongjiang, and the Wusuli River Basin.

After Nurhaci unified the Jurchen tribes, established the Hou Jin regime, and implemented the Eight Banners system, all Manchus were in the banner, so the robes they wore were called "flag clothing" and "flag uniforms."

Duoji asked the dance team to take out a few more flag costumes from the performance costume box. He said:

What you are seeing now is the flag uniform, also known as "flag uniform". Flag clothing is called "Yijie" in Manchu. It is divided into four types: single, clip, leather and cotton.

The Chinese Han people distinguish clothing by calling the upper garment "yi" and the lower garment "shang", while the flag dress is "the clothes are connected with each other", that is, the clothes are connected together, regardless of top or bottom. It is obviously different from the two pieces of clothing of the Han people, "top and bottom".

Although the costumes of the Manchu people have strong national traditional characteristics, they have also continued to evolve with the development of history. They have lived together with the Han people for a long time, and their clothing styles, clothing colors and clothing patterns have evolved to varying degrees.

Duoji took out a few men's flag suits from the performance costume box and said:

The flag dress worn by Manchu men is also called a shirt or robe. That is, men wear a robe with horse-shoe sleeves and a belt around the waist, or wear a robe with a double-breasted mandarin jacket. The style and structure of men's flag clothing are relatively simple. They were originally worn by the Manchus when riding and shooting. They have a round collar, a large lapel, narrow sleeves, slits on all sides, a left vent, a buckle, and a drawstring, all of which are suitable for horseback riding. Shooting and hunting. Men wearing traditional Manchu flag attire are accustomed to wearing long robes with arrow sleeves, a mandarin jacket, and Manchu male hats.

The mandarin jacket is a kind of jacket that Manchu men often wear when riding horses. There are many types of mandarin jackets, including large-breasted, double-breasted, and pipa-breasted. The mandarin jacket later became a daily garment worn outside the robe. The collar is high, open on all sides, waist-long, and the sleeves are slightly shorter. Three or four inches of the sleeves are exposed. The sleeves can be rolled up on top of the sleeves, which are the so-called big and small sleeves. The double-breasted cotton-padded jacket worn by many Manchus evolved from the mandarin jacket.

The flag suit is a costume worn by Manchu men all year round. It is simple in cut, with a garden collar, wide front and back, and narrow sleeves. It is cut in four pieces. The crotch is longer to facilitate getting on and off the horse. The narrow sleeves are convenient for archery. . Because the sleeves are equipped with a horseshoe-shaped protective sleeve, they are also called horseshoe sleeves.

After the Manchus gradually separated from their riding and shooting career, and with the development of society, men's flag uniforms were gradually abandoned, and horseshoe sleeves became a decoration. Putting down the horseshoe sleeves is still a ritual for the Manchu people to pay tribute to their elders and venerables.

Duoji took out a few more women's flag dresses from the performance costume box and said:

This is a flag dress worn by women that reaches to their feet, and also includes a waistcoat, etc.

Flag dress is the traditional dress of Manchu women. The characteristics of the flag suit are a stand-up collar, a large right lapel, a tight waist, and slits on all sides of the hem. Ancient flags are equipped with Pipa lapels, Ruyi lapels, oblique lapels, piping or trimming, etc.

Women's flag suits are basically the same as men's ones, with just a few more embellishments. Women's flag attire is also an upright robe with wide front and large sleeves. The hem and calf are decorated with embroidered patterns. Manchu women often inlaid several patterns or colorful teeth on their skirts, collars, sleeves, etc., commonly known as "painted Dao'er" or "dog teeth". According to seasonal changes, it can also be divided into single, sandwich, cotton, leather and other types.

There are many types of waistcoats, including double-breasted, twisted-breasted, one-word lapel, and pipa-breasted. The waistcoats worn by women also have embroidered edges. The waistcoat is either cotton or clipped, silk or cloth, and is usually worn outside the robe.

