In the traditional culture of the Chinese nation, "flower" is often regarded as a representative of good meaning, and people often use flowers to praise others or express blessings.
In general, the word "flower" is often used when describing young women, such as "like a flower" to represent a woman in the prime of her youth.
In particular, it is worth mentioning that the vocabulary specific to women contains a word that refers to a specific group, and "Yellow Flower Girl" is one of them. Whether in ancient or modern times, the term "yellow flower girl" can only be used to describe unmarried women.
When it comes to this, I believe everyone will have a question in their minds: how did the term "yellow flower girl" evolve?Why use "Yellow Flower Girl" instead of others such as Purple Flower Girl or Red Flower Girl?
Why can't married women use this word?All of this is directly related to Princess Shouyang, who was a centennial during the Southern Dynasties.
The land of Shenzhou fell apart during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, and the north of the Yangtze River was once ruled by ethnic minorities due to the chaos of the Western Jin Dynasty in the last years. At that time, countless ethnic minorities poured into the Central Plains and competed to establish their own kingdoms.
The Han gentry were forced to migrate to the south, and Sima Rui led a group of Western Jin royal families to re-establish the Eastern Jin Dynasty in Jinling City. Although only half of the country was controlled, at least the Han gentry still ruled Jiangnan, so the Jin Dynasty was able to continue peacefully.
Years later, a regime change took place in Jiangnan, and Liu Yu, a powerful minister of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, was ambitious and expanded in power, eventually deposing the Eastern Jin Emperor and proclaiming himself emperor, thus establishing the first dynasty of the Southern Dynasty, Liu Song.
Soon after Liu Yu ascended the throne, he ushered in his most beloved daughter, Princess Shouyang. As Liu Yu's favorite daughter, Princess Shouyang can be said to live in a golden rice bowl, and she was canonized by her father when she was born.
The real name of this princess is not recorded in the history books, and the only clue is her title "Shouyang". She has been a beauty since she was a child, and her fair and smooth skin and lovely temperament make everyone who sees her love it. Therefore, it is not surprising that Liu Yu dotes on his daughter.
As the years passed, Princess Shouyang gradually grew up, and her face became more and more charming, which made countless men who had seen her fall in love with her. How to describe it?If there really are fairies, Princess Shouyang's beauty even surpasses that of fairies.
Although Princess Shouyang was born in the royal family, under the care of Liu Yu, she has not been strictly restrained since she was a child, and her temperament is no different from that of a girl from an ordinary family, and she likes to play in the palace garden.
As a father, Liu Yu is happy with Princess Shouyang's cheerful and lively appearance, and will never restrain his baby daughter's behavior. One afternoon, Princess Shouyang frolicked in the garden as usual, perhaps tired from playing for too long.
She rested at the gate of the palace for a while, and at this moment, the wind suddenly rose in the palace. The maids, fearing that the princess would catch a cold, hurriedly took out the quilt and covered her. When the palace maids covered the quilt and turned to leave, she couldn't help but be dumbfounded.
The breeze blew off some wax plum petals, and one of them fell right on the princess's forehead, stuck to the sweat on her head, and stayed at the center of her eyebrows.
The faint plum blossom mark in the middle of the princess's forehead adds a unique charm to her appearance. The original outstanding face is even more moving under the embellishment of plum blossoms, so the maids covered with quilts are amazed.
When the princess awoke, the maid was watching her intently. Facing the maid's blank expression, the princess couldn't help but be curious: "What happened?"Is there anything unusual on my face?The maid did not answer, but brought a bronze mirror.
When the princess looked at herself in the mirror, she found the plum mark on her forehead, mistook it for dirt, and tried to wipe it off with her hands, but could not remove it.
Princess Shouyang felt distressed in her heart, but the maids around her were full of praise, praising her for being even more charming under the petals. This unexpected praise surprised Princess Shouyang, and the unanimous approval of the palace ladies showed that such a dress was indeed good.
Since then, the princess has plucked plum blossom petals from time to time and put them on her forehead. As the so-called "upward and downward effect", as time passed, the palace ladies also began to follow the princess's example and decorate themselves with plum blossom petals.
A new fashion trend is rapidly emerging, and because people leave plum blossom marks on their foreheads, this kind of dress is called "plum blossom makeup". Everyone has a love for beauty, and under the spread of the palace ladies, the dress style led by the princess quickly spread to the people.
At that time, whether it was the eldest lady of the official eunuch and noble, or the daughter of an ordinary family, or even the woman who worked in the Qinglou Fengyue place, they were very satisfied with this dress, so "plum blossom makeup" began to become popular.
With the popularity of "plum blossom makeup", some people gradually realized that plum blossoms are seasonal. In the royal palace, princesses don't have to worry about not having plum petals available, but the average family rarely enjoys royal treatment.
When there are no plum blossoms, how can you put on plum blossom makeup?There will always be a way, and after the unremitting exploration of the masses, they have come up with a solution.
The flowers are first picked and then processed to make a petal powder. These powders can then be used to dye various materials to create ornaments that are suitable for the face or forehead.
The jewelry we are familiar with "Huahuang" has become an indispensable part of women's daily dress during the Northern and Southern Dynasties. According to the record of "Mulan Ci": "When the window is cloudy and sideburns, the mirror appliqué is yellow".
However, this fashion trend is only prevalent among unmarried women. Most of the people who like to decorate themselves with yellow flowers are also young unmarried women, so over time, people have also given this group a new title - yellow flower girls.
Words"The big girl of the yellow flower"When it came out, it was used to depict women who were not married, and it was not used for married women. Some people may wonder, after all, this word was originally used to praise the beauty and youth of young women, so why can't it be used for married women?
The main reason why this word cannot be used for married women is actually influenced by the customs of the time. During the period of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, there was a custom saying about women's marriage: "Sister Huanghua with a white face today, and a wife with red face and green sideburns tomorrow."
Women need to change their makeup before and after marriage. Married women no longer use or can no longer use yellow to dress themselves, which is why "yellow flower girl" has become a term used specifically to describe unmarried women.
Although thousands of years have passed and Princess Shouyang has long been history, her legend continues to this day. Perhaps even Princess Shouyang herself never imagined that her unintentional actions would evolve into an idiom that has been passed down for thousands of years.
When people use "Huahuang" or mention "Huanghua", they do not think of Princess Shouyang, so she is gradually forgotten. What are your thoughts on this?