Talking about the beard problem of ancient people from cultural relics-Shen Congwen
There is an article on logic and language written by teacher Wang Li in Red Flag 17, which is quite heavy. I don't know logic and linguistics, so I have no say in this respect. However, there is a history of beards and the ancient people's aesthetic view of beards, which is not consistent with all our common sense of cultural relics. I want to discuss some different opinions. If they are correct, they may be used as reference when the author rewrites the cited examples. If they are wrong, please ask Mr. Wang to give us advice and learn from each other.
There are three main points in the review, which are quoted as follows:
1. Ancient Han men grew beards, not because they liked beards, but because they had to grow beards as men.
2. Shang Mosang of Gulefu said, "When the Monkey saw Luo Fu, he put his shoulder on the mustache." It can be seen that every man who walked with a load at that time had a beard.
A good beard is one of the characteristics of a handsome man, so Han Shu called Emperor Gaozu "bearded".
I don't understand the boundary of "ancient" that Mr. Wang said. I wonder which dynasty, namely Xia, Shang and Zhou, it was necessary for men to grow beards. Are there any reliable documents and other materials to prove it?
Secondly, just because two sentences in Yuefu poems describe that everyone who walked with loads in ancient times had a beard, can this reasoning be established? Or is there other reliable evidence to be so sure?
Third, the explanation of the word "bearded" seems to be only a compliment to "bearded well" and has little to do with the characteristics of "handsome man" in Han and Wei Dynasties. Are there any other certificates and other documents to prove it?
The following article also says: "People don't grow beards until middle age." According to the language, the later generations are naturally Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. Is it true?/You don't say. Or is there a document or physical proof?
The first generalization of private meaning is unfounded, the second inference is less convincing, and the third explanation is inappropriate. If the writing is not rigorous enough, it is easy to misunderstand, and the cited examples are illogical, specious and even inconsistent with the facts, which is worthy of being a commercial poem.
There are many books about ancient beards, so I don't intend to quote them in this paper, because simply quoting books can't solve specific problems. Now I just want to try to pay attention to cultural relics and introduce some relevant information, which may explain the following four points: First, ancient men did not have to grow beards. Secondly, in a certain historical period, due to the influence of general atmosphere or aesthetic concept, beards have indeed been paid more and more attention. What is the general style? What are the different developments? There is not enough literature, so we can get some knowledge from other aspects. At some point in the Middle Ages, there was a reason for not paying attention to it suddenly. There are beards in all three rooms, which is related to Wu Ying in some periods, that's for sure, but there are not necessarily men in the rooms. For a long time, on the contrary, some people have more beards and lower status. But not everyone who carries heavy burdens has a beard. Fourthly, there have been new changes in beard styles since the Jin and Tang Dynasties, but middle-aged or elderly people, that is, famous ministers and officials, do not necessarily keep them. This trend continued until the late Qing Dynasty.
First of all, it can be analyzed from some cultural relics left over from the Shang Dynasty. There are several jade carvings in the Forbidden City, newly unearthed in Hunan, and several heads on a bronze tripod. In addition, there are several bronze knives, bowls and cymbals handed down from ancient times, and several clay slave statues, all of which were unearthed in Henan, telling us that there was no need to grow a beard in the Yin and Shang Dynasties. They are all rulers, some with bare chins and some with beards on their mouths. You can also use two materials to prove that the beard has little to do with personal identity, because Anyang unearthed a stone carving with a flower dress and a hat, and the chin was as bare as another slave with shackles (if the age of the material is beyond doubt, we can take it as a hypothesis, this period,
Newly unearthed image data of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. The more important things are as follows: First, Houma, Shanxi Province found two people in the mud, wearing clothes, obviously men with a certain status, without traces of beards. 2. Two painted deep vessels were unearthed from the Chu Tomb in Changtaiguan, Xinyang, Henan. There are some dancing, hunting and noble figures painted on it, and there is no beard. 3. In recent twenty years, a large number of painted wooden figurines of Chu Tomb in Warring States Period have been unearthed in Changsha. Most men have a little beard, whether they wear casual clothes or military uniforms. They have two little "Ren Dan beards" on their heads, or "William" style, with tips slightly upturned. Some people have a little chin extraction, while others have nothing left. There are more than 100 kinds of the same image, which shows that there must be a certain relationship with only one region in the country that likes fashion. This is not accidental (if an artist takes it as a reference for Qu Yuan's statue, he will make a historic mistake). But there are also many big ones without beards. In addition, the Forbidden City also has a handed down material for reference, that is, a paper version of Women's Benevolence Map based on Biographies of Women, which contains a series of famous historical figures in the Spring and Autumn Period, some of whom have the same Ren Dan moustache, and some of them are not confused or bearded. This picture scroll was handed down as a manuscript of Kai in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. If we combine the beard modeling with the dressing system, the manuscript may be earlier than the Western Han Dynasty, that is, based on the four-screen painting at that time (maybe earlier, because the beard modeling is different from that of the Han Dynasty). In addition, there is a new Western Han Dynasty mural in Luoyang, Henan Province, which also depicts the story of the Spring and Autumn Period, making two peaches kill three scholars, which should be regarded as the oldest mural unearthed in Japan. From this, we can know some rules of showing the images of historical figures at that time. For example, when painting Tian Nanjiang, an ancient warrior, he often painted beards and angry images to show his bravery. The stone carvings of the Infinite Temple are also based on this example. The introduction reflected in Wei Shaoxing's statue mirror is mostly the same as Meng Ben, an able man on the stone pier of the tomb of the Southern Han Dynasty on the eastern slope of the mountain, and Luz in the "Seventy-two Sages" written by later generations. If you are a famous scholar, you usually only have two moustaches, either separated or drooping. In short, you should choose to leave a little. It is not far from the story of the dutiful son on the side of the lacquer basket unearthed in North Korea, whether it is reflected in the lacquerware casket of chariots and horses in Changsha or the mural of the Han tomb in Yingchengzi, Liaoyang, Liaoning. At the same time, there is nothing left. That is to say, from the Shang Dynasty to the ancient times of the Han Dynasty, beards had a lot of room for expansion and contraction, and some were self-taught voluntarily, not restricted by laws or certain habits. I really can't see that Mr. Wang said that men must grow beards.
