Clothing and Hats, Etiquette and Music.(衣冠禮樂)
During China's Sui dynasty, there was a
famous minister named Niu Hong. His story is recorded in history books.
He was a renowned Confucian scholar.
He was deeply versed in the ancient Chinese
rites and rituals recorded in the Confucian Classics. He had a deep
understanding of the etiquette and norms that each social class should adhere
to.
Following the collapse of the Tang dynasty, China entered a period of division and unrest known as the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. It was not until 571 AD that stability began to return to China, when the Sui dynasty, founded by Yang Jian, unified the country.
In 602 AD, Yang Jian's wife passed away.
Several important ministers approached Niu Hong at this time, saying: 'China
has endured long periods of war and many rituals have been lost. As you are the
person among us who is most familiar with ancient Chinese rituals, we would
like to nominate you to oversee the empress's funeral.'
Niu Hong bravely accepted this important
task, responding immediately, "Yes, I am willing to accept this important
task." That same day, he convened a meeting with all the central
government officials to discuss the funeral arrangements. During this meeting,
he swiftly and thoroughly planned all matters related to the funeral.
He then assembled a team to carry out the
funeral and explained the details to them.
As he did so, he cited numerous ancient
Confucian classics to verify the correctness of the rituals and systems he had
planned.
His performance was so outstanding that all
the ministers present were deeply impressed.
A great general named Yang Su said to him,
'You have a complete grasp of all the
institutional norms related to clothing and hats, etiquette, and music.' The
essence and basis of all our country's civilised systems and rituals are in
your mind.'
In ancient China, the clothing and hats
worn by people of different social classes were made from specific materials
and had particular styles, with different requirements and regulations for the
applicable etiquette and music of each social class.
This great general used clothing, hats,
etiquette and music to represent the entire ancient Chinese civilisation
system.
This great general used everyday clothing
and hats to represent the entire system of dress and etiquette in ancient
China.
This great general used clothing and hats
to symbolize the external manifestations of civilization and the social
hierarchy.
Clothes and hats also appear extensively in
many Chinese idioms.
This idiom literally means clothing and
hats, etiquette and music.
It is used to refer to the clothing system
and etiquette that distinguish social status within a society.
Dear friends, what insights or thoughts
have you gained from this story?
Does your country have any unique
etiquette? What traditional clothing does your country have?
I hope this story has given you some new
insights.
衣冠禮樂(Clothing and Hats, Etiquette and
Music.)
中國的隋王朝有一個著名的大臣，他的名字叫做牛弘，歷史書上記載了一個他的故事。
他是一個著名的儒家的學者，
他對於儒家的經典書籍中所記載的古代的中國的典章制度與禮儀規範非常的嫻熟，他對於生活在這個社會的每個階層的人應該遵守的禮儀與規範非常的了解。
中國在唐王朝滅亡之後，進入了一個分裂又動亂的五代十國時代，直到西元571年，由楊堅建立的隋王朝統一中國之後，中國境內才又開始恢復安定。
西元602年，楊堅的妻子過世，當時的幾個重要的大臣們便對牛弘說。
中國經過的長期的戰亂，所以很多禮儀制度都失傳了，你是我們之間最熟悉中國古代的禮儀制度的人，所以我們想要推舉你出來負責舉辦皇后的葬禮。
牛弘勇敢地承擔這個重要的任務，他直接回答說好，我願意接受這個重要的工作。
他當天就立刻號召所有的中央政府的官員舉辦了一場有關於這場喪禮的執行會議，他在這場會議中快速且完整地規劃了所有與喪禮相關的事宜。
他立刻籌組了一個團隊來執行這場喪禮，他在對這個團隊的成員說明執行這場喪禮中的細節。
他在說明這場喪禮中的細節的同時，他引用了很多古代的儒家經典來印證他所規劃的這些有關喪禮的禮儀制度的正確性。
他的表現太優異了，在場所有的大臣們都對他感到十分的敬佩。
有一個名字叫做楊素的大將軍對他說。
那些有關於衣服和帽子、禮儀和音樂等等相關的所有制度規範都被你完全掌握，我們國家所有的文明制度與禮儀規範，其精髓和依據全都存在你的腦海裡
中國古代的中國人，對於各個社會階層的人所穿的衣服與所帶的帽子都有特定的樣式與質料，對於各個社會階層的人所適用的禮儀與音樂都有不同的要求與規定。
這位大將軍用衣服和帽子、禮儀和音樂來代表了中國古代那一整套完整的文明體系。
這個大將軍用人們日常穿著的衣服和帽子來代表中國古代一整套完整的服飾與禮儀制度。
這個大將軍用衣服與帽子來象徵文明體系的外在表現與社會等級秩序。
衣服與帽子這兩項物品也廣泛地出現在很多的中國成語中。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是衣服和帽子、禮儀和音樂。
這句成語被用來指在一個社會中區分身份等級的服飾制度與禮儀規範。
親愛的朋友，你聽完這個故事有怎樣的啟發或有怎樣的想法呢。
你的國家有那些特殊的禮儀規範嗎?你的國家中有那些傳統的服飾呢?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為隋書-卷49-牛弘傳
https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E9%9A%8B%E6%9B%B8/%E5%8D%B749