With the development of Hanfu culture, we often see girls wearing chest-high skirts or Tang-style tan collars walking by on the street, looking like fairies. The towering bun and complicated hairstyles and makeup also add to the enchanting beauty. In a trance, it also gives people a glimpse of the face of women in the prosperous and prosperous times of the Tang Dynasty.
Women in the Tang Dynasty had many styles of buns and hairstyles, and their makeup was complex, tedious and exquisite. The makeup and hair styles also show the prosperity of the cultural development of the Tang Dynasty. Women in the Tang Dynasty wore heavy and colorful makeup, which was mainly reflected in the makeup: flower patch, rouge, goose yellow, facial dimples, etc. The hair styles and makeup of the Tang Dynasty fully reflect the aesthetic development of the prosperous and powerful Tang Dynasty, and also reveal the Tang Dynasty's open and confident attitude and learning spirit of accepting foreign cultures.
During the Sui Dynasty, most women wore their hair in a flat-top style, which was characterized by piling their hair upwards in layers, making it look like a hat. The hairstyles of this period were mostly simple with few changes. The culture of the early Tang Dynasty was deeply influenced by the Sui Dynasty. Therefore, the hairstyles of female figurines in the early Tang Dynasty reflected such distinct and prominent characteristics of the times. The flat-top hairstyle also represents the stable development of society in the Tang Dynasty.
The hairstyles of the Tang Dynasty were greatly influenced by the Sui Dynasty. In the early Tang Dynasty, women's hairstyles still followed the styles of the Sui Dynasty, and most of them were combed into buns. Judging from the discoveries in Tang Tombs in recent years, the half-up bun hairstyle has also appeared, which evolved from the lotus bun in the Sui Dynasty. In addition, according to Yu Wenshi's "Zhuangtai Ji", "In the Wude period of the Tang Dynasty, the palace wore half-upturned buns, reverse buns, and happy buns."
It can be seen from this that the hair of the palace people at that time was There are fewer types of hairstyles, and generally speaking, the hairstyles of women in the early Tang Dynasty are still very simple, and there are no luxurious jewelry such as pearls and green steps. However, in the early Tang Dynasty, women with higher status no longer wore Pingyun style. "Book of the Later Han Dynasty" records a Chang'an proverb: "There is a good high bun in the city, and the height is one foot in all directions." This shows that women's hair style is no longer simple and single. Instead, it developed into a simple and towering hairstyle. After that, other more complicated hairstyles slowly appeared and became popular.
In the early Tang Dynasty, makeup also began to become complicated and diverse. After the Sui Dynasty, it gradually developed into decorations such as white face, blush, and red lips, as well as flower patches, dimples, and slanting red. In the late Sui Dynasty and early Tang Dynasty, "white makeup" was once popular, that is, only powder was applied without rouge.
With the cultural integration and development of the Tang Dynasty, and the changes and progress of society, in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, women's pursuit of beauty became more and more intense. First of all, great changes took place in hair buns and makeup. The "Old Book of Tang" records: "The customs are extravagant and do not follow the rules. The Qiluo brocade is decorated according to the taste." "From the palace to the common people, they follow each other's example. There is no difference between the noble and the common people." This all shows. Women in the Tang Dynasty boldly pursued various fashions and pursued gorgeous features.
The makeup style in the prosperous Tang Dynasty was grand and gorgeous, mostly decorated with red makeup, and the style was complex. The most colorful makeup was called "wine halo makeup"; the lighter color and lighter makeup was called "peach blossom makeup" "; the more elegant one is called "Feixia makeup".
In the prosperous Tang Dynasty, women’s makeup became more complicated and complicated, with many steps and all of them indispensable. So what were the makeup steps for women in the prosperous Tang Dynasty?
