In the old society, needlework refers to women's textile, sewing, embroidery and other work and the finished products of these work. The word "female worker" was originally written as "female worker". Later, with the development of the times, people are more accustomed to using the word "female worker" to refer to female workers engaged in textile, sewing and embroidery, but its original meaning is placed in a subordinate position. In order to avoid confusion, people use "red" as a variant of "worker", and the original meaning of "female worker" is transferred to the word "female worker", not itself.
The Modern Chinese Dictionary explains it this way: In the old days, it referred to women's textile, sewing, embroidery and other jobs and the finished products of these jobs.
Ci Hai's explanation is much more comprehensive: female workers, (1) are also called "female work" and "female red". It used to refer to women's textile, embroidery, sewing and other things. (2) A woman who used to be an actress. Today, it generally refers to female employees. Female work is the same as "female worker (1)".
Documentary record
"Huainan Ziqi Custom Training": "Splendid usurpation will also harm female workers."
"Book of Rites, Special Sacrifice in the Suburb": "The beauty of embroidery in literary works and the beauty of sparse cloth are also against the beginning of female achievements."
Biography of Historical Records of Huo Zhi: "Taigong advised her to be a woman, and she was extremely clever and learned fish and salt."
Hanshu records: "Qi San obeys the official, and the official weaves embroidery, which is difficult to achieve. Everything that hurts the actress will stop, and there is nothing to lose. "
Yan Shigu quoted Ruchun as saying: "Red also works."
Wu Zhi's Notes on Yuancheng and Wang Wei: "Female workers sing on the loom."
"Peach Blossom Fan": "Yongxian is lazy, and several degrees are female red."
history
From sericulture and cotton planting to spinning and weaving, from threading needles to sewing clothes, it is a great progress of human civilization. In the 5,000-year history of Chinese civilization, textiles and clothing are two dazzling and wonderful flowers. Therefore, closely related needlework should have a long history. According to archaeological findings, in the Paleolithic period 18000 years ago, cavemen had used bone needles to sew animal skin. In the Neolithic Age more than 7,000 years ago, Hemudu people not only used bone needles, but also used twisted wires and spinning wheels. In Liangzhu culture more than 4,000 years ago, raw textiles such as hemp thread, silk thread and ribbon appeared, which all formed the embryonic form of embroidery and its products. China's agricultural society of more than 3,000 years has not only established the idea of taking agriculture as the foundation, but also formed the tradition of male ploughing and female weaving. Women have learned needlework such as embroidery, spinning and weaving, tailoring and sewing since childhood, which is especially valued in Jiangnan area. Especially in the Ming and Qing dynasties, the social requirements for women and the criteria for husbands to choose a spouse were all measured by four aspects: "morality, speech, tolerance and work", among which "work" was women's work. Coupled with the highly developed handicraft industry at that time, it was only during this period that needlework really became popular in a universal sense.
As a work closely related to people's daily life, it is also reflected in ancient works of art. The most popular poem and poem is Ode to a Wanderer by Meng Jiao, a poet in the Tang Dynasty: "The thread in the mother's hand makes clothes for her wayward boy's body. Before leaving, I had a stitch for fear that my son would come back late and his clothes would be damaged. But how much love can keep this inch of grass from growing and pay for the sunshine? This wonderful poem, which has been used by people for thousands of years to encourage gratitude, also describes the picture of a loving mother sewing shirts and sewing for her son. Qin Taoyu, another poet in the Tang Dynasty, wrote a poem "Poor Woman", which vividly depicts a talented woman, in my heart forever, who is good at embroidery and expresses the poet's talent: "She lives on a thatched roof and never wears fragrant silk. She is eager to arrange marriage, but how dare she?" . Who would have known her cutest simple face, dressed frugally in the era of pity. Her finger embroidery is unparalleled, but she can't compete with painting eyebrows. Year after year, she sewed gold thread for other girls on the bride's dress! " The earliest picture of women's red in painting can be traced back to Zhang Xuan's The Picture of Tao Ren in the Tang Dynasty. Then there is the pastel painting "Tao Ren Map" unearthed in Jingxing County, Hebei Province. The scenes of court and folk needlework are reproduced respectively. The Embroidered Lady Fan, painted by Ren Xun, a painter in Qing Dynasty, shows an ancient beloved daughter's luxurious life of embroidering female red as a pastime and nourishment.
In addition, there are many myths and legends and anecdotes about needlework. The Silkworm Fu written by Xunzi in the Warring States Period and the Search written by Gan Bao in the Jin Dynasty both contain the myth of the silkworm god Matou Niang. There is a legend about the Weaver Girl in the Ming and Song Dynasties. Meng Mu used the story of stopping weaving to educate Mencius as a metaphor for giving up school, and Liu Xiang compiled it into Biography of Women in the Han Dynasty. At the end of Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of Ming Dynasty, Tao Zongyi recorded the deeds of Huang Daopo, a female weaver in Yuan Dynasty.
