Rongjiang Dong costumes are typical representatives of Dong costumes in southern Guizhou. In terms of structure and style, there are five main types of Dong costumes: Seventy-two Villages Dong costumes, Forty-eight Villages Dong costumes, Miaolanzaidang Dong costumes, Sanbao Dong costumes and Tianfu Dong costumes. Among them, Seventy-two Villages Dong costumes and Forty-eight Villages Dong costumes are famous for their bright colors, exquisite craftsmanship, beautiful patterns and pleasing to the eye. Rongjiang County is located in the southeast of Guizhou Province, in the middle and upper reaches of Duliu River, in the south of the low mountains and hills in eastern Guizhou, and in the southeastern slope of Leigong Mountain; the terrain is high in the northwest and low in the southeast; the northwest is a shallowly cut low mountain area, with Leigong Mountain in the north and Moon Mountain in the south. It is adjacent to Liping and Congjiang in the east, Libo in the south, Sandu and Leishan in the west, and Jianhe County in the north, with a total population of about 320,000. There are 17 ethnic groups in the territory, including Dong, Miao, Han, Shui, and Yao. The ethnic minority population accounts for 84.38% of the total population, among which the Dong ethnic group has the largest population, accounting for 38.38% of the total population of the county. The rivers in Rongjiang County belong to the Yangtze River and the Pearl River, with the Pearl River being the main river system. Most of the Rongjiang Dong people live in groups, and most villages are close to mountains and rivers, and a few villages are located on the mountains. Most of the houses are stilt-style stilt wooden houses. There is a drum tower in the village and a flower bridge over the stream. The drum tower is the symbol of the Dong village and is a public place for the Dong people to discuss and entertain. The Rongjiang Dong people have created a brilliant national culture over the long history, including the creation of the Dong clothing craft culture with unique national artistic characteristics. The Rongjiang Dong people are divided into seven branches according to their living areas: the Dong people living around Chejiang Dam and on both sides of the three rivers of Zhaihao, Pingyong and Bakai are called Sanbao Dong; the Dong people living in Leli, Benli, Baoli, Wangli, Ruili, Renli, and Yangshe, Liechen, Biyou, Guibei, Dongli in Pingyang Township, Pingzhai and Liuxing in Pingyong Town are called 72 villages Dong; the Dong people living in the area of Bamei River and Sebian River in Zhaihao are called 48 villages Dong; the Dong people living scattered in The Dong people living in Tiankeng, Bidu, Kouma, Tianba and other places at the junction of Pingyong Town, Zhongcheng Town and Zhaihao Town are called Tianfu Dong; the Dong people living in Zaima and Jiali are called Miaolan and Zaidang Dong; the Dong people living in Langdong Changshou, Pingdi, Zailian, Zailin, Yangquan, Jiudong, Leli Guiluo, Liangwang Yuangu, Yuanshuai, Bangqin, Wuji and other places are called Sizhai Dong; the Dong people living in Dushi, Baji and Laliang in the lower reaches of Sanjiangkou in the south of the city are called Xiahe Dong. The Dong people are a nation with a long history and culture. According to folk legends, the ancestors of the Dong people used a hand-cranked spinning wheel to spin and weave cloth very early, and started the primitive textile industry. They used wild hemp fibers to weave cloth and sew clothes. According to the data, "During the Northern Song Dynasty, fine cloth, white silk and other cloth woven in the Dong ethnic group areas such as Jingzhou were all famous, and some became tributes to the court." It can be seen that the Dong ethnic group's textile culture had developed to a certain level at that time. The Dong ethnic group's clothing is famous for its exquisite embroidery. In the Tang and Song dynasties, Dong brocade was appreciated by people for its exquisite colors. The "Liuzhou Prefecture Records" said that the Dong people "women weave and dye their own clothes, and their sleeves are painted and embroidered." In the Ming Hongzhi "Guizhou Atlas New Records", it is recorded that Liping Prefecture belonged to the "Dong people" at that time, "women's clothes, long pants and short skirts are embroidered with miscellaneous articles like ribbons, and there is an embroidered