Ancient Chinese Fashion

Introduction

Ancient China had a different style of clothes than the United States. The clothes worn all depended on which the dynasty or year they were in. Chinese people always took in the styles, which they were supposed to wear very quickly, although the dynasties changed. In many ways the items they wore had a connection with demons and/or evil spirits. The Ancient Chinese had a very unique sense of style.

Clothes

Clothing embroided the harmonious relationship between nature and people. Peasants and regular citizens dressed differently from high-ranked officials. The high-ranked officials dressed in the finest silk for public outings and celebrations, and less expensive clothes at home. The peasants wore a long shirt like garment, made of undyed hemp fiber, which altered little until modern times. While the officials wore silk, the peasants, men specifically, wore baggy pants made of hemp with a loose cotton shirt. Peasant women wore simple wool garments in the winter and cotton in the spring. Peasant children wore children size of their parentsÐŽ¦ clothes.

Each dynasty had popular clothing that all the citizens knew about. The Tang Dynasty had the system of the full dress, which was strict. During the Han, women usually wore the ruqun, a two piece ensemble consisting of jackets and a long flowing skirt. The Yuan women aristocracy had their own style; Zhi sun dresses were very popular in the Yuan dynasty. Coats were considered an informal dress in the Qin and Han dynasty. The Tang noblewomen favored the hundred bird dress.

As the times changed, the empire had a new law for all items of clothing. During the Sui, the emperor decided that all poor people could wear blue or black clothes and only rich people could wear colored clothes. Sometime in the years all the clothes were dark, all people wore the same style, most of the clothes were silk (everyone wore silk), and cotton became in style but it never became more popular than silk. All people had to wear thick clothes during the winter. Then clothes were never a casual matter.

Foot Wear

Wealthy families had a variety of shoes that some of the other citizens couldnÐŽ¦t get. People from wealthy families wore shoes that were leather or they wore silk slippers. Poor people wore wooden clogs, straw sandals, flats, or went barefoot. Men, in general, wore tall leather boots. The peasant always had to wear shoes made of straw. The scholar and his wife had shoes with curled toes. When the wealthy was buried, they wore silk brocade shoes, which have survived in the tombs over the years.

Footbinding was a major profession for women and young girls. When in the process it was very painful and harsh, because although the Chinese believed that tiny, pointy feet were an essential feature of a female beauty, the girlsÐŽ¦ feet were bound at young age. The profession was popular in 960 ÐŽV 1911.Binding was the symbol of the inferior status tradition for the women. The practice of footbinding spread through a Confucian writer and the scholar Zhu Xi. Women thought to be beautiful they needed little feet, only 3 inches long. The strange part is Manchu women didnÐŽ¦t bind their feet.

Accessories

Jewelry and charms were clearly important to kids and adults. The scholar-gentry class wore jade, gold, silver, and brass jewelry, while everyone else had copper and iron accessories. Earrings, necklaces, and anklets were worn as protection, as were colored threads fastened to clothes. Children wore hats, collars, and shoes with designs of tigers, dogs, and pigs to also scare evil spirits away. A boy might wear a plain metal ring like a dog collar to fool the evil spirits into thinking he was a dog. You could tell at glance a personsÐŽ¦ position in ChinaÐŽ¦s rigid special hierarchy by the jewelry and accessories they were wearing. Jewelry also became an important part of an official costume when everyone started wearing jewelry with all the costumes.

The hair and headgear was especially special to the Chinese. Both men and women wore their hair long. People said that you got your hair from your parents and so it was disrespectful to cut it. WomenÐŽ¦sÐŽ¦ long hair was arranged in topknotsÐŽ¦, held in place by hairpins and other ornaments. For men, hats were usually shaped like tight fitting tops with turned up brim all around.

Fabrics and make-up wasnÐŽ¦t that important but showed some value. Chinese opera make-up usually consisted of much exaggerated paintings on facial features. Each color on actors face meant a special personally----- if an actorsÐŽ¦ face was painted red, the audience knew it was a loyal character. Layers of carefully applied face powder and rouge created ÐŽ§a vision of loveliness.ЎЁ The make-up was so beautiful that Tang poems praised womenÐŽ¦s elaborate make-up. On the other hand