Talking about the beards of the ancients from the perspective of cultural relics-In the 17th issue of Red Flag by Shen Congwen, there was an article on Logic and Language written by Mr. Wang Li, which was quite heavy. I didn't understand logic and linguistics, so I had little say in this respect. However, there is a passage about the history of beard and the ancient people's aesthetic view of beard, which is not consistent with all our common sense of cultural relics. I'd like to discuss some different opinions. If they are right, they may be used for reference when the author rewrites the cited examples. If they are wrong, please let Mr. Wang give us your advice and learn from each other.
There are three main points in Na's comment on Chang, and the quotations are as follows:
1. Han men wore beards in ancient times, not because they liked beards, but because they had to grow beards as men.
2. The poem Mo Shang Sang written by the ancient Yuefu said, "When the traveler saw Luo Fu, he laid his shoulder on his beard." It can be seen that every man who walked with a burden at that time had a beard.
3. A good beard is one of the characteristics of a handsome man, so Han Shu called Emperor Gaozu "bearded".
I don't understand the boundaries of "ancient times" mentioned by Mr. Wang. I don't know which dynasty space refers to: Xia, Shang, Zhou ... which dynasty, and men must grow beards? Is there any reliable literature and other materials to prove it?
Secondly, just because those two sentences in Yuefu poems describe that every man who walked with a burden in ancient times had a beard, can this reasoning be established? Or is there other reliable evidence to be so sure?
thirdly, the interpretation of the word "bearded" seems to be only a compliment of "having a good beard", which has little to do with the characteristics of "handsome man" in Han and Wei dynasties. Are there any other documents and other documents to prove?
The following article also says: "You don't grow a beard until you are middle-aged." According to the language, future generations are naturally regarded as Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. Is this true? Or is there a document or a physical object to prove it?
the first generalization of private meaning is groundless, the second inference is less convincing, and the third explanation is not appropriate. If the writing is not precise enough, it is easy to misunderstand, and the cited examples are illogical, specious and more different from the facts, which is worthy of commercial poetry.
There are a lot of books about the beard problem of the ancients, so this paper doesn't intend to quote more, 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 materials, which may explain the following four things: First, ancient men did not necessarily have to grow beards. Second, in a certain historical period, due to the influence of the general atmosphere or aesthetic concept, the beard has indeed been gradually valued. What is the general style? What are the different developments? Literature is insufficient, and we can get some knowledge from other aspects. At a certain time in the Middle Ages, it suddenly did not pay attention to it, and there were also reasons. There are beards in the three rooms, which are related to Yingwu in some periods, which is certain, but there are not necessarily men in the room. For a long time, on the contrary, some people have more beards and lower status. But it is by no means everyone who carries the burden has a beard. Fourth, there have been new changes in the beard style since the Jin and Tang Dynasties, but middle-aged or elderly people, that is, famous ministers and officials, do not necessarily keep it. This trend continued until the late Qing Dynasty.
First of all, we can analyze some cultural relics left over from the Shang Dynasty. There are several carved jade heads in the Forbidden City, which were newly unearthed in Hunan. There are several heads on a bronze tripod. In addition, there are several bronze knives, gongs and cymbals handed down from ancient times, which all reflect the heads of people, and several clay slave figurines were excavated in Henan, which tells us that there is nothing that must be regulated about beards in the Yin and Shang Dynasties. They are both rulers, some with bare chins and some with beards on their lips. Two materials can also be used to prove that the beard has little to do with personal status, because a stone sculpture with a fancy coat and a flowered hat was unearthed in Anyang, and the same chin was bare as another slave with shackles (if the material age is beyond doubt, we can use it as a hypothesis, this period, The more important things are as follows: First, Houma, Shanxi Province found two people in mud, dressed in clothes, obviously men with certain status, and there was no trace of beards. 2. Two painted deep instruments unearthed from Chu Tomb in Changtaiguan, Xinyang, Henan Province. There are some figures of music and dance, hunting, and nobles painted on it, and there is no beard. 3. In recent twenty years, a large number of painted wooden figurines of Chu Tomb of Warring States Period have been unearthed in Changsha. Most of the men have a little beard, regardless of whether they are dressed in civil or military clothes. They have two small "Rendan beards" on the top, or "William" style, with the tip slightly upturned, while some have a little chin extraction, while others have nothing left. There are more than 1 kinds of the same image, which shows that there must be a certain relationship with the fact that only a certain area in the country likes fashion, which is not accidental (if an artist uses it as a reference for the statue of Qu Yuan, he will make a historic mistake). But there are also many big ones who don't have beards. In addition, the Forbidden City also has a material handed down from ancient times for reference, that is, the paper "The Map of Women's Benevolence and Wisdom" based on the biographies of women, on which there are a series of famous historical figures in the Spring and Autumn Period, several of whom have the same Rendan-style eight-character beard, and some of them are not confused and do not have beards. This picture scroll was handed down as the manuscript of Kai in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. If