In the pre-Qin period, the Chinese nation wore large silk woven belts and leather belts around the waistbands of clothing for hanging accessories or daily necessities. Before the Jin Dynasty, the Central Plains area mainly used large silk-woven belts with elaborate patterns, and used buckles and decorative plates to tie narrow belts at the ends of the belts. During the Jin Dynasty, the northern nomads generally used the "fleece belt", which was later introduced to the Central Plains and gradually popularized by the Han people.
The clothing of the Sui Dynasty adopted the "Eastern Qi's Law", and the "Flying Belt" was widely used. In the Tang Dynasty, the belts worn by emperors, concubines, and civil and military officials began to have institutional designs. They began to use gold, jade, and silver to decorate the belts, and used them to distinguish official ranks. At the same time, leather belts have developed into A style of official clothes. After the development of the Song Dynasty, this belt system became an important part of the official uniform system of the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties.
A complete "feeling belt" is composed of belts, buckles, belts and belt tails.
buckle, equipped with a movable buckle tongue and a connecting strap, mostly made of metal materials.
belt, a sheet-shaped ornament affixed to the surface of the belt, with a variety of materials such as gold, jade, and silver. There is a ring on it, which is used to tie. "?" Originally refers to the decorative leather strips hanging from the saddle, which was later used on the belts of herders to hang small tools and objects. Therefore, "蹀躞 Belt" is also known as "? Belt".
with tail, also known as otter tail, tart tail, thallium tail, insert tail or fish tail. The sheath attached to the end of the leather belt has a square at one end and an arc at the tail.
From its original form, it can be seen that "Taiwan" was originally a kind of clothing adapted to the lifestyle of the northern nomads. After being used by the Han people, it developed into a symbol for distinguishing officials. The shape has also changed. The ring on the decorative plate is no longer used. , ?, lost the practical function of life. The exquisite belt no longer has practical functions, but only serves as a decoration. Its texture and quantity have become a symbol of the user's identity and status. This change mainly occurred in the middle of the Tang Dynasty.
In March 1978, the members of the first production team of the Lianxi Brigade of Meijiang Commune, Suichuan County, Jiangxi Province excavated an ancient tomb in the process of reclaiming wasteland on the outskirts of the village. The tomb contained various precious burial objects of gold, silver and copper. , Such as one side of the Huzhou six-arc mirror, a copper and silver box cover, a copper slag bucket, 19 brick-carved figurines of "Mingqi Shensha" and broken silver ornaments, "Daguantongbao" copper coins and so on. Among them, there are two most important things that have attracted people's attention. The same is a set of gold ribbons with a total of 13 buckles, and the same is a stone tombstone with one-third remaining.
When the gold belt plate was unearthed, the belt? No longer existed. There are 13 pieces of buckle, including one large belt buckle, small belt buckle, peach shape, and belt tail. Nine pieces in a row.
The strip plate is made of gold and silver hammer high embossing technique popular in Song Dynasty of China. The front of the large buckle and the small buckle and the side edges of the buckle frame are all hammered with embossed peony patterns, and the back frame is hammered with money patterns and roe ground, and bas-relief-style entwined flowers are hammered. The small buckle is missing the tongue; the nine rows of squares and peach and fish tail boards are all hammered and hammered to produce high-relief imperial flower and fruit patterns. There are 5, 3, and 9 imperial flowers and fruits respectively, and the number is arranged The size varies depending on the volume. The imperial fairy flower leaf pattern is bas-relief, and the convex surface is not high.
All the frames with plates are inlaid with a sandwich method, and the frames are enclosed by a welding process. Except for the large and small buckles, the backs of the other belts are exposed.
After archaeology and cultural relics experts research and textualize the incomplete epitaphs unearthed from the ancient tombs and other cultural relics, it is confirmed that the tomb is a Song tomb; compare the tomb owner's birthplace, time of entry, official experience, official rank and other information contained in the incomplete epitaph to confirm the owner of the tomb Guo Zhizhang, a member of the same generation of Wang Anshi in the middle and late Northern Song Dynasty, is the official to the "three grades" of Guo Zhizhang.
