A Study on the Style and Shape of Aristocratic Women’s Skirts in the Song Dynasty

(1)

Cite this paper as: Zhang Shuhua, Musdi bin Hj. Shanat and Qistina Donna Lee Abdullah (2022). A Study on the Style and Shape of Aristocratic Women’s Skirts in the Song Dynasty. International Journal of INTI, 26(1). 13-27.

A Study on the Style and Shape of Aristocratic Women’s Skirts in the Song Dynasty

Zhang Shuhua

^1,2

, Musdi bin Hj. Shanat

³

, Qistina Donna Lee Abdullah

⁴

1,3,4 Faculty of Applied and Creative Arts, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Sarawak, Malaysia

2 Henan Institute of Science and Technology, Xinxiang, China

*Corresponding Authors Email: [email protected] and [email protected]

Received: 15 Jan 2022 / Accepted: 15 Mac 2022 / Published online: 30 July 2022

Abstract

Song Dynasty is one of the most critical nodes in the history of the development of ancient Chinese skirts.

The skirts of aristocratic women in the Song Dynasty were diverse in styles, novel in style, exquisite and luxurious, created a unique new style, and had a profound impact on the later dynasties of China and modern women’s skirts. The research object is the skirts of the aristocratic women in the Song Dynasty, through the research of the wear occasions and collocations, common materials, colors, crafts, shape and decorative methods to clarify the style of the aristocratic women’s skirts, further research on the structural characteristics of styles through classification analysis. The research method is the “Tri-fold Evidence Methodology,” based on the mutual verification of three types of evidence, including written records in ancient books, the legacy of historical images, and archaeological objects unearthed, to obtain a relatively accurate judgment of the research object. Through research, it is found that the aristocratic women’s skirts in Song Dynasty can be divided into five types: One-piece encircle skirt, is simple in style, generally cylindrical or trapezoidal. The two-piece slit skirt is a more popular style. There is overlap between the two skirt pieces, which can be slit and has an ample space for movement. Three-pleated skirt.

The center of the skirt and the left and right sides are respectively pleated, and the pleats can be dense or sparse. Pleated skirt is the most popular style, similar to modern pleated skirt styles. Special-shaped skirts are the rarest skirts, generally short in the front and long in the back. There are three style structural characteristics of the aristocratic women's skirts in the Song Dynasty: ergonomics are fit and easy to move, the structural characteristics are simple, flat cutting, no dart, and the plate-making style is compact layout and zero waste. The research significance is that in-depth research on the modeling methods, style structure, and pattern-making characteristics of the aristocratic women's skirts in the Song Dynasty has made a clearer understanding of the traditional clothing design ideas. It aims to cause reflections on the intrinsic essence of traditional clothing.

Keywords - Song Dynasty, Skirts, Aristocratic women, style and shape.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

1. Introduction

The Chinese Dictionary of Clothing, Ornaments, and Apparel explains the skirt: skirt refers to a group. It is usually cut and spliced with five, six, or eight fabrics and connected to the waist. It was used by both men and women in the Han and Wei Dynasties(202BC--266AD), and from the Tang Dynasty(618AD—907AD), it

(2)

14 gradually turned to the use of female groupsit gradually turned to the use of female groups. The styles of women’s skirts in the Song Dynasty(960AD—1279AD) were diverse and innovative, showing the artistic style of women’s skirts with diverse cultures. Especially for aristocratic women, they must wear skirts for their bottoms. Most of the skirts are mainly grosgrain, with embroidery, use Yanhua (brightly colored paintings), use gold (inlaid gold), even embellish their skirts with pearls, or pleating around the skirt. The artistic style of the skirts of this period is more elegant, delicate, and not public, but in the details, it can still reflect a lot of design ingenuity, which is a kind of restrained and low-key luxury.

The research object of this article is the skirts of aristocratic women in the Song Dynasty. It focuses on the style of the skirts of aristocratic women in the Song Dynasty and conducts classification research according to the shape characteristics of the skirts.

2. Discussion of research methods and data

The research method of this paper is mainly “Tri-fold Evidence Methodology,” which is a standard methodology in archaeology. It is based on the mutual verification of three types of evidence, including written records in ancient books, a legacy of historical images, and archaeological objects unearthed, to obtain a relatively accurate judgment of the research object. The “Tri-fold Evidence Methodology” has a long history of development in modern China, involving many disciplines such as anthropology, archaeology, historiography, semiotics, and so on. This view was first put forward by the modern Chinese scholar Wang Guowei at the Chinese Classics Institute of Tsinghua University in 1925. It was called the “dual evidence method” at the time.

The point of viewpoints out that the researchers are fortunate to be able to excavate materials through underground archaeology in addition to paper materials to make up for the deficiencies of paper materials. One cannot be partial to one kind of evidence (Wang, 1994). The research method that combines unearthed cultural relics with historical documents has become a significant innovation studying traditional Chinese culture. With the innovation of viewpoints, the academic circle further proposed the “Tri-fold Evidence Methodology.” Shen Congwen, a well-known research expert on historical relics in China, puts forward the triple evidence of clothing history research in his book Research on Ancient Chinese Costumes: written records in ancient books, the legacy of historical images and archaeological objects unearthed (Shen, 1992). These three can be mutually verified. If they are distinguished according to archaeological reliability, then the archaeological objects unearthed>legacy of historical images>written records in ancient books. The famous French scholar and thinker Roland Barthes believes in the book Popular System that every specific costume has three different logical structures: technical authentic costumes, portrait costumes, and written costumes. In this way, our cognition of historical costumes can also grasp its essence from the three dimensions of authentic costumes (cultural relics costumes), image costumes (cultural relics images), and written costumes (historical documents) (Roland Barthes, 2000).

