#nail guards

[marzennya]

Pov: Northern Consort Shang Qinghua absolutely obliterates you during a council meeting (You can't do anything about it because King Mobei-Jun think's it's hot)

Anyway, hmm, I've been getting in touch with my inner Shen Yuan lately and thinking about silly books I like, so here are some notes about clothes in PIDW and SVSSS if you care to read:

I've been separating realm aesthetics in PIDW by Chinese dynasties, so Shang Qinghua's clothes are based on Ming and Qing dynasty aesthetics! Mostly because their winter clothes fuck lots I love them.

Nail guards! I think he wears them so he won't chew on them.

All his furs are hunted by Mobei-Jun personally.

Shang Qinghua is a very practical consort, honestly, compared to cucumber-bro he's taking to wearing almost no jewelry. It's more than he wore in his peak lord days, though, lol.

[guzhuangheaven]

Legend of Zhen Huan + nail guards

[theempressesofchinablog]

Nail Guards

If you’ve ever watched a c-drama set in the Qing Dynasty harem then you’ve seen the fabulous women of the court with their long nails and their beautifully decorated nail guards. 

The nail guards, referred to as zhijiatao (指甲套) or huzhi (护指), originated sometime during the Ming Dynasty and would become extremely popular during the Qing. It was believed that the length and style of a person’s nails reflected their social status, the longer your nails and the more elaborate your nail guards the wealthier you were. 

Nail guards would be made from a variety of precious materials such as jade, gold, and silver and would be decorated with a wide array of symbols and patterns. They would range in length from just 3 cm up to 15 cm and typically would be worn in pairs on the fourth finger and pinky of each hand. Some sources suggest they would be worn on every finger but the thumb, but this seems unlikely as it would be a major hindrance to the wearer. 

While they didn’t grow their nails to the length of women, and thus didn’t wear nail guards, we have portraits of men showing they also grew their nails out. Portraits of the Kangxi Emperor show his nails being quite long. 

[shangyangjunzhu]

the story of yanxi palace: rongyin’s wardrobe

[historical-beauty-lily]

Snow White and the Huntsman (2012) dir. Rupert Sanders

[ziseviolet]

Hello! I have a question regarding Qing dynasty fashion. I noticed in Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace, the consorts had the nails on their pinky and ring fingers grow incredibly long. If this is historically accurate, what was the significance of growing them so long? Were they their actual nails? Or some form of acrylic nails?

Hi! Please see my reply here for an answer to the question ^^

[hailanyi]

[fiorelyn-the-first]

Closer Look

Not sure if anyone has ever noticed Empress Ling Ling’s hands. But the first time I saw them, I was shocked to see her fingers replaced with what looked like golden claws.

I assumed it was maybe an item worn for this episode (Season one episode 10). That was until I noticed in season two (episode 28) where we see her still with these odd accessories. 

I didn’t know what to look for when I began doing research on the matter. I was determined to find out why a kids show would have this particular character with “claws”. Eventually, my research led me to this site: [x] and this picture:

“ The wearing of fingernail protectors was specifically associated with the Manchurian high culture of the Qing Dynasty.”

~~~ “ The wearing of fingernail protectors was specifically associated with the Manchurian high culture of the Qing Dynasty. Han men were forced by law to wear Manchu clothing and to groom themselves by Manchu custom, whereas Han women were free to continue wearing traditional Han fashions. According to the Global Chinese Language and Culture Center, "Manchu women felt that long fingernails were a status symbol they protected them with fingernail covers that were finely carved and inlaid with gold silver and gems." 

It’s such a small detail on a kids show, but I think it’s great the character designers added that!