Abstract
Since ancient Egypt, henna has been widely used as dyes for women’s henna body art. Through the Silk Road, China assimilated cultures of its Western Regions, India, and Persia, such as the henna art. In Ancient China the "garden balsam" is always called "henna". Nevertheless, they belong to two different kinds of flowers. Folks’ mixed use of these two kinds of flower names reflects the profound impact of the henna art on Chinese traditional culture of decorative nails. This textual research results revealed that in ancient China the customs of dye red nails are affected by foreign henna art and there were three development stages: the introduction period (from the Western Jin Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty), the development period (in the Song-Yuan Dynasty) and the popularity period (in the Ming-Qing Dynasty).
Highlights
Since ancient Egypt, henna has been widely used as dyes for women’s henna body art
Folks’ mixed use of these two kinds of flower names reflects the profound impact of the henna art on Chinese traditional culture of decorative nails. This textual research results revealed that in ancient China the customs of dye red nails are affected by foreign henna art and there were three development stages: the introduction period, the development period and the popularity period
In ancient China, the customs of dye red nails are affected by foreign henna art and there were three development stages: the introduction period, the development period, and the popularity period
Summary
Henna is a transliteration of the Semitic plant name. It is known as "Hanā" in Persian, "Lawsonia inermis Lina" in Latin, "Mendhikā" or "Mendhī" in Sanskrit, and "Mehndi" in Hindi. The earliest relevant records of this plant in China can be found in The State of Vegetation in Southern China, written by Ji Han (263A.D.-306A.D): Henna trees are five or six feet tall, with the soft barbarian and leaves like tender Elm leaves It is as white as frangipani and jasmine, and its fragrance is almost the same. According to ZaoLin Miscellany written in the Qing Dynasty, by Tan Qian (1594-1658): Henna has tiny yellow flowers in May and June, similar to Osmanthus. Paint nails with henna redder than garden balsam (Tan Qian, 2006, p. 462), that identifies henna and garden balsam as two kinds of flowers
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