The folk culture of dudou

Bellyband，Its Chinese name is Dudou, also known as "tube top" in ancient times, is a kind of underwear that protects the chest and abdomen in traditional Chinese costumes. The shape is mostly square or rectangular. There are often patterns on the face of the apron. There are printings and embroidery. The most popular printing is blue calico. The patterns are mostly auspicious patterns such as "Liansheng Guizi", "Kirin Gives Children", "Phoenix Wears Peony", and "More Than Years" .

Let me first talk about its origin. The origin of bellyband is very Chinese and has many legends. One said that it was created for the Nuwa Fuxi brothers and sisters to hide their shame. All kinds of sayings are creative, but according to written records, its origin can be traced back to 818 BC. In Zuo Zhuan, "Chen Linggong and Kong Ningyi Xingfu passed through Xia Xia, and they all sincerely served as a gamer." North Korea." The burlap mentioned here is the close-fitting clothes, which may be the bellyband later. Of course, the shape of the bellyband here must be very different from what we see in later generations. This can be easily confirmed from its name. For example, in the pre-Qin period, it was called suffocation, and in Han it was called "carrying abdomen". It can also be seen that the bellyband first focused on covering the upper part, and later focused on the lower part.

Let me talk about the folk customs in my belly. First of all, the bellyband has a unique role in the wedding. In the marriage customs of the Hakka people, when they get married, the bride's belly is filled with various treasures, each of which has profound auspicious connotations. There are a calendar book, two orange cakes, a packet of rock candy, a small mirror, a foreign silver circle, and a copper and silver each. The almanac means taking the evil spirits, while the orange cake means good luck, rock sugar represents sweetness, small mirror represents light, copper is concentric, and foreign silver means reunion.

Secondly, the bellyband runs through people's daily life and contains meaning, and this is the place that best reflects the folk culture in the bellyband. The custom of wearing apron has been relatively rare in the South, but it is more common in the Northwest. In most parts of Shanxi, whether farmers, women, or dolls, ancestors and ancestors all year round are inseparable from Dadu. Children croak and fall to the ground. The first piece of clothing a mother prepares is a red cloth Dadu. People use the embroidery patterns on the apron. , To express my blessings to younger generations and relatives. The child's bellyband is embroidered with tiger heads and "five poisons" patterns, which adults can use to support the healthy growth of the child. The bellybands of newlyweds are embroidered with mandarin ducks playing in the water, which symbolizes the love of husband and wife. In the Dali and Heyang areas of Xifu, the bellybands are in the shape of gourds. Gourds and pumpkins were once one of the staple foods of the ancestors of farming. Together with many seeds, it symbolizes many children and many blessings.

history

Regarding the bellyband, it is a long story, and its origin can be traced back to when the chaos of heaven and earth first opened. After the flood, Nuwa and Fuxi intermarried, gave birth to children, and created the first clothing of mankind, the bellyband, with the purpose of concealing the shame of the human body.

According to Chinese historical records, its origin can be traced back to 818 BC. "Zuo Zhuan": "Chen Linggong and Kong Ningyi Xingfu passed through Xia Xia, and they both believed in their clothes and played in the dynasty." He said that the clothing is a close-fitting clothing, or it may be a bellyband later on. In the pre-Qin period, it was called "fake", and in the Han Dynasty it was called "carrying abdomen". It was popular in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. There is also a saying among the people that the bellyband originated in the Han Dynasty. Because of fear of being bullied by rude men, single women wrapped their breasts with cloth, and then tied them to the back with a belt, which was called "breast-binding".

After the Ming Dynasty, women have generally had the habit of using apron. At that time, it was called "douzi", commonly known as tube top. It is made of two pieces of material, cut diagonally, and flat on the top and bottom. There are two styles of tube tops in the Qing Dynasty. One is short and close-fitting, tied between the chest and abdomen, commonly known as "belly pocket". The other is tied between the waist and abdomen, called "tube chest belly". "Qing Barnyard Banknotes" records: "A tube top, a small dress between the chest, a wipe abdomen, also known as a wipe belly; a square ruler cloth is used, and the front chest is tightly tied to prevent internal invaders from wind and cold, commonly known as doudou. Both men and women".

