The hair test wear of the Qin and Han Dynasties, both pictures and text descriptions are acceptable

Appreciation of fine folk silver jewelry in China

CCTV International (March 20, 2006, 15:42)

Length tangled gilt silver crown inlaid with coral Mongolian (late Qing Dynasty)

It is beneficial to open the book

Since ancient times, the Chinese have used gold and silver as symbols of wealth, because they can be collected and represent status, especially in ancient times. It is an indispensable gift during festive festivals and is widely used among the people. At the same time, it is different from calligraphy and painting, and it is not a tool for literati to express their feelings and express their feelings. However, making gold and silver ornaments must go through the process of burning, carving, engraving, Polishing and other procedures can be completed. They come from the folk, contain the rich emotions of the working people, and represent the joy and expectations of the working people. The use of silver jewelry and silverware in our country can be roughly traced back to the Warring States Period. According to archaeological data, many silver ornaments have been unearthed from many Warring States tombs in our country. For example: From the Warring States tomb in Huixian, Henan, silver belt hooks covered with gold and inlaid with jade were unearthed. Ape-shaped silver ornaments were unearthed from the Warring States tomb in the old city of Lu State in Qufu, Shandong. Silver tigers, silver deer, silver cups, etc. unearthed from the Xiongnu tomb in Nalingaofan, Shaanxi in the late Warring States period? More than 100 pieces of Han Dynasty silverware were unearthed from the tomb of Liu Xiang, King of Qi in the Western Han Dynasty, in Zibo Wo Village, Shandong, including a gilt ware made by Qin Shihuang in the 33rd year of his reign. Gold-engraved silver plates, etc., all reflect the superb level of silverware production in the Qin and Han Dynasties. The Tang Dynasty was a prosperous period for silverware production in my country. According to archaeological data, the silverware production during this period not only had many categories, but was also distributed over a wide area. The decoration is fine, and the design and workmanship have reached a very high level. In the Song and Yuan Dynasties, silverware products gradually began to be commercialized. Silver jewelry used by nobles and wealthy businessmen began to become popular among the people, and the varieties gradually increased. Their styles became more lively and full of life than previous generations. The themes include flowers, birds, fish and insects, towers and pavilions, plant patterns, auspicious patterns and other decorations. The utensils are novel in design, beautiful in shape, and exquisite in craftsmanship. The casting, carving, carving and welding techniques have all been improved. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, my country's metal craftsmanship achieved unprecedented development. The types of gold and silver ornaments and utensils are becoming more and more abundant, the skills have reached the level of proficiency, and the patterns and patterns have become more exquisite. During the Xuande period of the Ming Dynasty, the Foundry Bureau specially formulated a craftsman system, stipulating that craftsmen from each region had to take turns to serve in the capital for three months to make gold and silver utensils for the palace, which further promoted the development of metal crafts. With the rapid improvement of the level of metal craftsmanship, gold and silverware began to enter the homes of ordinary people from the residences of high-ranking officials, nobles, and wealthy merchants during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Silver jewelry culture took root among the people, and silver workshops gradually became a folk occupation and became more and more prosperous. . In terms of variety, there are many small utensils that can be played with, such as silver cigarette cases, silver powder boxes, silver incense burners, silver bracelets, silver chopsticks, silver locks, silver combs, silver hairpins, silver hairpins, silver jewelry, silver headwear, silver earrings, etc. , various craft techniques have been greatly improved, and they became even more brilliant in the Qing Dynasty. By the early Republic of China, the production technology of silverware was diversified, its application range was wider and became more and more popular, which led to the long-term development and progress of folk silver jewelry, and also left us many exquisite physical objects. How many beautiful legends and auspicious patterns, including opera stories, cultural connotations, and decorative designs in silver jewelry, have truly enriched the lives of the people and have been deeply integrated with life for hundreds of thousands of years. It left the most precious information for folk culture. A ring, a pair of silver bracelets, and a hairpin not only add beauty to a person, but many of them also have the function of conveying feelings. They are gifts and tokens. This kind of thing is still popular in some ethnic minority areas. And there are more and more people who are interested in it. At the same time, these traditional crafts that will be lost have become useful references for contemporary art design.

