#yingluo

[fouryearsofshades]

tang style hanfu by 墨名堂真丝汉服

[hanfugallery]

璎珞yingluo for chinese hanfu by 蓝桉手作铺

[camaraderiegems]

Yanxi Palace: Princess Adventures

One of the most satisfying things to come out of the Yanxi Palace: Princess Adventures was the exposure of Erqing’s misdeeds and the subsequent downfall of her lover / partner in crime.

There were a lot of vagueness surrounding Erqing and Fuk’anggan in the original show. Naturally so, she was not the main character and was killed off rather unsatisfactorily midway through the series. Erqing claimed that she slept with the Emperor, and that he ‘took advantage of her’, which to be honest, while he could have, he was also really drunk that night. That particular night, Erqing herself dressed up as a maid and purposely sneaked in under the guise of serving the emperor. She did so primarily to punish the Empress and Fuheng as she blamed Rongyin for ‘never helping her’ and doting on Yingluo more than her and Fuheng for being in love with YingLuo. She could not have Fuheng’s heart or person and became mad with ideas of punishing and taking revenge against them all. While we would never know whether she was forced into it / if she seduced the emperor or if they even really did have relations or otherwise, we know that Fuk’anggan was a product of Erqing’s tryst with her brother in law, Fuheng’s half brother.

I am pretty sure that during their marriage, Fuheng never touched Erqing because he knew of her schemes and hated her very existence. Therefore he knew that the son she had was not his. But the fact that he continued to cover up for her and raised Fuk’anggan like his own deserves a mention. Fuheng is a genuinely good person and it was a pity (but understandable) that he died because he was, yet again, helping Yingluo out of love.

Of course, a great portion of this was all made up and dramatized. In reality, Fucha Fuheng was married to one of the Maidens of the Yehe Nara clan (葉赫那拉氏) and Fucha Fuk’anggan was indeed his son with her. And unless I am very much mistaken, he had other concubines as well and fathered at least 4 sons and most likely had daughters too. While he did die of Malaria as mentioned in the drama, it was due to the unsuccessful Burma campaign and not because he was out in the remote wilderness there searching for a cure for Yingluo’s illness. Erqing’s character & background was fictionalized as was Fuqian’s (Fuheng’s brother)

[shangyangjunzhu]

Yanxi Palace Princess Adventures: Wei Yingluo as Imperial Noble Consort Ling

[ziseviolet]

Hi! I was wondering if there's a specific word used for those large ring-like necklaces sometimes worn with hanfu?

Hi, thanks for the question!

The large ring-like necklaces sometimes worn with Hanfu are called Xiangquan/项圈 (lit. “collar”). There’s a specific variety of Xiangquan that‘s often worn with Hanfu called Yingluo Xiangquan/璎珞项圈, which is fancier and involves more pieces than standard Xiangquan. Yingluo/璎珞 originates from ornaments called Keyura, which were made of gold, jade, and other valuable materials and worn on the head, neck, chest, arms, and legs by royalty and the wealthy in ancient India. The Sakyamuni Buddha was said to have also been adorned with this auspicious ornament when he was a prince, as was his mother when she gave birth to him. Keyura gradually came to adorn statues and paintings of Bodhisattvas and Buddhas:

Later, Keyura was introduced into China with the spread of Buddhism, where it was called Yingluo. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, it was imitated and adapted by fashionable women, becoming a piece of high jewelry. Below - Yingluo in Chinese art (note: it was worn by children as well as adults):

You can often see Xiangquan and Yingluo Xiangquan in Chinese dramas. For example, they are commonly used in drama adaptations of the classic novel Dream of the Red Chamber:

Boys/Men wear them too!:

Due to the Hanfu revival movement, Xiangquan and especially Yingluo Xiangquan are making comebacks as gorgeous and versatile Hanfu accessories:

Please see my Yingluo tag for more resources. Hope this helps! 

All product photos are from Hanfu accessories brand 青荷记忆国风首饰.

Sources: 1, 2, 3

[aesxv]

~ ♡ ~ ♡ ~

[fouryearsofshades]

tang style shan qun by 乔织丨原创汉服设计 

[fouryearsofshades]

tang style hanfu by 嵠上