Underwear in the Qing Dynasty was called "dudou", and it was generally made into a diamond shape. There is a strap on the top, which is put around the neck when worn, and there are two other straps tied behind the waist. The bottom is an inverted triangle, covering the belly button and reaching the lower abdomen. Most of the materials are cotton and silk. The straps used for binding are not limited to ropes. For wealthy houses, gold chains are mostly used, silver and copper chains are mostly used for medium-sized houses, and red silk is used for Xiaojiabiyu. There are all kinds of exquisite embroidery on the "belly pocket". Red is the common color of "belly". It can be seen that in the Qing Dynasty, Dadu was not only used to prevent wind invasion, but also had the functions of medicine and sachets.

There are often patterns on the face of the apron. There are printings and embroidery. The most popular printing is blue calico. The patterns are mostly auspicious patterns such as "Liansheng Guizi", "Kirin Gives Children", "Phoenix Wears Peony", and "More Than Years" . Embroidered bellybands are more common, and the theme patterns of embroidery are mostly Chinese folklore or some folk customs. For example, Liu Hai plays with golden toads, magpies on plum blossoms, mandarin ducks playing in water, lotus flowers, and other flowers and insects.

The outer material of children's bellyband is mostly red cloth, the adult is mostly black cloth, and the lining is mostly white cloth. Since bellybands are underwear worn by women every day, they often need to be changed and washed. In addition to considering the comfort of materials and styles, they must be made firm. In the weaving and embroidery process, it needs to be rubbed and washable to prevent falling off. Judging from the physical objects currently preserved, most of the fabrics of the bellyband are made of silk, and the colors of the fabrics on the front and back are mostly the same. The colors are white, red, pink, blue, light blue, light green, light yellow, black and so on. Basically, the material and color of the bellyband are also closely related to the wearer's age, status, economic ability, and local customs and culture.

modeling

The apron is shaped like the front of a vest. It is mostly square or rectangular in shape. The upper corners are cut off to form a concave shallow semicircle. Some of the lower corners are pointed and some are arc-shaped.

The shape of the bellyband varies from place to place, and the basic style is similar to an unfolded fan shape (or similar to a diamond shape). The method is to first determine the size of the pocket, slanted flap, waist corner, and pocket, and draw the design pattern directly on the cloth with an ink pen. The cut diamond-shaped cloth piece is about 30 cm in length and width, and the lower end is in a circular arc shape. The sharp corners of the neck are cut off, and a pair of flower buckles are installed at the two tips to hook through the gold and silver chain or fix the cloth belt. , Used to tie on the neck. The left and right corners are fixed with muslin straps and tied around the waist.

custom

In the Guanzhong area of Shaanxi, the bellyband is often accompanied by life etiquette. After the women are happy, their mother and in-laws will sew apron for the doll that is about to be born. On the Dragon Boat Festival, my uncle will give his nephew a bellyband. The daughter-in-law who has not been through the door will also make a bellyband for the future husband. At the age of "passing the threshold", the middle-aged people will also put on a new belly to protect themselves; when the elderly are at the age of "passing the threshold", their daughters have to make a belly for the elderly and pray for longevity. In many places, after death, they are wrapped around their stomachs and then shrouds.

In most parts of Shanxi, whether farmers, women or dolls, ancestors and ancestors can't live without their belly all year round. The child quacked and fell to the ground. The first piece of clothing the mother prepared was a red cloth doudu; since then, grandma’s family and relatives will send doudou for their birthdays every year; and when they are grown up, their daughter-in-law will also give doudou... One year, the days have changed, but the habit of going around hasn't changed.