we link the beard style with the dressing system analysis, the manuscript may be as early as the Western Han Dynasty, that is, based on the four screen paintings at that time (perhaps even earlier, because the beard style is not the same as that of the Han Dynasty). In addition, there is a new mural of the Western Han Dynasty 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 a little rule of expressing the images of historical figures at that time, such as when painting the ancient warrior Tian Nanjiang, Gu Zhizi, he often painted the image of beard and anger to show his valor. The stone carvings of Wuliangci also follow this example. The introduction, reflected in the mirror of Shaoxing statue in the Wei Dynasty, is mostly the same as that of the capable Meng Ben on the stone mound of Nanhan tomb in Dongpo, a mountainous area, and the Zi Lu in the "Seventy-two Sages" written by later generations. If you are a famous scholar, you usually only have two moustaches, or they are parted or drooping. In short, you have to choose to leave a little. It is not far from the story of the filial son on the edge of the painted lacquer basket unearthed in North Korea whether it is reflected in the lacquer casket of the chariots and horses in Changsha or the mural of the Han tomb in Yingchengzi, Liaoyang, Liaoning. At the same time, there is still nothing left. That is to say, from the Shang Dynasty to the Han Dynasty in ancient times, there was a lot of room for expansion and contraction of beards, and some of them were voluntary in self-study and were not restricted by laws or certain habits. I really don't see Mr. Wang's statement 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 reflect the image of working people in a concrete way, such as hunting, fishing, cultivating land, boiling salt, raking water, playing music and many masters who are cutting fish and burning meat. Few of them have beards. It's hard to say that everyone who carried the burden at that time had to grow a beard. At that time, there were indeed some beards, such as gatekeepers, servants, and Wu Bo, the predecessor of Hogo, who had a lot of beards, but the rulers were in the middle and upper classes. There are also many other famous narratives in music poems: "Being a white man has a lot of needs", which is not more or less like that. Proved? Mr. Wang's third point can't be established either, because according to some materials, that is, judging from common sense, it can be seen that the feudal ruler at that time would never be willing to be in the middle and lower reaches himself, but instead let his janitor and pawn have the upper hand and monopolize the workshop with men!
In fact, there is still an opposite trend that is worth noting, that is, beards have been neglected for a long time since Wei and Jin Dynasties. There are many reasons, and detailed analysis and extension is not the purpose of this article. Roughly speaking, it has a certain relationship with the young royal family and eunuchs' favor and autocracy. In literary works, such as Biography of Officials in the Later Han Dynasty, Biography of Han Dynasty, Biography of consorts and Gan Bao's General Introduction to the Jin Dynasty, Records of the Five Elements of the Jin Dynasty, Bao Puzi, Shi Shuo Xin Yu, Yan's Family Instructions and Mianxue Pian. By this time, there was still a beard, which not only could not be the object of beauty in the upper class, but on the contrary, it had become a joke in musical comedies. The main role of Wenkang Dance is a slightly drunk beard. In addition, there is a drunken lion, and a bearded foreigner! Can we say that this is a characteristic of a handsome man? Can't say.
In fact, even in the early Han Dynasty, Zhang Liang's beauty was like a woman, and Chen Ping's beauty was like a crown jade. Although it was not particularly impressive in historical records, there was no irony. When he arrived in the Three Kingdoms, Zhuge Liang intended to say that "a beard is not as superior as a super gentleman" in order to ease Guan Yu's concern. However, Dian Lue said that the yellow turban insurrectionary in Montenegro is handsome, and the beard-hugger calls himself "a beard root". According to historical records, when Cao Cao saw all the Huns, he was ashamed of his ordinary form and quality, which was not enough to serve the people far away. He specially invited Qu Yan to take the charge, and I was waiting for him with a knife. At that time, the intention was that Qu Yan was tall and had a good beard. If you have style, you will win the respect of all Huns, but the result is not successful. Because even though the Huns with hairy faces were all impressed by Cao Cao's recent situation, they still said that it was extraordinary to choose Zan's side to carry a knife as a British man, but they did not admit how outstanding Qu Yinpin was. It is recorded that 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 offer Qi Gaodi? Must be a rope; It can be proved that there were various protection measures for beards at that time. But there is still a man's relationship with him. On the contrary, the society became increasingly morbid during the Wei and Jin Dynasties. Therefore, "He Lang powder, Xun Ling incense" with men and women gentle and lovely unexpectedly for a time there is a standard. When historical biography narrates this point, despite its profound sarcasm, this morbid aesthetic view of men continues to have a significant impact in society. Until the end of the Northern and Southern Dynasties. This tells the story of women throwing fruit all over the street in Pan An, thinking about entering the market, throwing stones by crowds and other narratives. 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 before his death. After his death, he donated it to the South China Sea only Huan Temple and put it on the statue of Vimalakīrti. Although the monk took good care of it, he fought a hundred herbs for Princess Anle as a plaything in the Tang Dynasty. It can be said that people were dead and had to use waste. It's not difficult to recruit. However, in the Five Hus and Sixteen Countries, when the conflicts among the northern Hu ethnic groups were fierce, it was not clearly recorded in history that people with high noses and beards met each other at a certain time, that is, they did not ask about the reasons.
