Thanks to this article you will be able to see how the clothes of the China old, if you are a lover of oriental culture we are sure you will love it. As in most civilizations, the clothes differentiated one social scale from another . As you could see in the article about how the ancient Egyptians dressed , that you can also read on our website.
These lines will help you make a journey through time and see the reasons that inspired the old sewing masters to change the way of dressing the ancient Chinese inhabitants. If you want to know everything about the dress of the Ancient China , this article is made for you. Uncover it!
The dress of Ancient China | So they dressed
At present, the typical costumes of this Far Eastern country are called qipao and changshan. Both are two types of suit that serve both for men and women, giving their wearer a style and distinction appreciated even in the West. One of the dynasties that had the most influence in the history of the dress of Ancient China is the Qing. In the seventeenth century women and men of the court, began to wear with this comfortable silk garment that was adorned with a cord on the neck or sleeves. Its elegance, style and great comfort, quickly made all the influential people of the court want to imitate this style so it became the dress of ancient China most used at that time.
Evidently, the qipao evolved, since the first models were very archaic. It was in the city of Shanghai where a more modern cut was made to keep the essence of this elegant piece of clothing. Nowadays It has stopped being used as often as it was used in antiquity, but even so it has remained as a symbol of the culture of the Asian country . These clothes have been associated outside of China with women, so at the time of exporting they have always been given a feminine touch. Although as we have commented previously, they served for both sexes.
Precisely, the Qing dynasty of which we have spoken previously forbade the use of a dress of the most famous ancient China until then. It was known as hanfu and was used from the third century BC. They were also used by both men and women, although there was some difference between them. The woman used to wear a narrow skirt that mixed with a robe with very wide sleeves , the colors of this kind of kimono were clear and bright for women while men wore much darker hanfu.
The Chinese are very meticulous and strict with their traditions, the traditional dress of ancient China could not be an exception. There is a severe prohibition of colors that can not be used since they would sully these traditional costumes. As well as red is a color widely used by most of the inhabitants, since it symbolizes good luck, the golden or yellow color was forbidden to anyone who was not the emperor or the royal family . In addition, other curiosities about the colors in the Qing Dynasty are as follows: the purple could only be used by the emperor's relatives, never this one; white, unlike in the West, was the color that represented mourning and has always been avoided; Black, however, transmitted distrust, darkness and even evil.
A very bad time for fashion in China, took place during the revolution of the country's communist party. Any custom that reminded the social classes that existed in the past in the Asian country was prohibited. They established what became known as the Maoist costume, which did not differentiate gender and tried to unify the entire country. This episode does not exactly speak of the dress of ancient China, although it is good to remember it to see how one can erase any tradition or historical custom at a stroke by a dictator .
The clothing of ancient China, we find very elegant and beautiful. But now we would like you to give us your opinion about it. Have you ever seen these clothes that we have described to you in person? Did you find it curious to use or prohibit certain colors in the dress of ancient China? Why do you think the Qing dynasty banned the traditional Chinese costume until then? What do you think about the decision to dress the whole world in the same way that the Chinese Communist government took? As always, we are looking forward to your comments so do not hesitate to write us so we can read you. Cheer up!