"Five poison dudou" children's guardian god

Wudu dudou is mainly popular in Northwest China, and Shaanxi is the most prevalent, with more witchcraft meaning. Generally speaking, snakes, scorpions, spiders, geckos, toads, etc. are common in the Guanzhong area of Shaanxi. These kinds of common animals are poisonous, and they can be poisoned after biting. Especially children are more susceptible to these animals. The folk use witchcraft to suppress the five poisons. Embroidering a bellyband with five poisonous patterns is one of the most important methods.

The basic layout is that the largest frog is centered, and the surroundings are embroidered with changes. There are some differences in the five poisons that people say in different times and in different regions. There are three common sayings: one is scorpions, centipedes, toads, snakes and geckos; the other is scorpions, centipedes, toads, snakes and spiders; the third is tigers, scorpions, centipedes, toads and snakes. Calling these animals the "five poisons" is mainly a kind of folk ideology, which does not completely conform to scientific principles. According to the scientific point of view, these animals are not all poisonous. For example, geckos are not toxic. Toad is slightly toxic, but not very toxic. It's just that in the eyes of the ancients, they are all highly dangerous animals.

There are two purposes for the use of the five poisonous patterns. One is to use their evil features to expel all kinds of evil spirits and protect people, that is, to ward off evil spirits. The other is to eliminate them, so as not to cause harm to people.

The bellyband worn by children in folk costumes is a pattern of "five poisons" meticulously sewn by mothers when dressing up their children. Mothers use these colorful and vivid animals to wish their children safe and lively and avoid disasters and diseases. Choosing the "five poisons" to decorate the bellyband means that children can be protected by animals, and the merits of the "five poisons" can be combined to achieve the psychological defense against disasters and diseases. In the eyes of foreigners, this bellyband is just a rectangular red cloth with a rope. What they can feel is the color of the surface and the animals made of various colored cloths, and the novel craftsmanship of the raised stitches on the red cloth. And the deep love and ideological culture condensed in this red bellyband will never be imagined by them unless it is revealed. Another example is the red paper-cut in folk paper-cuts. The colors are bright and dense. Each paper-cut hides a piece of allusions and meanings.

There are many forms of dudou for children in rural Shaanxi, especially the unique "five poison dudou", which is very popular. On the eve of Duanyang, they flock to the market, and there are trades in the markets in all counties and towns. There is such a local folk custom: Before the nephew was under age, the uncle had to choose a good bellyband to send the nephew to the nephew every year. I wish the nephew grow up healthily. The "five poison bellyband" is regarded as the most common one. Therefore, the "five poison dudou" has been used to become a seasonal commodity production for many years. The clever women in rural areas have to make fine craftsmanship during their free time in spring and summer each year. Go to the market to sell.

The term "Five Poisons" is said to be a product of the popular Taoism in the Song and Ming Dynasties. The ancient folks had to draw a talisman on May 5th by a Taoist priest, paint the five poisons and then prick each, and later developed into a five-poison picture printed on red paper. Post it in the house. Folk embroidering the five poisons on clothing has the same meaning, and it is usually worn for children on this day. The same five poison cakes were also eaten on this day. So the Dragon Boat Festival also has the alias of "Five Poison Day". According to Lu Zhongyu's "Yan Mako" in the Ming Dynasty: the ancient Shandong area did not use the five poisonous symbols on the Dragon Boat Festival, but in Gu Yuri: "...painted five poisonous symbols, pictured scorpions, centipedes, snakes, vipers (venomous snakes), bees, etc. The shape of the mythical creature (toad) is drawn with a needle each. The household is published, and the poisonous insects are posted on it." The needles are used on the screen to pierce the poisonous insects. Obviously, they are not used to drive away evil spirits, but to kill them.

status quo

Dudou is a traditional folk underwear. In modern times, due to the evolution of society and the introduction of western fabrics, urban people first changed their bellybands to shirts and vests. But to this day, there is still a habit of wearing a bellyband in remote areas, but it is only made for children, and it seems rare for adults to do it. However, with the changes of the times, the mysterious and ancient bellyband has become a trendy and avant-garde fashion, blended into "clothing" and become a woman's most proud toy.