A Research On The Using Of Silk Fabric In Etiquette During The Pre-Qin Periods

The ritual stems from the period entry from primitive society into slave society and has made considerable progress until Longshan era. The original ritual which was characteristic of class came into being. The ritual and the ritual system have matured gradually to the Xia and Shang Dynastiesperiod and have being in a period of great prosperity until Western zhou dynasty. The "rites collapsed and music disappeared" in the Eastern Zhou dynasty marked the decline of the ritual and the ritual system. Silk fabrics, jades and bronze ware are the direct characterization and typical carrier of Chinese ritual culture. Nevertheless, the scholars have studied the usage of jades and bronze ware of the pre-qin etiquette, but ttle research has been done in the usage of silk fabrics. Therefore, this study analyses the usage of silk fabrics in etiquettes such as capping ceremony, wedding, funeral, sacrificial rites and ChaoPin according to the relation between the silk fabrics and the ritual in the period of the per-Qin Periods in perspective of history, and also studies fundamental rules and regulations and historical influence of the usage of silk fabrics in etiquettes.This thesis is made up of the parts.The first part is the an introduction. It introduces the causes of the selection of the subject, describes the present academic research, explains the research significance, concept definition and research scope.Thesilk fabrics with jades and bronze ware were widely used in ceremonies. The research include problems as follows. The reasons of the ancestor used the silk fabrics with jades and bronze ware in etiquettes, when the silk fabrics were inventived and used, and what the situation of the the silk fabrics were used in etiquettes, whether the application of the silkfabrics change in different period or not and the cause of thees variations, what the historical influence to the silk fabrics used in etiquettes, what the motive of the silk industry development in ancient China.The second part studies the origin of the silk fabrics used in etiquettes. There were wild mulberry trees in the period of primitive society, and there were a large number of mulberry and silkworm cocoon on the tree. The ancestor observed and knew a perpetual and unique life course from the egg to silkworm, to the cocoon, and to the moth by long-term contact when they picked the mulberry and silkworm cocoon, and then the ancestor hold the silkworm become the medium between the human being and the god, between the the human being and the ghost. Based on this, the ancestor applied the silkworm, silkworm sheath and jade silkworm to the original witchcraft and religionary sacrifice, and the opportunity to invent technology of silk reeling and textile was generated. After the ancestor mastered technology of silk reeling and textile, silk fabrics was considered as a kind of holy object, being able to communicate the human being and the god, and was used to the religion. The ritual stemed from the original witchcraft and religion, the ritual system initially formed in longshan era about5000years ago, silk fabrics was then applied to the etiquette. In addition, the production of silk fabrics undergoes mulberry planting, silkworm breeding, silk reeling, textile printing, and every process corresponds to the corresponding production season. It conforms to the thought of " oneness of man and nature ", this is the important reasons why the silk fabrics was used to the etiquette.The third part analyses the application of silk fabrics in capping ceremony in the period of the per-Qin Dynasty. The silk fabrics was used to as material of clothes, etiquette dress and a token of appreciation. In addition, we can know that silk production technology has developed and made progress by the change of the silk usage from the linen to the silk.The fourth part analyses the application of silk fabrics in wedding in the period of the per-Qin Dynasty. The silk fabrics was used to as etiquette dress and a token of appreciation in the wedding. The silk fabrics which every class including emperor, scholar-official and civilians used was named five silks in the Zhou Dynasty, among these, three pieces of the silk fabrics was black, two pieces of the silk fabrics was light purple, and the size of every piece was two feet four inches in width, four sratches in length and20sratches in total. To manifest the hierarchy of the ritual, the emperor added a nine inch-long Gugui(榖圭) to the bunch of silks, the governor added a seven inch-long Zhang, the Hou and Peter added a five inch-long Zhang, the son, and male used Choi Joan, the civilians addedLipi(俪皮).The