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Origins of the Pibo: Let’s take a trip along the Silk Road.
1. Introduction to the garment:
Pibo 披帛 refers to a very thin and long shawl worn by women in ancient East Asia approximately between the 5th to 13th centuries CE. Pibo is a modern name and its historical counterpart was pei 帔. But I’ll use pibo as to not confuse it with Ming dynasty’s xiapei 霞帔 and a much shorter shawl worn in ancient times also called pei.
Below is a ceramic representation of the popular pibo.
A sancai-glazed figure of a court lady, Tang Dynasty (618–690, 705–907 CE) from the Sze Yuan Tang Collection. Artist unknown. Sotheby’s [image source].
Although some internet sources claim that pibo in China can be traced as far back as the Qin (221-206 BCE) or Han (202 BCE–9 CE; 25–220 CE) dynasties, we don’t start seeing it be depicted as we know it today until the Northern and Southern dynasties period (420-589 CE). This has led to scholars placing pibo’s introduction to East Asia until after Buddhism was introduced in China. Despite the earliest art representations of the long scarf-like shawl coming from the Northern and Southern Dynasties period, the pibo reached its popularity apex in the Tang Dynasty (618–690 CE: 705–907 CE).
Academic consensus: Introduction via the Silk Road.
The definitive academic consensus is that pibo evolved from the dajin 搭巾 (a long and thin scarf) worn by Buddhist icons introduced to China via the Silk Road from West Asia.
[Trans] Pibo (a long piece of cloth covering the back of the shoulders) was a popular female fashion period accessory introduced to China by West Asian cultures by way of the Silk Road and the development of Chinese costumes. The brocade scarves found along the Silk Road reflect the prosperity of the silk trade that flourished in China's past (Lu & Xu, 2015).
I want to add to the above theory my own speculation that, what the Chinese considered to be dajin, was most likely an ancient Indian garment called uttariya उत्तरीय.
2. Personal conjecture: Uttariya as a tentative origin to pibo.
In India, since Vedic times (1500-500 BCE), we see mentions in records describing women and men wearing a thin scarf-like garment called “uttariya”. It is a precursor of the now famous sari. Although the most famous depiction of uttariya is when it is wrapped around the left arm in a loop, we do have other representations where it is draped over the shoulders and cubital area (reverse of the elbow).
Left: Hindu sculpture “Mother Goddess (Matrika)”, mid 6th century CE, gray schist. Artist unknown. Looted from Rajasthan (Tanesara), India. Photo credit to Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, United States [image source].
Right: Rear view of female statue possibly representing Kambojika, the Chief Queen of Mahakshatrapa Rajula, ca. 1st century CE. Artist unknown. Found in the Saptarishi Mound, Mathura, India. Government Museum, Mathura [image source].
Buddhism takes many elements from Hindu mythology, including apsaras अप्सरा (water nymphs) and gandharvas गन्धर्व (celestial musicians). The former was translated as feitian 飞天 in China. Hindu deities were depicted wearing clothes similar to what Indian people wore, among which we find uttariya, often portrayed in carvings and sculptures of flying and dancing apsaras or gods to show dynamic movement. Nevertheless, uttariya long predated Buddhism and Hinduism.
Below are carved representation of Indian apsaras and gandharvas. Notice how the uttariya are used.
Upper left: Carved relief of flying celestials (Apsara and Gandharva) in the Chalukyan style, 7th century CE, Chalukyan Dynasty (543-753 CE). Artist Unknown. Aihole, Karnataka, India. National Museum, New Delhi, India [image source]. The Chalukyan art style was very influential in early Chinese Buddhist art.
Upper right: Carved relief of flying celestials (gandharvas) from the 10th to the 12th centuries CE. Artist unknown. Karnataka, India. National Museum, New Delhi, India [image source].
Bottom: A Viyadhara (wisdom-holder; demi-god) couple, ca. 525 CE. Artist unknown. Photo taken by Nomu420 on May 10, 2014. Sondani, Mandsaur, India [image source].
Below are some of the earliest representations of flying apsaras found in the Mogao Caves, Gansu Province, China. An important pilgrimage site along the Silk Road where East and West met.
