从《论语》中探讨礼在人性中的哲学思辨

Confucius'Thoughts Reflected in the Function of Clothes in the Analects of Confucius

Now I will start with my paper.The topic is Confucius'Thoughts Reflected in the Functions of Clothes in the Analects of Confucius.

As our research，most studies on the Analects of Confucius focus on his ideas on education thoughts，political ideas，and moral ethics.Few have paid attention to his comments on clothing.Today，I would like to study the color，design，pattern and fabric about clothing to reflect the etiquette of his time，the social stratification，social obligation，and codes of conducts，and further to argue that these clothing codes and styles should be part of Confucian thinking.

The first part is about the Analects of Confucius and clothing.Analects of Confucius stipulates a series of codes of conduct for the people to follow in their daily life.These codes are consistent with Confucius'political ideas and social ethics.The codes make sure the people could live peacefully and stay in their social position.The codes of clothing，part of general codes of conduct，focuses more on maintaining the hierarchical aspect of the society and individual behaviors.Based on the core spirit of Analects of Confucius，the clothing plays an important role in building up the harmonious society at that time.

First，ceremony and etiquette concerning attire may keep society as a whole in perfect order.It requires that everyone should act according to their social obligations.The social class was judged differently in terms of color，fabric，style and pattern.Second，ceremony and customs dictate the social norms，which means that clothes must conform to the requirements of etiquette even under different situations.The proper wardrobe at the proper time could even transform and define the man's reputation well.Third，attire functions as etiquette in social situations，helping people cooperate with each other harmoniously.

Now the second part.Confucianism reflected in the description of clothing in James Legge's version of Analects of Confucius.This section includes how does clothing reflect Confucius'idea of hierarchical thinking of society，his idealism of social harmony，and the harmony between human and natural worlds while examining and analyzing specific examples from the Analects of Confucius translated by James Legge？First，let's look at the colors in clothes.Colors are important to traditional Chinese philosophical thought according to those who believe in the Taoist philosophy of‘Wu Xing’.The colors blue，red，yellow，white and black are associated with wood，fire，earth，metal and water.To Confucius，the regulation of color in clothing was a part of ideas of harmony between human and natural world.There are some examples to illustrate it much more clearly.The first example is the color of the collar.According to the Analects of Confucius，“The superior man did not use a deep purple，or a puce color，in the ornaments of his dress.Even in his undress，he did not wear anything of a red or reddish color.”After the era of slavery，in the federal society，color of clothes did not only serve with practical purpose，but also had the function of attracting others'attention.Colors also had to distinguish the social class between the noble and lower ranks，and as a symbol of class，dark red，yellow green，black and white were seen as noble colors.And for the main-stream colors，between the green and the white，the dark and the red，all these intermediate colors were considered as low rank colors.According to the customs of the western，the bright red and bright purple was the noble colors for noble use.In Confucius'opinion，the collar of decoration of gentlemen's clothes should not be in dark green or was supposed to use black on the inside of the clothes as a decoration of sleeves；besides，he could not use red or purple cloth for regular household purpose（Fig.1）.

Fig.1

The third part is the etiquette in clothing.In this example，you will find that，“When a person was ill and the prince came to visit him，he had his head to the east，made his court robes be spread over him，and drew his girdle across them.”The example indicates that even a junior official was ill，and stayed in bed in the period of ancient China，he must wear the formal attire，including his court dress and the belt，in case of the emperor's visit，so as to show his proper respect to the emperor.In other words，his attire must match his position in front of the emperor（Fig.2）.

The fourth part is clothing style.In this part，it is mentioned that，“On the first day of every month，everyone put on‘Weishang’，his court robes，and presented himself at court to meet the emperor.”“Weishang”is also for occasions of ceremonies.The style of“Weishang”resulted in using much more cloth than the normal clothes，but it was necessary for the sake of etiquette.At the announcement of the new moon，he put on his court robes and left for court in full court regalia（Fig.3）.(www.xing528.com)

Fig.2

Fig.3

The fifth part.I'm going to say something about the clothing fabric.It is said in the Analects that，“When fasting，he thought it necessary to have his clothes brightly clean and made of linen cloth.”When preparing themselves for the sacrificing ceremony，they must wear some good clothes of linen，which means that one must dress properly in different situations，and darker colors were much more favored than lighter ones in traditional Chinese clothing.So the main color in the ceremony was dark rather than light.Lighter colored clothes were worn more frequently by people for their everyday use（Fig.4）.

Fig.4

The sixth part is clothing ornaments.“When staying at home，he used thick furs of the fox or the badger without paying attention to personal ornaments.When put off mourning，he wore all the appendages of the girdle.”The decorations not only added the attraction of personal beauty，but also signified their social status.People often chose jade and jewelry in the shape of knives and swords as the personal ornaments.But the most common material，which was typically jade.However，when the mourning was over，the appendages of the girdle，which were lucky talismans（Fig.5）.

Fig.5

The seventh part is the rule of clothing.The master said，“Where the solid qualities are in excess of accomplishments，we have rusticity；where the accomplishments are in excess of the solid qualities，we have the manners of a clerk；When the accomplishments and solid qualities are equally blended，we then have the man of virtue.”Confucius not only advocated the beauty of clothing form，but also formulated the relationship between form and content in cultivating the attire of a true gentleman.

In conclusion，the Analects of Confucius is not only a book of his political ideas，but also an early book that mentions the dressing codes and etiquettes in ancient China.Confucius'sayings on clothing both reflect and reinforce his hierarchical sense of society and idealism of social harmony.The clothing codes of the later Chinese dynasties，though different from one another，all continued these dual functions.That's all.Thank you！