The first step is to apply lead powder, which is what we now call "priming". During the Tang Dynasty, women wore very heavy makeup, with extremely white base makeup and a large amount of lead powder. Lead powder actually appeared in the Xia and Shang Dynasties in my country. The role of lead powder is equivalent to the current concealer, BB cream and other functions. It can cover the skin's slight flaws and make the face whiter, smoother and free of impurities. Lead powder has many benefits. Even Li Yu, a dramatist in the Qing Dynasty, believed that after applying lead powder: "A beautiful person will be more beautiful if she uses it." However, lead powder is a heavy metal, and long-term use can make the skin blue or even poisonous. The Ming Dynasty book "Tiangong Kaiwu" has a record about this, "Tickling a woman's cheeks to turn her true color green", which shows that lead powder is not all beneficial and harmless.
The second step is to apply rouge. Rouge is the most commonly used cosmetics for women in ancient times. It is also called "阏", "cigarette", etc. It is equivalent to today's blush, lipstick, lipstick, etc. collectively. The rouge must be painted bright red, and the mouth must be painted bright red to look charming. At this time, the woman applied rouge very thickly and very thickly. Wang Jian, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, once wrote in "Gong Ci" that women wash off a lot of red mud when they wash their faces, which shows the prevalence of "red makeup" and heavy rouge among women in the Tang Dynasty.
The third step is to draw eyebrows. Usually there are willow leaf eyebrows, hanging tip eyebrows, etc. The color of the eyebrows is mainly cyan or black, and the eyebrows are drawn to look more charming and affectionate. During the prosperous Tang Dynasty, broad eyebrows were popular, and eyebrows were drawn short and thick into a figure-eight shape. Thin eyebrows are also very popular. This painting method is to draw the eyebrows long and thin, which will make the face and eyes more soft. Bai Juyi also wrote in "Song of Everlasting Sorrow": "Hibiscus is like a face and willows are like eyebrows." It can be seen that thin eyebrows like willow leaves are also a very favorite makeup look for women. The various eyebrow shapes recorded at this time are roughly: Mandarin duck eyebrow, hill eyebrow, five eyebrows, inverted eyebrows, smoke eyebrows, smoke eyebrows, split eyebrows, moon eyebrows, pendant bead eyebrows, and three peak eyebrows.
The fourth step is applique, which is also called surface flower and applique. However, the flowers are not painted on, but made of gold foil, paper, fish scales and even dragonfly wings.
Gaocheng's "Shijiyuan" records: "Women in ancient times liked to make pink dimples, like moon shapes, like money, or dotted with Zhu Ruoyan fat. People in the Tang Dynasty also admired it."
Explain that although appliqués are used, It has appeared since the Three Kingdoms period, but in the Tang Dynasty, appliquéd mother-of-pearl became popular among women again. Moreover, by the Tang Dynasty, there were many colors of flowers, with red being the most common. There are many types of flowers, including plum blossoms, moon shapes, pomegranate flowers, and other shapes of flowers, birds, insects, and fish. The pasting position is roughly on the forehead between the eyebrows or the cheeks. The color is mostly red and yellow, but red is still the most charming and affectionate. Therefore, in modern TV dramas, you can often see women pasting on delicate red flowers.
The fifth step is to create dimples on the face. Facial dimples are also called "makeup dimples". They are not like flowers. They can be painted or pasted. Most of them are decorated in the dimples of the cheeks, with shapes such as beans, stars, and crescents. . The color is mostly vermilion, but also black and yellow, also known as "zhuang dimple".
Liu Xun of the Tang Dynasty's "Lingbiao Luyi" records about facial dimples: "Hezi grass grows on a trail. Its flowers are light purple in color, and the leaves are as short as willows. In summer, When it blooms, it is also called green flowers and green leaves. People in the south say that it is a sweet grass, which is harvested and dried to replace the soybeans.
Before the prosperous Tang Dynasty, the soybeans were mostly shaped like soybeans and were similar in size to soybeans. , the shape and style are relatively single. As people's aesthetics continued to change, during the prosperous Tang Dynasty, coins, apricot kernel shapes, and various flower shapes also appeared on the face. Later, there were also bird and animal patterns. When a woman smiles, the dimples on her face make her look particularly beautiful, which makes her even more sought after and respected.
