Earring Discussing Of Tang Dynasty In Mogao Grottoes

This paper studies the earrings worn by laymen living in the Tang dynasty inside Dunhuang grottos, with the evidence of those worn by Buddhists. Furthermore, it analyzes the custom of wearing earrings among the Han nationality and the minorities during the Tang dynasty, with the clue of the figures of princes from different countries attending mourning carved on Grotto No. 158 and printed one picture named "Jingbian". While the style of earrings worn by laymen during the Tang dynasty varies, the paper is intended to provide certain insight into the custom of wearing earrings by laymen during the Tang dynasty by means of analyzing the profile, the way of and custom of wearing earrings, to the extent demonstrating that Grotto is the place where eastern and western culture mingles due to the fact that laymen wear different styles of earrings.In the first place, the paper illustrates the subject and objective of this study. Then in order to distinguish among different styles of earrings, it defines these different styles of earrings.The second chapter introduces the anecdote of hole-punching through ear which says that the practice of doing this dates back to the Neolithic Age, and handed down from generation to generation till theQing and Han dynasty. When it comes to the Tang dynasty, punching hole through ear or wearing earrings among Han nationality is seldom seen, while become relatively vogue among the minorities neighboring to Tang.On the basis of the figures inside grotto No. 158 and on the picture of "Jingbian", the third part describes in detail the earrings worn the minorities and Buddhists, which fall into following catalogs: ear pendants, eardrops...JUE ER DANG ER DING , ER QIAN CHONG ER Those laymen carved inside grotto No. 158 are all male. For those men whose nationality can be identified, the author extends the research further into the custom of wearing earrings among the women of the same nationality. The conclusion reached by the paper is as follows: Custom is that both men and women in east Asian like to wear earrings, among which "ER dang" ranks the No. 1 choice;Men of "Huihu" most of the time prefer "eardrop" and "ear pendants", while women of that nationality mostly in favor of "eardrops", with various shapes and often down to shoulder, fairly exaggeration as to the proportion of the headwear;"ER DING " whose profile and texture are extremely similar to those of the earrings in India, dominates among the earrings chosen by men and women in Tibetan regime, which is, according to the author's deduction, affected to some degree by the marriages among different nationalities.The fourth chapter depicts that those figures of emperors carved inside grotto No. 158 do not do hole-punching though ear and not wearany earrings. However, based on the documents in history and the figures of those emperors on the picture "Jingbian" inside Dunhuang grottos No.220, emperors of the Tang dynasty wear "CHONG ER" dropping alongside ear which is the symbol of their status, while common people seldom practice the hole-punching through ear and wear earrings. Those two traditional beautiful women escorting emperor of Han nationality inside grotto No. 158 dug during the time when Tibetan rules the whole country wear "SHUANG ya ji", the difference of which compared to those worn by women during the beginning and middle of the Tang dynasty is that "shuang ya ji" is decorated by small green pearls right beside each ear. These small green pearls are similar to the hairpin used by women in the Han dynasty which is recorded in historical document. The figures carved inside grotto No. 159 and 231 indicate that such phenomenon has something to the mutual influence of the style of dress and personal adornment of Tibetan and Han nationality. The type and style of the earrings worn by Buddhists of the Tang dynasty inside Dunhuang grottos outnumber those of the earrings worn during other dynasty. The dress and adornment of Buddhists reflect to certain degree those of laymen, but hole-punching through ear and wearing earrings were not in fashion of the Tang dynasty. The author infers that this situation, on the one hand, has to do with the fact that feudal code of ethics was despised at that time. As is well known, the Tang dynasty is the era when Buddhism,Confucianism and Taoism exist together. It is estimated that the custom of not doing the hole-punching through ear is influenced by the "filial piety" of Confucianism. On the other hand, the headwear being comparatively simple, the hair being worn in various buns or coils and the ornaments being relatively few of the Tang dynasty, all these have a bearing on the custom of not wearing earrings.