The History of Chinese Clothing (1) -- The Age of Myths
This is a painting about a tribal meeting of the primeval Huaxia nation. When Egypt and Babylon created illustrious civilizations, our nation was still uncivilized. However, the heroes of our nation led their people to strive for living, and the dawn of the Oriental Civilization was coming.
I'd like to recall the history of the Jiang (姜) clan, because my surname is Jiang. Jiang is one of the earliest surnames of Huaxia. Yan-Di (炎帝) was a great chief and the brother of Huang-Di. He lived by the Jiang River (姜水), so he adopted Jiang as his own surname. Yan-Di was the first ancestor of the Jiang clan. During the times of the five Di (帝, Di was the titile of the respected chiefs of tribal alliances in the far remote times, and the title of the supreme god in Huaxia's myths), the Jiang Clan and the Ji (姬) clan (which was the clan of Huang-Di) often fought for the authority of tribal alliances. Many Chinese myths were produced during this time of ancient history, such as Gonggong (共工) indignantly lamming his head against Mount Buzhou (不周山), and Xingtian (刑天) whirling his shield and broad ax. Gonggong and Xingtian were tragic heroes of the Jiang clan. The Jiang, Ji and other clans are what formed the Huaxia nation. In the Xia and Shang Dynasties, the heroes of the Jiang clan ruled many tribes of the Huaxia nation. In the last days of the Shang Dynasty, the Jiang and Ji clans forged an alliance against the Shang Dynasty. When the Ji clan created the Zhou Dynasty, the kings of Zhou feoffed the statesmen and generals of the Jiang clan for their great achievements. Qi, Lv (吕), Shen (申), Xu (许), Xiang (向) and Ji (纪) were the six states of the Jiang clan.
In the days of the Zhou Dynasty, there was the Qi State in the east of the Central Plains (中原), which was called the Eastern Xia (东夏). In China today, this area is known as the north of the Shandong Province. There is a city named Zibo (淄博), which was then called Yingqiu (营丘), had been known as Linzi (临淄) since the last days of the Spring-Autumn Period. This city was the capital of Qi in the Pre-Qin Era. The city of Zibo is proud of their Qi's Culture. So the city celebrates two festivals, the Festival of Qi's culture and the Sacrificial Ceremony for the Jiang clan. Both festivals reflect the people's pride in their rich and glorious heritage.