after arriving in the north of Tuoba's family in Yuan Wei, beards should be valued, but they are not. Try to look at the characters reflected in a large number of stone carvings, clay sculptures and murals, and most of them are always bare. It can be known that the northern Hu nationality, even in middle age, mostly did not grow a beard. Handed down from ancient times, Beiqi School Book Map painted portraits of Wei Shou and others. There are also several people who have no beards, and the groom is the most bearded in the painting.
As for the scholar's moustache, it hangs down with the trend, which laid the foundation for the later three or five beards. At the same time, there are still places where the old man does not have a beard and the literature is insufficient. Cultural relics can still help, and there are materials to prove it. In addition to the part of the brick portrait in Luoyang, Han Dynasty, the newly unearthed useful and important materials should be the two men who painted brick tombs at the entrance of the tomb in the Southern Dynasties in Deng County, Henan Province in recent years, holding swords. The image of a senior martial artist dressed in two armor and a robe. Secondly, there is the image of a group of big reeds in the lower part of the Tang Dynasty Zhenguan mural in Cave 22 in Dunhuang, which is the audience listening to the law. This mural is very realistic. It may be based on the images of Emperor Taizong and Eighteen Bachelor of Hongwenguan painted by Yan Liben brothers. The most important thing is that there are several ministers. People are well past middle age, but they don't have a beard. Some of them are handsome, but their beards hang down honestly. In short, it is an established fact that Taizong was born with campus. Painting Wei Chijingde as a hairy beard to show his valor, we can't see that beards are one of the characteristics of handsome men. Generally, hairy beards are still shown to people with lower status. Such as Han Yu's "Double Horse Map", the groom's "Xiao Yi Earns Lanting Map", the brew tea Huotougong, and the Silechang who holds the clappers in the zhang wan mural at the end of Xianyang, all look so gloomy and green on their faces.
So has there really been some change since the middle Tang Dynasty, such as? Mr. Wang said that people must grow beards in middle age? Actually, it's still not true. There are some portraits of famous ministers in the past dynasties at hand, because the times may be late and unreliable, so I don't want to quote them. However, the Nine Old Pictures of Xiangshan painted by Song people have many famous people in their seventies and eighties, and their chins are still bare. In addition, "Luoyang Senior Citizen Drawing" and "Xiyuan Yaji Drawing" are based on the current events drawn by people at that time, which should be quite reliable. It can still be seen that there are quite a few people who are over 4 without beards, just like the portraits of Gu Tinglin, Huang Lizhou and Pu Liuxian later.
I think it is also very meaningful to try to make some common-sense explorations on this small problem from the reality, which can at least give us some insights:
First, although the beard problem is a trivial matter, it is difficult to say it, but academic experts know all about it. If the writing occasionally involves its history, it is impossible without some practical investigation and research. And easy to make mistakes.
Second, studying the ancient system of dressing up, daily use, production, labor, carriage, horse and boat, and its application can really help us to inspire new knowledge and revise ancient books, and get many useful things, which deserves the attention of the current intentional scholars to Deng. There are too many deficiencies in ancient literature. If we can raise the research method of comprehensive cultural relics and literature to a level of awareness, we can encourage some young people who study literature and history and have certain knowledge of literature to break away from convention, face the cultural relics unearthed in the past ten years and the cultural relics handed down from ancient times, and boldly and seriously explore the problems for ten or eight years. If there is any gap or little convergence in the study of China's cultural history, we will certainly expect many new discoveries and enrichment, and hope that new research will be made. To be a pioneer.
Third, seeing the big picture since childhood, because China has a long history, it is difficult to understand any problem in isolation by literature. Some problems are still completely empty, and some are later forgotten, resulting in a specious impression, which 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 it with cultural relics and documents to get a more reliable new conclusion. 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, which is confirmed by the combination of cultural relics and documents, is it confusing? Are there any disadvantages in winning? I think we can know from the results. Personally speaking, my ideological level is low, I have read very few ancient books, and I only know a little about cultural relics. I have done a good job in research and my achievements are naturally limited. Even if we talk about it, we will always make mistakes and need to correct them. However, experts and scholars in domestic literature and history are willing to break away from traditional research.