|
hear
qipao pronounced in Mandarin Chinese 
hear cheongsam pronounced in Cantonese
The qípáo (旗袍), literally'
banner gown' evolved from the clothing style worn by Manchu women
in the past . Qipao were also called qípáor (旗袍儿), or ch'i-p'ao, often known in English as the cheongsam (
Cantonese from the Shanghaiese pronunciation of
長衫 chángshān
long dress in pinyin ) mandarin gown, is a body-hugging (modified in Shanghai) one-piece dress for women.
At the time it appeared in the mid 1920s, it was considered very
daring .
The
Last Emperor of China, Puyi, with his sisters, wearing qipaos
The English loanword cheongsam comes from the Cantonese pronunciation of the original Shanghainese term. In most western countries and in the Cantonese dialect
cheongsam is the name of a garment worn by both men and women.
video
about qipao
Chinese
who do not speak the Cantonese dialect view the cheongsam as an
exclusively male dress and use the word qipao for its female
equivalent. In Cantonese usage the word qipao is either interchangeable
with the female cheongsam or refers to the two-piece qipao variant that
is popular in China.
When the Manchu established the Qing Dynasty over all of China, certain social strata emerged. Among them were the Banners (qí), mostly Manchu, who as a group were called Banner People (旗人 pinyin: qí rén). Manchu women typically wore a one-piece dress that came to be known as the 旗袍 (qípáo or banner quilt). The qipao fit loosely and hung straight down the body. After 1644, all Han Chinese were forced to dress in cheongsam instead of Han Chinese clothing
(剃发易服), or they were to be killed. For the next 300 years, the
cheongsam became the adopted clothing of the Chinese. The garment
proved popular and survived the political turmoil of the 1911 Xinhai Revolution that toppled the Qing Dynasty. The qipao has become, with few changes, the archetypal dress for China.
The first and "traditional" or national qipao when introduced to the
larger Han population were wide, baggy and rather loose. It covered
most of the women's body revealing only to head, hands, and the tips of
the toe. The loose baggy nature of the clothing also served to
deemphasize and conceal the figure of the wearer regardless of age.
However, with time the qipao were tailored to become more form fitting
and revealing. The modern version of the qipao was first developed in Shanghai
around 1900, when the Qing Dynasty came to an end and people eagerly
sought for a more modernized style of dress. Slender and form fitting
with a high cut, it contrasted sharply with the traditional qipao. In
Shanghai it was first known as 長衫 (or long dress. Mandarin: chángshan, Cantonese: cheongsam, Shanghainese: zansae).
The modernized version is especially noted for accentuating the
figures of women, and as such is highly popular as a dress for high
society. As Western fashions changed, the basic cheongsam design
changed too, introducing high-necked sleeveless dresses, bell-like
sleeves, and the black lace frothing at the hem of a ball gown. By the 1940s,
cheongsam came in transparent black, beaded bodices, matching capes,
and even velvet. Later, checked fabrics also became quite common.
singsong
girls in the 1910s wearing the popular high collar ao, an upper slim
garmet that reached below the knee
The 1949 Communist Revolution
ended the cheongsam and other fashions in Shanghai, but the
Shanghainese emigrants and refugees brought the fashion to Hong Kong
where it has remained popular. Recently there has been a revival of the
Shanghainese cheongsam in Shanghai and elsewhere in Mainland China; the Shanghainese style functions now mostly as a stylish party dress (see also Mao suit).
Qipaos
evolved from Manchu dresses, such as these Manchu princesses wore
privacy
|