cloth on the chest with fine flowers like brocade." By the Qing Dynasty, the "Dong brocade" and "Dong cloth" spun, woven and dyed by Dong women themselves were already famous in the world. During the reign of Emperor Kangxi, Hu Fengheng's Liping Bamboo Branch Poems contained the following lines: "Dong brocade boasts of its production in ancient states" and "Songhuo nights are all accompanied by women, spinning Dong cloth to pay official rent." Rongjiang Dong costumes are distinguished by structure and style. There are five types of Dong costumes: the costumes of the 72 villages, the 48 villages, the Miaolanzaidang, the Sanbao, and the Tianfu. Among them, the costumes of the 72 villages and the 48 villages have relatively intactly maintained the original ecological inheritance style and are representative. Dong women's costumes of the 72 villages in Rongjiang: Dong women's costumes are mainly composed of outer garments, underwear, aprons, pleated skirts, leg covers, embroidered shoes, silver ornaments, etc. Outer garments: wide sleeves with right lapel, arc-shaped hem, and round collar. The lapel and sleeves are all wide and rolled, with silver buckles as buckles. The fabrics are homemade black cotton (called "Mingya" in the Dong language) and white, blue, red and green satin fabrics. The upper part of the chest is square, and the oblique part is lotus leaf-shaped. Various patterns are embroidered in an unconventional way. The backing is black satin, and the edge is bordered with powder blue cloth. The middle part is embroidered with dragons, phoenixes, fish, cloud hooks, and curling grass. The bottom is bordered with blue dried flowers. In the pattern, the dragon curls and leaps, the phoenix opens its mouth to sing, the fish jumps over the dragon gate, and the waves roll and the clouds spread. The composition is free and unrestrained, the lines are smooth, the colors are gorgeous, and the shapes are vivid. The wide sleeves and large borders are embroidered with a separate color tube embroidery set, which is placed on the cuffs of the flower, which is easy to disassemble and replace. One piece of clothing can be replaced with multiple color tube embroidery sets. The pattern is divided into two parts, the inner side is black satin backing, and the pink blue line border is clearly black and white. The outer side is red and green satin backing, and the dragon, phoenix, fish, butterfly, plum blossom, treasure gourd, etc. are embroidered. The middle is divided by the Ruyi cloud hook. The patterns are vivid, colorful, beautiful and clear. Underwear: Underwear is also a wide-sleeved right-fronted garment, usually made of black or white cotton cloth, without any decoration. In winter, add a woolen jacket, the hem is two inches longer than the outer coat, so that the white wool can be exposed outside the clothes as an embellishment, outlining a dazzling outline, appearing elegant and luxurious, representing the wearer's wealthy status. Waistband: The waistband is rectangular, 1.5 feet long and 1.2 feet wide, and the belt is 2.3 feet long (red, yellow, and blue are all available). The belt head is a six-inch long arrow-shaped colorful embroidery piece, with three dragons embroidered on both sides, separated by cloud hooks, and bordered with colorful and silver lines. The belt head is pendant with colorful beads (silver beads or glass beads) and dragon beards. The waistband lining is made of homemade - colored cotton cloth and green and blue colored satin, with full embroidery patterns, which is the colorful and dazzling part of the costume. Its patterns are generally divided into four parts: the upper lace, four sides, the inner three sides and the large flower in the middle. The upper piece is rectangular with lace and lotus leaf-shaped bottom. The pattern is mainly dragon and phoenix, with butterflies, peacocks, mandarin ducks, treasure gourds, plum blossom branches, curling grass, etc. There are four strips on four sides, with a triangle of Ruyi cloud hook in the upper corner, fish tail shapes on both sides, and sawtooth strips on the bottom, with dragons, phoenixes, butterflies, curling grass, etc. embroidered inside. The inner circle has three strips on three sides, with fish shapes arranged repeatedly, and double dragons embroidered inside, and phoenixes, fish, plum blossoms, curling grass, etc. are also irregularly scattered in between. The