The sixth step is to draw slanting red. At first, slanting red was a red makeup painted on the temples. However, in the Tang Dynasty, women often painted slanting red on their faces, like a crescent moon, like a red scar, which has a kind of The morbid beauty of weakness.
Zhang Bi's "Zhuanglou Ji" records the origin of this makeup: "When I first entered the Wei Palace at night, I was blocked by a seven-foot crystal screen. Unconsciously, my face touched the screen, and the wounds were like Xiaoxia. Will disperse." Xue Yelai, a member of Emperor Wen's palace, accidentally bumped into a screen at night and his cheeks turned red. When Emperor Wen saw it, he felt pity for her. Later, the people in the palace rushed to imitate the painting with rouge, which was called "Xiaoxia makeup".
This look has been around ever since. By the time of the prosperous Tang Dynasty, due to the vigorous development of society, which was relatively stable and the policies were open, there were fewer restrictions on women. People's living standards have improved, women's desire to pursue beauty has become stronger, various makeup looks have emerged in endlessly, and slanted red has gradually become popular.
The seventh step is to apply lipstick. In ancient times, lipstick, lipstick and other red rouge painted on the lips were called "lipstick" and "lipstick". But in fact, lipstick is not the same as rouge. Rouge is a general term for red cosmetics that can be applied to the face or lips. Lipstick has been called since the Sui and Tang Dynasties. It added beef marrow and tallow to the original rouge to make it upper lip. The gloss is bright, so rouge does not just refer to lipstick. Lipstick has a bright color. When applied to the lips, it can change the color of the lips and make them more gorgeous, making the face whiter and more translucent, with good complexion. It also highlights the shape of the lips, giving people a healthy, young, lively and delicate feeling.
Lipstick was extremely important to women in ancient times. It had a very high status in women’s hearts and makeup was indispensable. "Lip dotting" is the main method of applying lipstick. Different from modern times, lipstick was not applied all over the lips at that time, but the less the lipstick was applied, the better. Its main feature is that it is petite and rich in color. It is best to be as small and red as the mouth of a cherry. "Red lips with a touch of peach blossom" are the red lips of a woman after applying lipstick described by Cen Shen in "Drunk Play with Dou Zi Beauty".
Women's buns in the Tang Dynasty also became more characteristic of the times with the development of society, becoming more diverse and diverse.
The main hairstyles for women in the early Tang Dynasty were: half-up bun, reverse bun, happy bun, etc. At this time, the Tang Dynasty was on the rise, cultural development was slow, and women’s hair styles were relatively simple. The style is relatively simple.
During the prosperous Tang Dynasty, women’s hairstyles became diverse. Commonly seen: Jinghong bun, Double-ring Wangxian bun, Flying bun, Upward bun, Hanging bun, etc. The most popular is the Japanese bun, which means combing the hair on the temples to the back of the head, and then sweeping it up to form a or There are two buns, and then they are tilted towards the forehead. Most of the female figurines in the prosperous Tang Dynasty had this bun.
High buns were popular in the Tang Dynasty, but your own hair could not be combed to this height, so wigs became popular in the Tang Dynasty. False crowns and hair pads made of wood were placed in the hair to raise the bun. , which was called "righteous bun" at that time. Women put beads and flower jewelry on their buns and then connect them to their hair to form a variety of high buns.
A high bun requires more beaded flowers for decoration. The flowers are light and beautiful. Women at this time especially like to arrange flowers for decoration. People in the Tang Dynasty also loved peonies, so many women from noble families in the Tang Dynasty would wear them. Peony flowers are placed on the bun to look noble and rich. In addition to larger flowers such as peonies, small hairpin flowers were also popular in the Tang Dynasty, such as small and white jasmine. The black-haired white flowers have a more contrasting color, and are decorated with small flowers for a light and natural beauty. The jasmine is fragrant and more It adds the elegance and beauty of the temples and the delicate feeling of women.
