Speaking of fish bags, I have to say the symbol of fish. Fish symbols in the Tang Dynasty can be divided into two categories, one is Tongyu symbol, which is used to appoint and dismiss officials and dispatch troops, and the other is personal fish symbol as a status grade symbol. In the Tang Dynasty, there were fish symbols around, with the word "about" in the middle. After separation, only half of the characters on each half can be combined to see the complete word "contract". We are signing the contract now, and we need to make two copies, sealed in the middle, and each party holds one copy. This is how the word "contract" came into being. Song dynasty inherited the Tang system, but did not use fish symbols, and directly tattooed fish-shaped bags, which can be divided into goldfish bags and whitebait bags.
Fish bag is a kind of clothing system in the Tang Dynasty, and this system of officials wearing fish bags is also called the system of chapter clothing. Old Tang book? "Jade Fu Zhi" mentioned that "since then, the system of grace has given you purple, and the case is also a fish bag, named Zhang Yi". The appearance of fish bag is not accidental, but the most important link in the ancient costume system.
Fish bag
The background of fish bag system in Tang Dynasty
There were four kinds of costumes in the Tang Dynasty: sacrificial clothes, regular clothes, imperial clothes and official clothes. Every clothing system has specific rules about accessories. Fish bag is one of the accessories required to be worn in uniform system.
As mentioned earlier, the fish bag system, also known as the chapter service system, is one of the ancient clothing systems. Wearing fish symbols had two functions in the Tang Dynasty. One is equivalent to passing the exam; The other is a symbol of status.
Zhang Fu system has been formed since Sui Dynasty. The colors and accessories of the official clothes in the Tang Dynasty were determined according to the official products. The rule about color is called color system, which we will mention later. The regulations on accessories are called chapter service system.
"Six Classics of Tang Dynasty" records that "the system of carrying fish symbols, two on the left and one on the right, is decorated with jade as the monarch, gold as the monarch and copper as the official". According to the different materials of sheets used to decorate fish bags, fish bags can be divided into two types, one is gold sheet decoration and the other is silver sheet decoration. During the Wu Zetian period, the fish symbol was changed to the turtle symbol, and the fish bag was also called the turtle bag. After Wu Zetian's reform, fish bags were graded, and official positions were classified according to three different turtle bags: gold, silver and copper.
By the time of Zhongzong, the turtle bag was changed into a fish bag, and the fish bag classification system in the Wu Zetian period was retained. At this time, the range of octopus activities began to expand gradually, and the role of fish bag in indicating identity was far greater than its practical use. In Zong Rui's period, the matching of colors between fish bags and kimonos, purple clothes and goldfish bags, purple clothes and silver fish bags, and purple clothes and gold and silver fish bags constituted the system of chapter clothes in the Tang Dynasty.
Fish symbols in Tang dynasty
Why are there fish ornaments?
At the beginning, it was mentioned that the fish symbol originated from the tiger symbol, but why did it change to "fish" in the period of Li Yuan?
It is said that it is to avoid the name of the ancestor of the Li family. The shape of the fish symbol is carp, and the word "carp" is used to describe "Li". Moreover, Li in the Tang Dynasty compared Li Tang with "eighteen carp in the river". Because of his worship of carp, he also used carp to increase the mystery, which made people think that the "Li family" was a destiny.
The reason why Wu Zetian used the tortoise symbol is even simpler. After Wu Zetian established the Zhou Dynasty, she also used the combination of Xuanwu and Wu to show that she was a god. So I changed the symbol of fish to the symbol of turtle.
Turtle symbol
The change of fish bag system in Tang Dynasty During the reign of Emperor Gaozong, the fish bag system was implemented. During the Wu Zetian period, fish bags were replaced by turtle bags. In middle school, the fish bag system was restored, and gradually developed "Zijin fish bag" and "Yinfei fish bag" which integrated color matching and fish matching. During the period of Zhongzong and Zong Rui, not only the fish bag system was greatly developed, but also the record of fish bag reward greatly exceeded that of previous dynasties. During the period of Zhongzong and Zong Rui, the emperor presented fish bags to the foreign minister. The appearance of this situation greatly promoted the use of fish buns, and the further promotion and popularization of fish buns was also a means for the emperor to consolidate his rule and buy people's hearts.