middle big flower is square, with three big butterflies on the top, dragons, phoenixes, fish, etc. embroidered inside, with silver beads or glass beads in the middle butterfly (the second one), and dragon beards hanging under the beads. Two big carps are jumping under the beard, and the fish bodies are decorated with gold pieces. There are three golden Ruyi cloud hooks on the left, right and bottom, with bright beads. The whole pattern of the waist is layered, although it is spread all over the ground, the pattern is clear and the layering is strong. The cloud hook, fish tail, lotus leaf and wave are unique in shape, rich in changes, harmonious and unified, highlighting the theme of dragon and phoenix, fish and birds singing, full of joy and elegance. Pleated skirt: The skirt is knee-length, generally 1.3 feet long, 2.6 feet in circumference, - color, about 6 meters of cloth, soft and elegant, rich families hang small silver beads on the bottom of the skirt as decoration. Leg cover: Wear a cover on the calf, - color, generally made of homemade cotton cloth. The length is from the knee to the ankle, the leg cover has no straps, and uses a colorful embroidery cover as a hoop. The embroidery cover is 4 inches high, with blue and green satin as the base. It is divided into two parts, the upper part is wide, embroidered with dragons and phoenixes playing between clouds and flowers; the lower part is narrow, embroidered with plum blossoms and curling grass, and decorated with sequins, meticulous. Flower shoes: Flower shoes are embroidered shoes with hooked noses and heels, with unique and strange images, small and exquisite. Various curling grass, flowers, birds, bees, etc. are embroidered on both sides of the uppers of the shoes. The patterns are diverse and beautiful. Silver ornaments: Silver ornaments are an indispensable part of formal wear. Most of the silver ornaments of the Dong people in the Seventy-two Villages are inherited from their ancestors. They mainly include silver combs, silver earrings, silver collars, silver flowers, silver chains, silver bracelets, silver rings, silver buttons, silver beads, etc. The formal wear of the Dong people in the Seventy-two Villages is mainly worn by young Dong women during social activities such as the New Year, eating new festivals, watching bullfighting, stepping on the reed pipe or stepping on the song hall, and visiting relatives and friends. After the activities are over and returning home, the formal wear is immediately folded and collected. Each young woman has at least one set of formal wear, and some have more than ten sets. Girls without formal wear dare not participate in social activities such as stepping on the song hall. Therefore, no matter whether the family is rich or poor, they must sew a set of formal wear for their daughters. Clothing of Dong women in the Forty-eight Villages: The clothing of Dong women in the Forty-eight Villages is divided into two categories: formal wear and plain wear, each of which has different decorative characteristics and life uses. Especially the formal dress, which has unique artistic characteristics of the nation, retains and inherits a lot of original ecological cultural information. The formal dress consists of outer clothes, chest scarves, underwear, shawls, waists, streamers (back waists), pleated skirts, leggings (wrapped tubes), flower shoes, and silver ornaments. Outer clothes: short and wide sleeves with straight lapel, round collar, sleeves only up to the elbows, large lace on the chest and sleeves, and silver buckles. In addition to homemade cotton cloth, satin is also used. Some are interlayered. Purple blue and ink blue, with ribbons tied around the waist. The outer garment ribbon is 4 feet long, woven with self-produced and self-dyed yarn, with black diamond and rice-shaped patterns, and red, yellow, and green borders. The chest pattern is 5 inches wide and divided into three parts. The dark cloth on the right is the base, and the rose and lemon yellow cloth is used as the line, and the cloth buttons are set. The middle is fully embroidered, with red velvet as the base, and the patterns include dragons, phoenixes, ingots, rhinoceros, peonies, cloud hooks, etc. The pattern on the left is a hand-woven ribbon, with a red background, blue and white edges, and yellow and green geometric figures. It is exquisite and simple, and the main pattern is more