As a relatively important dynasty in ancient China, the Song Dynasty spanned a long period. At the same time, politics, economy, science and technology, and culture all showed a high degree of progress. It is known as the beginning of the Chinese Renaissance (Miyazaki Ichisada, 2018). The urban civilization and historical culture of the Song Dynasty have been well preserved, and there are a large number of historical records and unearthed cultural relics to prove the splendor of this dynasty. Data resources include preserved relevant historical books and documents, historical image materials (temple murals, tomb murals, paintings, sculptures, and book illustrations), and nearly hundreds of large and small tombs were unearthed. Among the documents related to the dresses of aristocratic women in the Song Dynasty, there are several official publications of ceremonial dress records, as well as related records that appeared in folk biography and novel prose. There are about 100 related historical image materials, and there are nearly 1,000 images of people in skirts. There are more than ten unearthed tombs related to the skirts of aristocratic women in the Song Dynasty, and there are nearly one hundred pieces of skirts. In this article, 40 pieces of skirts with clear pictures and exact data collected by the author are used.

(3)

15 3. Research data analysis and results

There are countless written records about the skirts of the Song Dynasty. There are descriptions about the skirts of the concubines and princesses, and there are also the rules and regulations of dress etiquette used in the marriage of the officials and nobles. In addition, in some novels, essays, and poems, we can also glimpse the style characteristics of aristocratic women’s skirts in the Song Dynasty. While familiar with the style, combined with the unearthed cultural relics, the Song Dynasty aristocratic women's skirts are classified and studied according to the shape.

3.1 Aristocratic Women’s Skirt Style in Song Dynasty

There are many written records about skirts in the Song Dynasty. According to Records of Chariots and Horses and Clothes, there are long skirts and gold skirts in the daily costumes of royal concubines. The princess’s costumes are woven gold skirts and pearl skirts (Tuo,T. & A,L.T, 1965). History of Song Dynasty---Music Records records that among the royal performers, there are images of wearing red Beizi, wearing a dizzy skirt, wearing a cloud bun and riding a colorful boat, holding a lotus flower in hand (Tuo,Tuo. & A,Lu.Tu, 1965).

Record of West Lake Prosperity records the famous outfits of women in the capital: purple skirts, blue skirts, match with Beizi, and crowns on their heads (Meng, 1982). Meng Liang Lu records that the official and wealthy family members will give their women yellow grosgrain golden skirt and red satin skirt as a dowry when they get married. These skirts are made of expensive fabrics and decorated with gold. They are uniquely designed and luxurious (Wu, 1939). Dongjing Menghua Lu records the costumes of court musicians during their performances: purple crown, black coat, and red skirt (Meng, 1982).

A relatively special document is Song Ci Poetry, which contains nearly 20,000 Song Ci Poetry by more than 1,000 writers. Song Ci Poetry is a kind of short and powerful musical literature that was popular in Song Dynasty (Song, 2013). Search all Song Ci Poetry, use the skirt as the keyword, and get 337 poems. There are various names for the skirts of aristocratic women in the Song Dynasty. Some of them are named after styles, such as pleated skirts, thousands of plait skirts, gathered skirts, four-gore skirts, six-gore skirts, high waist skirts, long skirts, etc. There are skirts named after colors, such as pomegranate skirts, red skirts, turmeric skirts, and apricot yellow skirts. The skirts named after the material include grosgrain skirt, gauze skirt, and tough silk skirt. The skirts named after the craft include bead skirts, embroidered skirts, and gold skirts. Named after the pattern, there are lovebirds skirt, double butterfly skirt, mandarin duck skirt, and so on. Song Ci Poetry contains many of image descriptions about “skirts,” providing a cognition of the overall image of women’s skirts in the Song Dynasty, involving various aspects of shape, color, material, and decoration. Among them, the aesthetic experience of color and shape is the most prominent. The core information in Song Ci is sorted into categories and classified, see Table1 (Zhou, 1980).

Table 1. The Style of Aristocratic Woman’s skirts in Song Dynasty

Shape Colour Texture Pattern Craft Match Occasion

Wrinkle Red Gauze Butterfly Bronze

Printing Jade Hairpin Sleep

Long Golden

Yellow Mulberry

Silk Mandarin

Duck Blue Clip

Valerian Phoenix

Hairpin Enjoy Flowers Pleat Blood

Color Light Phoenix Dyeing Ru Poetize

Fine Pleat Light Red Crepe Egret Pleating Jade Ring Sing Six Skirt

Width Jasper Spun

Gold Water

Wave

Pearl Embroider

y

Gold Hairpin Spring Outing Floor-length Green Voile Lovebirds Cloth-of-

gold Jasper Hairpin Make Up Overlapping Garnet Tough Bamboo Embroider Luo Tape Drunkenness

(4)

