Zhang Ruying’s Notes: From《中国妆束：大唐女儿行》Accessories (Early Tang Dynasty, Prince Wu’s Wife Lady Yang 吴国妃杨氏)
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- About《中国妆束：大唐女儿行》
- Early Tang Dynasty: The Prince’s Wife (王妃) Stranded in the Southern Land
- Prince Wu’s Wife, Lady Yang (吴国妃杨氏)
- Restoration Basis of the Image
Introduction
Hello,
I’m 张儒英 Zhang Ruying, and I have a deep passion for traditional Chinese fashion.
Recently, I had the opportunity to read a book about traditional Chinese attire, especially for the Tang dynasty (618-907), written in Chinese, titled《中国妆束：大唐女儿行》by 左丘萌 and 末春. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, and to better understand parts of it, I translated sections that I found challenging. I also made notes (written in English) along the way to help deepen my understanding.
Now, I’m thrilled to share these notes with you! I aim to help us all gain a deeper appreciation for the elegance and historical significance of traditional Chinese attire, which is so rich in history and beauty. All the information in these notes comes from the book 《中国妆束：大唐女儿行》.
About《中国妆束：大唐女儿行》
《中国妆束：大唐女儿行》(Zhōng Guó Zhuāng Shù: Dà Táng Nǚ’ér Xíng) by 左丘萌 (Zuǒ Qiūméng) and 末春 (Mò Chūn) attempts to reinterpret the true fashion of women’s makeup and attire during the Tang dynasty, based on archaeological findings of Tang artifacts.
It contrasts these findings with historical records and unearthed documents to reframe how the Tang people themselves might have viewed fashion in their time.
The book covers from the Sui dynasty to the Five Dynasties, and is divided into four sections: Qi Luo 绮罗 (clothing), Lin Lang 琳琅 (accessories), Fen Dai 粉黛 (makeup), and Ji Huan 髻鬟 (hairstyles).
Each section carefully examines and details the names, styles, and combinations of different makeup and attire from that period.
The book selects well-known historical figures, such as Yang Guifei, Wu Zetian, Shangguan Wan’er, Nie Yinniang, Princess Tongchang, and others, based on existing archaeological findings, makes informed speculations to restore the possible makeup and attire of these figures. The book reconstructs their clothing, accessories, hairstyles, makeup, and scenes, all supported by historical sources.
(#ZhangRuying’sNotes for the previous notes)
No more words, let’s begin our journey!
初唐：流落南土的王妃
Early Tang Dynasty: The Prince’s Wife (王妃) Stranded in the Southern Land
Prince Wu’s Wife, Lady Yang (吴国妃杨氏 ; Wúguófēi Yángshì)
In 1980, archaeologists in Anlu, Hubei, discovered and excavated a large tomb from the Tang dynasty. Inside the tomb chamber, a tombstone inscription was found with the epitaph “Tombstone of Lady Yang, Wife of Prince Wu of the Tang Dynasty”.
Based on this inscription, it was known that the tomb’s owner was the wife of Prince Wu during the Tang dynasty. However, when the archaeologists opened the inscription, they found that the bottom part of the inscription was uneven and completely devoid of writing. This rare phenomenon did not seem to be the work of grave robbers but rather appeared to be the result of deliberate destruction shortly after Lady Yang had been buried.
Although the writing on the tombstone had been erased, traces of the lost story could still be traced through historical records.
Prince Wu, Li Ke (李恪 ; Lǐ Kè), was the son of Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin (李世民 ; Lǐ Shìmín), and Consort Yang, who was the daughter of Emperor Yang of Sui. He was the third child among his siblings. Li Ke was deeply loved by Emperor Taizong from a young age and had great expectations placed on him. He was skilled in both literature and military arts, proficient in horseback riding and archery, and had a profound understanding of history and literature. His name was well-known, and even Emperor Taizong considered him to resemble himself. His parents arranged a wife for him, Lady Yang, who was also from a royal family of the Sui dynasty.
However, perhaps because Li Ke had a bloodline from the previous dynasty, Emperor Taizong initially did not include him among the potential heirs to the throne. Despite his abilities and ambitions to rule the country, Li Ke could only avoid political intrigue by accepting a post in the South and attempting to live a peaceful life. It was precisely for this reason that he managed to avoid the fierce competition among the Tang princes for the throne.
For his wife, Lady Yang, this seemed like a beautiful beginning—life as a wealthy and peaceful couple until the end of their days.
However, as a prince, Li Ke could not escape the destiny determined by his bloodline. In the struggle for power in court, Emperor Taizong had once considered making him the crown prince. However, at the strong persuasion of Zhangsun Wuji (长孙无忌 ; Zhǎngsūn Wújì)—a powerful minister and the brother of Empress Zhangsun—Taizong eventually chose his ninth son, Li Zhi (李治 ; Lǐ Zhì), the son of Empress Zhangsun, as crown prince.
