Dress and Adornment System and Trend in the Southern Song Dynasty

Abstract

Dress and adornment are essential parts of daily life. In the hierarchical society of ancient China, they served not only the basic functions of protecting and adorning the body but also of maintaining hierarchy and upholding authority. This was also the case during the Song Dynasty. The court upheld dress and adornment system and imposed legal standards on the dress and adornment of different social strata with great strictness, employing ritual law to ensure a clear “hierarchy of social rank and dress and adornment.” However, such a rigid and uncompromising system often clashed with private interests and property, leading to its ultimate disruption. Dress and adornment would gradually evolve to become an individual expression of one’s taste, wealth, social status, and values, slowly breaking through the class barriers separating the noble and humble, and permeating various social strata of the Song Dynasty.

Keywords

Southern Song Dynasty / dress and adornment / system / trend

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2024 Higher Education Press