Ten tokens of love for ancient Chinese maidens

There is a story in Taiping Era, in which Li Zhangwu, a scholar, fell in love with Wang Zifu, a woman from Huazhou. When they parted, Wang presented Li a white jade finger ring, and inscribed a poem, “Twist the finger ring I am lovesick at heart, How I miss you with the ring at my side. Hope you hold and enjoy it forever, all in an ending cycle never.” Many years later, Li retuned to Huazhou, finding that Wang had died of profound melancholy. The two finally met in Wang’s house in a dream.

Discussions with Friends in Cloud Village presented a love story between Wei Gao and Yuxiao. Distressed at parting, Wei sent a jade finger ring to Yuxiao, pledging to return and marry her in five to seven years. But Wei broke his promise and Yuxiao fasted and died. Later when Wei took the post of Xichuan governor, he heard of the news and lamented. He had a lot of figures of Buddha built to atone for his crime. In the end, Yuxiao was reincarnated as a singing girl and returned to the side of Wei to renew the previous love story.

4. Earrings

Chinese women began to dress themselves with all sorts of earrings long ago. The earliest record of this tradition appeared in the Mountain and Sea Bible, in which “A pleasant maiden from Qingyi Mountain, with thin waist and white teeth, has her ears pierced for earrings.” Zhuge Ke said in The Records of Three Kingdoms that “it is a fashion since ancient times to pierce earlobe for pearl decorations.” It shows wearing earrings was a fashion since the three ancient Chinese dynasties——Hsia, Shang and Chou. Earrings comprise earbob, ear-ornaments, and ear drops. Li Liweng, a scholar of early Qing Dynasty, called small and exquisite earrings “clove”, and heavy and gorgeous earrings Luosuo in his Idle Feelings Randomly Recorded. He said “one hairpin and earrings would accompany women all her life.” It shows how important earrings were in the aesthetic concepts of ancient people.

Zhang Ji, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, wrote in his poem Reply of a Chaste Wife that “So I know return your tow shining pearls with a tear on each, Regretting that we did not meet while I was still unwed.” The “shining pearls” exactly refer to earrings. Isn’t it true that earrings pass through sadness as tokens of love? Zhang Huilian, of late Yuan Dynasty, mourned for her deceased husband in a Bamboo Branch Gamut poem, highly likely a result of seeing a thing and thinking of the person, “I recall you bought me shining pearls, I got up combing hair and darkening eyebrows. Where are you my love, I sit lonely dread to see twin butterflies.”

After the Jinkang Crisis of the Song Dynasty, Emperor Huizong sent Cao Xun, an official, to flee back to the area under the Southern Song regime, in the hope that Zhao Gou, his son who succeeded the throne, would save his life with troops. Cao Xun brought along personal belongings of some close kin of Zhao Gou, as evidences. One of them was an earring of Zhao Gou’s wife. When Zhao Gou was Prince Kang, he was in deep love with his wife. The earring might evoke passions of Zhao Gou, seeking momentary ease, to save his kinsfolk out of tribulation. However, the country and family had experienced radical changes. Emotions would change along with actual situations. Zhao could not take back half of his country, not to mention a wife “having lost her chastity”. The piteous princess had to keep the other earring and live the rest of her life hopelessly in tears.

5. Perfume satchel

There is a long history about the use of perfume satchels. Perfume satchels were also known as sachets, perfume tassels, perfume bags, perfume balls, rubando and pouches. Perfume satchels could be dated back to the pre-Qin period. According to The Book of Rites. The Pattern of the Family, “Sons, in serving their parents, From the left and right of the girdle, they should hang their articles for use；…… They should all bang at their girdles the ornamental (bags of) perfume …. Thus dressed, they should go to their parents and parents-in-law.” In other words, when young fellows went to see their parents and the elders, they had to wear “the ornamental (bags of) perfume”, or woven perfume bags, to show respect. Since perfume satchels are personal belongings, lovers will present them to each other as gifts, to express their inner feelings.

When An Lushan and Shi Siming, generals of Tang Dynasty, raised a rebellion in the Central Plains in 755, Emperor Xuanzong fled with Yang Guifei, a magnificent concubine, to the West. When the troops arrived at Maweipo, the soldiers stopped, demanding to have Yang Guifei, the femme fatale, killed. The emperor gave in, letting Yang to assume by herself the blame for the chaos of war. Yang was hanged and buried in a hurry. When the capital was recovered later, Emperor Xuanzong silently had her body re-buried. The eunuch handling the mission found that the concubine’s tomb was left only with white bones, except for the perfume satchel intact in the bosom. He fetched the perfume satchel and brought it back to the emperor. The abdicated emperor, into senility, saw the perfume satchel and was reminded of the owner. The glees of singing and dancing at the Lishan Palace had elapsed, leaving only the perfume satchel to remind the deep love of old days. He put the perfume satchel into his sleeve, bursting into tears. Eighty years later, Zhang Hu, a poet, sighed with feelings, and wrote down the poem Taizhen Perfume Bag, in which “Gold thread embroidery and small perfume bag, leave sweet-smelling to the princess at the bosom sad. Who will unbind it for the emperor, eternal regret tie the state of mind.”

No one could untie the small perfume satchel for Emperor Xuanzong. Was it love or hate? Who knows it, except for Yang, the owner?

Chronicles of the Jin Dynasty Biography of Jia Wu recorded a love story between Jia Wu, the youngest daughter of Jia Cong, a favorite official of Emperor Wudi of Jin Dynasty, and Han Shou, an assistant to Jia Cong. In a lovers' rendezvous, Jia Wu gave Han some spice from the Western Regions. Han’s aroma was soon smelled by Jia Cong. He guessed out the story. He did not blame his daughter, but married her to Han instead. This turned into a story on everybody’s lips. The spice from the Western Regions should have been put in a perfume satchel made by Jia Wu herself, to match her deep affection as a maiden.

In A Dream of Red Mansion, Lin Daiyu sewed a perfume satchel, stitch by stitch, for Jia Baoyu. It was a symbol of her affections. One day, Lin misunderstood that Baoyu gave the perfume satchel to others. Feeling wronged, she cut into pieces another perfume satchel she was sewing in hand. The perfume satchel was worn by Baoyu next to the skin. How could he send it to others? When the fragrance-like Lin deceased, Baoyu could not bear to see the perfume satchel any more.

6. Jade pendant

Chinese people were fond of jade in the ancient time. There is an old saying that “Men of honor will keep jade with them, and with reasons.” Letters on Ancient Poems explains that “Decorating tassel with jade symbolizes knot of love.” Luoying was a colorful silk belt tied by women in the ancient when they got married, showing they were affiliated with their husbands. Jieli was another term in the old days to describe people getting married. There is a line in The Book of Songs, “When a daughter gets married, the mother would remind her again and again to keep fine appearances.” It depicted the scene that when a daughter was married, the mother was reluctant to part the daughter, whispered to her, while helping her bind up the silk tassel.