Left to right: Cave No. 461, detail of mural in the roof of the cave depicting either a flying apsara or a celestial musician. Western Wei dynasty (535–556 CE). Artist unknown. Mogao Grottoes, Dunhuang, China [image source].
Cave 285 flying apsara (feitian) in one of the Mogao Caves. Western Wei Dynasty (535–556 CE), Artist unknown. Photo taken by Keren Su for Getty Images. Mogao Grottoes, Dunhuang, China [image source].
Cave 249. Mural painting of feitian playing a flute, Western Wei Dynasty (535-556 CE). Image courtesy by Wang Kefen from The Complete Collection of Dunhuang Grottoes, Vol. 17, Paintings of Dance, The Commercial Press, Hong Kong, 2001, p. 15. Mogao Grottoes, Dunhuang, China [image source].
I theorize that it is likely that the pibo was introduced to China via Buddhism and Buddhist iconography that depicted apsaras (feitian) and other deites wearing uttariya and translated it to dajin.
3. Trickle down fashion: Buddhism’s journey to the East.
However, since Buddhism and its Indian-based fashion spread to West Asia first, to Sassanian Persians and Sogdians, it is likely that, by the time it reached the Han Chinese in the first century CE, it came with Persian and Sogdian influence. Persians’ fashion during the Sassanian Empire (224–651 CE) was influenced by Greeks (hellenization) who also had a a thin long scarf-like garment called an epliblema ἐπίβλημα, often depicted in amphora (vases) of Greek theater scenes and sculptures of deities.
Left to right: Dame Baillehache from Attica, Greece. 3rd century BCE, Hellenistic period (323-30 BCE), terracotta statuette. Photo taken by Hervé Lewandowski. Louvre Museum, Paris, France [image source].
Deatail view of amphora depicting the goddess Artemis by Athenian vase painter, Andokides, ca. 525 BCE, terracotta. Found in Vulci, Italy. Altes Museum, Berlin, Germany [image source].
Statue of a Kore (young girl), ca. 570 BCE, Archaic Period (700-480 BCE), marble. Artist unknown. Uncovered from Attica, Greece. Acropolis Museum, Athens, Greece [image source].
Detail view of Panathenaic (Olympic Games) prize amphora with lid, 363–362 BCE, Attributed to the Painter of the Wedding Procession and signed by Nikodemos, terracotta. Uncovered from Athens, Greece. J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, California, United States [image source].
Roman statue depicting Euterpe, muse of lyric poetry and music, ca. 2nd century CE, marble, Artist unknown. From the Villa of G. Cassius Longinus near Tivoli, Italy. Photo taken by Egisto Sani on March 12, 2012, Vatican Museums, Rome, Italy [image source].
Greek (or Italic) tomb mural painting from the Tomb of the Diver, ca. 470 BCE, fresco. Artist unknown. Photo taken by Floriano Rescigno. Necropolis of Paestum, Italy [image source].
Below are Iranian and Iraqi period representations of this long thin scarf.
Left to right: Closeup of ewer likely depicting a female dancer from the Sasanian Period (224–651 CE) in ancient Persia , Iran, 6th-7th century CE, silver and gilt. Artist unknown. Mary Harrsch. July 10, 2015. Arthur M. Sackler Gallery of Asian Art, Smithsonian, Washington D.C [image source].
Ewer with nude dancer probably representing a maenad, companion of Dionysus from the Sasanian Period (224–651 CE) in ancient Persia, Iran, 6th-7th century CE, silver and gilt. Artist unknown. Mary Harrsch. July 16, 2015. Arthur M. Sackler Gallery of Asian Art, Smithsonian, Washington D.C [image source].
Painting reconstructing the image of unveiled female dancers depicted in a fresco, Early Abbasid period (750-1258 CE), about 836-839 CE from Jawsaq al-Khaqani, Samarra, Iraq. Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art, Istanbul [image source].
The earliest depictions of Buddha in China, were very similar to West Asian depictions. Ever wonder why Buddha wears a long draped robe similar to a Greek himation (Romans called it toga)?