fifth part analyses the application of silk fabrics in mourning ritual in the period of the per-Qin Dynasty. The silk fabrics was used to wrap the body and being as funerary objects on account of silk fabrics’s witchcraft function before Zhou Dynasty. The ancestor used the new silk to judge whether the man die or not in mourning ritual in Zhou Dynasty. After dying, the ancestor used the encoffination tools such as close, Mingmu(幎目), hand thing, Mao(冒).quilt and silk dress to disguise the dead; during the funeral procession, the ancestor used the silk fabrics such as Huangwei(荒帷)、Zhu(褚)、Niu(纽)、Qi(齐)、Zhengrong(振容)、Pi(披) to decorate the cart of carrying coffins, and at the same time, the ancestor used the silk fabrics to decorate inside the coffin. Besides, the silk fabrics was also used to be as a gift, to color the funeral scene.Part Seven,discussion about the application of silk fabrics of the first Qin Dynasty. Accordi ng to the documents’ and unearthed inscriptions’ record, before Zhou Dai, silk fabric is mainly u sed as the chaopin gifts and decorative items in the ceremony. Whether it has other uses, there is no more information for reference.Between the Western and the Eastern Dynasties, with the co mplete and silk production technology developing the use of silk becomes morepopular, in general there are:the first is the weaving dress, the second is used as a sacrifice, the third is used as a gift, the fourth is used as a decoration,the fifth is used as a flag.Part Eight, discussion about the Pre-Qin etiquette with the related regulation of silk. In the Pre-Qin’s ritual, silk needs to follow at the ceremony in the use of requirements, and the expres sion of courtesy, such as Xuan and Xun, they are the colors for the statue, and meet with five lin es, but also reflect the user’s rank; there were provisions, different user’s identities, its use of sil k decoration is not the same; a number of regulation, user’s identity hierarchy are different, the quantity used is not the same, in the ritual of different occasionssilk number is not the same.and the number and the corresponding heaven, five lines of implication. In addition, when in use, us er’s words and deeds manner, the regulation,the identity of different people, on different occasio ns, the use of different silk, every action, every word, every expression has strict rules.Part Nine, discussion about the historical influence of Pre-Qin ritual silk.The rite is a kind of social control power relations. Therefore, as a ritual symbol and carrier of silk is the ruling cl ass to highlight an important means of social rank order and regulate the distribution of power, a n important link but also links the interpersonal relationship, diplomatic relations. Silk is the anc ients used to record the worship, funeral and other mysterious language and picture, recording la nguage of painting human wizard class, and they are created Chinese characters of people,so the silk ceremony with and influence the development Chinese characters, and literature of our cou ntry objectively. Because the writing and painting are conjoined compatriot sister, so silk cerem ony produced a far-reaching influence on the Chinese painting art. Embroidery is one of the mo st famous art forms in China, using the origin Chinese embroidery art is derived from the Pre-Qi n ritual embroidery silk.Part Ten, is the conclusion. In primitive societies, silkworm its unique feature is the use of wizards to life among witchcraft. Thus, prompting wizards to protect silkworm, and the silkworm rearing into the interior. That promoted the home of the silkworm. And, in the process, the shaman invented the silk technology. Therefore, the rite is the motivation of the origin and development of silk industry.Originally, Silk fabric was used to communicate with Deity in witchcraft, but with the development of society, it gradually developed as etiquette, and it was a symbol of royal power that was behalf of social estate system and power. Meanwhile, Silk fabric was also a vector of Social hierarchy. Silk and the change and the development of etiquette that was expressed by silk had an indissoluble link. First, the development of etiquette promoted to silk production technology’s appearance and development, and silk had a more abundant form and connotation which were used into etiquettes; Second, the progress of silk technology made silk have a lot of brilliant colors, quantity and varieties, and those was used into the etiquette of crown, marriage, death, sacrifice, Zhaopin, and was in order to protect the etiquette. Today, studing the using of silk fabric in etiquette during the Pre-Qin Periods is still some inspiration for building a harmonious society.