is it difficult to wear shoes that don't distinguish between left and right? Don't! In ancient times, most materials used to make shoes were very soft, such as sandals and Ma Xie. Even if animal skins are used, they will be treated very soft. Moreover, the shoes worn by the ancients were relatively loose and the size was relatively large, so there was no phenomenon that they could not be worn or could not be worn. Interestingly, in ancient times, shoes didn't talk about size, only shoe size, which was called "number of feet".
although the shoes are not divided into left and right, the ancients still talked about left and right when buying shoes. When trying on shoes, you usually stretch your left foot first. As long as the left foot can be worn, the right foot need not be tried. This is because people's left foot is generally slightly longer than their right foot, just the opposite of their hands. In ancient times, some people were also famous for their unusually long left foot. For example, Sun Shuai, the prime minister of Chu State, recorded his "long left foot" in Xunzi's non-photo.
Because there is no distinction between left and right shoes, only one shoe last was used in ancient shoemaking. In fact, shoes are the same regardless of left and right in foreign countries. The history of western shoes is less than 2 years, and it appeared in America in 1818. China's first pair of leather shoes, born in 1876, was successfully trial-produced by Shen Binggen, a native of Pudong. It can be seen that the history of wearing shoes is short.
shoes that don't distinguish between left and right are also called "straight shoes" and "straight shoes". Why did the ancient people's shoes divide left and right? It may be related to ancient people's taboo to wear "Yuanyang shoes" of different colors and styles. In the eyes of the ancients, two shoes must be exactly the same, while two different "Yuanyang shoes" are regarded as unclean things, and only untouchables wear them, which is completely different from modern avant-garde people who deliberately wear them to show their fashion. People who collude with officials and bandits are commonly known as "black and white", and their origin is related to "Yuanyang shoes". In ancient times, shoes were strictly graded. For example, in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, even the color of shoes was strictly regulated. Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty, who had a far-reaching influence on ancient Chinese costume culture, once stipulated in the reform of costume system that the color of shoes should be "no blue, no blue and no white; Handmaiden attendants have no red or green, and offenders will be interrogated and beheaded. " For businessmen doing business, the Western Jin court stipulated that every philistine must wear white shoes on one foot and black shoes on the other. This pair of shoes is "mandarin duck shoes".
This phenomenon that a pair of shoes is divided into black and white was called "black and white" by the ancients. Because there are many businessmen, they like collusion between officials and businessmen, and the relationship is complicated, which leads to "black and white" in the modern sense.
why did the ancient toe cap have a high "toe"?
or "step by step" or a secret weapon with a hidden blade for female self-defense.
Although the ancients hated Yuanyang shoes, they did not hate Yuanyang. Yuanyang is regarded as "love birds", and it is not uncommon to embroider birds like Yuanyang on shoes as decoration. Especially after the Han and Tang Dynasties, it became a trend for women to decorate their shoes with mandarin duck patterns. Linghu Chu, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, said in his poem "Farewell": "Yuanyang shoes are woven with golden curtains." The "Yuanyang shoes" here are not Yuanyang shoes with different colors, but exquisite women's shoes with exquisite workmanship
Although the design of the shoes is not unique to China, it is a representative feature of ancient shoes in China. In ancient times, men's shoes and women's shoes were all upturned, and the difference was once "men's and women's circles". The upturned design of shoes appeared as early as ancient times. In the Han Dynasty, there was a revolutionary upturned design, which was called "upturned and upturned". Two pointed toe-splitting shoes were unearthed in the No.1 Han Tomb of Mawangdui in Changsha, Hunan Province and No.168 Han Tomb of Fenghuang Mountain in Jiangling, Hubei Province.
From then on, even shoes made of straw and hemp will be designed with high toes. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the style changes of women's shoes were mainly on the toe, or round or square or pointed, or divided into several petals, or added several layers, but they were all high toe designs. The design of upturned shoes is quite exquisite, such as the high-grade Gaotouyun, which takes white cloth as the shoe body, green cloth as the height, the upper of the cloud and green cloth as the left and right stripes, with six stripes on each side, symbolizing December. Even after the Five Dynasties, "Three-inch Golden Lotus" appeared, that is, pointed shoes worn by women who bound their feet, and the design of exposing their toes did not give up. Why did the ancients care about shoes sticking up? There are many ways in this. First of all, the toe cap and the sole are integrated, so that the sole and the upper are not easy to crack and wear. Moreover, the ancients often wore skirts and robes, and shoes could hold the skirts and would not fall when they stepped on the soles.
In fact, the toe design also contains the simple and beautiful wishes of the ancients. Is it "step by step" to wear shoes with high toes? In addition, the shoe design of upturned roof and the architectural design of ancient roof are actually a concept, which makes the light style of shoes stand out.
the secret of kicking shoes is not limited to this, but also self-defense. In the past, Miao women in Guizhou were more careful when making shoes, and hid the blade in the shoes. When they are sexually assaulted, this blade is a secret device to repel satyr and protect their chastity. This habit can still be found locally.
why did the poor in ancient times "borrow clothes instead of shoes"?