Take a look below at how much the Greeks influenced the Kushans in their art and fashion. The top left image is one of the earliest depictions of Buddha in China. Note the similarities between it and the Gandhara Buddha on the right.
Left: Seated Buddha, Mahao Cliff Tomb, Sichuan Province, Eastern Han Dynasty, late 2nd century C.E. (photo: Gary Todd, CC0).
Standing Bodhisattva Maitreya (Buddha of the Future), ca. 3rd century, gray schist. From Gandhara, Pakistan. Image credit to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, United States [image source].
Statue of seated goddess Hariti with children, ca. 2nd to 3rd centuries CE, schist. Artist unknown. From Gandhara, Pakistan. The British Museum, London, England [image source].
Before Buddhism spread outside of Northern India (birthplace), Indians never portrayed Buddha in human form.
Early Buddhist art is aniconic, meaning the Buddha is not represented in human form. Instead, Buddha is represented using symbols, such as the Bodhi tree (where he attained enlightenment), a wheel (symbolic of Dharma or the Wheel of Law), and a parasol (symbolic of the Buddha’s royal background), just to name a few. […] One of the earliest images [of Buddha in China] is a carving of a seated Buddha wearing a Gandharan-style robe discovered in a tomb dated to the late 2nd century C.E. (Eastern Han) in Sichuan province. Ancient Gandhara (located in present-day Afghanistan, Pakistan, and northwest India) was a major center for the production of Buddhist sculpture under Kushan patronage. The Kushans occupied portions of present-day Afghanistan, Pakistan, and North India from the 1st through the 3rd centuries and were the first to depict the Buddha in human form. Gandharan sculpture combined local Greco-Roman styles with Indian and steppe influences (Chaffin, 2022).
In the Mogao Caves, which contain some of the earliest Buddhist mural paintings in China, we see how initial Chinese Buddhist art depicted Indian fashion as opposed to the later hanfu-inspired garments.
Left to right: Cave 285, detail of wall painting, Western Wei dynasty (535–556 CE). Mogao Grottoes, Dunhuang, China. Courtesy the Dunhuang Academy [image source]. Note the clothes the man is wearing. It looks very similar to a lungi (a long men’s skirt).
Photo of Indian man sitting next to closed store wearing shirt, scarf, lungi and slippers. Paul Prescott. February 20, 2015. Varanasi, India [image source].
Cave 285, mural depiction of worshipping bodhisattvas, 6th century CE, Wei Dynasty (535-556 A.D.), Unknown artist. Mogao Grottoes, Dunhuang, China. Notice the half bow on his hips. That is a common style of tying patka (also known as pataka; cloth sashes) that we see throughout Indian history. Many of early Chinese Buddhist paintings feature it, including the ones at Mogao Caves.
Indian relief of Ashoka wearing dhoti and patka, ca. 1st century BC, Unknown artist. From the Amaravathi village, Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh, India. Currently at the Guimet Museum, Paris [image source].
Cave 263. Mural showing underlying painting, Northern Wei Dynasty (386–535 CE). Artist Unknown. Picture taken November 29, 2011, Mogao Grottoes, Dunhuang, China [image source]. Note the pants that look to be dhoti.
Comparison photo of modern dhoti advertisement from Etsy [image source].
Spread of Buddhism to East Asia.
Map depicting the spread of Buddhism from Northern India to the rest of Asia. Gunawan Kartapranata. January 31, 2014 [image source]. Note how Mahayana Buddhism arrived to China after passing through Kushan, Bactrean, and nomadic steppe lands, absorbing elements of each culture along the way.
Wealthy Buddhist female patrons emulated the fantasy fashion worn by apsaras, specifically, the uttariya/dajin and adopted it as an everyday component of their fashion.
Cave 285. feitian mural painting on the west wall, Western Wei Dynasty (535–556 CE). Artist unknown. Mogao Grottoes, Dunhuang, China [image source].
Cave 285. Detail view of offering bodhisattvas (bodhisattvas making offers to Buddha) next to the phoenix chariot on the Western wall of the cave. Western Wei Dynasty (535–556 CE). Artist unknown. Mogao Grottoes, Dunhuang, China [image source].