The rule of Zhenguan and the prosperous Kaiyuan era made the Tang Dynasty an extremely prosperous and prosperous dynasty. Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty was worshiped by all nations and congratulated from all directions. Chang'an is a metropolis in the world and an economic and cultural exchange center for various countries. Economic development also promotes cultural prosperity.
Women in the prosperous Tang Dynasty had various hairstyles and makeup, which were dignified and noble, and deeply reflected the prosperity of the country. The luxurious beaded hairpins on women's heads were mostly made of gold, silver or pearls and jade, which were extremely gorgeous and delicate.
Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty was known as the Khan of Heaven and attracted worship from all countries. This was not only because of the Tang Dynasty's strong national power, but also because of the Tang Dynasty's enlightened foreign policy and its gentle policy of treating everyone equally. At this time, the Tang Dynasty was also a big country in international trade. Envoys or merchants from foreign countries or other tribes often came to the DPRK for cultural exchanges or commodity trade. Cultural exchanges between tribes and countries were also very frequent at this time, and women's makeup and hair styles in the prosperous Tang Dynasty were also influenced by foreign cultures, forming hair styles such as Uighur bun, Wuman bun, Toijia bun, etc. These are typical Hu people's hair styles. Mode.
If there are continuous wars and smoke everywhere, the people will not deliberately pursue any sense of beauty, and will naturally be busy running for their lives every day. Women in the prosperous Tang Dynasty not only pursued the beauty of various hairstyles, but also spent a lot of money on rouge and powder, smeared on thick powder and put their hair in high buns, which fully reflected the prosperity and stability of the Tang Dynasty. , and the same goes for the woman’s dignified and mature bun, and her heavy and delicate makeup.
From the middle to late Tang Dynasty to the late Tang Dynasty, the country's economic strength gradually declined. After the Anshi Rebellion, the Tang Dynasty turned from prosperity to decline. Class conflicts deepened, governance became corrupt, national power declined sharply, and wars broke out.
The main styles of women's buns at this time include Cong bun, falling horse bun, high bun in the late Tang Dynasty, and Nao sweeping bun. It has become more complicated and complicated. It takes several hours to dress up, and all kinds of jewelry are decorated on the bun. It is extremely gorgeous and extravagant. The heavy weight of jewels and jade makes these women have to be supported even when walking, looking lazy and tired. But this is not a sign that the Tang Dynasty is still prosperous, but a sign of excessive waste of extravagant gold and jade, which is ruined on the outside.
A kind of makeup and hair seems to be just a pursuit of beauty by women, and they like gorgeous expressions, but it is also the history of cultural development of a dynasty and a country. It is the development of an era and the progress of culture. , the makeup and hairstyle of women in the Tang Dynasty were changing, and the society of the Tang Dynasty was also constantly developing and progressing.
The development of culture cannot be separated from the support of the economy. Economic development is the basic factor to measure the prosperity and strength of a country. What kind of social background can breed what kind of culture.
The makeup and hairstyles of women in the Tang Dynasty were complicated, gorgeous and noble, which was not only a manifestation of their pursuit of beauty, but also a symbol of the prosperity and development of an era.
The changes in women’s hair style and makeup are not only changes in women’s aesthetic views and popular culture in the Tang Dynasty, but also an insinuation of the development of the country. We can also see the development and decline of society in the Tang Dynasty from the changes and developments in women's makeup and hair styles in the Tang Dynasty. This change not only reflects the changes in culture, but also reflects the development and development of the economy, national power, policy, military, diplomacy and other fields. decline. Moreover, the cultural changes of this dynasty ranged from the promotion of Confucianism and Buddhism, the construction of schools, and the establishment of palace examinations to the changes in women's hairstyles and makeup, which can all reflect the development of this dynasty.
References:
1 "A Preliminary Study on Women's Makeup in the Tang Dynasty" Li Cuihua
2 "A Preliminary Study on Women's Clothing and Makeup in Tang Poems" Zhang Ying
3 "On the Facial Makeup and Hair Style of Women in the Tang Dynasty" Fan Qiang