Damn it! I didn’t expect to be deceived by a costume drama for so long!
I have always thought that the bag of the ancients was the baggage in costume dramas. It was a simple and strong piece of cloth that could be tied up and carried on the body after packing the luggage.
If I want to reflect the dignity of my status, the fabric and pattern of the baggage can be more textured, but the form remains the same.
There are so many things, what should I do?
Then... carry a big baggage
Until you find an ancient bag in a museum, although there are relatively few choices in materials and craftsmanship, the aesthetics have always been advanced.
can even find many of the same styles of today’s top luxury bags.
A handbag unearthed in the Han and Jin Dynasties and a saddle bag of a certain brand
A cotton bag from the early Tang Dynasty is a model of the popular messenger bag
Come on, today we will talk about the evolution history and avant-garde aesthetics of ancient bags
Ancient people Bags are not just baggage
From practicality, accessories to status symbols
Bags have many names in ancient times, such as pendant bags, fish bags, parcels, baggage, Zhaowen bags, ribbon bags, pockets, purses, sachets, etc...
The names are different It is , which is distinguished from because of the different times and items.
During the Qin Dynasty, there were records of ancient people traveling with bags. This was also the earliest bag. It was called a bag at that time, and the "custom of wearing a bag" came from .
The purpose of the pouch is to place the things you carry with you, such as keys, handkerchiefs, seals, and round coins.
Wear the pouch directly on your waist after installing it, which is very convenient.
Pei bag is the earliest bag that appeared in ancient times and has been used and popular for the longest time.
Officials of the Sui Dynasty
According to the "Book of Songs": "It is wrapped in grains and packed in bags." This means that because they have to carry dry food on long journeys, the bags, large and small, are all bulging.
Small bags refer to handbags, while larger ones are made of animal skin. They can be carried by hand, carried on the back or shouldered when going out.
The bag in the idiom "to pick things up" refers to this bag.
Moreover, in the early days, bags did not appear on women who loved beauty, but were worn by men.
bags not only played a substantial role at the time, but were also a status symbol.
For example, ribbon bag , this is a bag specially designed to hold important items such as seals. Only officials are eligible to use this kind of ribbon bag. The pattern on it is usually composed of animal heads, claws and other elements.
Most of the animal heads use tiger heads, so this type of pouch is also called tiger head pouch (pán).
In the Tang Dynasty, the style of the bag evolved into fish bag . The shape and size of this bag was specially designed for to store the "ancient ID card" .
The ancient ID cards of Tang Dynasty officials were in the shape of a carp, also known as a fish charm.
Officials of rank five or above must wear fish charms, which are also a sign of acquaintance with other officials.
The package we see most frequently in costume dramas should be the package .
It is a substitute for a pocket, which can hold some scattered items. It also evolves into different shapes of purses according to the matching of clothes.
In addition to the conventional ones such as rectangular and round, there are also vase-shaped, ingot-shaped, gourd-shaped, etc...
There is also sachet, which can be used to place spices that can emit fragrance, and can also be used as accessories.
We often see women in costume dramas giving each other a hand-embroidered sachet to express their love.
uses the patterns of Pisces, two butterflies and mandarin ducks to express the beautiful yearning for love.
Like what is written in the lyrics of "Ya Fang Yuan": "The red ribbon and brocade sachet represent the flowers in advance, and they are given to Yulang diligently."
Bags have gone from being practical to status symbols to becoming carriers of expressing feelings. Different styles have different functions.
Although the ancients put practicality first, they did not just focus on usability and ignore its appearance.
People in ancient times just had low productivity. No matter which dynasty, there were innovators, and their aesthetics were always online.
As Yang said at the beginning, almost all styles of bags now have similar prototypes in ancient times.
The ancients just had low productivity
Their aesthetics were thousands of years ahead
Although the main force of bags in ancient times was men, most of the exquisite and smart styles came from women's bags.
was stunned when he saw the bags in the museum. It turned out that bags from thousands of years ago could be so fashionable and exquisite.