prominent. The large sleeve pattern is made of embroidered sleeves and nailed on the large sleeves. It is composed of green satin, flat embroidery lace, and braided thread embroidery. The lines are clear and the layers are distinct. The patterns include pagodas (some are called temples), fish, dragons, and curling grass. The outer garment is also made into an open-chested three-leaf long gown, with a rolled edge round collar, an embroidered sleeve on the small sleeve, tight, waist-holding, and a flowing chest scarf: (also known as a chest card, bellyband), diamond-shaped, woven ribbon edging, self-dyed cotton cloth, black, blue, and purple are all available. The neck is an inverted triangle shape, the pattern is a woven flower edging, braided symmetric phoenix, and a red background. Two woven belts are hung on the back buckle, and the cloth belt is tied around the waist. It is worn as underwear in summer and autumn. Underwear: Underwear is available in single-layer and interlayer. Long and thin sleeves, right-front tights, rolled edge round collar, no decoration at the lapel, and dark color. When worn, the cuffs extend 5-6 inches beyond the sleeves of the outer garment, and there are small embroidered sleeves on the cuffs. The patterns are the same, but the content is slightly different. The entire sleeve forms multiple layers and overlaps, giving people a sense of thickness and solemnity. Shawl: The shawl is round, and the inner circle is a red-bottomed braided pattern, with four red, green, blue and yellow dragons grabbing two treasures, surrounded by cloud hooks. The outer circle is connected by beads, with a Ruyi cloud hook shape, and single and double hooks are arranged in sequence. The graphics are rich and colorful, including jumping fish, flying dragons, spreading phoenixes, pomegranates, crooked peaches, persimmons, butterflies, rhinoceroses, thrushes, phoenixes wearing peonies, etc., with silver line edging, and glass beads hanging from the hook heads. Waist (front): The waist is rectangular, 2 feet long and 1.4 feet wide, with 4 woven belts, two of which are 3.2 feet long on the side, with blue and white patterns. The two inside are 2 feet long, with red and white patterns. The belt heads are all Ruyi cloud hook shapes, embroidered with flowers, and hanging glass beads. The waist is usually made of dark blue or rose-colored satin, and the pattern consists of the main stripes, the outer frame, and the middle pattern. The main stripe pattern is dominated by double dragons grabbing treasures, double fish protecting treasures, and cloud hooks lingering. The outer frame has four wavy patterns, which are basically the same as the main stripe pattern, but a pair of butterflies are added on the two corners, and there are also crooked peaches and plum blossoms to embellish it. The middle pattern is composed of four triangles and four cloud hooks. The triangle patterns are at the four corners, embroidered with phoenixes, peonies, fish, eight treasures, etc. The cloud hook patterns are on the top, bottom, left, and right, embroidered with phoenixes, plum blossoms, fish, rhinoceros, etc. Streamers: (also known as the back waist) The streamers are composed of flower waists and embroidered pieces, 1.2 feet long and 2.5 feet wide, tied on the back waist. The flower waist has a red background and is bordered with colored threads, with double fish protecting treasures, double dragons grabbing treasures, and embroidered with mandarin ducks, rhinoceroses, eight treasures, Gulu money, eggplants, etc. The embroidery pieces are ruyi cloud hooks on the top, and gold cloud hooks, fish tails, sawtooth, arrowheads, peach shapes, diamonds, circles and other shapes on the bottom. There are usually 9-11 pieces, with silver line edging, and colors of red, yellow, green, blue, etc. The word "longevity" is embroidered inside, and there are dragons, phoenixes, fish, butterflies, dragon heads and phoenix tails, eight treasures, plum blossoms, persimmons, eggplants, cloud hooks, etc., which are quite random, and glass beads and colored whiskers are hung at the top of the pieces. Pleated skirts: Pleated skirts are all dark blue, 1.2 feet long, 3.2 feet wide, 6 meters of cloth, straight, and undecorated. Leggings: (also known as wrap tubes), - color, etc., the length is from below the knee to above the ankle. A vertical woven ribbon is tied to the calf. The strap is 5 