The development of world jewelry culture: the fine jade hairpins, the fine jade gilded with gold

A sparrow feather hairpin is worn on the head, and the cold dew breaks the boat. The hairpin is inlaid with kingfisher feathers and the black smoked hairpin is inlaid with cobalt blue. The phoenix head condenses China, and its makeup penetrates the long river sky.

It has a color like ice, a secret that leads to clear blue, a stone that separates it from the dust, a shape like a shallow dragon, and a rhythm like a singing cup.

Carved into jade, forged into green strings, painted into mulberry domes, cast into dragons and sparrows, they are grown on the stone inside and outside.

Looking back at the five thousand years of history, we look at the essence from an aesthetic perspective, penetrating historical facts. The so-called concentration of beauty is always related to some delicate things. No matter it is makeup on the face or a little red in the hair, we are always moving forward on the road of pursuing beauty.

As times change and develop, the aesthetic culture we perceive is also changing. On the one hand, we are moving forward in line with the times, exploring the beauty that we agree on or is different. On the other hand, we have to trace back to the source, looking for the ancient beauty and the beauty of rhythm left in the historical scrolls. The so-called beautiful things are hidden in people's eyes. We have clear eyes to pursue the beauty of history.

This city is beautiful and ancient, and the natural beauty is like a solitary flower.

The so-called head comes first and the ladder means capacity. From the moment we awaken to the world with discerning awareness, we have developed an inextricable bond with decoration and beauty. The head jewelry of the first human ancestor is the most primitive jewelry era of mankind.

Since ancient times, Chinese clothing has begun a long historical trajectory. The Shangdingdong people who lived 18,000 years ago were the originators of this source. Through the research and excavation of historians, we found ancient stone tools similar to bone necklaces.

We cannot precisely point out whether these bone necklaces were used as hunting accessories or as symbols of the powerful society, but we can know that these bone accessories are indeed the origin of Chinese jewelry culture and the beginning of our understanding of the cultural cognition of beauty.

It contains rich historical materials from all over the world. We are deeply impressed by the long history of jewelry culture. The original body ornaments mainly include head ornaments, waist ornaments, arm ornaments, neck ornaments and wrist ornaments. Judging from the historical relics of ancient totems, the patterns and shapes of the ornaments mainly describe ritual activities such as sacrificial ceremonies. Primitive sacrificial methods were recorded on surfaces made of animal skins and bones to express respect for the gods. However, patterns painted with resin and animal blood are often painted into strange totems and attached around the reproductive area of ​​the human body. The colorful patterns on animals are shaped like this, and develop in a regular and balanced manner.

There have been records of this in history books since the Zhou Dynasty. The hairpin is the ancestor of ancient headwear. Its main use is to wrap hair around hairpins and to connect crowns and belts with them. The use of hairpins is usually to tie up the hair and stabilize the bun of men and women. The main purpose of using hairpins is still for practical use in daily life, and there is no decoration or aesthetic inspiration. There is still a long way to go from daily life to aesthetic culture. The material of the hairpin is usually simple natural materials such as bone, jade, pottery, clam, bamboo, etc. The simplicity of use and the wide variety of raw materials make the hairpin the beginning of jewelry culture, which is extremely reasonable.

In ancient times, when a girl turned 15, it was called the age of jigui. The word "ji" here comes from this. The "Book of Rites, Internal Regulations" also records that "a girl should wear a hairpin at the age of fifteen." In ancient times, a girl who was 15 was considered an adult and was allowed to get married. If she was not allowed to get married at that time, she had to perform the hairpin ceremony when she turned 20. The woman's hair will be combed by her mother or a female direct relative and then rolled into a bun, and a hairpin will be inserted into it. Then the ceremony will be performed and the hairpin will be taken off after the ceremony. This completes the ceremony. From then on, the hairpin was used to represent a woman’s coming of age and family.

