Study On The Color System Of Modern Han Folk Costumes Based On Chromaticity Measurement

Costume color,one of the aspects of the costume culture,is always subject to the change of regimes,hierarchy and social economy in China.The color schemes of Han folk costume had changed dramatically in modern times.On the one hand,the excess textiles brought about by the Western Industrial Revolution dumped into China leads to the disintegration of the traditional textile economy that has lasted for thousands of years,the decline of the workshop production mode dominated by traditional plant dyeing and the changes from traditional complex costume color schemes to the modern simple ones.On the other hand,the traditional culture represented by Confucianism,Buddhism and Taoism was challenged by both the emerging social strata and foreign cultures,hierarchical implications of the traditional color schemes weakened due to the change of the regime,and the aesthetic view that valued etiquette was gradually replaced by that which highlighted the personality of costume in modern times.In modern Chinese and Western color cultural exchanges,China had been being in a passive place.The traditional Chinese color culture has been neglected as local designers pay too greater attention to the popular Western color systems.With the cultural and creative industries being the pillar industries of China,it will be impossible for us to innovate the color language that conforms to the aesthetics of modern Chinese without a basic knowledge of the traditional color culture,not to mention the inheritance of such kind of culture.Therefore,the traditional color culture,which well reflects the psychology of the national consumers in terms of color,can serve as a theoretical basis in designing modern costume brands and thus realize its economic value in modern times.The color system of modern Han folk costume is taken as the research object in this paper.Studies on the traditional color names,tinting rules and color-rendering technologies,the regional differences and folk culture are carried out by making use of knowledge of colorimetry,design art,textile science,geography and folklore and colorimetric measurement technology,and by making a comparison between the documents and images as well as objects and texts.The major findings are as follows:(1)Specification and quantification of the traditional color names of Han folk costume in modern times and the construction of the corresponding color database by virtue of the chroma measurement technology.In view of the status quo of modern costume preservation,a method of measuring the chroma of modern folk costume is put forward and the chroma of the essential color and the secondary color of 323 pieces of folk costume are measured using Datacolor 650 color photometer,from which 734 pieces of effective color data are obtained.With the basic data of costume color measurement and the research method of material objects combined with literature and by comparing the national standards of " Names and Colorimetric Characteristics of Traditional Colors in China"(2015),color names of 88 pieces of modern Han folk costume are identified.The color database of the modern Han folk costume is constructed by virtue of the MySQL system.(2)Summary of tinting rules of the modern Han folk is sorted out by virtue of data obtained from chroma measurement.On the basis of color measurement data,by carrying out field research in the Palace Museum and the Ethnic Costume Museum of Beijing Institute ofFashion Technology and making reference to the documentation,novels,photography,New Year pictures,pastels and other image data in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China,the tinting rules of the modern Han folk costume is summarized.The traditional color concept of "five colors corresponding to five elements" continued to be prevalent,and the hierarchical concept of the pure color for the superior and the secondary color for the inferior concerning the costume of all classes in the folk society was strictly adhered to in the late Qing Dynasty.With the establishment the Republic of China,the hierarchical implication of costume color weakened,with modern costume becoming prevalent;With the simplification of the structure of the costume and the less frequent use of edging,the close-fitting costume became increasingly dominant.The color schemes of the costume weren’t so complicated as before.The traditional Yi(shirt)and Shang(Skirt)system and the design of cloth for the outer and woolen fabric for the interior were abandoned as well.The summary is made on the typical color schemes composed of color in common use including red,green,blue and purple.The conclusion is that the modern Han nationality had a preference over single color scheme,contrasting pure color scheme and multi-color blending scheme.(3)The weaving,printing and dyeing and embroidery skills constituting the major color-rendering technologies of the modern Han folk costume.With the introduction of advanced Western machine weaving technology,the transformation of traditional handmade weaving technology in China was propelled.The emerging silk floss and linen fabrics,some high quality,low price and diversified costume fabrics,incorporated Western color elements,such as color names and patterns.The "bright and complex" color schemes for the female costume had been replaced by the "light and elegant" ones.Foreign synthetic dyes had inflicted a severe impact on the traditional plant printing and dyeing which used to be the dominant dyeing techniques for the modern folk costume and made the chemical printing and dyeing fabrics become the dominant fabrics for urban womenfolk’s costume.In view of the difficulty in protecting the color of the folk costume from fading in museums,a method of identifying modern costume dyes by means of micro-damage technology is proposed in order to protect the color of the costume applying plant dyeing.The folk costume embroidery was frequently used for commercial purpose in the late Qing Dynasty.The pattern layout of embroidery,the color schemes between the threads and fabrics as well as threads for embroidery played a decisive role in the overall color style of the costume.The embroidery technique was not so frequently used for the daily costume as before,with the simple fixed color schemes becoming dominant after the Republic of China was founded.(4)Summary of the differences in color schemes of the modern Han folk costume based on the data of color schemes of the regional costume.Based on the scattergram of color schemes of the modern folk costume in three regions and the statistics of color proportion,it is concluded that the color schemes of the costume in the Central Plains are characterized by the supreme status of the black and the red color and focus on the ritual significance,those in the South of the Yangtze River are characterized by simplicity and elegance and the practical purposes and those in the South of Fujian are characterized by the light and bright hue,a sign of the local people’s adaptation to the long-term and stable physical and geographical conditions.The geographical location,sunshine intensity and dyeing plants play a mostsignificant role in the choice of color schemes of the costume.The geographical environment has a significant impact on the choice of color schemes of the costume.Local culture lays the cultural foundation for the formation of regional aesthetic views on costume color.The textile economy provides the material basis for the formation of regional costume color culture.Local embroidery varieties form an important part of the regional costume color culture.(5)The integration of both the Chinese and Western elements in the color customs of modern Han folk costume.The modern Han folk costume inherited the color customs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties,represented by distinction among formal costume for birthday parties,wedding ceremonies and funeral rites,which indicates the common people’s desire for a better life in spite of material scarcity.The color schemes of modern Han people’s folk formal costume integrate both the Chinese and Western elements in some regions.The Western color customs were first advocated by emerging social strata in coastal commercial ports and later followed suit by the inland urban citizens and rural people.Lifestyles,religious beliefs and political systems play the most significant role in the change of color customs of modern Han folk costume.The Westernization of color customs is for the most part attributed to the change of lifestyles.The color customs of traditional costume are challenged by the spread of foreign cultural and religious beliefs on the one hand yet promoted by the change of political systems on the other.