feet long, white cotton cloth, and red line edging. Flower shoes: also known as flower hook shoes, 6.5 inches long, step on the heel. The toe of the shoe is pointed and hooked upward to the upper. Dragons are embroidered on both sides of the front upper, and colored cloth is edging. The heel is decorated with woven ribbons on a white background. Flower handkerchief: Flower handkerchief is an integral part of formal attire. Anyone wearing formal attire must hold a flower handkerchief in hand. Flower handkerchief is made of homemade white cloth, and various geometric patterns are woven with selected threads and yarns, usually in 8 groups, with many variations and avoid being the same. Silver ornaments: Silver ornaments for formal attire are generally: head ornaments with silver flowers, silver hairpins, silver hairpins, and silver earrings. The chest is decorated with silver necklaces, silver locks, and silver corsages. The back is decorated with back buckles (disc-shaped, polygonal, multi-faceted, and bamboo hat-shaped, etc.). Hand ornaments include silver bracelets, silver rings, etc. In the old days, there were also silver anklets and silver foot bells. The production of Rongjiang Dong ethnic clothing mainly includes textile, dyeing, sewing, embroidery, brocade, and inlay decorations. Spinning: The Dong people use the cotton they grow themselves, remove the seeds, fluff, and roll it, and use homemade spinning wheels to spin cotton spindles, and then unwind it into pulp for washing, drying, and airing. At first, they used a homemade hand-cranked spinning machine, and later invented a pedal spinning machine, which could spin double yarns and double spindles at a time, greatly improving work efficiency. Weaving: A one-foot wide cloth is woven with a homemade loom, which is used as the basic fabric for Dong ethnic clothing. Dyeing: Indigo is the indigo planted in the shady mountains. It is divided into two types: herbaceous and woody. It is the main raw material for the Dong ethnic group to make indigo dye for cloth. First, soak the cut indigo with stems and leaves in a wooden barrel and soak it in clean water for three to four days. After the leaves are rotten and blue, take out the remaining stems, put an appropriate amount of quicklime in a gourd, infiltrate water into a solution, mix it into a tank, and use a gourd or a stick to stir the water until foaming. After about four or five days, the indigo will sink after being decomposed by the lime. Remove the upper layer of clear water, place the precipitate in a bamboo basket to drain the water to form indigo blue glue. When dyeing indigo, dissolve the indigo slurry in the dye vat and add an appropriate amount of liquor. Then put the self-woven white cloth into the dye vat and dye it three times a day. Add an appropriate amount of blue glue and liquor every day. After about ten days, the dark blue cloth will be made. If you want the blue-black to be red, boil the red water from the red thorn root and dye it once. The bright cloth made by the Miaolan Zaidang Dong is coated with animal blood on the basis of the dyeing, dried in the sun, and then coated with cowhide glue. Finally, put the dyed Dong cloth on a flat bluestone and hammer it with a wooden hammer until the cloth is shiny. This traditional folk craft of indigo dyeing is still passed down in Rongjiang Dong Village. Tailor: Cut the cloth according to the style and specifications of the clothes to be sewn, and sew it into ordinary ready-made clothes by hand. Embroidery: The folk embroidery of the Rongjiang Dong people is exquisite. Its types include: crepe embroidery, braid embroidery, lock embroidery, twist embroidery, broken silk embroidery, flat embroidery, pasted embroidery, yarn embroidery, patch embroidery, overlapping embroidery, etc., which form the basic techniques of the Rongjiang Dong clothing style. Each set of costumes is composed of several embroidery pieces. To make floral patterns, you must first make a cloth shell as the base, stick on colored satin or other colored cloth, cut it into various shapes according to the pattern, braid the colored thread into a braid, and embroider it on the pattern. The patterns are outlined with gold and silver threads and embellished with silver beads and sequins. After finishing, the flower pieces are bound to the places where the clothes need to be decorated, creating a beautiful visual