As for the ethos of the Han and Wei Dynasties, there are more abundant stone carvings, murals, lacquer paintings, clay sculptures and small bronze statues for reference, which specifically reflect the image of working people, such as hunting, fishing, ploughing, cooking salt, fetching water, playing music and many masters who cut fish and burn meat. Few of them have beards unless they shoulder heavy responsibilities. It's hard to say that everyone who carried heavy burdens had to grow a beard at that time. At that time, there were indeed some beards, such as gatekeepers, servants, and Wu Bo, the predecessor of Hogo. He had a lot of beards, but the rulers were all upper-middle class. There are also many other famous narratives in music poems: "Being white has a lot of needs", which is more or less not the case. Proved it? Mr. Wang's third point cannot be established, because according to some materials, that is, judging from common sense, it can be seen that the feudal rulers at that time would never be willing to be in the middle and lower reaches, but let their gatekeepers and pawns gain the upper hand and monopolize the workshop with men!
In fact, it is worth noting that the opposite trend of the formation of ethos continues to develop, that is, beards have not been taken seriously for a long time since Wei and Jin Dynasties. There are many reasons, and detailed analysis and extension are not the purpose of this article. Roughly speaking, it has something to do with the love and autocracy of the young royal family and eunuchs. In literary works, such as The History of the Later Han Dynasty, The Biography of the consorts, A Brief Introduction to the Jin Dynasty, The Five Elements of the Jin Dynasty, Bao Puzi, Shi Shuo Xin Yu, Yan Jiaxun, Mianxue Pian, etc. At this time, I still have a beard. Not only can I not become the aesthetic object of the upper class, but I have become a joke in musical comedies. The main role of Wenkang Dance is a drunken beard. In addition, there is a drunken lion and a bearded foreigner! Can we say this is the characteristic of a handsome man? Can't say.
In fact, even in the early Han Dynasty, Sean's praise was like a woman, while Chen Ping's beauty was like a jade crown. Although I was not particularly impressed in the historical records, there was no irony. In the Three Kingdoms, Zhuge Liang deliberately said that "a beard is not as good as a super gentleman" in order to alleviate Guan Yu's worries. However, it is said that the yellow turban insurrectionary in Montenegro is handsome, and Hu Ren calls himself "Hu Gen". According to historical records, Cao Cao saw the Huns and was ashamed of his ordinary form and quality, which was not enough to convince people far away. He specially invited Qu Yan to take charge, and I waited for him with a knife. The intention at that time was that Qu Yan was tall and had a good beard. Style will win the respect of all Huns, but the result is unsuccessful. Because even those Huns with long hair are all impressed by Cao Cao's recent situation, they still say that it is extraordinary to choose Zan's side to carry a knife as an Englishman, but they don't admit how outstanding Qu Yinpin is. According to records, people have been particularly fond of beards since birds. For example, the Book of Jin said that Zhang Hua was colorful and made silk ropes. Must; And "Southern History" said that Cui Wenshen tried to give it all? Must be a rope; It can be proved that there were various protection measures for beards at that time. But there are still men who have relationships with him. On the contrary, the society in Wei and Jin Dynasties became more and more morbid. Therefore, "He Lang powder, Xun Lingxiang" and the gentleness of men and women once had a standard. When Historical Biography narrates this point, despite its profound irony, this morbid male aesthetic still continues to exert a great influence on society. Until the end of the Northern and Southern Dynasties. This tells the story of Pan An women throwing fruits all over the street, thinking about entering the market and being stoned by the crowd. In short, this era is really not conducive to people with more beards! Xie Lingyun, a poet in the Southern Dynasties, had a good beard. After his death, he donated it to the only Huan Temple and put it on a statue. Although the monks took good care of them, they treated Princess Anle of the Tang Dynasty as a plaything. It can be said that when people die, they have to use waste. It is not difficult to recruit people. However, when the conflicts between the Hu ethnic groups in the five Hu and sixteen countries and the northern Hu ethnic groups were fierce, there was no clear record in history that people with long noses and beards met at a certain time, that is, they didn't ask why.
