俗世理想,从来如此——四川大学博物馆藏民国花轿研究

Lasting Worldly Ideals: A Study on Bridal Sedan Chairs of Republican China Collected in Sichuan University Museum

任何时代的人工制品,背后都活动着人的身影。从小处而言,是和物品直接相关的制作者、占有者和使用者;推远了看,是整个社会。作为中国传统婚礼仪式中最重要的一项礼仪用具,花轿承载的意义非比寻常,却很少能走进研究者的视野,近代花轿尤其如此。若对其详加审视,我们或许可以有别样的收获。

Behind every artifact lies human ideal and practice,which have particular linkages and meanings to individuals who produced,possessed,and utilized it,and more generally,to the society at large.Bridal sedan chair,a most central instrument in Chinese traditional wedding ceremonies,provides one such exemplary testimony that has had deep and far-reaching implications.Nevertheless,bridal sedan chairs,especially those made in the modern times,have seldom been a subject of study.This article seeks to investigate in depth this apparently overlooked area,attempting to gain insights and understanding into the yearnings,aspirations,and values vested in bridal sedan chairs.