16

Silk y

Thin Azure

Blue Ramie Plum

Blossom Printing Jade Pendant Play Light Crimson Grosgrain Salix Leaf Gathering Gold Bracelet Dance

Four Chi Alizarin Kiginu Shivering Crown Farewell

Small Plait Tender

Blue Raw Silk Wormwo

od Voile Shan Play the Pipa

Wide Skirt

width White Satin Tiger Yellowish

Shan Embroidery

Slightly Reveal the

Shoes

Emerald

Green Twill

Damask Flowers Begonia Red

Shan Play Huqin

(Vertical Lute) Thousand

Pleats Silver Red Silk

Pongee Warbler

Yellow Shan Makeup Remover Slender

Waist Light Blue Bow Shoes Play the

Vertical Flute High Waist Light

Green Luo Stockings Date

Bouffancy Tulip

Color Lily Feet Pick Lotus

Foofaraw Pink Light Yellow

Shan

Peel Seedpod of Lotus Full-length Sunset

Glow Pibo Swing

Gather Grass

Color Shoes Banquet

Boot Red Shoes

Comprehensive literature records, and comparing the unearthed objects of aristocratic women in the Song Dynasty, it can be found that the overall style of the aristocratic women's skirts in the Song Dynasty is thin, narrow, peculiar, exquisite low-key and elegant (Zhang, 2016). The material is mainly silk fabric, with light and breathable varieties such as gauze and grenadine, as well as thick brocade fabrics such as expensive damask silk and satin. The most common decorative method is gold, adding gold thread when weaving, or using gold to make inkpad to describe the pattern, to achieve the effect of golden light. The patterns are also based on natural and fresh plant and animal themes. The most commonly used are the four seasons flower patterns, flower and bird patterns. The color matching is also relatively low-key and elegant, and it is good at using similar colors, mainly with high brightness and low purity colors.

3.2 Shape Style Classification of Aristocratic Women’s Skirt in Song Dynasty

There are many ways to classify costume. According to the artistic characteristics which can divided into shape structure, material, color, pattern, etc., but the most special feature of the skirts of aristocratic women in the Song Dynasty is the innovation of styles, so this article chooses to distinguish the splendid skirts of aristocratic women in the Song Dynasty by shape structure.

The skirts of aristocratic women in the Song Dynasty were divided into one-piece surround skirt（Category A, two-piece slit skirt（Category B, three-pleated skirt（Category C, pleated skirt（Category D, and staggered edges skirt（Category E） according to their styles. There are five types. There are a large number of unearthed skirts of noble women in the Song Dynasty, totaling 40 pieces, including 20 from Huangsheng Tomb in Fuzhou, Fujian, 15 from Zhou Tomb in De’an, Jiangxi, 3 from Huashan Tomb in Gaochun, Nanjing, Jiangsu, and 2 from Song Tomb in Chayuan Village, Fuzhou, Fujian.

(5)

17 3.2.1 One-piece surround skirt

One-piece surround skirt means that there is only a single skirt piece, no slits, pleats, and other designs. The design is simple, the whole was cylindrical, or the trapezoid with a wide hem. The means of gathering the waist of this skirt is not pleating, but processing each cutting piece at the beginning of production, cutting it into trapezoid and triangle, and then splicing it again, finally forming a skirt with a narrow top and wide bottom and fan-shaped plane. The skirt size is completely adjusted with the adjustment of the shape of each cutting piece, which is similar to today’s umbrella skirt. One-piece surround skirt is the simplest and most popular skirt in the Song Dynasty. Because of its simple style, this kind of skirt generally has patterns, or uses decorative gold thread, pearls, etc.

There are many images of one-piece surround skirt in the Song Dynasty portraits handed down. These skirts are wide and the hem is wide. It is reflected in scroll paintings, murals, stone carvings and sculptures. For example, Liu Songnian’s Eighteen Bachelor Diagram, Palace Girl Chart (Figure 1a) and Palace Girl Chart, Wang Juzheng’s Teasing Parrot Chart, Li Gonglin’s Line-drawn Portrait of Lady, Filial Piety. Anonymous Painter’s Four Beautiful Ladies Chart, Cold Weather Woman Figure, Search Mountain Figure, Bathing Baby, Fan of the Palace Girl, Flower Viewing by Washing Hands (Figure 1b). There are also some women in stone carvings wearing such skirts. For example, a part of the brick carvings in the tombs of wealthy families in the northwestern area of the Song Dynasty was collected by the Baoji Bronze Museum. Most of the women on it are wearing a one-piece surround skirt. As shown in Figure 1c, the woman wears a short Ru on the upper body and a high-waisted skirt on the lower body. The skirt has no excessive decoration and no structural lines, and the hem is slightly expanded, which is a typical one-piece surround skirt (Figure 1c). There are many painted sculptures of women in the Hall of the Lady Chapel at the Jin Temple in Shanxi, of which Most of the ladies are wearing one-piece surround skirt (Figure 1d).