There have been several versions about the origin of "a whore"
In ancient times, it was not uncommon for the poor to borrow clothes to wear, but it was rare to borrow shoes, that is, to borrow clothes instead of shoes. This is because shoes are too cheap, grass and hemp can be used to make shoes, so there is no need to borrow them. Therefore, the ancient grass Ma Xie was nicknamed "Don't borrow".
In the past, women with bad style and bad manners were called "a whore". On its origin, the late scholar Hu Kao said in his novel Shanghai Beach: "What northerners call a whore actually refers to prostitutes in rural areas. Because they are really poor, prostitutes borrow clothes from others, but they can't borrow a pair of shoes, so they still have to wear their own broken shoes. This is the origin of a whore. "
In addition, there is another version of the origin of the word" whore ". It is said that it originated from the past eight hutongs in Beijing. Some prostitutes and prostitutes who provide sexual services to the poor often hang an embroidered shoe as a sign in their bedroom. Over time, embroidered shoes have become "a whore", and a whore has become a concrete reference. A whore, in the mouth of Beijingers, is also called "broken goods".
However, some people have questioned the above two statements. It is believed that the appearance of the word "whore" should be a variant concept of ancient sexual worship. In the eyes of the ancients, shoes are a symbol of female reproductive organs and an important symbol of sexual culture. The birth of this "sex symbol" is
related to the life experience of Hou Ji, the ancestor of the ancient Zhou Dynasty. Hou Ji's mother is Jiang Yuan, the first princess of Di Ku Gaoxin family. Jiang Yuan stepped on the giant's footprints, got pregnant and gave birth to Hou Ji. That is, in this historical record Zhou Benji, Jiang Yuan said "those who practice footprints and movements like pregnant women".
In the minds of ancient people, especially ancient women, shoes have always been associated with sex and marriage. Embroidered shoes, now regarded as "China shoes", were often used as auspicious things in ancient times and became a custom in Tang and Song Dynasties.
embroidered shoes are also called "embroidered shoes" and "embroidered shoes", and they are also called "Jin shoes" in southern Shanxi. The legend of embroidered shoes has something to do with it. After he finished his career, he asked the imperial concubine to embroider 1 kinds of flower and fruit patterns such as pomegranate flowers and peach blossoms on the vamp. At the same time, it is stipulated that women in Jin State should wear embroidered shoes when they get married. From then on, "embroidered shoes" became popular and became the reserved shoes of ancient women in China. In fact, embroidered shoes are not unique to the Han nationality, but also loved by ethnic minorities. For example, Maonan girls and boys will give each other "olive shoes" when they are engaged. When Mulao girls "walk the slope", they will secretly measure the size of their lover's feet, make a pair of embroidered shoes and give them to him as a promise when they meet next time.
why were ancient women keen on "shoemaking"?
Hong Xiuxie tried to play a lovesickness
In ancient times, shoes were also a divination tool, so-called "shoe divination". Shoes, in today's view, belong to a superstition, but the ancients were quite enthusiastic. For the eighth time, Jin Ping-mei hoped that the lover and the beautiful woman would occupy the ghost divination. When the monk Shao Fu-ling heard the obscene voice mentioned that Pan Jinlian used shoes for divination, he hoped that Ximen Qing would have fun: "I didn't expect Ximen Qing to come, so I scolded several ungrateful thieves. Ruthless, take off two sons of Hong Xiuxie and use your hands to your feet, and try to make an acacia divination.
Pu Songling, Qing, and Liaozhai's strange story "Fengyang Scholar" also has the plot of making shoes. My husband didn't come back after going out for half a year. The young woman sang, "Take off makeup at dusk, and the west wind outside the window is cold. Listen to the sound of bananas, Mao Mao Rain. Where did you knock your teeth with others? Looking at autumn water, you can't see home. I was in tears. I miss him and hate him. I have Hong Xiuxie's divination book in my hand. " As for how to use shoes for divination in ancient times, different places have different divination methods.
Divination with shoes or divination related to foot binding is a very unique form of divination popular among ancient women. Women often use it to predict when their husbands or lovers will come back or not. The quality of a shoe depends on the toe and the orientation of the toe.
Li Kaixian, a dramatist, smiled and scattered his shoes in the last four lines of his divination poem, saying, "No, heel to heel. When the season comes, the head is holding the knot, the T-shape is full, and the character is open. "
shoes are also very popular among ethnic minorities. In the past, Yao people in Guangxi had an engagement ceremony of "collecting shoes", which was also a kind of shoe cloth: after both men and women were interested, they went home to make a wooden slipper. If they can match, it will be God's will; Otherwise, it is discord.
The bride's "wearing shoes" in Guizhou is typical. In the past, Miao girls had to wear sandals when they got married. It is not that they have no money to buy good shoes, but that they have to try on shoes before they can get married. Choose a long, white "sticky rice grass" and ask those people in the stockade whose parents are alive and children are full to give themselves a pair of straw sandals from the talent pool with aspirations to be in charge. When they get married, they will wear these sandals to their parents' home, and when they return home, they will wear these sandals to their parents' home.
After putting on sandals and walking around, she took them off, and looked at the wear of soles, toes, shoes and heels, to see which ones were worn out first and which ones were solid and undamaged, so as to predict the good and bad luck in her life.