effect. Brocade: Rongjiang Dong brocade is generally plain and colorful. Its patterns are mainly geometric figures and birds and beasts, flowers, birds, insects and fish, with strong color contrast and coordinated and unified patterns. Brocade is mainly used as straps, belts, skirts, leggings, etc. Inlay decorations: Use needle and thread to bind embroidery pieces, silver ornaments, and brocade ribbons to the sewn garments, and it becomes a beautiful Dong ethnic costume. The production of pleated skirts: The 72nd Village uses specially woven loose gauze cut into strips, fixed with rice straw, and soaked in a solution called "Duonuo" in the Dong language to fix it, and dried it. Repeat three to five times, and after meeting the requirements, it is connected into a skirt. The 48th Village folds the hand-woven cotton cloth into strips, soaks it with "Duonuo" (folk plant fixative) water, tightens it and fixes it on the model board, and waits for the water to dry. The fabric of the pleated skirt is different from that of clothes. The texture is required to be thin, fine, and soft. It can only be made after starching, dyeing, pounding, kneading, drying, and steaming. The Rongjiang Dong women's costumes are complex in structure, rich in layers, solemn in pattern, and gorgeous. In the embroidery of patterns, many embroidery methods such as crepe embroidery, embroidery, identification embroidery, and flat embroidery are used, and the expression techniques are diverse, forming an extraordinary effect. The block geometric pattern composed of woven lines breaks through the general rules and has excellent effects in rhythm, contrast, repetition and modification. Its color setting is very particular, with strong black and white contrast and cold and warm contrast; the pattern shape creates a sense of balance and flowing beautiful melody, which is exquisite in simplicity, rich in simplicity, and complicated in refinement, with a simple, progressive, rich and elegant style. Its content selection is wide, including birds and beasts, flowers, plants, fish and insects, pagoda coins, vegetables and fruits, religious beliefs, myths, realistic themes, visions of happiness, and reviews of history, pursuing harmony between man and nature. Rongjiang Dong ethnic costumes and production techniques are the remains of the excellent culture of the Dong ethnic group, and are representative in the Dong ethnic costume culture and craftsmanship. Rongjiang Dong ethnic costumes still retain and use traditional materials and craftsmanship, and the costume production techniques with distinctive local characteristics created have enriched the treasure house of Chinese national costume techniques. The costumes of the Rongjiang Dong people and the various patterns on them contain rich cultural meanings of the Dong people, including the connotations of the Dong people's totem worship and ancestor worship. They have special significance and important scientific research value for maintaining the sustainable inheritance and development of the Dong ethnic culture. Due to the accelerated process of modernization, the clothing culture of the Dong people has inevitably been hit by unprecedented impacts from other cultures. Coupled with the Dong people's pursuit and yearning for modern civilization, the protection and inheritance of the Rongjiang Dong clothing culture is facing a huge test. It is mainly reflected in the fact that young people, especially young men, rarely wear or do not wear their own ethnic clothing in daily life. As a symbol of the branch, ethnic costumes have become formal dresses worn by people at festivals, celebrations, religious ceremonies, weddings, etc. The reduction of traditional material production such as cotton planting, spinning, weaving, dye planting, indigo making, and cloth dyeing has made the raw materials necessary for Dong clothing increasingly scarce, and they are replaced by ready-made industrial products. Ethnic clothing products are gradually losing their traditional charm; Rongjiang Dong clothing style is crucial to sewing and embroidery skills, but as the old artists with superb craftsmanship gradually pass away, there is no successor, and the traditional craftsmanship that the Dong people were once proud of is facing the risk of being lost. (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.) (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.)