Tomb

To choose a representative of ancient Chinese beauty, Yang Guifei (杨贵妃/杨玉环, Yang Yuhuan) would probably be one of the most highly acclaimed candidates. As one of the Four Beauties, her romantic legend with Emperor Xuanzong has been repeatedly sung, and anecdotes about the consort and written accounts of her appearance, as well as related paintings, operas, and theatrical stage performances, are commonplace. For thousands of years, literati and people have been curious about the beauty and makeup of the consort. What is the real makeup style of Yang Guifei? If we only speculate from the descriptions of later texts, we may not get the real results. Aesthetics are always changing, and the benchmark for judgment is also changing. Yang Guifei look in modern cdrama But large-scale archaeological excavations over the past half-century or so, especially the hundreds of realistic ceramic figurines, murals and silk paintings unearthed in the tombs of nobles during the Xuanzong era, have allowed us to scientifically summarize the aesthetic tendencies and changes in the figure and makeup of noblewomen during the decades of the Tang dynasty, Kaiyuan (开元), and Tianbao (天宝). Among them are many court paintings of Yang Guifei during her stay in the palace,…

The shoe curl design is not unique to China, but it is a representative feature of ancient Chinese shoes. Both men's and women's shoes in ancient times had curled toes, with the distinction being "men's square and women's round." The shoe curl design appeared as early as ancient times, and by the Han Dynasty, there was a revolutionary design for the split toe of shoes, known as the "split-toe shoe." The No. 1 Mawangdui Han Tomb in Changsha, Hunan, and the No. 68 Phoenix Mountain Han Tomb in Jiangling, Hubei, both unearthed split-toe shoes with pointed curled toes. Since then, even shoes made of grass and hemp were designed with high curled toes. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the main changes in women's shoes were in the toe design, which could be round, square, or pointed, divided into several petals, or layered, but all maintained the high curled toe design. Embroidered shoes are part of our Han nationality's attire and are very distinctive. Generally, embroidered shoes are worn with Hanfu, as people in ancient times wore these embroidered shoes when wearing this type of clothing, creating a harmonious look. Regarding boots, they are also commonly found in Hanfu shops.…

Moe (抹额), a kind of Chinese traditional clothing accessories, was popular in the Ming Dynasty. Moe tied on the forehead, usually decorated with embroidery or pearl jade. The application of Moe in the ancient army In the Tang Dynasty, Moe often appeared on the warrior's forehead. On the murals of the tomb of Prince Zhang Huai in the Tang Dynasty, there are warriors wearing red Moe. In the written records at that time, the word "Moe" appeared. Li He, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, once wrote a poem describing the drill of the water army: "water splashes on the Moe, flags, and drums will greet the tide at night." In the Five Dynasties, there was a "military Moe" clause. At that time, different colors were used as marks in the military to distinguish different armies. Moe - the mystery of women's beauty In the Song Dynasty, it was more used by women who loved beauty. Women's Moe in Song Dynasty became more exquisite in production. Historical materials also recorded that "ordinary families can't decorate jewelry, clothes, earrings, Moe and so on with pearls". Although women of ordinary status are not allowed to decorate Moe with pearls, their Moe styles…

The image of Qin Shi Huang as a tyrant has been stuck for over two thousand years. However, in recent years, a discovery of the "Yunmeng Qin Bamboo Slips" in a tomb in Hubei has provided an opportunity for Emperor Qin Shi Huang, who has faced criticism for over two thousand years, to potentially redeem his reputation. In 2015, an archaeological team made a significant discovery in an ancient tomb located in Hubei. They unearthed a collection of two hundred thousand bamboo slips dating back to the Qin Dynasty. These bamboo slips, attributed to a low-ranking official named "Xi," were revealed to contain records of laws and regulations from that era.  Figure 1 - "Xi" Figurine  The recently unearthed Qin Dynasty bamboo slips have provided valuable insights that challenge long-standing perceptions. Among the content, there is a specific passage that documents the military regulations of the Qin Dynasty. This discovery sheds new light on our understanding of the military practices during that time. Figure 2 - Qin Dynasty Bamboo Slips According to the records, the recently discovered Qin Dynasty bamboo slips outline the consequences for being late on duty. If an individual arrives late within three to five days, they would…

Two weeks ago, at a significant meeting on the "Archaeology of China" project, held in Huainan, Anhui Province, a major discovery was announced. Archaeologists revealed that a bronze Ding unearthed from the "Wu Wangdun" site, the largest and most intricate high-status Chu tomb excavated to date, set a new record for the largest Chu cultural Ding found in China. Measuring 88.3 cm in diameter and about 1.2 m in height, this vessel surpasses the renowned Zhuke Dading (or "Chu Dading"), a prized artifact of the Anhui Museum. Although it doesn't rival the monumental Houmuwu Ding, its discovery has still sparked great excitement. As China national treasure, each bronze vessel is not only a marvel to craft but also a supreme symbol of power. Historically, the Ding size indicated one's status and authority. Records show that ancient nobles cooked various meats separately in different vessel, directly serving from them. Later, the Zhou Li stipulated a hierarchy of Dings: nine for the emperor, seven for lords, five for ministers, and three for officials. Thus, their size and weight took on special meaning, remaining a point of fascination even today. We know the largest and heaviest Ding in China is the Houmuwu Ding,…