Figure 1. a: Palace Girl Chart. A Collection of the National Museum, Tokyo, Japan (http://www.tnm.jp/) b: Flower Viewing by Washing Hands. A Collection of the Tianjin Museum, China

c: A Tile Carving of Ladies. A Collection of the Baoji Bronze Museum of China

d: Painted Sculptures of the Female Figures. A Collection of the Shanxi Taiyuan Jin Temple of China The unearthed example of a one-piece surround skirt comes from the tomb of Zhou's in De'an, Jiangxi. This skirt is yellow-brown, made of thick grosgrain, and has a pattern of branches off flowers. The shape is a monolithic skirt with a length of 92 cm, a waist height of 14 cm, a waist width of 99 cm, and a hem width of 118 cm. Except for the waist, the whole skirt comprises two cutting pieces stitched together on the centerline (Table 2 Category A).

3.2.2 Two-piece slit skirt

Two-piece slit skirt, also called Xuan skirt, two-piece means that the skirt is divided into two skirt pieces, one skirt head, and the middle and hem of the two skirt pieces are not stitched. This skirt is composed of four pieces of cloth spliced into two skirt pieces, each piece has a dart, there is an overlapping part between the two skirt

(6)

18 pieces, and the fabric is not pleated. The length of the skirt can be long or short, and the skirt can be wide or narrow. They are generally decorated with patterns.

Jianglin Jiza Records once recorded: Women do not wear wide trousers and narrow skirts, and make Xuan skirts. The skirts have slits, the front and back skirts can be moved to facilitate riding on a donkey. This style originated from entertainers and prostitutes in the capital, and officials and wealthy families envied and followed suit, not ashamed (Jiang, 2003). It shows that the Xuan skirt was initially been popular from the lower classes of society, and it is convenient to ride donkeys, mules, horses, and other means of transportation. It is not only easy to wear, but also has an asymmetrical beauty and is playful and chic. So later, it was imitated by upper-class noblewomen. There are also descriptions of Xuan skirt in Song Ci Poetry. Due to the characteristics of slits, they are generally called slit skirt or skirt slit (Zhou, 1980). Especially the one sentence in the tune: Sand of Silk-washing Stream is the most vivid: The pomegranate red skirt slit for who? Maybe the pomegranate red skirt has slight slits, or the pomegranate red pants are faintly exposed under the slit skirt.

Tune: Five Rhymes by Zhu Wanqing Why is the skirt slit getting thinner and thinner

I can’t hide my sorrow at the top of my brow Tune: Sand of Silk-washing Stream The light snow seems to melt on the temples

The pomegranate red skirt slit for who?

Meng Hui explained in the Historical Manuscript of Women’s Costume in Central China: In addition to convenient travel, there is another reason for the Xuan skirt to meet the needs of foot-binding. The slits enable the skirt to slightly open and close with the walking of the person wearing the skirt, to avoid the possibility of contact between the lower end of the skirt and the foot-binding, prevent tripping, and adapt to the needs of small feet. Therefore, this kind of skirts has been favored by women in the Song Dynasty for a long time since their rise. The skirt can be long or short, and the skirt can be wide or narrow. The Xuan skirt can be long or short, and the skirt can be wide or narrow. The skirts are often decorated with patterns. Some also use a colored drawings or printed gold decorations on the sides and bottom to give the finishing touch (Meng, 1995).

In the Song Dynasty portraits handed down, there are many images of two-piece slit skirt, which are reflected in scroll paintings, murals, stone carvings, and sculptures. For example, in Li Song’s Itinerant Pedlar Picture, the skirts worn by the two women in the painting can see obvious slits (Figure 2a). Most of the female workers in Liang Kai’s Silkworm Weaving wear this kind of Xuan skirt, convenient for work. A part of the brick sculptures in the tombs of wealthy families in the northwestern region of the Song Dynasty in the Baoji Bronze Museum, with the image of the Xuan skirt inside. The woman in Figure 2b wears a short Shan on the upper body and a pleated skirt with side slits on the lower body. The style is particular (Figure 2b). In the Song Dynasty brick tomb unearthed in Yuncheng, Shanxi, the hostess sits opposite the host. The hostess wears a red Shan on top and a yellow skirt on the bottom. The skirt has long slits on the side, revealing the pants inside (Figure 2c). Two of the Song Dynasty stone sculptures unearthed from the Song Tomb in Leping, Jiangxi, wear this style of skirts.

In the woman in Figure 2d, the overlapping parts of the skirts are slightly rolled up or separated, and the skirt style is more clearly distinguishable (Figure 2d).

Figure 2. a: Itinerant Pedlar Picture. A Collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, China

(7)

19 b: A Tile Carving of Ladies. A Collection of the Baoji Bronze Museum of China

c: A Tile Carving of Ladies. A Collection of the Shanxi Provincial Museum of China d: A Stone Carving of Ladies. A Collection of the National Museum of China

The unearthed material object of Xuan skirt is the most, and each Song Dynasty tomb has this kind of skirt, which shows its popularity. Among them, the most unearthed Xuan skirt is Huang Sheng's tomb, with 18 pieces.

The style is a rectangular structure. The two skirt pieces are overlapped up and down, which can be open and closed freely. The overlapped part is wider than the two sides: additional independent patchwork waistband and skirt belt. The average length of the skirt is 79.1 cm, the average waist width is 118.8 cm, the average waist height is 11.7 cm, and the average hem width is 127.2 cm. The fabrics are mainly made of grosgrain, tough silk, and twill damask, and the colors are yellow or brown. The patterns are primarily peony, hibiscus, and cluster flowers, most of which are inlaid with lace (Lin & Zheng). The unearthed example comes from the two-piece Xuan skirt of Huang Sheng’s tomb, the yellow-brown, fabric is grosgrain, with a pattern of cluster flowers (Table 2 Category B).

