Chinese traditional clothes
 Costume in the Han Dynasty
 Costume in Tang Dynasty
 Chinese Cheongsam
Costume in the Han Dynasty
 China's complete code of costume and
trappings was established in the Han
Dynasty (206BC-220AD). The yarndyeing, embroidering and metalprocessing technologies developed
rapidly in the period, spurring changes in
costume and adornments.
 The costume code of the Western Han Dynasty
(206BC-8AD) followed the one established in
the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC). In the Eastern
Han Dynasty, people in black had to wear purple
silk adornments to match their clothes. People
usually wore costume with a long hat at grand
ceremonies offering sacrifices to gods or
ancestors. The dress of the queen in these
ceremonies consisted of dark-purple frock and
black trousers. The silk dress of the queen
consisted of cyan frock and buff trousers.
 Costumes of the Han Dynasty had 7
features:
1. Wearers must expose underwear'
collar form , as the collar was big and
curving;
2. Clothes must use white cloth as lining;
 3. The width of sleeve was 0.4
meters;
 4. The blouse had no sleeve;
 5. Wearers of fur clothes
should have the fur facing
outside;
 6. Waistband was very exquisite. Belt
hook was made of gold in various lively
and interesting animal figures;
 7. The male kept the habituation of
wearing walking sabres without blades for
decoration only.
•
Costume in the Tang Dynasty
The unified and
prosperous China was
established in the Tang
Dynasty (618-907). In
China's history, the Tang
Dynasty was a period
when the politics and
economy were highly
developed and the culture
and art were thriving.
The clothing materials
were exquisite, the
structure was natural,
graceful and elegant,
and adornments were
splendid.
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 Women's dress and
personal adornments of
the Tang Dynasty were
outstanding in China's
history. In this way, a
special open and
romantic style of
dress and personal
adornments was
formed.
 It was a fashion for women to wear Hufu
(garments of the Tartars or those who
lived in the Western Regions). After the
High Tang, the influences of Hufu were
gradually weakened and women's
garments became broad and loose day
by day. As to ordinary women's garments,
the width of sleeve was always more than
1.3 meters.
Though the forms of garments were
still the continuation of the Han
Dynasty (206BC-220AD) and the Sui
Dynasty (581-618), they were
influenced by cultures and arts of the
Western Regions. Especially, the
national power of the High Tang was
strong. The trades and cultural
exchanges with Korea, Japan,
Persia and other countries gradually
became frequent, and they mutually
dispatched emissaries and accepted
students of other countries.
Chinese Cheongsam
 The cheongsam, or Qipao in Chinese,
is evolved from a kind of ancient
clothing of Manchu ethnic minority. In
ancient times, it generally referred to
long gowns worn by the people of
Manchuria, Mongolia.
 In the early years of the
Qing Dynasty (16441911), long gowns
featured collarless,
narrow sleeves in the
shape of a horse's hoof,
buttons down the left
front, four slits and a
fitting waist. Wearers
usually coiled up their
cuff, and put it down
when hunting or battling
to cover the back of hand.
In winter, the cuff could
serve to prevent cold.
 The gown had four slits, with one on the
left, right, front and back, which reached
the knees. It was fitted to the body and
rather warm. Fastened with a waistband,
the long gown could hold solid food and
utensils when people went out hunting.
 When the early Manchu rulers
came to China proper, they
moved their capital to Beijing and
cheongsam began to spread in
the Central Plains. The Qing
Dynasty unified China, and
unified the nationwide costume
as well. At that time, men wore a
long gown and a mandarin jacket
over the gown, while women
wore cheongsam. Although the
1911 Revolution toppled the rule
of the Qing (Manchu) Dynasty,
the female dress survived the
political change and, with
succeeding improvements, has
become the traditional dress for
Chinese women.
 Till the 1930s, Manchu people, no
matter male or female, all wore
loose-fitting and straight-bottomed
broad-sleeved long gowns with a
wide front. The lower hem of
women's cheongsam reached the
calves with embroidered flower
patterns on it, while that of men's
cheongsam reached the ankles and
had no decorative patterns.
 After the 1940s, influenced by new
fashion home and abroad, Manchu men's
cheongsam was phased out, while
women's cheongsam became narrowsleeved and fitted to the waist and had a
relatively loose hip part, and its lower
hem reached the ankles. Then there
emerge various forms of cheongsams we
see today that emphasize color
decoration and set off the beauty of the
female shape.
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 Why do Han people like to wear the
cheongsam? The main reason is that it
fits well the female Chinese figure, has
simple lines and looks elegant. What's
more, it is suitable for wearing in all
seasons by old and young.
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