FILE PHOTO: The “Jiuzi Lian Case” unearthed from the Mawangdui Han Tomb No. 1, dated to the Western Han Dynasty

The Complete Library in the Four Branches of Literature, the most celebrated Chinese encyclopedia commissioned during the Qing Dynasty, boasts an impressive collection of 3,462 ancient works, totaling over 800 million characters. Despite its scope, not a single work within the collection is dedicated specifically to women.

However, Wang Chutong, a Qing-era scholar, broke this pattern with his singular dedication to documenting women’s lives. In 1797, he published a comprehensive, 100-volume encyclopedia titled Lianshi (lit. Chronicles of Dressing Cases), entirely centered on women. The term “lian” generally refers to “a box used by ancient women to store mirrors and various grooming or cosmetic items such as combs, powders, and rouge” and also serves as a euphemism for dowries. In this context, “lian” symbolizes women’s secluded lives in their private chambers.

‘Chronicles of Dressing Cases’

The encyclopedia is divided into 100 volumes and spans 36 sections, including categories such as “Immortals and Buddhas,” “Appearance,” “Hairpins and Bracelets,” “Food and Drink,” “Empresses,” “Husbands and Wives,” “Prostitutes,” and “Flowers and Trees.” It not only offers specialized discussions on marriage systems, imperial consort systems, and kinship systems, but also comprehensively compiles a broad range of knowledge related to women.

For example, the section on “Hairpins and Bracelets” preserves a wealth of valuable documents about women’s ornaments in ancient times. This sub-section “Hairpins” is further divided into five parts, covering jewelry, flower decorations, earrings, armlets, and rings, providing a relatively complete record of references to women’s ornaments in ancient Chinese texts.

Dressing cases in history

Dressing cases, first crafted and used as early as the Warring States Period, were in use until the late Qing and early Republican eras. These finely crafted boxes stored precious items for women, such as bronze mirrors, mirror covers, combs, rouge, lip colors, face powder, eyebrow pigment, false hair, mirror brushes, powder puffs, fragrances, and even jewelry. A notable example is the “Jiuzi Lian Case” unearthed from the Mawangdui Han Tomb No. 1, which was discovered wrapped in silk. The upper compartment contained gloves and ribbons, while the lower compartment held nine smaller cases in various shapes (rectangular, round, oval, and hoof-shaped). These smaller cases were used to store cosmetic products such as face powder, combs, false hair, and powder puffs.

The aesthetic trends of hairstyles and makeup in different historical periods directly influenced the design and materials of various dressing tools. For example, during the Tang and Song dynasties, decorative combs became highly fashionable as a type of hairpin, leading to an increase in combs made from gold, silver, and jade. In the Song Dynasty, the rise in popularity of hair and facial oils necessitated the creation of small jars specifically designed for storing such products. In the Qing Dynasty, the trend of “cherry-sized lips” [a descriptive phrase often used to depict small, delicate, and perfectly shaped lips, resembling the size and appearance of a cherry] required the use of jade hairpins or similar tools for applying rouge. The Memoirs of Palace Maids details the process: “When applying lip rouge, one would roll a piece of silk with rouge [a lip makeup tool made by dying pieces of silk fabric with various floral extracts, which were then air-dried and stored in small boxes; when used, it was gently pressed between the lips to apply the pigment], turn it on the lips, or dip a jade hairpin into the silk rouge roll before applying it to the lips. The lip makeup should be centered around the philtrum. The upper lip should be painted sparingly, while the lower lip should be more prominent, with just a tiny dot of scarlet, slightly larger than a soybean.”

Since the pre-Qin period, dressing tools have been an essential component of dowries. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, these items were considered essential for brides, regardless of their families’ financial status. For example, The Collected Works of Chen Que from the Qing Dynasty lists a typical inventory of dowry items, including “one comb box, one mirror case, two bronze mirrors, and one washbasin.”

Beyond their role in dowries, dressing tools also held significance in tribute, gift exchanges, and other purposes. Historically, countries such as Vietnam, Korea, and Japan presented dressing tools to China as diplomatic offerings, emphasizing their cultural and ceremonial importance.