Moe (抹额), a kind of Chinese traditional clothing accessories, was popular in the Ming Dynasty. Moe tied on the forehead, usually decorated with embroidery or pearl jade. The application of Moe in the ancient army In the Tang Dynasty, Moe often appeared on the warrior's forehead. On the murals of the tomb of Prince Zhang Huai in the Tang Dynasty, there are warriors wearing red Moe. In the written records at that time, the word "Moe" appeared. Li He, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, once wrote a poem describing the drill of the water army: "water splashes on the Moe, flags, and drums will greet the tide at night." In the Five Dynasties, there was a "military Moe" clause. At that time, different colors were used as marks in the military to distinguish different armies. Moe - the mystery of women's beauty In the Song Dynasty, it was more used by women who loved beauty. Women's Moe in Song Dynasty became more exquisite in production. Historical materials also recorded that "ordinary families can't decorate jewelry, clothes, earrings, Moe and so on with pearls". Although women of ordinary status are not allowed to decorate Moe with pearls, their Moe styles…

In the winter of 2023, the cdrama market is entering the year-end sprint. While the hot broadcast period of dramas such as "A Journey to Love," "Love Me, Love My Voice," and "South Sea Tomb" that premiered at the end of November is not yet over, dramas such as "Got a Crush on You," "Battle Through the Heaven," "The Hope," and "The Last Immortal" that are scheduled to air in December have successively joined the melee. From the currently aired and scheduled dramas, the online platforms mainly involved are Tencent Video, Youku, and Mango TV, with both "The Last Immortal" and "Unshakable Faith" being dual-platform broadcasts. In terms of themes, there are obvious differentiated features that can meet the viewing needs of different audiences.   The Clash of Four Major IP Dramas Among the six dramas that have been launched or are about to be aired in the past few days, four of them are IP adaptations, with three of them adapted from online novels on Jinjiang Literature. Specifically, "Got a Crush on You," which premiered on Tencent Video on December 7, is adapted from the novel "Hong Cheng Gun Gun Gun". The author, Beiqing, is a writer of online…

Hey everyone, sorry for the hiatus! I’m back now with a new series of articles—Hanfu Unearthed, a series examining the more technical, historical origins of hanfu. This series of articles is going to focus on the archaeological side of hanfu research: the relics that we’ve uncovered from various dig sites and tombs. The way that hanfu is defined by most is that its shape and construction is designed off of these relics, so let’s take a look at the real historical references that we have. A quick disclaimer—this series of articles is a result of my own research. I’m not a trained historian or archaeologist, I’m an inexperienced student with an interest in hanfu and chinese history. I don’t have a works cited page for these (though I can point you towards some of the resources I used off the top of my head if you really want them), and I didn’t spend a long time verifying my sources beyond checking with multiple sources to make sure the information was consistent, because frankly I don’t have the time to do that. All articles will come with this disclaimer, so please, please understand that I’m doing my best with what I…

The 馬王堆漢墓/马王堆汉墓/ma3 wang2 dui1/Mawangdui Han tomb is one of the most famous Han dynasty archaeological sites in China. Located in Mawangdui, Changsha, this elaborate tomb was found in 1968 and excavated in 1972 to reveal the remains of an incredibly well-preserved noblewoman that we now know was the wife to the Marquis of Dai in the Han Dynasty Kingdom of Changsha, Li Dai. A multilayered burial site containing furniture, food, art, accessories, and other belongings, the tomb contained her personal seal, which was found with the name 辛追/辛追/xin1 zhui1/Xin Zhui engraved in it; thus we know her as 辛追夫人/新追夫人/xin1 zhui1 fu1 ren2/Lady Xinzhui.  wax reconstruction of what Lady Xinzhui would've looked like in her youth (A quick disclaimer—this series of articles is a result of my own research. I’m not a trained historian or archaeologist, I’m an inexperienced student with an interest in hanfu and chinese history. I don’t have a works cited page for these (though I can point you towards some of the resources I used off the top of my head if you really want them), and I didn’t spend a long time verifying my sources beyond checking with multiple sources to make sure the information was…

The Chinese ancient armor protecting the head was called Zhou (胄, helmet) in the pre-Qin period. In oracle bone inscriptions, the helmet is painted as a shield with a vertical tube at the top. And many of the bronzes excavated from the Yinxu tomb in Anyang are fully consistent with this phenomenon. However, there is a lack of a standard for the definition of other ancient helmets without vertical tubes in Western Zhou and Spring and Autumn Warring States. Therefore, the emergence of iron head armor as the dividing line, before that, regardless of whether they had vertical tubes or not, they were called Zhou regardless of whether the material specifically leather or bronze, after that, they were divided into two categories: Dou Mou (兜鍪, helmet) and Kui (盔, helmet). But those with vertical tubes with feathers as decoration were still called Zhou, such as the unified style of the Qing Dynasty.   Ancient helmets from the pre-Qin period Bronze Zhou (胄) of the pre-Qin period is bounded by the Shang and Zhou (周) dynasties. The surface of Zhou in the Shang Dynasty is generally cast with Taotie, round sunflowers, and other patterns, and the unearthed objects in Xingan County,…