During the Shang and Zhou dynasties, the hairpin, which evolved from the hairpin, also became the crystallization of the beauty culture of the era. Hairpins are mainly inlaid with decorations of hairpins, starting with totem changes, and are also mainly practical accessories. The materials used are gold, silver, copper, jade, bamboo, tortoise shell and ceramics, and the decoration mainly emphasizes the decorative effect. In cultural history, hairpins are often regarded as the beginning of beauty culture. The popularity of hairpins exceeds that of jewelry in all cultures. Their low price, simple yet beautiful workmanship, and high quality and low price have pushed the development of hairpins to a climax. During the Pre-Qin period, the craftsmanship of hairpin making reached an unprecedented level of sophistication. During the Five Dynasties, hairpins were made using fine gold thread coiling. This was vigorously promoted and developed during the Song and Yuan Dynasties. In the Ming Dynasty, the changes in hairpins reached their peak, with hairpins of various shapes and materials. The filigree welding, inlay and dotting techniques of the gold hairpin are extremely exquisite. The refinement and beautification of hairpin heads and hairpins have been passed down to this day.

The long history of hairpins has led to the development of different shapes during their development. Hairpins and step-shaking ornaments are all composed of hairpins. Their shapes vary, and they can be made of jewels and jade ornaments, beaded curtains, and even beaded tassels. In the imperial palace, phoenixes, dragon heads, golden ears and red dots are often used. "The Book of the Later Han Dynasty - Records of Vehicles and Clothing" once said: "The step-shaking ornaments of the Han Dynasty were made of gold and phoenix, with a pedestal at the bottom and a hairpin in the front, decorated with five-colored jades and hanging down, and the shape of them was shaking." Later, there was also the zhi, which was a hairpin that could be used to scratch the head or decorate the head in ancient times. The ancient scrolls discussed this shape as scratching the head. Miscellaneous Records of the Western Capital written by Liu Xin recorded the miscellaneous history of Chang'an, and described in detail the expressions and movements of the King of Han and his concubine when they scratched their heads with hairpins, as well as their beauty. Therefore, later generations often used jade hairpins when scratching their heads. The Cuiqiao Yuchaotou refers to this one.

If we want to distinguish between hairpins, hairpins and buyao, in fact, to put it simply, it is the number of strands. The handle of a hairpin has only one strand, while the hairpin and buyao have two strands. The tassels and shape of the buyao are more delicate.

The dian, as we are familiar with, refers to the gorgeous headdress of women. The inlay craftsmanship of the hairpin is extremely exquisite. The gold hairpin that is as blue as smoke on a silk shirt is what we are most familiar with. The hairpins called "Chan" and "Diandai" are both used to describe the beauty of the hairpins on the temples and cheeks, and their shapes are diverse and complex. There are three types of hairpins: flower hairpins, silver hairpins and colored hairpins.

There are many similar body ornaments for men and women that we know of in ancient times. Such as combs, plasters, headbands, headbands, earrings, jade rings, necklaces, bracelets, armlets, rings and so on. The elegant and magnificent traditional accessories give people a visual impact of perception of beauty. The details left over from our culture are picked up again, and the meticulously crafted taste of beauty culture brings a sense of beauty and a view of beauty to the mundane world.

Looking to the West, the magnificent Western beauty is still prevalent among the aristocratic forces.

Jin Ze rises up, and power is in chaos three times. In so-called Western culture, the status of gold is unattainable. One side says that the spread of gold originated from the opening of new sea routes, which forced the opening of China, a new land of raw materials, and brought endless minerals and natural plants and animals into the chaotic world of the West. Endless resources are forced to be released and outflowed, which refreshes people's understanding of beauty and power. The other side says that the rich and powerful in the West have made people imagine that the object that shows wealth is gold. No matter which statement is true, it will bring the culture of gold into the whirlpool of the world.

Western dignitaries began a gold rush. Gold, known as the color of the sun, has a very high cultural status, and a circle made of gold is regarded as the highest symbol of power. In fact, as the highest worship of nature, the highly centralized social hierarchy has taken this content to the extreme. In the ancient Babylonian era, people used copper and tin to make rings and necklaces. Wearing them when going to war would bring blessings from the gods. It opened up the metal and jewelry manufacturing industries, and infused the meaning of gods into the production of jewelry.

