Compared with the Chinese Valentine's Day that we give chocolates and flowers now, I think the ancients were much more romantic. They gave hairpins, sachets, concentric knots, combs, jade pendants, and hairpins, which all make you feel happy when you hear them. Very atmospheric.
What are the romantic meanings of the gifts given by ancient people? Let’s take a look below:
1. Hairpin
A hairpin is a long needle used by the ancients to insert a bun or even a crown into the hair. Later, it specifically referred to women’s buns. jewelry. It is often the first choice gift for men to give to the woman they love, and women often give it to their lover as a token of love.
Because I usually like antique clothes and so on, my boyfriend gave me a hairpin on Chinese Valentine's Day last year, which was a gift to my heart.
2. Sachets
Friends who like to watch ancient costume dramas should be familiar with it. In the plots, lovers often give sachets to each other during the Qiqiao Festival (now the Chinese Valentine's Day). plot.
In ancient times, sachets were also called incense tassels, sachets, incense balls, peiwei, purses, etc. The ancients wore sachets, which can be traced back to the pre-Qin period. There is a record in "Book of Rites. Nei Principles": "The son serves his parents and wears them on his left and right sides;... the tassel is suitable for his parents, uncles and aunts." The general meaning is that young men and women in the pre-Qin period should wear tassels when they see their parents and other elders. Wear a sachet to show respect.
Later, it gradually evolved into a gift given to each other by men and women during the Chinese Valentine's Day. The reason is that the sachet is worn with you and is given to a girl as if you are by her side. This is the earliest romance of the ancients. Moreover, there are often some meaningful pictures on the sachets, which may be their own appearance or natural scenery, all expressing a man's admiration for a woman.
3. Tongxin Knot
Tongxin knot was first popular as a gift in the Northern Song Dynasty. Men gave girls Tongxin knot on Qixi Festival, which means "forever knotting together."
There is such a passage in "Youth Travel": "The cup is deep, the young people meet each other with great joy, and the compass belt is coiled with golden strands, so as to tie the knot of the same heart."
People have a deep understanding of each other. After getting married, the couple's beautiful hopes gradually turned into physical gifts. The concentric knot cannot be given away easily. In ancient times, once a man gave the concentric knot to the other party, it meant that he would only marry her in this life and would not marry anyone else. It showed the innocence of his feelings for her. ?
In fact, in "The Legend of Zhen Huan", there are also plots about giving the same-hearted knot. On the Qixi Festival, in order to show his love for Zhen Huan, Yongzheng gave the same-hearted knot to Zhen Huan, while other concubines were Those who have not received it can clearly see the love contained in this gift.
4. Comb
It is the most common scene for the ancients to give combs during the Chinese Valentine's Day. The comb itself represents growing old together, and this profound meaning will not be given away easily.
Before a woman gets married, her natal family will comb her hair. In ancient times, there was a popular saying: one comb to the end, two combs to make the white hair reach eyebrow level, and three combs to fill the house with descendants. The comb expresses love, happiness, and marriage, not only the man's admiration for the woman, but also the blessings of his family.
Therefore, men give women combs on Chinese Valentine's Day because they want to stay with her forever. Even in some ancient love stories, men often gave women combs as a sign of a lifelong commitment.
5. Jade pendant
Speaking of jade pendant, the influence of Pian Pian Gongzi comes to my mind. In ancient times, most men would wear jade pendants, and giving their personal jade pendants to the women they admired could implicitly express their feelings for the women without appearing rash. It was usually a small object given by scholars to their loved ones.
6. Hairpin
In ancient times, there was a custom of giving away hairpins between lovers or couples: a woman would divide the hairpin on her head into two parts, give half to the other person, and keep the other half for herself. Let's wait until we meet again one day to be together.
In Xin Qiji's poem "Zhu Yingtai is near late spring", "Baochai is divided, peach leaves are crossing, and smoke and willows are darkening Nanpu", which expresses this kind of separation. Nalan Xingde's poem "Baochai is divided." "Gathering two minds together, we will determine why the orchids are wet" is also full of the pain of being separated from the one you love. This shows the significance of hairpin in the hearts of ancient people.
Although the Qixi Festival gift is not the most important, what is important is the intention, but giving a meaningful gift will still make people feel more ritualistic. In fact, we can also learn from the ancients. , there must be many girls like me who like these gifts given by the ancients~