The colors of Manchu clothing are mostly in elegant white, blue and purple. Red, pink, light yellow, black and other colors are also commonly used in their clothing. White is an important color in Manchu costumes because the Manchus have a traditional custom of respecting white. White is considered clean and noble. White symbolizes good luck and good luck. Therefore, red, blue and other colors are often used in Manchu costumes. The flag is decorated with white lace.

Manchu women are skillful and good at embroidery. They embroider auspicious patterns such as flowers, grass, cranes, deer, dragons and phoenixes on their skirts, shoe uppers, purses, pillows and other items. Manchu costumes generally have the most flowers embroidered on the sleeves. After the Manchus entered the customs, many Han auspicious symbols such as blessing, longevity and ten thousand often appeared in clothing patterns.

Women's flag clothing is more decorative than men's flag clothing, and they are very particular about style and workmanship. A few stripes or colored teeth are inlaid on the collar, placket, cuffs, etc. of the flag suit. Some even have 18 hems to be considered beautiful. There is a kind of women's flag dress called "big rolled sleeves", in which patterns are embroidered on the sleeves and "rolled" out to look more beautiful.

Duoji held up a women's embroidered flag dress and said:

You see, many Manchu costume techniques are covered in these flag costumes. Such as "clipping", "eighteen silk", "shoe upper flower", "shoe face pinching", "dake bar", "sewing", "cutting" and other crafts; many traditional Manchu aesthetic factors are also contained in it, such as: Paper-cutting, embroidery, embroidery, etc. Paper-cutting is the prerequisite for pattern creation. Before creating, female workers often use a pair of scissors and a piece of red paper to cut with their hands and follow their heart. The works are simple, thick and natural.

Embroidery is also widely used in clothing. Landscape langya, auspicious beasts and auspicious clouds, and traditional textures can be seen everywhere. The techniques include "flat embroidery", "pile embroidery", "paper embroidery", "velvet embroidery", etc. There are more than a hundred kinds of stitches. , wrong stitches, gold wire, mesh stitches, random stitches, cross-stitching, scraped velvet, etc.; countless traditional Manchu symbols are gathered among them, such as "pillow top", "cloud shoulder", "rolled sleeves", "quilt cover", "shoe upper flower" wait. Female workers include 20 steps including selecting materials, drawing clothing samples, embroidering, cutting, sewing, hemming, teething, sewing, collaring, buttoning, ironing, and shaping.

Dorje smiled and said:

However, the style of the flag dress worn by Manchu women later underwent some changes. The open seam was changed from four sides to two; the hem was also changed from wide to narrow; the cuffs were also changed from narrow to fat, and from fat to thin, making it more wearable. Looks more fit.

In the 1930s, both Manchu men and women wore straight, wide-breasted, long-sleeved robes. The difference is that women's cheongsam has embroidered floral patterns from the hem to the calf. The hem of men's cheongsam is ankle-length and has no decoration. After the 1940s, due to the impact of new clothing trends at home and abroad, the Manchu men's cheongsam has been abandoned. The women's cheongsam has changed from wide sleeves to narrow sleeves, straight legs to tight waist, slightly larger hips, recycled hem, and ankle-length. Women's flag dresses continue to evolve, from wide-waisted straight styles to tight-fitting curves and streamlined styles.

Dorje asked Dawa, Xiang Qima and his daughter Yadan to try on the Manchu flag uniforms, and also put on flag headdresses for them.

Duojixian also talked about women’s flag headdress:

The hairstyle of Manchu aristocratic women became popular during the Guangxu and Xuantong years. In this style, the top hair is combed into a bun and the hair at the back of the head is styled in a swallowtail style. Another soap board in the shape of "bu" is made of black satin, velvet or yarn, which is called the "head board". The bottom is made of iron wire in the shape of a bowl, called the "head seat", which is buckled on the bun on the top of the head and wrapped with hair. , to make it fixed. This fixed decoration "as high as an archway" is usually worn on the head. Usually, a large colorful silk flower is worn in the middle of the headboard, called "Touzheng" or "Duanzhenghua", and decorated with beads, jade, hostas, steps and flowers, or a colorful long silk tassel is decorated on the right side. This hairstyle is named after the headplate is spread out like two wings.