Hair accessories

The ancient hair accessory is "hairpin". In ancient times, both men and women had long hair, and hairpins were used by men and women in ancient times to hold their tied hair or crowns in place. "弁" is an ancient title. "Mian" means crown. Hairpins originated in the Neolithic Age. By the Shang and Zhou dynasties, the material of hairpins was mainly bone. In the Han Dynasty, ivory hairpins and jade hairpins began to appear, and turquoise was also inlaid on the hairpin heads.

During the Tang, Song and Yuan Dynasties, hairpins were largely made of precious materials such as gold, silver, and jade. The production techniques of silver hairpins include engraving, engraving and coiling. The plate flower is made of fine silver wire. The carvings on hairpins include plant shapes, animal shapes, geometric shapes, utensil shapes, etc., with various shapes, and their patterns often have auspicious meanings.

Headgear

Mongolian silver crowns inlaid with coral are divided into silver inlaid with coral, silver and gilt inlaid with coral, silver inlaid with pearls, the most exquisite ones are inlaid with jade and red sapphire, which are still in the world today. There are very few. In the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, it was the highest, best and most fashionable dowry for women, and the most representative silver headdress of the Mongolian people.

Panchang is one of the "Eight Treasures" of Buddhism. The pattern is knitted from simulated ropes. The patterns are winding and connected, with no beginning, no end, no end, and no end. It means long history and good fortune, so it is called "Pan Chang" or "Pan Chang" is widely used in auspicious decorations. The window lattice and railings of buildings, as well as buttons and accessories can be made into Pan Chang style.

Neck ornaments

Neck ornaments

Longevity lock is a kind of neck ornament, also known as "longevity rope" and "Hundreds of families lock". It originated from the ancient "longevity engraving (lu)" or "baisuo". It was originally a folk custom in the ancient Jiangnan area. During the Dragon Boat Festival, colorful ribbons were formed into various shapes and tied to the arms to ward off evil spirits. It was called Baisuo.

Later, the colored thread evolved into "Pearl's Knot". After the Ming Dynasty, it gradually became the most common type of neckwear for young children. Longevity locks in the Qing Dynasty were mostly made of silver, with the upper part in the form of a collar and the lower part in the form of a pendant. The pendants come in various shapes, including lock shape, wishful thinking shape, butterfly shape, "Qilin sending a son" shape, etc. The front is often engraved with auspicious words, such as "long life and wealth", "five sons are admitted to the imperial examination", etc. Longevity locks are mostly neck ornaments for young men and women.

Bracelet

Rings are also called "rings" and "rings". It originated in the Shang and Zhou dynasties about 2,000 years ago, and it is still the most common type of hand jewelry for people today. Over the past two thousand years, the shape of the ring has not changed much. In addition to the plain ring, the decorative techniques include engraving patterns, carving auspicious beasts, inlaying diamond jewelry, etc. A ring is composed of multiple rings, called three-ring rings, four-ring rings, five-ring rings, nine-ring rings, etc. Some rings are decorated with small bells.

Bracelet is a kind of hand ornament, also known as bracelet, jump off, strip off, arm hairpin, wrist collar, etc. Bracelets first appeared in the Han Dynasty and became very popular in the Tang Dynasty. By the Ming and Qing Dynasties and modern times, it was very common for women to wear bracelets, made of various materials and with various decorative styles. Among them, bracelets made of precious materials and complicated craftsmanship are more distinctive. They may be made of gold, silver, wood, etc., and covered with gold and inlaid with silver; or they may be coiled and stacked with silk, inlaid with jewelry, carved and chiseled, which is complicated and luxurious.

Earrings

Earrings appeared around the late Tang Dynasty. By the Five Dynasties and the early Song Dynasty, it was very common for Han women to wear earrings. Among the ethnic minorities today, women of the Achang and Li ethnic groups mostly wear earrings with larger diameters. The earrings worn by the Li women in Hainan Island are up to 18 centimeters in diameter. They wear more than a dozen earrings in each ear, from large to small, which are very unique.

