Flower bud is a special ornament of ancient women's facial makeup in China, and it is also an important part of China's clothing and beauty culture.
Among many cosmetics, flower bud has a long history and is most loved by women. The so-called flower bud is a flower-shaped ornament that ancient women attached to their temples, eyebrows or cheeks. Its origin can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, reaching its peak in the Tang Dynasty and gradually declining in the Song and Yuan Dynasties. Nowadays, the makeup of flower buds has long been invisible on women's faces, but the beautiful legend about flower buds still exists in our imagination.
Historically, Qin Shihuang once asked imperial secretaries to apply decals.
There are many folk legends about the origin of flower buds, some from the Han Dynasty, some from the Six Dynasties, and some from the Tang Dynasty. Cao Lifang said that if we trace back to the custom that women in China painted or pasted decorative patterns on their faces, it rose as early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. For example, there are three rows of dots on the face of painted female figurines unearthed from Chu Tomb in Changsha during the Warring States Period, and there are dots on the eyelids of painted wooden figurines unearthed in Xinyang, Henan Province, which should be the embryonic form of flower buds, so the origin of flower buds should be far earlier than folklore, at least traceable.
There were recorded flower buds during the Qin Shihuang period. At the end of the Tang Dynasty, it was recorded in Ma Su's Notes on China's Ancient and Modern Times that Qin Shihuang was a good immortal, and he often asked imperial secretaries to comb fairy buns, paste colorful flower heads and paint clouds, phoenixes and tigers soaring. Cao Lifang said, five-color Hanako refers to the decorations on the face of the decal, and Hanako is the later Hanako. Han inherited the customs of Qin Dynasty and was influenced by Chu culture, so Chinese characters should be quite popular. In the Three Kingdoms period, cymbals became popular, and the decoration in this specific position was still very popular until the Tang Dynasty. Duan, a writer in the late Tang Dynasty, recorded in Youyang Miscellanies that modern makeup is still cymbals, such as shooting at the moon, which is called Huang Xing cymbals. The name "Twinkle, Twinkle" was named after Wu Sunhe accidentally hurt Mrs. Deng's cheek. The doctor used white otter paste. There was too much amber to be destroyed, and there were red spots. It's better for her to use painters' cheeks, which is also the beginning. During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, plum blossom makeup appeared in the Southern Dynasty, which was a kind of special-shaped bud. The yellow flower painted on the mirror in the folk song Mulan Poem written by Yuefu in the Northern Dynasty was also a popular female forehead ornament at that time, which should be a kind of flower bud. This kind of decoration is also called forehead yellow, goose yellow, duck yellow, yellow and so on. The method is to cut the gold paper into various decorative patterns and stick them on the forehead, or paint yellow on the forehead. In addition to Mulan's poems, Xiao Gang and A Liang Jian Wendi of the Southern Dynasties also wrote ingenious works about the Yellow Energy Efficiency Month and cutting gold.
On the Development of Flower Makeup in the Fading History of Yuan Dynasty
In the Tang Dynasty, yellow forehead was still popular. In the early Tang dynasty, there were poems and cicadas on the land, and duck yellow was covered at the beginning of the month. Pi Rixiu in the late Tang Dynasty also wrote a poem: How about half-hanging gold powder? The forehead is quiet and graceful. The Tang Dynasty is the heyday of the use of flower buds, and the makeup of women's faces has many colors and shapes. The costumes of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms were inherited and developed from the Tang Dynasty, and the flower buds continued to prevail. According to Cao Lifang, in the Book of Flowers, when describing women's daily life and makeup, there are many words that are freehand with flowers. For example, in Gu Guan's Lotus Cup, it is written that flowers are clustered into small bun, waist is like slender willow, and face is like lotus. There are even women who stick all kinds of flowers on their cheeks, such as Ouyang Jiong's "The Female Crown": thin makeup and peach face, full of flowers. In the Song Dynasty, with the rise of advocating elegant beauty, colorful bud styles gradually fell out of favor; In the Yuan Dynasty, Huahua finally faded out of the women's dressing table. From then on, only in some handed down calligraphy and painting works and archaeological excavations can people find traces of this fashionable jewelry that was popular in ancient times 1000.
Allusions and legends
Princess Shouyang has plum blossoms printed on her forehead.
There are several legends about the origin of flower buds. Although they came into being in different times, they are not consistent with historical facts, but the legends themselves are beautiful, which all reflect the ancient women's understanding and pursuit of beauty, and the most popular legend is plum blossom makeup.