When we arrived at Tuoba Gubei in Yuan and Wei Dynasties, we should pay attention to it, but it was not. Try to look at the figures reflected in a large number of stone carvings, clay sculptures and murals, most of which are always bare. It can be known that even in middle age, most conference semifinals in the north don't have beards. Handed down from ancient times, Beiqi school books and pictures painted portraits of Wei Shou and others. There are several people who don't have beards, and the groom has the most beards in the painting.
As for the scholar's moustache, it hung down with the tide, laying the groundwork for the later three or five beards. At the same time, there are places where the old man has no beard and the literature is insufficient. Cultural relics can still help, as evidenced by materials. In addition to the part of Luoyang portrait brick in Han Dynasty, the newly unearthed useful and important material should be two people holding swords at the tomb gate of Southern Dynasties in Dengxian County, Henan Province in recent years. The image of a senior martial artist wearing two pieces of armor and a robe. Secondly, there is a group of reeds in the lower part of the Tang Dynasty Zhenguan mural in Cave 220 in Dunhuang, which is the audience's listening method. This mural is very realistic. It may be based on the images of eighteen bachelors of Emperor Taizong and Hong Wenguan painted by Yan Brothers. The most important thing is that there are several ministers. People are long past middle age, but they have no beards. Some are handsome, but their beards hang down honestly. In short, it is an established fact that Taizong was born with a campus. Draw Wei Chijingde as a hairy beard to show his bravery. We can't see that a beard is one of the characteristics of a handsome man. Generally, hairy beards are still for people with low status. For example, Han Yu's "Double Horse Map", the groom's "Xiao Yi Earns Lanting Map", the tea-making work, and Silechang holding a clapper in the mural in zhang wan at the end of Xianyang all look so gloomy and green on his face.
So have there really been some changes since the middle Tang Dynasty, such as? Mr. Wang said that people must grow beards when they reach middle age? In fact, it is still wrong. I have some portraits of famous ministers in the past dynasties, because the times may be too late and unreliable, and I don't want to quote them. However, there are many celebrities in their seventies and eighties in the nine old pictures of Xiangshan painted by Song people, and their chins are still bare. In addition, "Luoyang Old People's Map" and "Xiyuan Jiya Map" are based on the current affairs maps drawn by people at that time, which should be more reliable. It can still be seen that quite a few people are over 40 years old without beards, just like the portraits of Gu Linting, Huang Lizhou and Pu later.
On this small issue, starting from reality, try to do some common-sense exploration, which is also very meaningful, at least it can give us some understanding:
First, although the beard problem is a trivial matter, it is hard to say that it is a matter of course, but academic experts know it. When writing occasionally involves its history, it is impossible to have a more comprehensive and specific opinion without some actual investigation and research. If we only start from the course, it will be difficult to get to the point when we extend it. And easy to make mistakes.
Secondly, from the study of ancient cultural relics, the evolution and application of the system of dressing, living, eating, working and traveling can really help us to inspire new knowledge, revise ancient books and get many useful things, which deserves the attention of concerned scholars at present. There are too many shortcomings in ancient literature. If we can raise the research method of comprehensive cultural relics and literature to a cognitive level, we can encourage some young people who study literature and history and have certain literary knowledge to break away from convention and boldly and seriously explore the problems of ten or eight years in the face of cultural relics unearthed in the past ten years and handed down from generation to generation. If there is any gap or little convergence in the study of China's cultural history, we will certainly look forward to many new discoveries and enrichment, hoping for new research. Be a pioneer.
Thirdly, since China has a long history, it is difficult to understand any problem in isolation through literature research. Some questions are either completely empty, and some are later annotated, which creates a specious impression and needs to be corrected and clarified. It is the development of things. If we want to get to the bottom of it, we must broaden our horizons, put it on a solid and extensive basis, and combine cultural relics and documents to draw more reliable new conclusions. If we want to talk about it, draw it and describe it, we can expect it to conform to the true colors of history.
As for this research method confirmed by the combination of cultural relics and documents, is it confusing? Is there any harm in winning? I think we can know from the results. Personally, my ideological level is low, I have read few ancient books, and I have only a little knowledge of cultural relics. I have done a good job in research, and the results are naturally limited. Even if you say it, you will always make mistakes and need to correct them. However, if domestic experts and scholars in literature and history are willing to break away from the traditional methods of studying literature and history and pay attention to these millions of cultural relics, I personally believe that the study of China culture will be taken to a brand-new direction, and there will be new gains.