Tang Dynasty Lady's Fashion ❀ 唐代女装
Art by 陸曼陀 Danling★Lu
Music: A Ballad in the Moonlight
Mid Tang (766－835) Uyghur Princess: Uyghurs were one of the primary Tang allies, and ties between the Tang and the Uyghur Khaganate strengthened after the An Lushan Rebellion. With the loss of the Tang Anxi Protectorates in the west to the Tibetans, the Uyghur/ Tang alliance rebalanced the ascendancy of the Tibetan Empire. Major marriages were concluded during the reign of Dezong of Tang. After the collapse of the Uyghur Khaganate, diplomatic marriages again took place between Uyghur princesses and the Tang remnant holdout of Guiyi Circuit.
Early Tang (618－713) dynasty lady, reign of Empress Wu (Zhou)
High Tang (713－766) dynasty attendant. Reign of Xuanzong Emperor
Early Tang (618－713) dynasty lady, reign of the founding Tang Emperors. Still bearing strong reminisce to the fashion of the previous northern dynasties. Many such examples of fashion from dolls are discovered in the Astana Necropolis near Turpan- Xinjiang.
Early Tang (618－713) dynasty lady, reign of the founding Tang Emperors. Many such examples of fashion from dolls are discovered in the Astana Necropolis near Turpan- Xinjiang.
High Tang (713－766) dynasty noblewoman. Reign of Xuanzong Emperor. During the High Tang period, the hairstyle changed radically and women's hair assumed the shape of a mushroom cap (sometimes capped with a lotus bud shaped crown) Heavy set women were greatly preferred in this era.
Middle Tang (766－835) dynasty lady
Middle Tang (766－835) dynasty attendant.
High Tang (713－766) dynasty lady. Reign of Xuanzong Emperor
Early Tang (618－713) dynasty attendant, reign of the founding Tang Emperors.
Late Tang (835－907) dynasty lady with halo of gilded hairpins.
A quick guide of the Tang eras mentioned.
There are 4 periods within the nearly 3 centuries of the Tang dynasty. Which are:
❀ ~Early Tang, (618－713)
❀ ~High Tang, (713－766)
❀ ~Mid Tang (766－835)
❀ ~Late Tang. (835－907)
❀ EARLY TANG (618－713)
~The Early Tang saw much vigorous expansion and consolidation of the empire under the 1st 3 Tang emperors, Gaozu, Taizong, and Gaozong.
During the reign of Gaozong, his powerful wife Wu Zetian began to exorcise a great deal of power behind the throne and arranged for several weak willed sons (Zhongzong and Ruizong) to be placed upon the throne where she could rule through them. After tiring of these puppets she usurped the throne and declared herself empress (The Zhou dynasty). However Wu eventually abdicated and returned power to her sons.
Most of the court women dressed plainly and unpretentiously during the early reigns of the Tang emperors and had tall hairdos.
❀ HIGH TANG (713－766)
~High Tang was directly pegged to the 50+ year long reign of emperor Xuanzong. The height of his reign saw great prosperity and flourishing of art and culture in China (the Kaiyuan era) However the disastrous An Lushan Rebellion caused a realm- wide war and ended the High Tang.
During the High Tang period, the hairstyle changed radically and women's hair assumed the shape of a mushroom cap (sometimes capped with a lotus bud shaped crown) Heavy makeup and heavy set women were greatly preferred in this era.
❀ MID TANG (766－835)
~Mid Tang continued from the An Lushan Rebellion. The Rebellion was put down but the Tang was wracked with external as well as (later) major internal problems. During this time the stricken Tang struggled to preserve its hold and contended with its challengers with mixed results.
This is reflected in the fashion of both the imperial court as well as those of friendly aligned states.
❀ LATE TANG (835－907)
~Late Tang began when the Tang emperors were largely made into puppets within their own courts and the regional governors asserted great control as warlords. The power of the imperial court eroded and the dynasty was unraveled by the wars of the warlord- governors. Nearly 70 years of civil war would follow suit.