According to the large-scale book Taiping Yulan compiled in the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty, Princess Shouyang, the daughter of Emperor Wudi of the Southern Song Dynasty, lay on her back on the seventh day of the first month of a certain year. The plum tree in front of the temple was blown by the breeze, and a plum blossom fell, just sticking to the princess's forehead, and it could not be picked. So the queen kept the princess around for a long time. Three days later, the plum blossom washed down, but the princess left five petals on her forehead. The women in the palace saw that the plum blossom print on the princess's forehead was very beautiful, and they all wanted to follow suit, so they cut the plum blossom and stuck it on the princess's forehead. A new beauty technique was born, which was called plum blossom makeup at that time.
This plum blossom makeup soon spread to the people and became a fashionable makeup that folk women, bureaucrats and geisha dancers rushed to emulate. It was very popular until the Tang and Five Dynasties. For example, Niu Qiao, a poet of Shu five generations ago, wrote in "Red Rose": If Princess Shouyang wears makeup, the six palaces will strive to learn plum makeup. That's the story. In the Song Dynasty, plum blossom makeup was still popular. Wang Zaozhou of the Southern Song Dynasty happened to see the beauty's forehead makeup on the boat in the water, so he wrote "Drunken Flower God". Between the lines, he recited intoxicated: the boat is in the gap, the beauty is half exposed to plum makeup, and the flowers are as low as carvings. Like an autumn night, half silver and half white. Cao Lifang sighed: You can imagine how deeply the poet was moved by that beautiful face with plum blossom makeup.
Shangguan Waner was stabbed in the brow.
Flower buds reached their peak in the Tang Dynasty and can be seen everywhere in Tang poetry. Out of deep affection for the culture of this dynasty, there was a legend in the late Tang Dynasty that Duan Hua originated in the Tang Dynasty and was related to the famous talented woman Shangguan Waner.
It is recorded in Duan's Miscellanies of Youyang that the flower of women's face decoration today originated in Shangguan and was made to hide people's eyes and ears. Shangguan Zhao Rong is Shangguan Waner. Duan's son's (or nephew's) section of the road is described in detail in Beifu Zhi: After the Queen's Day, each pair of butchers let them lie under the chopping board and write down what they said. One day, when the Prime Minister was talking about something, Zhao Rong stole a look and fell asleep. When he retired from North Korea, he was very angry. He took an armor knife and stuck it in his face. He is not allowed to pull it out. Zhao Rong's poem "Draw a Sword and Beg". After that, it was Hanako who covered the mark. Cao Lifang said that their records later evolved into a complete story among the people.
On one occasion, Wu Zetian smashed a palace coup. Unexpectedly, in the list of people who planned the coup, there was Shangguan Waner, who was her most reused! Wu Zetian was furious and ordered Wan'er to face her. She shouted, "In the past, your grandfather (Shangguan Yi) was condemned for his crimes. I thought you were talented, so I valued you as a female official. " . Unexpectedly, you bite the hand that feeds you, and you want to murder me. I am so angry! Wan'er smiled indifferently and said, "Do you remember that the handmaiden refused to answer the call three times?" ? Wu Zetian thought about it. Several times he gave a banquet in the Imperial Garden. Wan'er advised him to return to the palace, so he nodded. Shangguan Waner said, Does your majesty know that there is danger in the imperial garden? On the surface, I don't participate in the rebellion. How can I secretly protect you by mixing with them? Wu Zetian seemed to think of something and nodded. But the emperor is eloquent, and the punishment still needs to be carried out. But the execution was changed to cinnabar, and only one plum blossom was stabbed. Shangguan Waner has a good face, but a small and exquisite red plum blossom has been stabbed in her brow, which looks like a dragon playing with pearls and an Indian beauty. So that the young women in the palace followed suit, wearing flower buds on their foreheads, which made them even more lovely.
Buds are used to cover up facial defects.
Bud was also included in the legend of Tang Dynasty and became a prop to express the thoughts of the works. Li Fuyan has a book "Continued Mystery", in which a man named Wei Gu sent someone to assassinate the so-called three-year-old wife because he didn't believe in Yue Lao's theory of marriage fate, but the assassin's dagger missed and only hit the girl's eyebrows. Later, when the little girl grew up to 17 years old, it happened that she really married Wei Gu. However, there has always been a bud between her eyebrows, and she has never taken it off. Wei Gu asked why, and she told her story when she was three years old. Wei Gu got a fright, and suddenly remembered Yue Lao's marriage fate, and realized that he still had no plan to escape his fate.
When describing Wei Gu's wife, Li Fuyan said that she often put a flower on her forehead. Although she has bathed and is very leisure, she has never been there for the time being. It is said that Wei Gu's wife never took off her flower buds in the shower or in informal occasions to cover up her stabbed scars. Cao Lifang said: This story tells us that apart from decoration, the flower bud can also be an imperfect face modification among people in the Tang Dynasty and under the clever makeup of those clever girls. Decorations like Shangguan Waner's, which use decals and cymbals to cover up the scars on her face, are really a great pioneering work for ancient women to turn decay into magic.
Poets talk about flowers.