3.2.3 Three-pleated skirt

A three-pleated skirt is a unique pleated skirt. This skirt has three pleated pleats only in the center of the skirt and on the left and right sides, and the other parts are plain. If the beauty of a pleated skirt is that the pleated skirt is dense and sparkling like water, the three-pleated skirt is the interlacing between the plain surface and the pleated area, forming a unique decorative effect.

The hem of the three-pleated skirt is broad, much larger than other skirts. After putting it on the body, the three pleats can fall on the front and the left and right sides of the body, and the two plain surfaces in the middle are just hanging down in front of the left and right legs. When walking, there is little swing at the plain surface. But the folds will keep closing with the steps, which are elegant and charming.

Due to the particular style of the three-pleated skirt, the upper body effect is looser than other skirts, but the structural lines are more difficult to identify in the portrait. Therefore, there are fewer portraits of such skirts. A typical example is Daozi Calligraphy by an unknown painter in the Song Dynasty. Since this scroll painting is a line drawing, the skirts worn by the woman have noticeable structural lines. It can be seen that the folds on both sides and the skirts are relatively wide at the hem (Figure 3).

Figure 3: Daozi Calligraphy. A Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Fine Arts, USA (https://www.clevelandart.org/)

A typical example of a three-pleated skirt comes from the tomb of Zhou’s family in De'an, Jiangxi. The skirt is a camel, the fabric is grosgrain, and it has Ruyi coral pattern. The skirt is 93 cm in length, 13 cm in waist height, 117 cm in waist width and 228 cm in the hem. It is wide at the bottom and narrows at the top, like a fan. It is stitched together with four pieces of fabric, with three pleated folds. The distribution of these three pleats is

(8)

20 approximately symmetrical about the centerline, and the width between the left and right pleats accounts for about one-third of the entire skirt waist (Table 2 Category C). In addition, comparing the data of other skirts, it can be found that although the skirt length and waist width are not much different, the skirt width of this three- pleated skirt of 228 cm not only far exceeds the average 170 cm of other skirts unearthed from the same tomb, but also much larger than the female skirts unearthed from other Song tombs. (For example, in the tomb of Huang Sheng, the pleated skirt with brown Luo print is the largest, and the hem is only 158 cm.)

3.2.4 Pleated skirt

Pleated skirts have appeared since the Five Dynasties (907AD-960AD), and pleated skirts were still trendy in the Song Dynasty. Especially aristocratic women like to wear this kind of skirt very much. When making a pleated skirt, first use multiple pieces of fabric to form an entire horizontal rectangle, and treat it as a whole for the next step of processing. The waist constriction is completed by adjusting the width and the number of the folds of the skirt. The pleated skirts of aristocratic women in the Song Dynasty generally have many and dense pleats. The skirts made of them are narrow and thin. When walking, the skirts fly lightly, full of wind, and they are intelligent and beautiful.

There are many written records about the pleated skirts of aristocratic women in the Song Dynasty, most of which are in Song Ci Poetry. There are such expressions as hundred folds, thousand pleats, like eyebrows frowning. There are 23 Song Ci Poetry about pleated skirts. According to the description, these kinds of skirts are mostly made of light and thin fabrics such as tough silk, grosgrain or gauze to show their elegant and flexible attributes. In the early Song Dynasty, the pleated skirts had fine folds, dragging and reaching the ground. The volume was large, and gradually changed in the later period, with relatively shallow folds, shortened skirt lengths, and small volume. Pleated skirts are generally plain and without patterns due to their complicated styles. A popular color is garnet red, red, yellow, gold, tulip, smoke, and emerald green (Zhou, 1980).

Tune: Chanting Skirts in Dreams The folds of the pleated skirt are like water waves

The skirt is light and fluttering like a cloud Tune: Buddhist Dancers

The crimson pleated skirt is decorated with gold thread The waist of learning to dance is a little scared

Tune: A Riverside Town The crimson gauze skirt has thin folds

Remembering the past Cherishing the good times

Tune: Paying Homage at the Golden Gate Pomegranate red skirt has thin folds Looking for butterflies in the flowers

Tune: Willow Treetop Green On the swing frame hairpin in pairs

Willow rain and flower wind The turquoise skirt has thin pleats

The upper is big red

There are many images of pleated skirts in the Song Dynasty portraits handed down, which are reflected in scroll paintings, murals, stone carvings, and sculptures. For example, in Lu Xinzhong’s Five Wheel King Diagram, two ladies with pleated skirts under a long Beizi, one is yellow, and the other is white (Figure 4a). The stone figurines unearthed from the Song Tomb in Chengma Village, Jishan County, Shanxi Province are a wife of a wealthy family. She sits on a chair, wearing a long Beizi and the slits of the Beizi reveal a pleated skirt at

(9)

21 the bottom, which is very clear (Figure 4b). The female porcelain figurines unearthed in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi, are dressed up in large sleeves, with a pleated skirt on the lower body, with very fine pleating (Figure 4c). The two female stone figurines unearthed in Fangcheng County, Henan Province, are wearing pleated skirts. One of them is worn with a long Beizi, and the other wears a short Ru with a long pleated skirt outside. The high waist can fully show the elegance of the skirt and is very beautiful (Figure 4d). No. 3 female ladies in the Hall of the Lady Chapel at the Jin Temple in Shanxi also wore pleated skirts.

