A Study on Seon of the Ming(明) Dynasty Costume

중국(中國) 명대(明代) 복식(服飾)의 선에 관한 연구(硏究)

Sean means a narrow cloth added to the edge of costume or cushion. At the beginning, Seon was originated to prevent from fraying warp of cloth or wearing out of cloth. However, with the progress of clothing culture, it is used to satisfy the human desire of decoration and enhance the function of costume. The Seon appeared on costumes of Ming dynasty was simple compared to that of the period preceeding it. The position of Seon was mostly at neckline, end of sleeves and hemline. The width of Seon also was quite monotonous and lacks of varieties. The patterns of Seon were limited to ax, cloud and dragon and cloud and chinese phoenix. And the colors used were also limited to four colors, namely Blue, Red Crimson and Black. In Ming dynasty, the same colors of Seon as those of the costume were more preferably used, while different colors of Seon were used in the previous era. The reason why Seon in Ming dynasty show simple design and use the same colors as those of the costume was due to Ming dynasty's desire to represent and to enhance her castic political structure. The need for class distinction was expressed through the pattern rather than the colors of the costumes themselves. While, in Ming dynasty, Bo(補) which was attached to the breast and the shoulders was used to represent the social class because it could be easily distinguished. In Ming dynasty, to stress Bo and to make Seon less conspicuous, Seon became simple and the colors of Seon were same as those of the costumes avoiding strong contrast in style and colors.