The Development of Miao Silver Jewelry in Taijiang

The above is only a general introduction to the silver ornaments of Miao nationality, and the styles of different branches of Miao nationality are different. Miao nationality has a long history, and its national origin can be traced back to the period of the Yellow Emperor. In the long historical process, Miao migrated from north to south, forming many branches, which were called "Hundred Miao" in Qing Dynasty. Mr. Wu Shizhong, a Miao photographer, has traveled all over Miao territory for 20 years and photographed 170 kinds of Miao costumes. This figure does not include men's wear, women's wear, children's wear, formal wear and casual wear of the Miao nationality. Miao customs are based on costumes, and different costumes are the scope of endogamy. Different clothes have different silver ornaments. Even in the same branch, the styles of silver ornaments are different, and the patterns are even more different.

Fei Xiaotong, when discussing the pluralistic integration pattern of the Chinese nation, said: Its mainstream is the pluralistic integration of many scattered ethnic units, which are not only in contact, mixing, contacting and merging, but also in division and extinction, forming a pluralistic integration with different personalities. As a cultural phenomenon, silver ornaments have been trampled by many nationalities in history and become one of the carriers of multicultural communication. In this carrier, there are the ears of the southern minorities, which originated from the jumping of the northern minorities, as well as the stepping, five soldiers ornaments and the traditional dragons, phoenixes and scales in China. Silver ornaments entering Miao society are not simply a unique art form of a certain nation, but an out-and-out mixture.

It should be noted that in the hundreds of years after the Ming Dynasty, Miao silver ornaments experienced a nationalization process of deduction, combination and variation to meet the needs of national aesthetic stereotypes. First, all the original varieties of silver ornaments are not accepted, some are eliminated after introduction, some are transformed beyond recognition, and of course, some have basically retained their original characteristics. In fact, the development of any national culture is actually a process of deepening knowledge and understanding. Secondly, the nationalization process of Miao silver ornaments is also an innovative process. There is no doubt that human needs are the first source of artistic creation, and the aesthetic concept of the group is the criterion of artistic creation. The innovation of Miao silver ornaments happened and developed along this logic. Due to the demand for silver ornaments, the aesthetic consciousness of Miao people's clothing gradually divorced from practical consciousness, and the dependence on material needs evolved into the relationship between subject and object of aesthetics. Due to the standardization of group aesthetic concept, in the process of artistic innovation, Miao silver ornaments gradually formed their own distinctive national personality.

There are many aesthetics that influence and stipulate the modeling of Miao silver ornaments, so what is the most fundamental? Miao people have a custom of using money as ornaments since ancient times. Historical data also show that money ornaments and silver ornaments have entered the Miao clothing field at the same time. This show-off mentality expressed through enamel decoration plays a vital role in the aesthetic value orientation of Miao silver ornaments, forming three basic artistic characteristics of Miao silver ornaments, namely, great beauty, emphasis on beauty and multiple beauty.

Miao silver ornaments are characterized by great beauty. It goes without saying that Miao silver horns are almost half the height of the wearer, which is a very convincing example. Piles are mountains, showing majestic beauty; Water is a sea, showing infinite beauty. Miao silver jewelry is very reasonable from the aesthetic point of view because of its unique insight into great beauty. Seeing the importance of beauty, Miao women in Shidong, Guizhou used a round stick that gradually became thicker to enlarge their ears when they were young, so as to ensure that they could wear the local popular round earrings and lengthen their earlobes by using the weight of the earrings. Some women have their earlobes removed because their earrings are too heavy. The local earrings weigh only 200 grams. The heavier the basket of Liping Miao women, the better. The heavier the basket, the more than eight pounds. It is also surprising that there are many artistic features on Miao silver ornaments. Many Miao areas pay attention to the beauty of wearing silver ornaments. Hang three or four earrings and fold them to your shoulders; Wear three or four collars, no neck cover; Wear Fu Zi ornaments and waist ornaments. Especially in the Qingshui River basin, there are hundreds of combined parts, which overlap and are complicated, presenting a complex beauty. This materialization of showing off consciousness is not difficult to see in other ethnic groups. The tattoo custom of Dai people emphasizes that the larger the tattoo area, the more complex and beautiful the pattern; Hani girls in courtship are covered with dense beads and shells; The dragon back decoration of Tibetan women in Qinghai pastoral area fully embodies the aesthetic principle of pursuing greatness and diversity; As many as thirty or forty times, the waist hoop of De 'ang nationality is a typical pursuit of jewelry quantity. It shows that Miao nationality is not the only one who pursues complexity and restraint. It is worth mentioning that, from the comparison of silver ornaments collected by Guizhou Provincial Museum in different periods, the Miao people's pursuit of large, heavy and multi-silver ornaments has never stopped. Especially after 1980s, the development speed of Miao silver ornaments is unprecedented. This reflects the continuous improvement of the living standards of the Miao people from one side. In the long process of social development, the visual products used by human beings to beautify themselves present various shapes and colors in different time and space. As for silver jewelry, although it has been ignored by modern civilization, in Taijiang, a minority area, handmade silver jewelry still plays a decisive role in women's daily life. The silver ornaments of the Miao nationality in Taijiang are exquisite and gorgeous. It mainly adopts basic silver-making techniques such as carving, engraving, hammering and winding. The differences of patterns and patterns in different regions depend on their living environment, customs and costumes. There are mainly silver horns, silver crowns, silver flowers, silver pins, silver combs, pins, earrings, ear posts, earrings, collars and so on. Its styles are hollow, solid, bubble flower, hexagonal and so on. The whole body is covered with more than 20 kilograms of silver makeup, which is rare among all ethnic groups in the world. The silver ornaments of Miao nationality in Taijiang not only have formal beauty in design and theme, but also play an important role in daily life, showing rich social content. She embodies the unique aesthetic consciousness of Miao people, and embroiders colorful homespun with colorful embroidery. Wearing all kinds of glittering silver ornaments on dark homespun, together with melodious silver bells and pieces, breaks the monotony of silver ornaments, reproduces the comprehensive effect of dynamic and static combination and colorful, and has an attractive three-dimensional sense, showing the special attainments of Miao people in clothing. Silver ornaments are now decorations, which are beautiful and symbolic, reflecting the broad social life of Miao people in different historical periods, such as folk customs, aesthetic tastes and ways of thinking.