Pick up bargains in Chinatown and make 10,000 times the profit at the beginning

Chapter 80 Pearl Curtain
I saw that this thing had a dragon head, a deer body, cow hooves, and wings.

"It shouldn't be a Qilin! Qilin has a sheep's head, wolf's hooves, a round top, and a colorful body."

In fact, the image of Qilin has evolved in different historical periods and cultural backgrounds.

During the Qin and Han dynasties, the image of the Qilin was relatively gentle, similar to a deer-shaped auspicious beast; with the introduction of Buddhism, the image of the Qilin gradually became closer to the shape of a mighty lion; in the Song Dynasty, the appearance and artistic characteristics of the Qilin were closely linked to the evolution of the dragon.

"Could it be the Four-Unlike-Sister?" Qiao Yufan said.

Huo Qingtong rolled her eyes: "It's not a deer, okay? It's not that at all."

The elk is named "four-unlike" because of its unique appearance. Its head and face are long and narrow like a horse, its horns are like a deer, its hooves are wide like a cow, and its tail is long and thin like a donkey.

"I'm not talking about that Sibu Xiang, but the ancient four-unlike divine beast. Legend has it that it was the mount of Yuanshi Tianzun, the leader of the Chan sect. Later, it was given to Jiang Ziya, a disciple of Yuxu, to use in his conquest of King Zhou." Qiao Yufan said depressedly.

Liu Xin shook her head: "That's not right! The Sibuxiang in Investiture of the Gods has a smaller body, a head and body like a fox, but ears like a rabbit, long and round, a tail like a squirrel, and hind legs like a deer."

Qiao Yufan spread his hands and said, "Then I don't know."

Everyone turned their eyes to Lin Yuan.

"It's fake and looks weird." Lin Yuan concluded.

Huo Qingtong also picked up a few strings of beads and asked, "What about this? A bracelet? It doesn't look like one."

This is very different from the eighteen-bead bracelet they got before. First of all, they are just strips without the two ends tied together.

"If you like it, I'll give it to you. Share it between the two of you!" Liu Xin said to Huo Qingtong and Li Qiu Shui.

He bought these beads at a flea market, and asked the stall owner to give them to him as a gift. Strictly speaking, he didn't spend any money on them, so he just considered it as a gift.

It's free and Li Qiushui and Huo Qingtong definitely won't mind it.

They each took half and thanked him, "Thank you, Senior Brother Liu."

He is about to finish his study abroad and is one year older than them, so there is nothing wrong with calling him senior.

Lin Yuan: "This should be the crown."

"Crown tassels? What does it come from?" Almost no one present understood, and it seemed that everyone was hearing this term for the first time.

Lin Yuan explained: "It's the strings of beads on the crown of ancient emperors. It's similar to a door curtain. You should have seen it, right?"

A long time ago, the emperor's crown was made up of "tassels", "brimmed hair", "crown plate", etc. On the top was a long crown plate, with many strings of pearls and jade hanging in front and back, strung together with colorful threads.

Among them, the emperor's hat style from the Qin and Han dynasties that we see in film and television dramas is the most representative.

With this explanation, everyone understood it except Paul.

Including Henry. After all, Henry studied in China for several years and watched Chinese costume TV dramas, so he knew what it was about.

"That thing is called a crown?"

Liu Xin helped to interpret: "'Mian' means crown or hat, and 'tassel' means pearls and jade strung together, which is also called 'tamamo'." He is still somewhat knowledgeable, he just didn't react just now.

In fact, the several strings of beads hanging from the brim of the crown are called "tassels". They are made of pearls and jade strung together with colored threads. Together with the crown, they are called crown tassels. The different materials and numbers of the crown tassels are the standards for distinguishing between status and inferiority.

It is said that when the crown tassels first appeared, not only the emperor but also the princes could wear them. Depending on the status, the number of tassels was nine, seven, or five. Wearing the wrong ones would be severely punished.

Generally speaking, there are twelve jade beads in front of the imperial crown and twelve jade beads in the back, a total of twenty-four. Originally, they were woven together with red, blue, white, black, and yellow jade beads, with each bead one inch apart. Later, white jade was also used.

The crown prince uses 11 tassels and 11 beads, while princes and dukes can only use 9 tassels and 9 beads, and the ministers have even fewer tassels and beads than the dukes.

Therefore, their official positions can be determined by the number of tassels, which is what is meant by "judging a person by his hat."

Later, as imperial power became increasingly centralized, the crown and tassels became exclusive to the emperor, and thus the crown and tassels also came to represent the emperor.

Lin Yuan told everyone that during the Qin and Han dynasties, the emperor's court dress was a typical combination of black and red. Later, the court dress gradually changed. By the Song Dynasty, the emperor almost no longer wore a crown.

"After the Song Dynasty, the appearance of the imperial crown became simpler, but the material of the imperial crown was made entirely of pure gold, and the dragons and carvings on it became more exquisite."

To be precise, it was abolished in the Tang Dynasty.

During the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang, in order to demonstrate his closeness to the people, he ordered the removal of the pearl curtain on the crown.

In ancient times, a crown was very important, as it reflected a person's class status. Those who tied their hair with a crown were either rich or noble, while ordinary peasants did not wear a crown, and most of them tied their hair with a scarf or something like that.

This kind of "ritual system" was established in the Zhou Dynasty and has been used by subsequent dynasties.

Emperors of ethnic minorities who established regimes did not wear crowns and tassels, and the hats they wore were also different from those worn by Han emperors. By the Qing Dynasty, the crown and tassel-style ceremonial hats had completely withdrawn from the stage of history.

Qiao Yufan asked in doubt: "Besides decoration, what other use is this thing for? Won't the emperor feel dizzy if it's dangling in front of him?"

Those hypnotists just wave something in front of you for a while.

In fact, the jewels on the heads of ancient people were all used as headdresses, and the crown tassels naturally also served as decorations, but their functions were not limited to that, they also had deeper meanings.

In ancient times, there was a saying that "eyes without tassels can see, ears without ears can hear". The purpose of placing tassels is to "block the eyes", which means: "When the king looks at things, he cannot see clearly."

In addition, the pearl curtain of the crown can create a safe "psychological distance" and obscure the emperor's expression, making it difficult to guess his thoughts, thereby creating an unfathomable and mysterious and majestic image, implying that the subjects "cannot face the emperor directly", while using the sense of distance to make the subjects feel fear and respect.

The crown tassels were placed in front of the emperor to remind him that he should control his thoughts and emotions and reflect on himself at any time. If the emperor lost control of his temper, the crown tassels would shake violently, which was offensive.

Because the jade beads in front and behind the crown tassel can easily shake and make noises, one must be dignified and steady when speaking, walking, or even sitting. If one moves too much or walks too fast, one will be hit in the face; if one sits improperly, with a crooked head and body, the crown tassel will slip off.

Therefore, the crown tassels are also a tool to regulate the emperor's demeanor.

I’m afraid many people would not have thought of this, right?
Lin Yuan was not sure either, so he said bluntly: "That's not clear, but the quality of this bead is good and worth some money."

Hearing this, Huo Qingtong wanted to return the things to Liu Xin.

Liu Xin immediately waved her hand: "You look down on me, don't you? How can you take back what you gave away? Stop it."

(End of this chapter)