By the late Tang the fashion of the women became very ornate, including a divergent assort of styles (some very reminiscent of Japanese geishas)
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Late Tang (835－907) dynasty lady with elaborate hairpins
Comments
three Greatest Chinese Empire.( ૢ- ꇴ - ૢ)~ෆ
Liu(刘),Li(李),Zhu(朱)
Its all have royals,like Shu Han/Minor Han、Guiyi circuit-Western Xia,Koxinga/Tungning.
F·Zhao-Xiongnu,L·Zhao-Jie,Liu Song-Baiyue,
F·Qin&L·Qin-Di/Qiang(Tibeto-burman),
N·Wei-Xianbei,Liao-Khitan,
W·Xia-Tangut(Tibeto-burman),
Song-Shatuo,Jinn-Jurchen,
Yuan-Mongol,Qing-Manchu.
I'm Chinese, but I grew up outside of China and nobody ever told me about the rich culture and history of China. It's super interesting to read!
Also, I wanted to ask if the little symbols on the forehead of these women mean anything? And if there are any symbols that are used for special occasions? I'm not sure, but someone once told me that they're flower, is that correct?
A lot of times they were floral designs. Personally I am not so sure. Though if I have to be speculative about it I think they had influences from Buddhism and Buddhist practices.
Larglely regionalist pride and an overcompensation to shore up the legitimacy of Wu's state. The Wu families were Louyang natives- or at least Natives of Henan with a lineage that supposedly stretches as far back as the nobles of the Zhou dynasty. Because of this nativist pride, and the fact that the Eastern Zhou capital was sited at Luoyang for nearly 5 centuries as the center of the state there is a parallel. Of course later Luoyang was also the capital of the Eastern Han when Gwangwu Empeorr made it the center of his court.
Calling it Zhou also served to consecrate Wu's regime with a sense of cultural purity. In drawing association with the cultural foundation of much of classical China. For it was during the Zhou that much of China's culture was crystalized. However the fact that Wu was attempting to "Make China Great Again" while in the midst of China's golden Ages was kind of presumptive. Tang was not only a higher benchmark but ironically the people who came after her~ especially Xuanzong will take the dynasty to new heights.
相貌:容颜瑰伟，雅量瑰姿
名言:混六合以一家，同有形于赤子
功绩:诛暴君、统一北方、占领巴蜀、收复西域、广建太学、兴修水利、推广区种法、全面汉化、修改弊政、开创建元之治、六十二国来朝
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Regionalist pride? Interesting. Loyang was the city founded by the Duke of Zhou and later became the capital, but I didn't know regional pride extending all the way back to the Duke of Zhou existed during the Tang period. Fascinating. The same reason An Lu Shan chose 'Yan' as the name of this regime/dynasty because he ruled the Beijing region. But it's interesting that Chinese of those times still remembered the old Warring States polities. Very interesting indeed. So the Song was the last dynasty to name their dynasty after an old Warring State, after that with the Yuan and Ming and Qing that ended. A pity. There is so much heritage and history with the old Warring States, the Chinese equivalent of the current European nation-states. Europe never united into one long lasting empire despite Justinian, Charlemagne, the Hapsburgs, Napoleon and Hitler so their regional nations were preserved. I sometimes think it would be nice if China followed the destiny of Europe (and Europe followed China's pattern in unity) with Ying Zheng of Qin failing, or Xiang Yu of Western Chu defeating Liu Bang and China maintained those distinctive regional states like Europe did. Interesting alternative history I think. Someone should write a book about that.
Well if China did it would be like India today, or at most be like EU today. Still strong local traditions on a federalist level while a tad too much of regional autonomy.
But on practical terms aside from entertaining it as a fantasy for such a geographically inward location its a bit redundant. I'd hate to see too much petty feudal politics during times of peace, all those overlapping claims and succession wars in the states. It's a bit redundant, after all feudal politics is almost like legalized mini civil wars, each time one of the nobles has a succession dispute they will war it out inside an otherwise pacified realm. A centralized unitary state does it better I think to focus on external threats.