On Chinese Folk Culture From Three Inch Lotus

　　 Three inch lotus It is also known as "bow shoes" worn by ancient women“ embroider shoes ”It is not only a witness that ancient women were bound and persecuted by feudal ethics, but also the embodiment of their dexterity and intelligence.

Among all kinds of art works with a long history in China, embroidery is also one of the wonderful flowers. It contains rich folk culture and is favored by collectors. The three inch lotus is one of them. Although it is vulgar, its folklore and cultural connotation are more extensive and profound than some collections.

Since the Zhou Dynasty, our country carried out the "deep clothing system" (referring to the upper garment and lower garment, that is, the upper garment and apron) and in the Warring States period, as a style, shoes and socks became indispensable clothing in people's daily life. In ancient China, shoes were also called "Xi", "Lu" or "shoes". After the interpretation of each dynasty, the bow shoes gradually evolved into a three inch Golden Lotus with various embroidery techniques.

As for the origin of three inch lotus, there are always two views. One is that the custom of foot binding originated from Daji, the concubine of King Zhou of the Shang Dynasty; the other is that it originated from the later Tang Dynasty. It is said that at that time, Li Yu, the leader of the Tang Dynasty, was very fond of the maid of the palace, and spent all day with her in the palace. In order to win Li Yu's favor, when she sang and danced, she stood on a six foot high gold lotus platform. At the same time, in order to show the exquisite beauty of his feet, he wrapped his feet tightly with cloth strips and danced in broken steps, which made empress Li happy. Since then, the word "foot binding" has been widely used in the world.

In the feudal society, women's foot binding generally began at the age of four or five, and had been basically established at the age of six or seven. The rich and noble families are very particular about wrapping their little feet for their daughters on the day of choosing. At that time, they will also "cook glutinous rice and red beans as a group, and worship the stove, which is called sticky dough.". It is said that boiling glutinous rice can soften the tibia. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the custom of "small foot binding" and "thin foot binding" has been followed. Foot binding has become an important standard of social status and rank. It was only after the revolution of 1911 that this bad habit was gradually abolished.

By the 1940s, except for the minority areas in Northwest and southwest China, the three inch Golden Lotus, which was called "the most exquisite creation of Chinese sensory imagination" by humor master Lin Yutang, was no longer common. Three inch Golden Lotus has become a historical heritage of folk culture.

The connotation of folk culture is rich. The three inch Golden Lotus has exquisite embroidery skills, exquisite patterns and rich cultural connotation. However, most of them are auspicious folk patterns in the traditional sense. They have both the inheritance and the unique understanding of shoe embroiderers. Therefore, they are rare treasures in the world of Chinese Arts and crafts.

In terms of its embroidery methods, there are flat and random stitches, as well as virtual and solid stitches, and there are several cross needling methods. The pattern patterns on the vamp and uppers include flowers of all seasons, mountains and rivers, birds and birds, but some are suitable for young women, and some are suitable for old women. The former has the meaning of "giving more than a son" to a woman. If embroidered with bats, copper coins and spiders, the meaning of "happy from heaven"; embroidered with peony, meaning "glory, wealth and honor". In addition, bat Shoushou means "more happiness and longevity", Ruyi (Ganoderma lucidum) stands for "contentment" and "everything goes well", squirrel means "happy to send your son", catfish means "more than every year", etc.

In addition, from young girls to old women, there are different customs at all stages. For example, young women use scarlet cloth to get on the sedan shoes. The vamp is not embroidered with any pattern, but is outlined with a single line. This is called "a smooth journey" and "safe and sound". If a pair of mandarin ducks are embroidered on the black vamp, it is compared to the "faithful love" and "happy marriage" between men and women, as well as the "inseparable" and "growing old together" between husband and wife. If the pattern is lotus root, lotus and spring peach, the red vamp is embroidered with the word "longevity", meaning "both happiness and longevity", which are mostly worn by elderly women. If a woman's shoe and another man's shoe are folded together on two shoes, it means that the love between men and women will "get along with each other day and night and never separate", and most women can wear them to pray for happiness.

Small three inch lotus contains rich folk culture It is worth exploring. However, when people collect and appreciate it, it is not difficult to understand the folk culture of different regions in China's feudal society from the three inch Golden Lotus with exquisite workmanship, exquisite embroidery and rich implication.