Evolution Of Jewelry In The Song Dynasty

The Song dynasty is a brilliant period of development in China’s feudal society when its culture and art reached an unprecedented height.Although jewelry is only a small part of the art categories of the Song Dynasty,its development and evolution are the result of continuous adjustment and correction under the control of cultural and economic factors.It is also the result of the close integration of aesthetic interests of the literati and folk craftsmen of that era.The paper first divides the jewelry of the Song dynasty into eight categories according to the types,then discusses the way of jewelry insertion combined with the images,and summarizes the typical characteristics and popular period of each kind of jewelry.Secondly,the development and evolution of jewelry in Song Dynasty are sorted out in terms of "material,technology,shape and pattern".Among them,emphases are put on the evolution of the hairpins,comb backs,earrings,bracelets which account for a large number of unearthed,as well as the changes of patterns under the influence of scholars’ interest.Thirdly,a comparative study of similarity between the jewelry unearthed in the Song dynasty and that in the Liao and Jin areas is made from the shape and pattern,and the influence of Song culture on minority areas is analyzed.Jewelry is a material carrier of the Song culture.The selection of materials,the inheritance and development of craftsmanship,the replacement and change of shapes,and the development of ornaments show that the jewelry of the Song dynasty has come to a new stage and exerted a profound influence on jewelry in Liao and Jin areas.