After Emperor Taizong’s death, Li Zhi ascended the throne and became Emperor Gaozong. At that time, Zhangsun Wuji, as the emperor’s uncle, remembered Li Ke, who had once been so highly respected by Taizong. He viewed Li Ke as a potential threat to his nephew’s throne and was determined to eliminate him.
In the third year of the Yonghui era (652), Zhangsun Wuji intentionally dragged Li Ke into a rebellion case. At that time, Li Ke served as the Governor of Anzhou (now Anlu, Hubei), but he was forced to part ways with his wife and face death alone.
Prince Wu’s wife seemed to have sensed the tragic fate that awaited her husband. She died first and was buried alone in Anzhou. In the second month of the fourth year of the Yonghui era (653), Li Ke was sentenced to death in Chang’an and was buried simply outside the city.
After eliminating Li Ke, Zhangsun Wuji remembered that Prince Wu’s wife had been buried in Anzhou. He suspected that the inscription on her tomb might contain records of the injustices that befell her husband. Therefore, he ordered the destruction of the tomb of Prince Wu’s wife and the removal of all writing on the tombstone.
Despite the destruction of her tomb, more than a thousand years later, we can still see many beautiful treasures found within it. This discovery provides an opportunity to speculate and reconstruct the appearance and fashion style of Prince Wu’s wife.
Today, these precious objects are kept in several museums, including the Hubei Provincial Museum, Xiaogan City Museum, and Anlu City Museum.
Restoration Basis of the Image
Because the tomb of Prince Wu’s wife, Lady Yang, was destroyed during the Tang dynasty, the jewelry found in it is incomplete, and its original placement is unknown. Therefore, this reconstruction refers to the image of a woman in the wall painting of Princess Xincheng’s tomb—Emperor Taizong’s daughter—which dates back to the third year of the Longshuo era (663) during the reign of Emperor Gaozong, contemporary with Prince Wu’s wife.
The women in the painting are depicted with their hair styled in wide buns on both sides of their heads, a style that originated from the popular hairstyle in the Southern Dynasties and is likely called “Shuang Huan Wang Xian Ji (双鬟望仙髻 ; shuāng huán wàng xiān jì)” during the Tang era.
Two types of hairpin flowers (花簪 ; huā zān) are symmetrically inserted on each side of the bun (Lady Yang only had one pair of these found). Additionally, she also had four long golden hairpins with steel tips, which could be used to support and secure the magnificent high bun.
Gold Flower Hairpins (金丝花簪 ; jīn sī huā zān)
Two flower-shaped hairpins made of gold were discovered in the tomb of Prince Wu’s wife, Lady Yang. The heads of these hairpins are crafted from thin gold wire that is twisted and shaped into layered patterns.
- One hairpin is shaped like a five-petaled flower, with a pair of small birds facing each other in the center.
- The other hairpin features a similar pattern with jewel-like decorations in the shape of lotus petals.
Both hairpins are adorned with small gold leaf pieces in the shape of flowers along their edges. The front of the hairpin shafts has nine small holes, which were originally used to hang bells or other decorations.
Hairpins of a similar style have been found in earlier Southern Dynasty tombs. One such find included a hairpin decorated with gold coins, a gold frame surrounding an agate stone, and a motif of swirling clouds made from tiny gold beads.
Meanwhile, from a slightly later period, a silver flower-shaped hairpin was discovered in the Famen Temple’s underground chamber, kept in a wooden box. The handle of this hairpin has many holes, similar to the gold hairpins belonging to Prince Wu’s wife.
Introduction to Jewelry: Across the River, Hou Ting Hua is Still Sung (隔江犹唱后庭花 ; gé jiāng yóu chàng hòu tíng huā)
烟笼寒水月笼沙，夜泊秦淮近酒家。
商女不知亡国恨，隔江犹唱后庭花。
Mist blankets the cold waters, the moon shines on the sand, the boat docks at Qinhuai near a drinking house.
The girl does not know the pain of a fallen kingdom, across the river, Hou Ting Hua is still sung.
The poem《泊秦淮》(pō qín huái) by Du Mu (杜牧 ; Dù Mù) is well-known. The phrase “Hou Ting Hua (后庭花)” in the last line refers to the song《玉树后庭花》(yù shù hòu tíng huā), created by Emperor Chen Shubao (陈叔宝 ; Chén Shūbǎo) of the Chen dynasty during the Southern Dynasties era. Because this song was born alongside the decline and destruction of the Chen dynasty, it was dubbed the “Music of National Destruction”.