It is true that fashion is a reincarnation. Some netizens even asked, How can Hermès find its prototype in the Mogao Grottoes?
In the partial picture of the "Picture of a Lady of Imminent Affairs" in Cave 17 of Dunhuang, the maid holds a square towel for wiping cleansing in her left hand and a wooden stick in her right hand, hanging the bag on the tree. The key point is this casual hanging. On the bag.
This bag is put together with a certain big brand's tote bag , which is like a comparison of the manuscript and the actual object.
On the right side of this "Picture of a Lady in Recent Affairs" is a bhikshuni holding a round fan, on the tree Hanging water purification bottles.
Take a closer look and see that the water purification bottle wrapped around it is not the net bag that has been popular all over the world in the past few years...
This mural was excavated from about the fifth year of Dazhong to the third year of Xiantong in the Tang Dynasty, about 851 AD. Between 1980 and 862.
is also , which is at least 1100 years old. , respect the cow.
There is also a special theme section for bags in the mural, and various bags are hung on the wall.
There are water bags, large bags for carrying items, crossbody bags, etc...
It can be seen that in this period, bags are no longer exclusive to the rich and powerful, and have become very popular daily necessities.
Picture source: @孙伊博
I don’t know if I don’t know it, but I’m shocked to find that there are so many prototypes of bags that appeared in ancient times.
In the Northern Dynasty Mural Tomb at Jiuyuan Gang during the Northern Wei Dynasty, a small bag appeared on the body of a casual caravan woman.
Isn't this the lipstick bag 咩
The picture on the right comes from the Internet
The satchel on a pottery figurine from the early Tang Dynasty seems to be the pet of Hua Shaoli Xin Zhilei. Both she and Reba carried this bag in the show.
A Han Dynasty brocade satchel unearthed from the Niya site in Xinjiang.
Cotton cloth texture, the pattern is more complicated, the middle is separated by a symmetrical pattern, and the edges are wrapped with cloth strips to increase the design of the bag.
is very much like a combination of modern bohemian style + tassel bag
Isn’t this seemingly trivial strip of cloth the predecessor of tassels?
You can even find the existence of backpack in "Two Immortals Picture Scroll"
The schoolbags that appeared in the Ming and Qing Dynasties not only had to be able to hold enough books, but also needed to use stronger fabrics.
When the styles of bags tended to be fixed, the ancients began to pursue breakthroughs in textures and materials.
If it weren’t for the slightly worn bag in the picture below, who would have known that it was from the Ming Dynasty...
This sun and moon pattern embroidered satin backpack was unearthed from the tomb of Qian Zhang and his wife in Wuxi.
The silver box of the Ming Dynasty cannot be said to be exactly the same as the modern square chain bag. It is not an exaggeration to say that they are siblings.
Looking at the craftsmanship, you can see the ingenuity of the workmanship and the care of the design.
The most eye-catching thing is the Ming Dynasty gold chain box with chiseled flowers, entwined branches, lotus and dragon pattern
It can’t be overstated to praise it for its ingenuity.
The gold box is square in shape and is tempered with gold sheets to form a relief . It adopts the form of double-sided pattern , which directly enriches the external richness of the gold box.
On the front is a dragon swimming among blossoming lotus flowers, which is full of agility. The lotus flower was a symbol of elegance and holiness in ancient times. The red and sapphires inlaid in the four corners add to the embellishment of the gold box.
Looking at the reverse side, this is a very popular decoration at that time, seven-character Sanskrit.
Until now, this gold box can still be pulled out freely, and the chain set can be worn directly across the body.
It is enough to show that the top craftsmanship at that time was simply amazing.
Judging from these bags, it seems that all modern bag types have traces, from the advancement of use to the pursuit of craftsmanship and exquisiteness.
What touches us most is not only the aesthetics of the ancients, but also their changing thoughts on life concepts at that time and their gradual breakthroughs in modernization.
Throughout history, every change makes to the details can be regarded as a big step forward for human aesthetics.
Even though it has been thousands of years ago, what remains unchanged is the yearning and pursuit of beauty.