Of course, since ancient times, there have been countless women masters. It is said that Mrs. Zhao, the prince of Wu in the Three Kingdoms period, had "three unique skills": she could weave a tapestry of dragons and phoenixes with colored silk with her fingers as a "stunt"; You can embroider a map of "Wuyue Country" on square silk with needle and thread, which is the "needle"; Tapping with glue is "broken wire". According to legend, there was a strange girl, Lu Meiniang, in Yongzhenyuan period of Tang Dynasty. At the age of fourteen, she could embroider seven volumes of Hokkekyo on a foot-long silk. The word is only as big as Xiaomi, and it is clearly divided. However, nothing was left out. By the Ming Dynasty, Gu embroidery in Shanghai had become famous all over the world, among which Han Ximeng was the representative embroidery master. At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, there was also a famous embroidery expert, Shen Shou, who once taught embroidery in the court, founded embroidery schools and workshops, and even went to Japan to study embroidery better. In addition, the monograph "Xueguan Embroidery Spectrum" was published, which has far-reaching influence. In terms of clothing, I'm afraid the best clothing is the official clothing of the royal family, with a crown and a worn robe. However, it is a pity that with the passage of time, the progress of society and the development of science and technology, needlework has been replaced by mechanization and has been greatly affected. Those sewing tools that were originally necessary for ladies to do needlework, such as scissors, irons, sewing boxes, thimble gauge winding plates, needle drawing scraper watering cans, embroidery scaffolding sewing baskets, etc. , has long faded out of people's lives and withdrawn from the historical stage. In today's collection world, Nvhong appliances are simply miscellaneous products among miscellaneous products, which are not valued by people.
In fact, as a part of China traditional culture and the carrier of embroidery culture, embroidery has its unique charm. After all, she has been with human civilization for thousands of years, is inseparable from people's daily life, is closely linked with national customs in various places, and is in the same strain as profound social culture. As long as it is other works of art, the design content of China traditional culture that can be reflected in daily necessities is also reflected in women's red household appliances, especially on rolled boards. In recent years, many people of insight at home and abroad have a special liking for China's embroidery and are scrambling to collect it. Some people hang beautiful ancient costumes as the background of TV walls, which is very atmospheric; Some people decorate the living room and study with exquisite embroidery, which has a unique style; Others put scrolls with auspicious meanings in sewing baskets and put them on several cases, worrying about the past. Chinese embroidery combines ornamental value and practical function, and has won the favor of Chinese and foreign embroidery lovers. Needle and thread tools that were once far away from people's daily life have gradually returned to us through the field of collection. She not only aroused our long-lost memory and belated appreciation of China actress, but also aroused our sense of responsibility for her preservation and care, explored her and carried forward the connotation and spirit of her traditional culture in China.
classify
Spinning and weaving
China's textile industry has a long history, and there are many varieties and colors. It can be seen that a civilized country is indispensable for dressing. Textiles are divided into raw materials, such as silk, hemp, kudzu and cotton. Silk weaving is a luxury, while hemp is rare. Since the Song and Yuan Dynasties, cotton planting and cotton weaving have gradually spread throughout the country. In modern times, cotton weaving is still popular among the people.
Sizing dyeing
Sizing and dyeing are two concepts. Slurry means that the woven cloth is soaked in the slurry to make it smooth. In addition, folk woven white homespun, unbleached, has a yellow silk feeling, which is called natural color cloth. Use an old powder-soil powder, which will turn white after sizing. Dyeing refers to dyeing folk dyes, which used to be mainly extracted from plants, that is, modern grass dyeing
sew
Sewing is an overlap. Seam and seam have the meaning of running through each other. Generally speaking, sewing is sewing clothes, and the words sewing and sewing are put together, perhaps to emphasize that sewing a dress requires thousands of stitches! There are indeed sewing machines and garment processing factories to make clothes. It is not difficult to make a dress, but a few years ago, every dress was sewn by a woman. They have sewed for the elderly, children and themselves all their lives.
embroidery
Embroidery can be said to be the most prominent in Chinese embroidery. From a global perspective, Chinese embroidery has not only the earliest appearance and the longest history, but also formed its own tradition. Embroidery in the Warring States period is very complicated, with distinct patterns and patchwork. There were many embroidered clothes and furs in the Han Dynasty. China's embroidery foundation is too common and profound. Under the social system that men plow and women weave, millions of girls in Qian Qian have to learn and master embroidery, which may be a unique phenomenon in the history of China.
Shoes and hats
China's shoes and hats are handmade by housewives from a long time ago to modern times. Later, although there were shoe stores and hat shops, few people actually bought shoes. In the vast rural areas, shoes and hats, especially children's hats, are made by themselves, and the number of shoes made by a housewife for her family is quite amazing.
weave
The scope of knitting is very large. There are many materials for weaving, including silk, cotton and various plants such as bamboo, rattan, grass, palm and straw. All thin strips with certain toughness can be woven together and tied into knots based on ropes. China's knotting has developed from the simplest binding to an art, and decoration has endowed him with rich meanings, which has become a very inclusive feature of our national culture and a great symbol.
Cut flowers out of paper.
The number of women engaged in paper-cutting in China has a long history, and the number of patterns cut is unique in the world. For embroidery, women use other materials besides paper, such as cloth and plant leaves to cut patterns. Their craft is similar to paper-cutting. For example, large pieces of cloth with different colors can often be seen on children's clothes, China people's stomachs and cloth toys.
Face flower
In northern China, pasta is the main food, and women can make all kinds of food with flour. In summary, there are more than 50 kinds. In the long-term pasta production, women found that this plastic material can be eaten and made into various images. Mianhua is not only a description of women's hard work, but also a sign of ingenuity.
toy
In the past, toys were not regarded as an independent occupation in China, and no special subjects were set up in schools. However, preschool children are taken care of by their mothers, and kind and clever mothers often make toys for their children from local materials to add fun to their childhood. Mothers often take their children to work in the fields and let them play in the fields when they are working. In order to coax the children, they peeled off a sorghum stalk, folded it several times and turned it into a bird.