Among them, Sumerian jewelry is a fusion metal jewelry of bronze alloy. They firmly believed that eternity was something that could be inherited, so they wore all kinds of jewelry made of alloys on their bodies. However, due to the long time of the Sumerians' survival, the jewelry was also made very crudely.

Ancient Egyptian jewelry combines the meaning of life and death and the soul with rich colors and metallic luster. They believe in eternity and that death is just a temporary pause in the physical body. If the body is sealed and protected and the soul is attached to an object, the deceased can achieve eternal life through reincarnation. In Egyptian culture, the pharaoh, who holds the highest status, has an eternal life. The ancient Egyptians used excellent antiseptic techniques to seal the pharaoh's body forever in a metal coffin. They were able to keep the 4,000-year-old corpse intact until today, and according to investigations, the burial objects were all colored gemstones, metal bottles and jars, gemstone glassware, and enamelware. The ancient Egyptians flourished in art. Through the symbols of gods, they integrated natural raw materials and exquisite carving and filigree craftsmanship into the smelting and forging of metals, which became a metaphor and interpretation of religious metaphors. Anubis, the Eye of Horus and the scarab, characters at the pinnacle of the ancient Egyptian pantheon, were all engraved on jewelry, forming perfect keepsakes.

Medieval Rome was forced into a dark and miserable place. The Pope's bound thoughts and the shackles of humanity sealed the whole of Europe in a lightless abyss. The Roman Renaissance and Reformation liberated the splendor of Rome from darkness. From all aspects, the development of ancient Roman jewelry originated from the development of ancient Egyptian culture. Combining hierarchy with religious culture, the Romans pursued color and unilateral surface decorative effects. The Pope and his clan used jewelry, silver, gold and diamonds as symbols of their power, while the common people could only use silver or copper as a symbol of their humble status. Most Romans carried amulets with strong religious significance. The Renaissance that followed broke through the constraints of God and revealed the true nature of man.

From the 17th to the 19th century, Baroque art emerged, with luxurious Renaissance style, rose-shaped inlay carvings, and flat-cut small-face grinding methods, which brought the production of diamonds and various gemstones to the extreme. The prevalence of jewelry during the Rococo, Baroque, and Byzantine periods also laid the foundation for the development of Roman cultural beauty. They displayed both luxury and humanity, and introduced the overall cultural outlook and jewelry development of Europe into a promising path.

At this time, the purpose of Rome was no longer to make beautiful culture serve God and religion, but to make beautiful culture serve people. This was the rise and liberation of human nature. The church and the royal family were forced to sign a surrender agreement in the light, and they combined Gothic and icons in just the right harmony.

Today, in modern times, the culture of beauty has long since broken through the shackles and constraints of history. The changes in modern jewelry are like small sculptures that have gathered the essence of the sun and the moon, combining various exquisite techniques into one. The abundance of raw materials has opened up new doors for art design. We display our unique culture in an eclectic way, and the cultural differences between different countries and nationalities have created the flourishing world we have today. It is precisely because of our unique and fearless spirit of breakthrough that the splendidness of our modern culture will be carried by the time train of the 21st century to a better and more hopeful tomorrow.

In a word, we combine beauty with just the right amount of culture, and new sparks will always emerge. Whether it is the embellishment of external objects or the accumulation of the natural beauty of the human body, everything is becoming more harmonious and beautiful with the continuous development of the world. We bring the culture of beauty into the world and give full play to the culture of beauty. When it comes to the choice and change of beauty, we will always find the truly correct direction in the footsteps of the times. The so-called beauty is not just the pursuit of splendor and luxury, which is merely an external illusion. Those who live in darkness are not truly ugly. We will never live in the wave of gold rush, nor will we blindly pursue so-called beauty. It is enough for us to be ourselves if we let our culture and beauty flourish on the world stage.

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