However, during the Sui and Tang dynasties,《玉树后庭花》was still played and even appreciated. The song remained part of the court music, often accompanied by dance. The dancers performing it wore distinctive headpieces, such as the “Qi Huan Ji (漆鬟髻 ; qī huán jì)” and “Jin Tong Za Hua (金铜杂花 ; jīn tóng zá huā)”—high buns adorned with small flowers made of gold and copper.
This headpiece description can be found in the wall paintings from the tomb of Consort Yan (燕氏 ; Yàn shì)—one of the wives of Emperor Taizong of Tang—from the third year of the Xianheng era (672) in Liquan, Shaanxi. The painting depicts a dancer with a high bun decorated with intricate and detailed small flower ornaments.
At the Metropolitan Museum in the United States, a pair of gold flower ornaments from the Tang dynasty are preserved. The bottom of each has four strands of hanging decorations, consisting of three stacked gold bells, a small jade hook, and a bead-shaped gemstone.
They styled their hair in wide buns and adorned their hairpins and hair ornaments with various small gold flower ornaments, gold bells, and beads. As they walked, the gold decorations would shake, and the small bells would produce a pleasant sound. The headpieces of Prince Wu’s wife, Lady Yang, serve as a tangible example of this court trend.
Although this high and long bun style was popular for a brief period before evolving into a more rare style—used mainly for ceremonies or divine-themed costumes—such jewelry remained fashionable throughout the peak of the Tang dynasty.
As evidence, in the tomb of Princess Yongtai (永泰公主 ; Yǒngtài gōngzhǔ), Li Xianhui (李仙蕙 ; Lǐ Xiānhuì), from a slightly later period, similar small gold bells were found. Additionally, the stone coffin of the tomb featured carvings of a woman wearing a headpiece with small hanging bells.
Although these flowers and bells have scattered over time, such discoveries still offer us a glimpse of the beauty and grandeur of court fashion during that era.
Introduction to Jewelry: Dian Tou Chai Zi (钿头钗子 ; diàn tóu chāi zǐ)
The jeweled gold hairpins worn by Prince Wu’s wife, Lady Yang, are recorded in Tang dynasty records as “Dian Tou Chai Zi (钿头钗子)”, which is abbreviated in court terminology as “Dian Chai (钿钗)”.
This jewelry is believed to have originated during the Sui dynasty. According to《中华古今注》(zhōng huá gǔ jīn zhù) compiled by Ma Gao (马缟 ; Mǎ Gǎo), it is recorded that during the reign of Emperor Yang of Sui, “The imperial concubines wore Dian Tou Chai Zi hairpins.”
The structure of these hairpins consists of two parts:
- The shaft of the hairpin, which is hollowed out.
- The head of the hairpin, which is set with gemstones.
These two parts are joined together using a mechanism like a small peg.
In the early Tang dynasty, the most popular silver hairpin heads were lotus-shaped. A classic example of this can be found in the tomb of Empress Xiao (萧皇后 ; Xiāo huánghòu), the wife of Emperor Yang of Sui, where four gold-plated bronze hairpins with the same pattern were discovered. Interestingly, the four gold hairpins found in the tomb of Prince Wu’s wife, Lady Yang, have nearly identical forms to the jewelry from the tomb of Empress Xiao.
During the Tang dynasty, noblewomen wore these copper-tipped silver hairpins as part of their ceremonial headdresses, pinned to the sides of their crowns.
According to the ceremonial regulations of the time, at various official events, such as:
- Empresses and crown princesses when receiving guests,
- Noblewomen in the palace (内命妇 ; nèi mìng fù) at formal meetings,
- Noblewomen outside the palace (外命妇 ; wài mìng fù) during royal audiences, official farewells, and other palace ceremonies,
They were required to wear the “钿钗礼衣 (diàn chāi lǐ yī)”—ceremonial clothing with royal hairpins.
However, as fashion evolved, these copper-tipped hairpins began to be used more as adornments rather than merely ceremonial symbols. The jewelry became part of the everyday makeup of noblewomen.
Evidence of this usage can be found in the tomb of Crown Prince Yide (懿德太子 ; Yìdé tàizǐ), where carvings on his stone coffin depict a woman casually tucking a long hairpin into her bun.
As a tangible example, the Xiaogan Museum in Hubei has a collection of extraordinarily beautiful gold hairpins with steel tips:
- The head of the hairpin is adorned with elongated small flower patterns,
- The legs of the hairpin are made very short,
- Between the stems, there is twisted gold wire woven into layered patterns,
- The bottom end is decorated with a single gold flower.
And that’s a wrap—
I hope these notes have been insightful and encourage you to dive deeper into the world of traditional Chinese fashion, particularly from the Tang dynasty. If you come across any incorrect word / translation, or you have suggestions for improvement, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me via email.
Thank you so much for your time, and I’ll do my best to keep these updated for the next part. #ZhangRuying’sNotes
See you in the next notes. And thank you 谢谢!
张儒英 Zhang Ruying