Why did men and women in Song Dynasty like to wear flowers on their heads?

It is not surprising that women wear flowers all the time. Peach blossoms bring out the best in each other.

It is strange that men wear flowers.

If modern people do this, it must give people a very awkward feeling.

I'll tell you why men in Song Dynasty like to wear flowers on their heads:

Looking back at history, the custom of men wearing flowers in the Song Dynasty originated from the Double Ninth Festival. In ancient times, the Double Ninth Festival was as important as New Year's Eve and Tomb-Sweeping Day, and it was even considered as another Tomb-Sweeping Day.

Mountain climbing, ancestor worship and respect for the elderly are the themes of this day's activities.

Wang Wei, a great poet in the Tang Dynasty, once wrote a poem "Thinking of My Shandong Brothers in the Mountain Festival", in which the famous sentence "Knowing his brother climbs but not seeing him" is a portrayal of the custom of Chongyang.

The ancients thought that Cornus officinalis had a strong smell, and it could play a role in dispelling diseases and exorcising evil spirits if it was inserted into the head.

This is also the reason why people should "insert dogwood everywhere" on the Double Ninth Festival in the Tang Dynasty.

However, during the Double Ninth Festival, the flowering period of Cornus officinalis has passed. At that time, people put dogwood on their heads, not petals, but greenhouses.

Therefore, in the Song Dynasty, both men and women should wear blooming chrysanthemums on the Double Ninth Festival.

This is proved in many poems. For example, Su Dongpo wrote in Dingfengbo Chongyang: "It's hard to laugh in the world. Young. Chrysanthemums must be inserted in your head. "

With the spread of the atmosphere, it is not only the Double Ninth Festival, but also more and more common to wear flowers all year round.

The rise of Zanhua custom in Song Dynasty was the result of the royal family's encouragement, which was recorded in detail in the important historical book Tiewei Mountain Flowers in Song Dynasty.

Every major festival, such as the memorial service in the suburbs, the palace banquet and the banquet of new scholars, the emperor will present flowers to his officials.

The emperor's praise for courtiers was graded again:

When Ambassador Liao was present at the birthday party, he used silk flower. Spring and Autumn Banquet to Luo silk flower; At the small banquet accompanying the emperor, we used a few drops of golden flowers ... when sending flowers, we also decided how much according to the rank of the officials. Grade, quantity.

Especially for the Double Ninth Festival, the palace will hold a grand celebration:

"Forbidden, the eighth day, nine rows of flowers, thousands of chrysanthemums, arranged in Qingduantang, dazzling chrysanthemum lights, slightly like Yuanxi."

Past events in Wulin

On the day before the Double Ninth Festival, the palace was filled with chrysanthemums and lit with chrysanthemum lanterns, which was as lively as the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first month.

In addition to arranging chrysanthemums to create a festive atmosphere, there is also a very important link in the celebration of the Double Ninth Festival, that is, the emperor gave a banquet to entertain officials and presented them with flowers at the banquet.

"Five elements of wine, official xing before the feast, poor flowers. Later, after wearing flowers, I stood with the banquet official, thanked the flowers again and resumed my seat. " ("Song Shili Zhi")

"Golden cup of wine, Wang advised, Gong Hua's head trembled." This is the true record of the Party.

In order to show respect for the emperor, ministers should not only wear flowers on their heads, but also take them home, otherwise they will be impeached and exposed.

"In the seventh year of the Qing Dynasty, the suggestion said,' All flowers given to you in advance at a big banquet must be worn for private use, and servants are not allowed to wear them, and offenders will be corrected.' History of Song Dynasty

With the help of the royal family, the phenomenon of hairpin flowers has gradually become a common practice.

Shen Kuo's Meng Qian Bi Tan Bu Tan also recorded an interesting story about Zanhua.

During the Northern Song Dynasty, Han Qi was appointed as the magistrate of Yangzhou. He planted a peony in his back garden. When in full bloom, the petals are red and surrounded by a circle of golden stamens, commonly known as "golden belt" or "golden belt".

On one occasion, Wang Jue and Wang Anshi came to Yangzhou, and Han Qi invited them to look at this flower together.

At that time, Han Qi also invited another official to come. It happened that the official was unwell and invited Chen Shengzhi, who was passing by, to attend.

A few friends enjoyed wine tasting and flowers. There happened to be four flowers at that time, which was auspicious.

"To the banquet, cut four flowers, four guests each hairpin, very prosperous. In the past 30 years, these four people have been prime ministers. "

This is the story of the famous "four-phase praise".

The surrounding golden zone has therefore become the flower of Jirui. It is said that once this flower is in bloom, its owner will have a prosperous career.

During the period of Song Huizong, it was more popular for men to wear flowers.

Song Huizong advocated wearing flowers, and once gave the guards around him a coat and a piece of gold leaf.

Only those who have palace flowers and brocade jackets can freely enter and leave ouchi.

A small hairpin flower has become a symbol of social status and rank.

The disappearance of the custom of men wearing flowers During the reign of the Southern Song Dynasty, it was popular to wear colored glaze flowers in the palace. This kind of flowers was made of glass, and the world rushed to follow suit.

There is a folk poem: "The city is forbidden to be full of pearls, and the world is full of glass."

Coloured glaze-displaced, people of insight think this is a "sign of displacement"

Indeed, five years after Du Zong's death, the Southern Song Dynasty perished.

Mongolia destroyed the gold and the Song Dynasty, established the Yuan Dynasty, and implemented a hierarchical system. The Han nationality in the former Jin area in the north is the third, and the Han nationality in the south is the fourth. People's livelihood is depressed, just for food and clothing, and the wind of men wearing flowers is disappearing.

Since later generations, only men wear flowers when they win the championship and celebrate their marriage.