After the Anshi Rebellion, the rule of the Tang Dynasty was greatly impacted, and the use of fish bags was also affected. Especially in the period of Su Zong and Dai Zong, Su Zong ascended the throne in the Anshi Rebellion, followed by a period of rebellion, and then restored stability to the devastated Li Tang Dynasty. At this time, people's hearts are unstable, and fish bags, as an illusory reward, become insignificant at this time! During the Tang Xianzong period, the Li and Tang Dynasties gradually recovered from the attack of An Shi Rebellion, and the prestige of the royal family in Li Tang was gradually re-established. During this period, the use of fish bags gradually increased, and people's ideas began to change. Throughout the changes in the use of fish bags in the Tang Dynasty,
During the reign of the emperor in Tang Dynasty, the number of fish bags given by the emperor can reflect the relationship between the emperor and officials. Without strong military, political and economic capabilities, this kind of rewarding representative fish bag has become a decoration and has no practical effect. For example, in the late Xuanzong period, the fish bag given to Bian Zhen was just a fig leaf to maintain the relationship between the monarch and the minister.
Painting Xuanzong statue of Tang Dynasty in Ming Dynasty.
The color system matching the fish bag system is an important period for the development and perfection of the color system of official clothes in Tang Dynasty, which was gradually improved after many adjustments in Tang Dynasty.
During the period of Emperor Taizong, the dress colors of officials were determined according to official products: "Purple is above three products, scarlet is above four products and five products, green is above six products and seven products, and green is above eight products and nine products". Purple clothes and scarlet clothes are the noblest colors, and fish bags are added on the basis of purple and scarlet. In addition to these officials, there are also strict controls on the costumes of officials in the flow, officials outside the flow, petty officials and ordinary people. Under this system, all classes have distinct grades and high and low status.
In the clothing system of later generations, it was all the adjustment and refinement made in the clothing system of the Tang Dynasty.
Because this system represents the hierarchical system, it leads to the pursuit of fees and purple by lower-level officials and the yearning of ordinary people for officials to wear colors, which makes people try their best to get high-level colors to wear, and the color system becomes chaotic in this case. Another reason for the confusion of the clothing system is that the monarch used Fei and Zi clothing as a means to enslave his courtiers. As time goes by, the confusion of service color system becomes more and more serious. As a result, in the late Tang Dynasty, the situation of color abuse was more serious, and people did not even pay attention to purple and scarlet.
In addition, the change of political situation, various political systems, the surge in the number of eunuchs serving as envoys, and frequent wars in the late Tang Dynasty are all reasons for the confusion of costume color in the Tang Dynasty.
The ultimate goal of the clothing color system in Tang Dynasty is to consolidate its dominant position by using hierarchical differentiation. This hierarchy is not only manifested in the external clothing, but also deeply portrayed in people's minds.
Official stills of Tang dynasty
Conclusion: From the perspective of the fish bag system, imperial power and costumes have always been status symbols and have very strong political functions from the Yellow Emperor's "hanging clothes to being in power" to the demise of the Qing Dynasty. Color, grain, crown, etc. all reflect the hierarchy.
In ancient China, green, red, purple, blue and yellow were mainly used for the dress of officials. The emperor's costumes are mainly white, blue, black, red and yellow, which were also regarded as positive colors in ancient times. Yellow stands for "middle" in the five parties. With the continuous development of society, yellow has become an important color in politics.
Before Sui and Tang Dynasties, yellow was unlimited as a noble color. Tang Gaozu tang gaozu stipulated that emperors should use red and yellow, and even Shu Ren and handmaiden could wear yellow in the early Tang Dynasty. The importance of yellow mainly began in the late Tang Dynasty. After the Song Dynasty, the emperor chose yellow, and from this time on, the political connotation and social status of yellow began to gradually improve.
Whether it is fish bag system, clothing color system, or the establishment of yellow aristocratic status, these all reflect the increasingly perfect feudal system. Ancient Chinese costumes are the intuitive embodiment of etiquette and hierarchy. On different occasions, there are different regulations on clothing.
Clothing is a barometer of feudal dynasty society, which embodies different political cultures in different dynasties, the clothing color system in Tang and Song Dynasties, and the complementary color system in Ming and Qing Dynasties. Each dynasty made new improvements on the basis of inheriting the previous dress system, which made the rank more obvious in the dress.