The most common scenes in modern costume movies and TV plays are that the ancient subjects, the monarch and the minister, and the older generation and the younger generation kneel down as soon as they meet. Kneeling seems to be a kind of etiquette, and it is also the embodiment and symbol of the hierarchy and the concept of inferiority. Of course, there is nothing wrong with this understanding, but more importantly, the ancients wanted to kneel down, and it was a bit embarrassing to sit down.
Why did the ancients kneel? Mainly from the level of productivity, the other is related to the emergence of chairs and clothing.
Ancient trousers
Stools began in the late Han, Wei and Jin Dynasties, formerly known as Hu Chuang or Mazha. By the time of Tang Dynasty, the stool had a backrest, that is, a chair. Chairs with handrails appeared in the Song Dynasty, but before the Song Dynasty, chairs had not been invented. In Shang dynasty, emperors, like courtiers, knelt on the ground, that is, knelt down. Japanese bow-down etiquette originated in the Sui and Tang Dynasties in China.
Portable folding stool
Without stools and chairs, there is naturally no problem of sitting. You have to sit, and your image is indecent, which is related to the appearance of clothes. In the history of China, pants appeared very early, but early pants had no crotch, and crotch pants appeared later. Sitting on a stool or chair without pants will expose privacy, while kneeling will cover up this indecency.
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Historical materials and literati notes record that Emperor Han Ling was an extremely promiscuous emperor. In order to have sex with ladies-in-waiting, all ladies-in-waiting wear open-backed pants. In fact, the demise of the Han Dynasty has something to do with Emperor Han Ling, and it has nothing to do with ordering maids to wear open-backed pants. Pants originated from nomadic people. Pants dating back more than 3,300 years were unearthed from the ancient tomb in Tarim Basin. It is a kind of crotch pants, which may be the earliest crotch pants in the world. The earliest farming people wore robes instead of trousers. Pants and robes reflect practicality. Because of the need of riding horses, nomadic people can't wear robes like farming people, so pants appear. At that time, the pants were very different from those in the modern concept. Originally, it was open-backed pants, and there were not many cultural relics unearthed from costumes in the Song Dynasty. Most of the pants in the Song Dynasty are open-ended, and even only the trouser legs have no crotch. Until the Southern Song Dynasty, China people's trousers were still very similar to straight skirts, but they were added inside, which played a role in beauty and privacy protection.
Ancient kneeling posture
It was not until the Ming Dynasty that trousers began to approach the waistband in the modern concept, but the waistband was larger and should be folded when worn, which was not a modern and simple waistband. From the history of pants, we can see that the court women in the Han Dynasty always wore open-backed pants, and it was not that Emperor Han Ling was lucky enough to appear anytime and anywhere.
Restricted by objective conditions, China ancient etiquette naturally formed "kneeling". Host and guest meet, ordinary people eat, etc. They all knelt down and didn't mean to insult. The ancients "sit on the floor" is actually sitting on their knees. After Liu Bang proclaimed himself emperor, Shu advocated banquet etiquette: when Emperor Liu Bang knelt down, his ministers "all bowed their heads", which was regarded as the source of prostration. In fact, putting a banquet in front of everyone should be "all down", that is, nodding slightly forward to show respect, or even not bowing.
Ancient trousers
In a society dominated by farming civilization, a piece of cloth is enough. Clothes under clothes are the so-called "clothes under clothes" in ancient times. Clothing, relying on it, people rely on it to keep out the cold and summer; Type, barrier also, people rely on their own barriers. Therefore, the ancients' bottoms mainly considered privacy issues.
During the Warring States Period, Zhao was located in the north, bordering on Xiongnu. The Huns had many cavalry, and Zhao's chariot was easily defeated by tarquin. So King Wuling of Zhao decided to carry out military reform-changing clothes and making all soldiers wear short jackets and shorts, so as to facilitate learning to ride and shoot. However, at that time, the "shin garment" was similar to the trousers now, except that there were no crotch and waistband, only two trouser legs, which were put on the calf and tied around the waist with a belt, but the key point was still true, which was convenient for defecation.
Ancient life scenes
The ancients did not have "pants", and "kneeling" was the norm. When people invite guests to dinner in the Han Dynasty, they must kneel on the ground with their legs together, let the coat hang down and protect the key parts, thus forming a set of etiquette system based on kneeling posture. Crocheted trousers began to be used in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, so people have given up kneeling since Wei and Jin. In the Song Dynasty, everyone used to eat in chairs because they didn't have to worry about exposure.
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