When women wear flag clothes, they also like to wear earrings, bracelets, rings, hairpins, large velvet flowers, sideburns and other decorations. Women have sachets, purses, etc. Most of them are sewn with silk and satin, with a wide variety of designs and colors and exquisite production.

In fact, both Manchu men and women like to hang ornaments around their waists or on the front of their clothes. Men have fire sickles, ear picks, toothpicks, spectacle cases, and fan belts.

Several lines of flower strips or colored teeth are inlaid on the collar, placket, sleeve edges, etc. of the cheongsam. Some even have 18 lines of edges. The cheongsam sewn in this way is the most perfect.

Duoji smiled again and said:

After Nurhaci led his troops to raise the army, the clothing at that time was actually in a disorderly manner, and there was a phenomenon of "upper and lower uniforms". There were no rules for official and civilian clothing. It was not until the Huang Taiji era that customization of crown uniforms began. After entering the customs, the clothes from the emperor to the soldiers need to be changed in both cold and summer, and they are also customized, which is insurmountable.

As for the idle bannermen, all men wore robes, made of silk or cloth, with a mandarin jacket on top. This became commonplace until the Revolution of 1911.

At that time, Manchu women's cheongsams were mostly made of silk and satin. The practice of "eighteen inlays" is popular in Beijing and other places, that is, eighteen lines of inlays are needed to make clothes look good. The style has also become a wide robe with big sleeves, which is a fashion of the Qing Dynasty.

After the Revolution of 1911, the style of cheongsam changed from fat to thin, with long and short sleeves. After continuous improvement, the general style is: straight collar, narrow sleeves, wide placket on the right, buckle trip, tight waist, length below the knee, and slits on both sides.

The so-called Beijing style cheongsam we are talking about now is actually the cheongsam worn by early Manchu women.

Duoji sang a fashion song "World Clothing History":

 

Ancient humans about 100,000 years ago,

May mark the advent of clothing,

The earliest clothing may have been animal skins.

In the early days, linen was used to make clothing.

What is known is probably Georgia.

A kind of gunaku that is unisex,

That's Romanized Sumerian clothing.

Babylon invented embroidery technology,

The Assyrians had begun to use tassels.

Persians began to put on trousers,

He will also wear a tall original hat,

Rich aristocrats pursue expensive purple.

Ancient Greece appeared in late antiquity,

And Roman Egyptian woolen clothes.

As early as the Mycenaean period of Crete,

Clothing materials include linen and silk.

There was also a Roman male robe.

Time soon arrived in the fifteenth century,

Related clothing occupations are gradually emerging,

Velvet beret brocade fabric,

Already appeared in the clothing market.

Time begins again in the sixteenth century,

French and Spanish court dress,

The level of magnificence surpasses that of Italy,

Clothing became a symbol of wealth and power.

The evolution of court clothing in the seventeenth century,

Prince poet, chamberlain, lady guard,

They all have very precious uniforms,

The colors of these uniforms are particularly bright;

Made of very expensive fabric.

Marie Jacquard in 1790,

Invented the automated loom,

Technology has evolved to sewing machines,

Britain became a center for clothing production.

Consumerism emerged in the twentieth century;

Clothing is one of the most prominent areas.

Fashion companies are adapting to this phenomenon,

High-priced clothing became the trend.

Comparing the historical changes in world clothing,

The history of clothing before the Republic of China,

Only the emperor can wear yellow robes.

Who carefully designed and set the rules?

It comes from the etiquette of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.

Spend your time enjoying fashion shows,

It’s better to learn about the history of fashion.