The most popular ancient costume drama in China recently is undoubted “Meng Hua Lu 梦华录”. Once it was broadcast, it received numerous praise.
The audience immersively felt the elegant scenery and exquisite aesthetics of the Song Dynasty. In this article, let's learn about the fashion of the Song Dynasty.
Song Dynasty Hanfu Clothing
The clothes of a dynasty can reflect the temperament of that dynasty. Different from the colorful Tang Dynasty, the clothing aesthetics of the Song Dynasty tend to be more unique and elegant, and the style tends to be simple and elegant.
The women of the Song Dynasty usually wore short clothes with narrow sleeves on the upper body, long skirts on the lower body, and a long shirt with a pair of lapels on the top.
In terms of color, it is more inclined to the color system with low color saturation, often dominated by light powder, goose yellow, scallion white, silver-gray, aloes, lotus root color, etc.
Song Dynasty Makeup
The makeup of the Song Dynasty was divided into rosy clouds 飞霞妆, Langlai makeup 慵来妆, sandalwood halo makeup 檀晕妆, plum blossom makeup 梅妆, tear makeup 泪妆, three white makeup 三白妆, pearl makeup 珍珠妆, Buddha makeup 佛妆, etc., of which three white makeup was popular at that time.
What are “three whites”? It means that the forehead, chin, and bridge of the nose are mainly painted white, which is similar to the current high gloss. Compared with the makeup in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, the light makeup used in the Song Dynasty has left a very deep impression on future generations.
In the Song Dynasty, in addition to the “three white makeup”, the makeup that formed a great contrast with the Tang Dynasty was also called “thin makeup”. It is characterized by a “thin application of vermilion, with a slightly red face” to create a natural look.
Eyebrows play a very important role in women's faces. In ancient poems, eyebrows are often used to refer to beautiful women. Thrushes can be called the finishing touch of facial makeup. As for the eyebrow shape, the Song Dynasty played a trick. There is always one that can move you, such as remote mountain eyebrow 远山眉, long moth eyebrow 长蛾眉, shallow Manjusri eyebrow 浅文殊眉, cocoon eyebrow 出茧眉, wide eyebrow 广眉, inverted halo eyebrow 倒晕眉, etc.
Song Dynasty Hair Decoration
Compared with the elegant makeup, the crowns of women in the Song Dynasty showed obvious differences between the upper and lower levels.
In the portraits of empresses and dowagers of all dynasties, they are qualified to wear dragon and Phoenix crowns with high specifications. The production of dragon and Phoenix crowns is not only complicated but almost all the decorations on the crowns are made of pearls.
According to the sitting statue of empress Renzong of the Song Dynasty, its temples are light green, inlaid with several pearls, and the shape is exquisite.
The maid nearby wears hairpin crowns as well as temples. It can be seen that the crown with temples and exquisite decoration is standard for upper-class women.
Folk women in the Song Dynasty also wore headdresses, usually coronets, which were made of colored flowers. Although there were no pearls and gemstones, they were also beautiful.
The Menghua Lu 梦华录 in detail the flower Selection Guide for Linan, the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty, all year round. There are peach and Begonia in spring, gardenia, and jasmine in summer, camellia, and orchid in autumn, daffodil, and plum in winter, etc.
According to historical records, every time Huizong of the Song Dynasty traveled back to the palace, he “wore a small hat, wore flowers, and rode on a horse”. His ministers and guards also gave flowers to wear. The emperor set an example, and the people naturally followed.
Clothing is the epitome of culture and a mirror of society. Different social foundations and cultures naturally produce different aesthetic styles, which together constitute a colorful historical picture of ancient Chinese costumes. We hope more people can feel this unique beauty.