Figure 4. a: Wheel King Diagram. A Collection of the Nara National Museum, Japan(https://www.narahaku.go.jp/)

b: A Tomb Mural of Ladies. A Collection of the Shanxi Provincial Museum of China c: A Stone Carving of Ladies. A Collection of the National Museum of China d: A Stone Carving of Ladies. A Collection of the Henan Provincial Museum of China

There are also many pleated skirts unearthed in the Song Dynasty. There are different numbers of pleated skirts unearthed from the Song Tomb in Chayuan Village, Fuzhou, Fujian, Huangsheng Tomb in Fuzhou, Fujian, and Huashan Tomb in Gaochun, Nanjing, Jiangsu. The skirt is fan-shaped, pleated from the waist, and the folds go down from the waist to the bottom hem. A typical example of a pleated skirt comes from the tomb of Huang Sheng, Fuzhou, Fujian. This skirt is brown and made of grosgrain. The skirt length is 78 cm, waist height 10.7 cm, waist width 69 cm, hem width 158 cm, and both skirt belts are 72.78 cm. The skirt is comprises six cutting pieces, narrow at the top and brode at the bottom, shaped like a fan. The skirt waist and waistband material and the skirt body are made of transparent thin grosgrain, and printed with golden flowers. Except for the two sides that are not pleated, the other four pieces are densely pleated, each with 15 pleats, a total of 60 pleats (Table 2 Category D). The overall shape of the female skirt is light and transparent, elegant and natural.

3.2.5 Staggered edges skirt

Staggered edges skirt are skirts that are short in the front and long in the back. When making it, it is cut into three pieces. The middle piece is longer, and the sides are shorter. Generally, pleated designs are used to make the skirt transition natural and the skirt wide and beautiful.

Staggered edges generally skirt hemlines drag the floor. Song people record that women’s skirts dragged the floor for four or five feet, and need two maids support them when they walked. There are also some women in the north who wear such skirts to cover their big feet without foot-binding (Zhou, 2011). History of Song Dynasty---Five Elements Records recorded: During the Song Lizong period, the imperial concubines wore skirts that covered each other up, the skirt hem as long as the floor. The back of the skirt mopped the floor, but it did not affect walking. It was called “get on the horse quickly” (Tuo,Tuo & A,Lu.Tu, 1965). It is the earliest record of the appearance of the staggered edges skirt, similar to today's dovetail skirt.

These staggered edges skirt with a short front, and long back can be found in the scroll paintings of the Song Dynasty. For example, in the picture of the seated empress of Song Xuanzu in the old collection of the Nanxun Hall of the Palace Museum, it can be seen that the Empress dowager Du is wearing a white large sleeves and a long tan skirt. The skirt is long at the front and short at the back. It has a pleated style and a large hemline. The

(10)

22 skirt length reaches the ground, showing a dragging trend (Figure 5a). In addition, the skirts worn by the aristocratic women in the Female Filial Piety by an unknown artist are all short in the front and long in the back, with the skirt mopping the floor (Figure 5b). In Jin Dashou’s painting Sixteen Arhats Chart, there is an aristocratic woman who is worshipping Buddha devoutly. She is gorgeously dressed, the skirt is short in the front and long in the back, and the tail is dragged to the ground (Figure 5c).

Figure 5. a: Seated Portrait of Empress Dowager Du of Song Dynasty. A Collection of the Nanxun Hall of the National Palace Museum of China

b: Female Filial Piety. A Collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, China

c: Sixteen Arhats Chart. A Collection of the Tokyo National Museum, Japan(http://www.tnm.jp/) A typical example of staggered edges skirt comes from the Huashan Tomb of Gaochun, Nanjing. This skirt has a wonderful shape, the front and back pieces of the skirt are not equal in length, and the gap is obvious. The overall shape is A-shaped, the skirt is divided into four parts, the middle skirt is longer, and the waistline is full of dense pleats, a total of 31. The left and right pieces are shorter, and the waist is designed without pleats. The waistline is connected to the waist of the skirt, and there are lacing on both sides. The long skirt piece should be the back film, and the two short skirt pieces should be superimposed into the front skirt piece. This skirt is made of soft plain weave silk and has a single-layer structure (Table 2 Category E).

Table 1. The Style of Aristocratic Woman’s skirts in Song Dynasty Cate

gory Tomb Unearthed Objects Clothing styles figure (front & back)

A Zhou

Jiangxi Provincial Museum The Author Draw

(11)

23 B Huang

Sheng

Fujian Provincial Museum The Author Draw

C Zhou

Jiangxi Provincial Museum The Author Draw

D Huang Sheng

Fujian Provincial Museum The Author Draw

E Huas

han

Nanjing Museum The Author Draw

*Remarks: The unit of dimensions in the table is CM 3.3 Shape Style Characteristics Analysis of Aristocratic Women’s Skirt in Song Dynasty

Through the summary of the above textual materials and the detailed classification of the collected data, a more in-depth summary and analysis of the characteristics of the dress styles of aristocratic women in the Song Dynasty can be obtained.

