"Green hat" is not a special word for modern people. Why did the ancients hate green?

"Green" stands for "being derailed" in the context of modern civilization, but the inner meaning of this word is not given by modern people. As early as ancient times, people thought the word was synonymous with meanness, and even wore green as a punishment.

According to the Interview with Feng Family in the Tang Dynasty, Yanling ordered the suspects to wear green clothes and headscarves, instead of punishing them. If the circumstances are serious, it will be worn for several years to punish criminals.

However, this "green culture" is not common in China. For example, the description of Guan Yu in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms is: "When the ship approached the shore, I saw Yun Changqing wearing a green robe and sitting on the boat."

The image of Guan Yu in history is loyalty, filial piety and benevolence. The "green towel" here must not mean that his wife ran away with someone else, so the meaning of "green" has been given a long-term and slowly changing process. So why did the ancients just scoff at green?

(Guan Yu's image in film and television dramas)

The theory of five elements thrives: red, yellow, blue, white and black, only green is inferior.

As early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the theory of five elements had been popular on a large scale. Zou Yan, a native of the State of Qi, started the Yin-Yang School: he believed that everything in the world was complementary, and all the movements and changes in the world would eventually come down to one kind, and proposed that Jin Mu's fire, water and soil were the principle of everything.

The colors corresponding to these five elements are red, yellow, blue, white and black. As early as thousands of years ago, the ancients knew that red, yellow and blue were the three primary colors, that is, "positive colors", including black and white.

All other colors are composed of these three colors, which are also called "intermediate colors". In the five elements culture, color is one level lower than normal color, and green is the middle color.

(Yin and Yang scientist Zou Yan)

In addition, Zou Yan believes that there are five virtues in the five elements, namely Mutuke, Tukeshui, Shuihoke, Huojinke and Jin Kemu. Mutual containment is the essence of all things, and so is the change of dynasties. Every dynasty has its own destiny, and new good luck will replace the old one, which also constitutes the periodic change of China's history.

It is disrespectful to overthrow the emperor in ancient times, and the theory of five virtues provides rationality for changing dynasties. For example, the sacrificial color of Shang Dynasty was white, that of Zhou Dynasty was red, and that of Qin Dynasty was black.

As an indirect color, green is not correct in itself. In particular, the ancients found that this color can only appear when the color of the sky and the color of the earth are mixed, so it is also called "light yellow", which is ambiguous and ambiguous.

There is a cloud in The Book of Songs: The Book of Songs Li Feng Green Clothes says: "Green clothes are green, green clothes are yellow. If you worry about your heart, you will defend yourself. Green clothes, green clothes, green coat, yellow clothes. Worry is death. "

This poem is a lonely mentality of the original wife lamenting that my concubine is favored by her superiors: green was originally the color of the next coat, but now it has become the color of the coat, which means putting the cart before the horse, and green is also used to describe my low status. So from this period on, green can represent meanness.

During the Spring and Autumn Period, due to years of war, many men could not support their families, so they would sell their wives and daughters to make a living. These people will also be wearing green headscarves to show their meanness and inferiority. In the Tang Dynasty, official laws and regulations used colors to indicate the rank of officials. Purple is the color of officials with one product and two products, scarlet is the color worn by middle-level officials, and the lowest-level officials can only wear blue official uniforms.

After Bai Juyi was demoted, he wrote a sentence in Pipa: "Who cried the most? , this Jiujiang officer. My blue sleeves are wet. "

From meanness to shame: the evolution of cuckold husband

Before the Tang Dynasty, green was just a despicable color. During the Song and Yuan Dynasties, the connotation of green began to develop into a cuckold.

During the Northern Song Dynasty, the economy and culture were unprecedentedly prosperous and open, people's street life was also colorful, and night market culture began to rise. It was at this time that brothels began to develop on a large scale. At its peak, there were hundreds of brothels in the capital. In order to facilitate the management of these brothels after the establishment of the Yuan Dynasty by Mongols, it was expressly stipulated that men who were prostitutes' families should wear green headscarves.

This policy gives cuckoldry a sense of shame, that is, some women in the family want to have improper sexual relations with other men. In addition, every dynasty after the Yuan Dynasty has to wear green clothes and cuckolds, which is also an insult.

(Prostitutes, relatives and men wear green headscarves and red belts)

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the connotation of wife became more and more abundant. According to legend, in the Ming Dynasty, a woman's husband was out doing business all the year round, so he was so lonely that he flirted with a man selling cloth on the street next door. After a while, they got better.

When two people were fooling around, my husband suddenly came back. This woman and her lover are going to a tourist trap, and the cloth seller hides under the bed all night. The woman later thought of a way. She sewed a green hat for her husband The husband thinks his wife is gentle and considerate, and he is afraid that he will run around outside and get cold, so he wears it every time he goes out.

The lover who sells cloth uses this as a code word. Seeing the man wearing a cuckold, he ran to the woman's house to fool around. Later, all the neighbors knew about it and laughed at the cuckold man. At this point, "green hat" has also become synonymous with derailment in eastern culture.

During the Republic of China, there was also an anecdote. The concubine of Ni Sichong, a great warlord in Anhui Province, was reduced to being a prostitute, so the Republic of China Daily published: Ni Sichong's beloved concubine, now going to Fengtian, was renamed Love Pearl Krabs, and she was an excellent prostitute. Everyone claimed to be Mrs. Ni, and a couplet was posted at the door: What article surprised the world and asked her to stay innocent in the world?

Those who have good deeds change it: without text and seal, the lady is actually a bridesmaid; I don't know, white or not. The general is willing to wear a green headscarf. This implies that the general was cuckolded, which was a very disgraceful thing at that time.

label

As a color, green itself is unbiased, and the grade difference or shameful culture caused by green is considered to be caused in a specific cultural context. We shouldn't have any prejudice against green. Fortunately, in the new era, we have aesthetic diversity. Green has frequently become the darling of various fashion shows, and handsome men and beautiful women also have a soft spot for green.

In addition, this color has become an indispensable color in our daily life. The color of postal service is green. This is because at the first postal conference after the founding of New China, national leaders all thought that green was the color of youth, hope and peace, so they chose this color.

Soldiers and brothers who defend the motherland are also dressed in green. In our time, we no longer discuss the level of color, but all colors are equal in front of us.