Guo Zhizhang (1039一1114), the name Ming Shu, was born in Longquan County, Luling County, Jizhou in the Song Dynasty (now Yutian Town, Suichuan County, Ji'an City, Jiangxi Province). According to historical records, Guo Zhizhang was the eleventh grandson of Guo Ziyi, a famous general in the Tang Dynasty.
Guo Zhizhang was smart and eager to learn since he was a child, and was a jinshi in the second year of Emperor Song Yingzong (1065). Previously held various positions as local officials and court officials, from officials to the Ministry of Criminal Affairs, known as Kaifeng Mansion, Feng Hanlin Bachelor, Xianmo Pavilion Direct Bachelor, and 900 households in Shiyi. He was an official in the four dynasties of Yingzong, Shenzong, Zhezong, and Huizong. He was an official for more than 40 years. He died of illness for four years (1114). The Huizong appointed Cheng Qi, the Zhizhou of Luling County, Jizhou, to go to Longquan to declare and mourn.
History called Guo Zhizhang "superior in instrument and ritual", "deciding things to be clear and clear", doing things well and being upright. He resolutely supported Wang Anshi's reform. After he was promoted to Yushi, he played more than a hundred titles, saying that "all the courts are generally related." He is the author of more than 20 volumes of essays with a poetic style and a peculiar style of poetry.
The official service belt system of the Song Dynasty is an important stage in the history of the Chinese service belt system, but the unearthed and surviving objects are rare. This set of belt plates has the exact place of land and the exact owner. It is the highest grade and the only complete Northern Song gold belt plate that has been discovered so far. It has important specimen value for studying the belt decoration system of the Song Dynasty. .
Although the Sui dynasty has generally used the "蹀躞带", but there is no specific and detailed belt system.
At that time, the belt system was simple, and the emperor's court clothes were like the "Hundred Officials' Ordinary Clothes". Only the thirteen ring gold belt was the most noble "Emperor's Clothes".
Tang Gaozu first made a clear stipulation on belts: “Jade leather belts for decorations of grade three and above, gold leather belts for grades four and five, silver leather belts for grades six and seven, and stone, copper, and iron decorations for grades eight, nine and common people. Leather belt."
Tang Gaozong made more specific regulations on the quality and quantity of belts: "Civil and military officers above rank three, golden jade belt, 12; rank four, golden belt, eleven; rank five, golden belt, ten; rank six, seven, and silver belt , Nine... the common man wears a brass iron belt, six."
Tang Ruizong adjusted the belt production: "Rain 1 to 5 use gold, 6 and 7 both silver, 8 and 9 both use stone."
The clothing belt system in the Tang Dynasty had a certain influence on the belt system in the Song Dynasty.
After the Northern Song Dynasty was established, a new official service system was established. Song history records that there is "there are jade, gold, silver, rhinoceros, copper, iron, horn, stone, black jade, etc., each with equal differences."
In the third year of Taiping Xingguo (978), Song Taizong established Wensiyuan, which specializes in manufacturing internal and reward belts. Subsequently, the Hanlin scholar Chengzhi Li established a unique hierarchy of official belts in the Song dynasty, using Jin to replace jade, setting the golden belt as the main service belt for the most senior officials, and vigorously favoring civil servants.
Since then, the Zhenzong and Renzong dynasties have supplemented this system. Before the restructuring of Song Shenzong Yuanfeng, the service system was very detailed and strict. For officials of different levels and types, the texture, ornamentation and weight of the belts are different, and the belts already have the function of replenishing the clothes for the offspring.
On the eve of Song Shenzong Yuanfeng’s restructuring, the Northern Song Dynasty official leadership system was basically finalized.
The biggest difference between the Northern Song gold belt and the previous dynasty is that it not only distinguishes the official rank by the texture and quantity of the belt, but also distinguishes it by the decoration, weight and attachment (fish bag) of the belt.
as recorded in "Songhui to compile drafts? Yufu 5":
"Fan Xin except Enqing, ministers, privy envoys, knowing about the affairs of the Privy Council, participating in the affairs of the government" and other first-rank court officials "given the golden wat head twenty-five taels, and the deputy with the fish bag. The military court imperial flower fairy belt, no fish bag "...... The court officials, such as the Imperial Academy, the Hanlin Bachelor, and Yushi Zhongcheng, "and gave twenty-two golden imperial flowers."