Teacher Cao Lifang, who studied the literature of the Tang Dynasty, found that flower buds were once the favorite of women in the Tang Dynasty. They cling to women's skin and accompany and witness their feelings and life like close friends. Correspondingly, the image of flower bud appears frequently in literary works, and in Tang poetry, it can be said that the charming brilliance of flower bud shines everywhere. In the poet's pen, he is also endowed with a rich or poor background, a happy or sad emotion, a smooth or bumpy fate, or a gentle or pungent character. Walking into the artistic conception of Tang poetry and pursuing the beautiful image of affectionate and ingenious flowers, we seem to have crossed time and space and entered the beautiful family world carefully constructed by women in the Tang Dynasty.
Buds add charm to the women in the poem.
When the woman in the poem is in a happy mood, a delicate bud will add charming Ming Xiu to her. The women described by the poet Li Duan are: the willows come into the building to blow the jade emperor, and the hibiscus comes out of the water to admire flowers. (To Guo) It means that she is so beautiful that even the hibiscus in the water will be jealous under the makeup of Huahua. In the poem "The Philosophy", Zhang Xiaobiao depicts a graceful dancer image: the philosophy begins to drum, and the colorful shirt shrugs the waist. Walking brocade boots are ethereal and graceful, and embroidered hats sway with the wind. The dancers, dressed in Luo shirts decorated with flowers, leather boots and slender waist, shuffled out lightly in the cheerful drums, dancing a branch-breaking dance, and the gorgeous top hat on their heads swayed in the wind, making them look elegant.
The function of flower buds is not only for decoration, but also to add some interest to life. In Gu Yan's Poems, Lu Lun wrote: The makeup is light and loose, and the bead curtain attracts guests with a smile. You only know how to get drunk, but Pan Lang doesn't dare to be rushed. This stunning singer with a lazy and delicate expression, holding a small flower bud in her hand, not only has a fragrant temperament, but also adds a bit of sly interest to her.
When the imperial concubine died, the buds were scattered and no one collected them.
When the woman in the poem is disappointed, the flower buds who accompany her silently bear unspeakable loneliness and sadness with her. Wen Tingyun wrote in "Playing Zheng Man": The cicada sings and the golden geese scatter today, and Yizhou has endless tears. This poem laments the experience of a guzheng player with descriptive strokes. The poet skillfully compares people with things, and implies the desolation of peerless artists with the depression and withering of flower buds and Zheng Zhu. Just because his old place is sad, he is particularly attached to the glory of the past. Once the old songs were played again, they aroused a lot of sadness and resentment, so he couldn't help crying.
Bai Juyi's "Song of Eternal Sorrow": The flower hairpin fell to the ground, but no one picked it up. A green and white Hosta and a golden bird conveyed the sadness of women's fate through Duan Hua. The emperor couldn't save her, so he had to cover his face. Later, when he turned to look, there was blood and tears. Yang Guifei, regarded as a femme fatale, was forced to die at the foot of Mawei Slope. When she died, the flower bud on her face and the golden hairpin on her head were scattered all over the floor, and no one put it away for her after her death. And the Tang Xuanzong, who once had supreme power, watched his beloved die like this, but could not save her. He can only hide his face and cry, and look back step by step. Only this sentence, the flowery hairpin fell to the ground, and no one picked up the sidewalk, showing the extremely tragic death of Yang Guifei and the endless desolation after her death.
Bai Juyi used flowers to express his indifference.
In Tang poetry, bud, as an image, sometimes expresses not the real situation of women, but the author's lifestyle or elegant feelings. For example, Bai Juyi wrote in "The First Banquet of Zhengjialin Pavilion in Du Dong Winter Games": There must be early companions in prosperous times, and prostitutes in leisure days. The famous prostitutes decorated with flower buds in the poem are not the objects that the author deliberately wants to describe, they just exist as the embellishment of the literati's leisurely life, and the poet wants to convey their enjoyment of this leisurely life. Bai Juyi and Du Mu feel the same way. He wrote in the poem "Early Spring as a Strategist Xue": The strings play two tones, and the flowers sit in two rows. Only you don't cherish drunkenness and recognize juvenile court. Here, as a synonym for the woman who plays the string, it depicts a scene of singing wine songs, and urges Judge Xue to cherish the time he can enjoy. But blindly drinking and having fun will inevitably make people feel empty and tired. Bai Juyi expressed his reflection and emotion on life with the image of bud in the poem "A Banquet to Zhang Jushi". The strings are not solid and the buds are empty. Who knows what this means? Only the net name Weng. The beauty of flowers, silk and bamboo are just passing clouds, but who can really know this truth? Perhaps only those who have already seen through the essence of life and abandoned fame and fortune. What Bai Juyi expresses here is the thought of wanting to stay away from the secular and indifferent to fame and fortune.