The Evolution History Of Boots

　　 From the symbol of "Hu Qi" to the symbol of authority

Although there are some different points of view, the history of Chinese historians is consistent with the above archaeological findings. The ancient Chinese believed that boots were the works of "Gu Xi Hu". In the Warring States period, a northern monarch Lord called Zhao Wu Ling was determined to establish a powerful cavalry force. clothing He also imitated Hu people, so he introduced a yellow short boot. And through the excavation of a Warring States tomb found in Shenyang in 1974, people believed that soldiers in this era wore genuine long boots with copper bubbles. In this way, the long cylindrical leather boots originating from Hu Di were introduced into the Han Dynasty as military products. When riding a horse, the boot is easy to grip the horse's belly. With the season changing, summer can prevent mosquitoes from getting cold, and some waterproof functions are quite convenient for soldiers, especially cavalry.

Nevertheless, after a long period of time, boots are still quite resistant to the Han people's cultural beliefs and are regarded as a symbol of "Hu Qi". From a practical point of view, matching the boots with the crotch pants. This kind of trousers also has a cultural conflict with the traditional Chinese "coat" and the open pants. The boots on the top are naturally inconvenient for the table. In the northern and Southern Dynasties, when the North was already full of boots and bearers, the Southern Dynasty, which was rooted in the Han orthodoxy, still insisted on not allowing the overly fashionable people to wear their boots on the upper hall. In the eyes of the author of the official history, Hou Jing, who boots his feet, is simply an incurable barbarian.

The Han people in the north, who were deeply influenced by the Hu people, established the Sui and Tang regime. The status of boots has changed radically, not just the "field equipment" of soldiers, but also official. Clothes & Accessories Components. As a result, soldiers wear boots, officials wear boots, wealthy businessmen wear boots, Dunhuang murals and even farmers wear long black boots. However, considering that the animal husbandry in the Tang Dynasty is not particularly developed, the author prefers to think that the farmer may just take the boots he wore in his military service home.

The shape of boots in the Sui and Tang Dynasties is very interesting. The boot of the mouthpiece is very big and even ugly. (the notes in Tang Dynasty's notes on the chaotic things in the boot are evidently based). The boots are very delicate and small, and there is a sharp tip in front of them to hook the stirrup. The name of this toy is "boot nose". Besides the function of hanging the horse stirrup, it has a special function. It is to wear the high weight person's feet, and let the flatterer hold the "smell" (or "suck"). It is said that the earliest "love boots" in the West came from the novel Deles Ragan, published by French writer Zola in 1867, but the origin of "licking the conqueror boots" was not clear at the very beginning. But in China one thousand years ago, this game already existed. Another way of playing with boots is to let the lowly people take off their boots for the noble. In the Tang Dynasty, such a case is not limited to the story of Li Bai and Gao Lishi, though the truth of the story is doubtful.

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It is obvious that in the Tang Dynasty, black boots, which were sometimes painted black, were sometimes treated as black and shining boots. They had been transformed from the barbarian symbols of the Southern Dynasties into the symbol of the authority of the wearer or the status of the conqueror. After the Tang Dynasty, the position of boots as a standard of official uniform was extended by successive dynasties. In ancient China, which is not very developed in animal husbandry, boots are no doubt a luxury. The attribute of "official status symbol" is also more intense, so that there are "wearing boots and wearing caps" and so on. In the Ming Dynasty, officials even banned civilians from wearing boots (but there were regional differences). In the Qing Dynasty, there were many restrictions or prohibition orders on the wearing of boots. On the other hand, in the Tang Dynasty, once the most popular women wore their boots, the popularity of small feet since the Song Dynasty was becoming increasingly scarce.

For boots, with the development of the times, it becomes more and more ugly, especially the boots are more and more thick and thick. The latter is probably the need for walking (but the thin boots for military use also exist). Another noticeable phenomenon is that because of the two generation of fashionable Satin boots and the influence of drama in Ming and Qing Dynasties, many people mistakenly believe that the ancients wore cloth boots and did not know that leather boots were the mainstream.

　　 From men's boots to symbols of women's rights

The origin of boots in the west is not particularly clear. It seems that there were short boots in ancient Greece. Mongolian invasion is said to bring Asian style light boots to Europe. For a long time, Eastern Europe seems to be more popular with boots than Western Europe, especially in Eastern Europe. But in modern times before and after the Napoleon war, the European army was not divided into cavalry infantry or subordinate officers, and wore boots. The boot is sometimes filled with straw to protect the cold. The shape of modern leather boots is basically established in this era.

Hessen mercenaries went to America in their worn knee boots, which is said to be the predecessor of modern American cowboy boots. Since nineteenth Century, Asian armies have also worn western style boots -- though they are usually restricted to officers and cavalry. In the Republic of China, many Chinese cavalry still wore Mongolia style traditional boots. The war has pushed the development and popularization of boots again.

In the Russo Japanese War, the Japanese army, with its leggings, defeated the Russian army wearing low boots and boots. In the age of artillery and machine gun fire becoming more and more intensive, the ancient colourful military uniform became more and more gray and simple. For infantry, the leggings are more practical than heavy boots, whether they march or move. The cavalry, the most in need of boots, is gradually withdrawing from the stage of history. Later, the Japanese army cavalry changed their Leggings instead of wearing boots. In this way, the practical function of riding boots is also overshadowed by the fact that cavalry ends with a spear or a sabre knife sweeping across the battlefield. Of course, boots also have new markets, especially some technical arms such as pilots, tank hands and motorcyclists.

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But in World War II, boots of the former Soviet Union and German troops were still widely used. The Soviet Army firmly believed that in muddy, dirty and swampy rivers, the long boots were still practical, so that soldiers did not hesitate to cross all obstacles. But in reality, many of the Soviet troops also had Leggings for lack of supplies.

During the same period, boots were used as the symbol of officers, and all countries allotted them. Unlike military boots with fixed size, military boots are custom-made. But military officers are also different in their interest in riding boots. In addition to some of the most popular officers and military academies and cavalry, the US Army rarely wears boots (such as Stillwell even dislikes boots). This seems to have something to do with the popularity of the US Army at that time, but it does not prevent Barton, who hates civilians, is swagger in his boots.

During the cold war, the Western camps generally wore short boots of American style. The European countries in the eastern camp generally wore boots, while the Asian countries in the eastern camp preferred rubber. shoes The tripartite confrontation. The boot became the symbol of the Eastern European camp (formerly the Soviet Union and East Germany). After the end of the cold war, East Germany ceased to exist, and the Soviet Union also cancelled the long boots of the field army. In fact, riding boots have directly witnessed the success or failure of the cold war.

Women's boots, which were popular in the west, were gradually replaced by masculine boots after the birth of the feminist movement. Nancy Sinatra, a popular American singer in the 60s of last century, not only loves to wear boots, but also depicts boots as a symbol of female independence in her songs, which further promotes the popularity of women's boots in America, Europe and Japan. Nowadays, women wear boots more and more popular, and men wear boots become a non mainstream.