Cave 61 Khotanese (from the kingdom of Khotan 于阗 [56–1006 CE]) donor ladies, ca. 10th century CE, Five Dynasties period (907 to 979 CE). Artist unknown. Picture scanned from Zhang Weiwen’s Les oeuvres remarquables de l'art de Dunhuang, 2007, p. 128. Uploaded to Wikimedia Commons on October 11, 2012 by Ismoon. Mogao Grottoes, Dunhuang, China [image source].
Detail view of Ladies Adorning Their Hair with Flowers 簪花仕女图, late 8th to early 9th century CE, handscroll, ink and color on silk, Zhou Fang 周昉 (730-800 AD). Liaoning Provincial Museum, Shenyang, China [image source].
Therefore, the theory I propose of how the pibo entered East Asia is:
India —> Greek influenced West Asia (Sassanian Persians, Sogdians, Kushans, etc…) —> Han China —> Rest of East Asia (Three Kingdoms Korea, Asuka Japan, etc…)
Thus, the most likely theory, in my person opinion, is Buddhist iconography depicting uttariya encountered Greek-influenced West Asian Persian, Sogdian, and Kushan shawls, which combined arrived to China but wouldn’t become commonplace there until the explosion in popularity of Buddhism from the periods of Northern and Southern Dynasties to Song.
References:
Buddhism in Chinese Art (2nd century through 907 C.E.) – Smarthistory
Pibo (披帛, pī bó), traditional Hanfu shawl, made from light fabric silk. How has it changed over its long history, and what role has it playe
盧秀文; 徐會貞. 《披帛與絲路文化交流》 [The brocade scarf and the cultural exchanges along the Silk Road]. 敦煌研究 (中國: 敦煌研究編輯部). 2015-06: 22 – 29. ISSN 1000-4106.
AAAAAAAAA THIS IS WHEN HE DECIDES HE WANTS TO MARRY HER!!!!
He's only seen her hand but she has just asked him to set her maternal uncle on fire and turned him over to justice for treason AKA THE VERY THING HE WANTS TO DO TO HIS MATERNAL UNCLE
Starting to think the most attractive thing a man can do is be full of righteous anger at injustice and wants/proceeds to make it everyone else’s problem
I have no idea why I've slept on Love Like the Galaxy for so long but Ling Buyi is the most besotted man alive for Shaoshang he's so gone for her????
Like all our cold, aloof, intimidating general saw of her during their first meeting was AN ARM and he immediately went hmm. interesting. I likey this girl.
Doesn't care about the 3rd princess possible drowning in a lake (after shooting an arrow at her, don't know why she keeps throwing herself at him) but RUNS to save Shaoshang from a fire.
"I shall go home" *sees her walking to the house with a beat up face just as he's leaving* "It's dark, I think I shall stay for dinner after all" LOOK AT THAT LOVESTRUCK FACE.
Cuts off part of an arrow and leaves the rest stuck in his torso to run a rescue mission because she's in danger.
"Don't be afraid, I'm here now" JLFKSJLFKHSDLKJDSFK after he YEETED his halberd at a guy trying to kill her and leapt off his horse.
"I have a plan, but I'm not too sure if it will work" "It will work" *proceeds to let her not the doctor pull said arrow from his body* *stares at her intensely at the same time*
Keeps everything she touched like a little Shaoshang magpie.
Also the emperor is hilarious, he feels like that relative that always asks when are you getting married and trying to match-make you.
Why are you here? Imperial Physician Sun reported that your leg injury had worsened. Why are you not resting comfortably? What did you come here for?
I am here to listen to what His Majesty is demanding of my prospective bride.
星汉灿烂·月升沧海
LOVE LIKE THE GALAXY
Episode 28, China, 2022.
Love Like The Galaxy - Cheng Shaoshang & Ling Buyi (Episode 47-48)
This is the part where we should say “ick” but I said “YES!"
This red wedding birthday party was honestly one of the best things I’ve ever watched.
As a person Ling Buyi is a big NO but as a character he is so intriguing to watch. And since I am a viewer, I prefer watching interesting characters rather than painfully bland ones. I also like watching Anakin Skywalker and this doesn’t mean I support child killers. As long as a character is written solidly, convincing from the start, it’s a feast for my soul.