(12)

24 3.3.1 Style preference is move expediently

According to the data ratio analysis of the unearthed cultural relics, it can be concluded that the two most popular types of dresses for aristocratic women in the Song Dynasty are the two-piece slit skirt（CategoryB）and the pleated skirt(D). Among them, the number of unearthed two-piece slit skirt（CategoryB）is the largest, with 24 pieces, accounting for 60%. The number of unearthed pleated skirts is second, with 13 pieces, accounting for 33%. The least unearthed is the staggered edges skirt（CategoryE, only one piece. The author speculates that the reason is that the two-piece slit skirt（CategoryB）and the pleated skirt(D) are more fit and easy to move.

First of all, from the analysis of skirt length. Through calculations, the average skirt lengths of the unearthed two-piece slit skirt（Category B）and pleated skirt（Category D）are 82.8cm and 77.2cm, which is not in line with the impression that the skirt length in ancient Chinese costumes is mopping the floor. Then analyze the height and average skirt length of each tomb owner. The owner of the Song Tomb in Chayuan Village, Fuzhou, Fujian is 155cm tall. The average length of the B-shaped skirt unearthed from her tomb is 78cm, and the average length of the D-shaped skirt is 68. The tomb of Huangsheng, Fuzhou, Fujian. The owner is 160cm tall. The average length of B-shaped skirts unearthed in her tomb is 79.1cm, and the average length of D-shaped skirts is 82.5. The owner of Zhou’s tomb in De'an, Jiangxi is 152cm tall, and the average length of B-shaped skirts unearthed in her tomb is 89.3cm, the owner of the Song tomb in Gaochun, Nanjing, Jiangsu is 159cm tall, and the average length of the D-shaped skirt unearthed from her tomb is 81cm. From these data, combined with the way that the skirts were worn near the waistline when unearthed, the length of these two popular skirts did not cover the vamp. The average length of the one-piece surround skirt（Category A）and three-pleated skirt（Category C） is 91.7cm. Although the back of the staggered edges skirt（Category E）is mopping the floor, the length of the front is only 72cm. It is inferred from this that the skirts of aristocratic women in the Song Dynasty were more focused on the convenience of move in design.

Secondly, from the perspective of waist height, the waist heights of the five skirt styles are similar, with an average of 10 cm to 16.5 cm, which is significantly wider than the waist height of modern women's skirts. The author speculates that because the fabric is soft, the waist is widened in order to be fully wrapped around the waist. When wearing it, it is usually fitted around the waist and tied with the belt on the skirt. Therefore, the overall design of the skirt style of the noble women in the Song Dynasty is more self-cultivation and fit.

Finally, from the perspective of the hem width of the skirt, the order is three-pleated skirt（Category C）> two- piece slit skirt（Category B）> pleated skirt（Category D）> one-piece surround skirt（Category A）>staggered edges skirt（Category E）. The widest is the three-pleated skirt, the average width is 228cm, the average width of the two-piece slit skirt is 140.6cm, the average width of the pleated skirt is 138.2cm, the average width of the one-piece surround skirt is 118cm, and the narrowest is the staggered edges skirt with a hem width of 88cm. It can be seen that skirts that are not easy to move are not very popular.

3.3.2 Structural features is simple, flat cutting, no dart

The structure of the aristocratic women's skirts in the Song Dynasty is simple, without dart, and without decorative structural lines. The skirts of aristocratic women in the Song Dynasty were all wrapped around 1-1.5 laps, so that the trousers inside the skirts were not exposed and the etiquette requirements were met. Unlike modern women’s skirts, noble women’s skirts in the Song Dynasty did not use zippers, buttons, belt loop and other connecting materials, so the shape was very simple, almost equivalent to a large piece of enclosing fabric.

The aristocratic women’s skirts of the Song Dynasty adhered to the intuitive overall design idea, combined with the technical conditions of the time, and maintained the traditional plane cutting method. Most of the design changes of the skirt are in the shape of the fabric and the decoration of the surface. As for the modeling structure

(13)

25 of the skirt itself, there is no purposeful structural line. The flat, wide, and large features of traditional plane cutting do not advocate showing the beauty of the human body’s lines.

The cutting line that appears in the skirt is not for decorative purposes. The reason is that the fabrics woven by ancient looms are relatively narrow. As far as the Song Dynasty weaving technology is concerned, the width of the fabric is generally ≦62 cm, which is less than half of the width of modern fabrics, so patchwork is often required when making clothes. For example, in the pleated skirt unearthed from Huang Sheng’s tomb in Figure 6, it can be seen that the three structural lines in the skirt are stitching stitches of three pieces of fabric. These lines go straight and do not show the function of fitting the human body. Moreover, these spliced lines generally try to splice the patterns as complete as possible, so that the dividing line is not obvious, so decorativeness is not the purpose.

