On The Uyghur Dressings Culture

Uighur dressings and its multi-cultural and unique characteristics reflect the religious beliefs, world views and ethical principles of Uighur people to a great degree. As a cultural phenomenon, the invention and descending of it has covered all the developmental processes of Uighur culture and it shows profoundness of Uighur culture as well. In this thesis, we take this topic as a target of study, try to discuss the following points:In this thesis the author tries to open up the origin of the Uighur dressing culture combining the field investigation method with historical documents and principles of historical materialism and dialectical materialism at the meeting point of several different sciences.This thesis is comprised of four chapters and 11 subsections, discusses all the aspects of Uighur dressing traditions.In the section of foreword, the reason of study, theoretical significance and overall picture of former studies of this topic by the scholars home and abroad will be talked and the object and purpose of study will be settled.In the first chapter , the various factors which has formed Uighur dressing culture will be discussed from the respect of historical background and the influences of geographical location, national immigration, religious changes, etc. in the first subsection, the geographical condition will be taken as major factor of influencing dressing culture in other words, the fact that oasis is the key factor and mountainous and grassland are the secondary factors influenced Uighur dressing culture will be put forward. In the second subsection, the multi-ethnical characteristics of Uihgur dressing culture and its deep relations with the old silk road culture will be discussed from the angle of historical changes and co-existence. In the third subsection, the influence of different religions in the uighur dressing culture will be discussed through the points of Animism, Shamanism, Manihism, Buddhism and Islam and their impacts on Uighur dressings.In the second chapter, the attention will be focused on the Uyghur dressings itself, and the characteristics of quality and materials, styles, colors will be closely analyzed from the respect of dressing types. In the first subsection, the author tries to make a tentative classification over the Uighur dressings using principles of folklore and dressing folklore. In the second subsection, the types and styles of Uighur dressings will be discussed in detail. In the third subsection, the practicality of Uighur clothing materials will be talked combining practical investigation with historical documents. In the forth subsection, the characteristics of colors of Uihgur dressings and their cultural meanings will be closely analyzed.In the third chapter, firstly, the pictures or graphs and principles of Uighur dressings will be scrutinized from the respect of cultural anthropology, esthetics and religion, and through this, the hidden symbolic meanings among the dressings will be presented. In the second subsection, the symbolic meanings of some traditional baldrics will be discussed. In the third subsection, some of the typical legends related to dressings will be classified as a whole and their cultural meanings will be discussed.In the fourth chapter is the paramount part of the thesis. In the first subsection, the importance of dressmaking among the Uihgur art and craftsmanship will be established depending on the practical investigation. In the second subsection, the attention will be focused on the Book of Dressmakers and the Book of Shoemakers, and the different versions of these books will be the focus of analyzing. The religious tales that about the origin of the vocation , the religious tales canonizing the vocation, the tales about sheltering great masters, the obligations of the careermen and the incantations which they use during the process of making dresses will be closely discussed. In the third subsection, the Uihgur ceremonial costumes and the taboos related to dressings will be discussed depending on field investigati...