We always talked about how great his love is, but let me tell you this. Shaoshang’s love for him is never less than his. Even though she knew that he was going to do something outlaw or commit treason, even though he kept her in the dark until the end and broke his promise, she was ready to die with him. Also I love the fact that she sees him as her family, that’s why she wanted her family to help and they accepted to be a part of the rescue mission. Like he said once, Cheng family is his family too and all her family acknowledges this truth.
I think this view was the reason that she couldn’t turn her back to him despite the fact that he betrayed their trust bond.
He might not tell her everything but she saw what he was going through. That decisive, powerful, cold-blooded man was on knees, desperately screaming, consumed with sadness. She found him when he was in his weakest form, felt his pain like her own. Also, you know, she has been wronged throughout her whole life, she knows very well that it is not easy to overlook injustice, especially if it’s about a whole city where many people’s lives were lost.
He was so close to telling her everything, maybe it was because he knew that there was no way to establish justice anymore. But the fact that his mother/aunt was dying changed everything.
That pitiful woman was the last thorn in his heart and she reminded him what his mission was. With her death, he realised that he couldn’t back down from this road. This was the moment he knew he had no choice, because if he had chose to move on, those people would have never found peace in other world. He was pitiful too, because he had to undertake this responsibility which absolutely would drag him into the darkest path.
LBY: If I do something that shakes the world one day, would you still feel the same for me?
CSS: Your mother’s coffin is here. I’m willing to swear an oath before her. Spirits of the ancestors and divine deities as my witness. I, Cheng Shaoshang hereby make an oath that Ling Buyi and I will never walk away from our love in this life. If he doesn’t leave me, I shall never forsake him. I swear on my will. I will not regret in this life.
Just look at his face when she said “If he doesn’t leave me, I shall never forsake him.”
She clearly stated that as long as he didn’t leave her, she would never leave him. Also he remembered her words. "If someone hurts a person close to me, I won’t forgive them. I’ll return the pain 1,000 fold back to them”, "No matter what happens, I’ll always stand on your side.” He knew that she loves him so much that she could go all the way with him. That she could understand him no matter how wrong his way was. And since he loves her so much as well he couldn’t bear to drag her into his painful road. That’s why he chose to leave her and did not say anything when she asked if he had anything to tell her.
Also probably this memorial scene is where he killed Ling Buyi persona and left all his promises he made when he was LBY behind.
Yes, all those scenes were enough for me to cry for eternity, but this killed me most. She still gave him another chance, hoping that he would choose another way. But he didn’t and her hurt was unbearable to watch. Offf.
Remember this. My last name is not Ling. My last name is Huo. Call me Huo Wu Shang.
This. Is. Brutal. He killed him slowly, saying his whole name syllable by syllable. He made sure that his uncle would be aware of the truth while dying.
He ruined his future, his life, his soul. After this, probably we will watch if it’s worth it. Soo… more pain and angst. But I enjoy suffering and pain thanks.
Ok one thing they don't show on screen of Mahabharat Adaptation is Draudapi was “Rajasvala” meaning “a menstruating woman” when the whole cheer-haran happened.
At that time, a Rajavala used to wear one single cloth or “Ekvastra”, so when the horrific vastra-haran began, it was that vastra that turned to a never-ending miracle.
One thing that I also noticed is how there's now this disgusting taboo that a woman is "impure" during her period, but Kanha ji listened and he came to her rescue when she called. He turned that same blood-stained cloth never-ending just to save her honor!
I wish this taboo will go away because God is in You so how can you ever be “Impure” especially experiencing something very natural and perhaps healthy too? He would've come to her rescue whether she was menstruating or not, but I love this detail because this signifies that nothing makes a difference to him, so why are we making women feel bad or worse "impure" in the name of God when not even God feels this way?
bitch this is all you’re gonna get. this life, this face, this body. you better not ‘maybe in another universe’ your way out of everything. sit your ass down and face this. go make tea and have a picnic and read a goddamn book. kiss your loved ones, send that damn text, and hug your siblings. this is all you’re gonna get.
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