Figure 6: Style Structure Diagram and Cut Structure Diagram of the Pleated Skirt Unearthed from the Tomb of Huang Sheng

3.3.3 Plate-making style is compact layout and zero waste

The platemaking of aristocratic women’s skirts in the Song Dynasty was contracted but not simple, but the seemingly ordinary platemaking drawings contained the frugal virtues and clever minds of the ancients. In comparing these skirts, the author can find that if each skirt pieces does not use up the width of the whole piece of fabric, the leftover material of the piece of fabric will be used to make waist seals and lacing. On the contrary, if the fabric width was used up by the skirt pieces and there is no leftover material, then the waist belt and the lacing part are generally used in combination with other fabrics, and the remaining whole piece of fabric is no longer wasted. As shown in Figure 6 above, the pleated skirt in Huang Sheng’s tomb has a skirt width of 39.5cm and a margin for the width of the fabric. It can be fully typeset during production, so the entire skirt is made of the same flower fabric (Figure 7) . The two-piece slit skirt unearthed from the tomb of Huang Sheng in Figure 8 have skirt pieces widths of 56cm, 60cm, and 54cm, and there is no allowance to make the waist belt and lacing.

So the skirt fabric of this skirt is small blue dotted tough silk. And plain tough silk used for waist belt and lacing. This method of frugal fabrics was very common in the production of aristocratic women’s skirts in the Song Dynasty.

(14)

26 Figure 7: Cutting Layout Diagram of the Pleated Skirt Unearthed from the Tomb of Huang Sheng

Figure 8: Structure Figure of Style Pattern and Cutting Layout Diagram of the Pleated Skirt Unearthed from the Tomb of Huang Sheng

4. Conclusion

Through the research and discussion in this article, it is concluded that the styles of the aristocratic women’s in the Song Dynasty are generally elegant and fresh, and they are not ostentatious, but are used to show exquisite taste in detail, such as gold weaving, decorative pearls, folds, embroidery, etc. means.

The aristocratic women’s skirts in Song Dynasty can be divided into five types by style and shape: One-piece encircle skirt, the most common skirt, is simple in style, generally cylindrical or trapezoidal. The two-piece slit skirt is a more popular style. There is overlap between the two skirt pieces, which can be slit and has a large space for movement. Three-pleated skirt, one of the more special styles. The center of the skirt and the left and right sides are respectively pleated, and the pleats can be dense or sparse. Pleated skirt is the most popular style,

(15)

27 similar to modern pleated skirt styles. Special-shaped skirt are the rarest skirts, generally short in the front and long in the back. Combining the data analysis of these five skirt styles, it can be concluded that there are three style structural characteristics of the aristocratic women's skirts in the Song Dynasty: ergonomics is fit and easy to move, the structural characteristics are simple, flat cutting, no dart, and the plate-making style is compact layout and zero waste. The detailed classification and discussion of the data have clarified the style and shape characteristics of different styles of aristocratic women's skirts in the Song Dynasty. Each type of skirt design represents the thoughts of women at that time and helps us better understand the lives of women in the Song Dynasty. Further discussion on style structure design is helpful to understand traditional clothing design ideas and better perceive the charm of ancient clothing culture.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to the respected editorial board for your valuable suggestions on this article. Thanks to the relevant museum researchers in the thesis for their outstanding contributions to the restoration and protection of the unearthed cultural relics, and to the relevant archaeological experts for recording relevant text, data, and pictures of some of the damaged and undisclosed cultural relics, which is helpful for writing my thesis Provided a great help.

References

X. Zhou, Y. L. Meng (1996). Chinese Dictionary of Clothing, Ornaments, and Apparel. China: Shanghai Lexicographic Publishing House.

G. W. Wang (1965). Ancient History New License. China: Tsinghua University Press.

Roland Barthes. Translation by Ao, J. (2000). Popular System. China: Shanghai People’s Publishing House.

C. W. Shen (1992). Research on Ancient Chinese Costumes. China: Commercial Press.

Roland Barthes. Translation by Ao, J. (2000). Popular System. China: Shanghai People’s Publishing House.

Miyazaki Ichisada. Translation by Zhang, X. F. (2018). Eastern Modern Times: China’s Renaissance. China:

Shanghai Chinese Classics Publishing House.

Tuotuo, Alutu (1965). History of Song Dynasty---Music Records. China: Zhonghua Publishing House.

Y. L. Meng (1982). Record of West Lake Prosperity. China: China Business Press.

Z. M. Wu (1939). Meng Liang Lu. China: Commercial Press.

W. SONG (2013). A Study on the Description of Women’s Skirts in Song Ci Poetry. Journal of Chongqing University of Science and Technology(Social Sciences Edition), 6, 1-7.

D. W. Zhou (1980). Song Ci Poetry. China: Shanghai Classics Publishing House.

L. ZHANG (2016). Noble Women’s Dressing Style in Chunyou Reign of Southern Song Dynasty. Journal of the National Museum of China, 6, 77-90.http://www.tnm.jp/

X. F. Jiang (2003). Jianglin Jiza Records . China: Elephant Press.

H. Meng (1995). Historical Manuscript of Women’s Costume in Central China. China: Writers Publishing House.

D. Z. LIN, J. ZHENG (2017). A Study of the Technology in Weaving the Leno Fabric from Huangsheng Tomb in the Southern Song Dynasty. Journal of Xiamen University of Technology, 6, 1-7.

https://www.clevelandart.org/

https://www.narahaku.go.jp/

X. B. Zhou (2011). Ancient Chinese Costume History. China: Central Compilation & Translation Press.