"The civil servants changed their military ministers and gave 15 taels of painted gold and silver aquariums... The enshrined officials went to the temple with twelve lychees, and they served and borrowed the post of two deer. The official after the hall was newly granted 15 taels of painted gold and silver aquariums."
"Song History? Yufuzhi" and "Documents Tongkao" detailed the actual situation of the patterns and decorations of the official gold belts in the Northern Song Dynasty. The two documents contained a total of five types of single-tailed gold belts, ten types of single-tailed gold and silver belts, and double-tailed gold and silver belts. There are eight types of tail gold straps and four types of double tails coated with gold and silver, a total of 27 types. The pattern is decorated with Wulu (Figure 9), Yuxianhua, Shiman, Haijie, Treasure, Heavenly King, Eight Immortals, Rhino, Aquarius, Shuanglu, Xinghu, Noodle, Xitong, Coriander, Phoenix, Baoxiang There are a total of 17 species of flowers and wild horses.
Figure 9 The gold belt around the waist of a wood-carved military officer in the Ming Dynasty is of the Song Dynasty pattern
The imperial fairy flower belt is the most common one of the high-grade gold belts in the Northern Song Dynasty, and later known as the "lychee belt".
The tomb of Guo Zhizhang in Song Dynasty in Jiangxi, the tomb of Lu Shimeng in Yuan Dynasty in Jiangsu, and the tomb of Kings of Xixia in Ningxia No. 8 have all unearthed the Golden Immortal Flower Belt.
The golden imperial flowers of the Northern Song Dynasty come in four types: twenty-five taels, twenty taels, fifteen taels, and twelve taels.
Its ornamentation is a three-dimensional high-relief flower and fruit pattern, with fine dots on the top of the flower and fruit, which resembles a lychee. The branches and stems are rolled with gold flakes and are intertwined in two layers. They are continuous and exquisite art treasures.
After the Southern Song Dynasty, "there were many gifts, and the craftsman was a new skill, so the imperial flower branches and leaves were slightly multiplied, and the lychee was changed, but the leaves were extremely province." Therefore, "silkhead lychee" and "tick-stem lychee" appeared. Wait for the new style.
At the same time, this set of strips has exquisite craftsmanship and unique decorative techniques, and it is also of important specimen value for the study of gold and silver processing techniques in the Song Dynasty. This set of strip plates uses many traditional techniques such as hammering, welding, and engraving.
During the Tang Dynasty, the gold processing technique of Sassan and Sogdian in West Asia-the hammer method was introduced to China from the "Silk Road". This method uses the malleability of gold and silver to hammer the gold and silver blocks into pieces with a hammer, and then place them on the utensils or molds to squeeze and hammer, and the front of the ornaments will form uneven patterns. Generally, the gold sheet will be lined with a die.
The set of straps has an exact time of use, which is of important specimen value for studying the evolution of the Song Dynasty balance system. According to documentary records and existing Song and Yuan Tongbao in the early Northern Song Dynasty and physical evidence, the weight of Jin Liang in the early Northern Song Dynasty inherited the Tang Chuheng system, and the hexadecimal system was implemented, that is, 16 taels were one jin, and one jin weighed 680 grams.
The weight of scale used in Chang'an City in the late Tang Dynasty (Dali time) was reduced by 8.4% compared with that in the early Tang Dynasty, and the weight per catty dropped to 623 grams. The history of the Song Dynasty repeats itself, repeating the development and changes of the Tang Dynasty's balance system. In the middle of the Song Dynasty, a catty was reduced from 680 grams in the early Song Dynasty to 640 grams in the Jiao era, which was nearly 6% lighter. At the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, silver collars were a little more than 40 grams or 40 grams per two, that is, a little more than 640 grams per catty or 640 grams were in the majority. By the early Southern Song Dynasty, one catty had fallen to 625 grams, only a little more than 39 grams per two.
Guo Zhizhang's "Three Grades of Official Residence" is a Hanlin bachelor's level. According to the incumbent rank, he should only admire twenty-two belts, but this belt is twenty-five belts, which should be a golden belt given after death.
The belts with different textures and patterns are not only important signs of the etiquette system and official rank at the time, but also have rich cultural connotations, showing the cultural psychology and aesthetic taste of the people at that time, and also embodying the superb manual processing skills of the ancestors of the Chinese nation. . Source: "Oriental Collection"