Earrings are also a type of earrings, also known as pendants. The earliest physical object is a pair of gold earrings unearthed from a Northern Wei Dynasty stone letter at the Huata site in Ding County, Hebei Province. The earrings are 9 cm long. The main body of the earrings is composed of a cylinder made of gold wire, a small gold ball, a round gold piece and a cone connected by a chain. . The most representative pair of gold earrings unearthed from the underground palace of Dingling in Beijing is a pair of gold earrings belonging to Emperor Xiaojing and Queen Mother of Emperor Shenzong of the Ming Dynasty. The theme is a rabbit making medicine in the moon palace.

Belt decorations

Belt decorations mainly refer to practical objects and decorative objects hanging on the belt.

The ancients hung a wide variety of items on their belts, collectively called "accessories", such as jade, fish, sachets, seals, purses, smoked balls, silver waist hangings and mascots, etc. Silver waist hangings originated from daily necessities carried by the ancients for self-defense and convenience in daily life. Men mostly hung small weapons and ignition tools, while women wore daily necessities such as sewing tubes. Some of these items evolved into purely decorative items.

Clothing

Silver jewelry in clothing includes silver hats, silver buttons, etc.

Silver hat ornaments are commonly known as hat flowers among the people. Hat flowers refer to the ornaments decorated on hats. They are mostly used on festive occasions such as the birth of a child or the child's full moon or one year old. They are arranged in groups of different sizes. There are also some hat flowers for women, mainly with patterns such as group flowers, group longevity, group cranes, fortune, wealth and longevity, peonies, chrysanthemums, spiders, butterflies and other patterns. Mostly used by elderly women, many are birthday gifts given by daughters-in-law when their mothers-in-law celebrate their birthdays.

Silver buttons are one of the ancient costumes. The wearer can choose buttons of different shapes according to personal beliefs and pursuits to achieve the purpose of praying for happiness, blessing, wealth, peace, good luck, etc. Please wait. For example, the silver fish button means more than a year, the silver longevity peach button means longevity, the silver ingot button means wealth, the anemone button means integrity, and the silver bergamot button means longevity, etc.

Living utensils

Living utensils mainly refer to silverware, etc.

Silver utensils are a major category of silver jewelry in addition to silver jewelry. Silver utensils are mostly used by nobles and palaces, with various shapes and exquisite craftsmanship. The varieties include bowls, basins, jars, plates, smokers, wine bottles, etc.

(Wang Jinhua/Photography)

Lotus-shaped longevity lock (Qing Dynasty)

Lotus-shaped longevity lock with hundreds of family names (late Qing Dynasty) Hebei

Qilin gift Gold-plated longevity lock (Qing Dynasty)

Black agate bracelet with two dragons playing with beads (Qing Dynasty)

Hollow bracelet with blue dots and longevity characters (Qing Dynasty)

Flower pattern Dot blue earrings (clear)

Double happiness dot blue earrings (clear) Beijing

Part of the silver crown

Gold and jade dot blue earrings (clear)

Butterfly style waist hanging (Qing Dynasty)

Cats and butterflies playing with each other waist hanging (late Qing Dynasty)

Mongolian waist knife accessories - Fire Sickle (Republic of China)

< p>Gilt hat flower (Republic of China) Shanxi

Fu Rudonghai silver button (Republic of China) Shaanxi

Dielianhua silver button (Qing Dynasty)

Dianlan Silver jar (Republic of China)

Four Arts Pattern Go jar (Qing Dynasty)

Part of silver crown

Aromatherapy three-legged stove

Points Emerald flower hairpin (Qing Dynasty)

Point green hairpin (Qing Dynasty)

Enamel butterfly pattern hairpin (Qing Dynasty)

Silver comb with flower pattern (Qing Dynasty)

Kilin gives a son a gold-plated long-life lock (Qing Dynasty)

The fifth son is admitted to the imperial examination and has a long-life lock (early Republic of China)