The evolution of Chinese cheongsam culture

In the thirties and forties of the twentieth century, Shanghai was a blessed land for high-class socialites and high-end courtesans, who were keen on swimming, golfing, flying, horseback riding, luxurious social life and catching up with fashion, which destined the popularity of cheongsam. Because Shanghai has always advocated the Western-style lifestyle of the Shanghai style, the “improved cheongsam” later appeared, from covering the curves of the body to showing the exquisite and abrupt female curvaceous beauty, so that the cheongsam completely got rid of the old model and became one of the unique national fashions of Chinese women.
Cultural style
Qipao cannot exist in isolation from the human body. Women’s head, neck, shoulders, arms, chest, waist, hips, legs, and hands and feet form a perfect whole of many curves that are cleverly combined to form a cheongsam culture. The Beijing school and the Shanghai style cheongsam represent two styles of art and culture. The Shanghai style is characterized by absorbing Western art, which is new and flexible and diverse, with a strong commercial atmosphere; The Beijing style has an official style, which is reserved and condensed.
The origin of the cheongsam The
Xinhai Revolution abolished the imperial system and founded the Republic of China. At the beginning of the Republic of China, hair braids were cut, clothes were changed, and the hierarchy of crowns and clothing belonging to the feudal dynasty was sent to the History Museum, all of which created conditions for the prolongation of inverted sleeves and new styles of cheongsam. In the early twenties, there was a trend of “civilized new clothes” among urban women.
Golden Age The twenties to forties of the
twentieth century were the most brilliant period of Chinese cheongsam. Especially in the thirties, the cheongsam established its irreplaceable and important position on the women’s clothing stage, becoming a typical representative of Chinese women’s clothing, basically completing the process of cheongsam culture moving towards classics, and the forties were the continuation of its golden age in time. After the evolution of the first half of the twentieth century, the various basic characteristics and constituent elements of the cheongsam slowly stabilized. The cheongsam has become a classic women’s clothing. Classics are relatively stable, while fashion is ever-changing. But fashion designers often look for inspiration from the treasure trove of classics, and cheongsam is also one of the sources of inspiration for designers.
Reproduction of style In the fifties of the
twentieth century, the cheongsam had a brilliant moment. In the era when the people are the masters, the dominance of clothing trends has shifted to the common people. From 1966 to 1976, traditional Chinese culture suffered a catastrophe, and cheongsam culture was also neglected. At the beginning of the opening in the 80s of the twentieth century, the cheongsam culture, which had been neglected for 30 years, seemed a bit outdated. In the past ten years, the cheongsam that has reappeared in the fashion of the Kapok Road brand has frequently appeared in international fashion dances, and has been used as a formal dress with national representative significance to appear in various international social etiquette occasions.
Qipao accessories As the traditional clothing of Chinese women,
cheongsam is not a historical costume that has been obliterated and lost 。 It has both vicissitudes of the past and high appreciation, so it is extremely collectible. Although there are not many women wearing cheongsam in modern times, many places in modern cheongsam still maintain the traditional charm and can reflect the beauty of fashion. Art is a social ideology that concretely reflects social life and expresses the author’s thoughts and feelings by shaping images. Wearing a classical cheongsam, holding an incense fan in one hand and holding an oil paper umbrella in the other, the pace, elegant figure, classical charm, is the embodiment of oriental classical beauty.
The cheongsam was changed from the Manchu women’s clothing (flag costume). Different from the Hanfu clothing system that has followed for more than 3,000 years, Chinese women’s clothing for more than 300 years in the Qing Dynasty is dominated by flag clothing. In the early twenties of the twentieth century, under the influence of Western culture, Chinese women began to comprehend the “beauty of curves”, constantly improving and innovating the cheongsam, and striving to express their beautiful body curves. But it was not all smooth sailing, so the “tug-of-war” between Chinese and Western cultures was sewn into the cheongsam.
Cultural inheritance of cheongsam
(1) Qipao expresses curvaceous beauty In the early
twentieth century, “cheongsam vests” were prevalent. That is, a short jacket with flared wide sleeves inside, and a sleeveless long vest that swings to the floor in front and back. In 1926, the short jacket and long vest were combined into one, becoming the first style of modern cheongsam. In the next two years, the cheongsam made some changes in the sides, sleeves, placket, collar, etc., adding decorations and complex changes. However, it still maintains the straight and wide style of the old-style cheongsam vest, and follows the traditional straight line cutting method, which does not show the slender figure of women.
In the late twenties and thirties, around the rise and fall of ideological trends, cheongsam carried out a “competition” in terms of length, width, slit height, long sleeves, short sleeves, high collar and low collar.
(2) High and low slit In
1929, influenced by European and American short skirts, the original moderately long cheongsam began to become shorter, the hem was retracted to the knees, and the cuffs became shorter and smaller. Later, there was a school uniform-style cheongsam with a hem reduced to 1 inch above the knee and sleeves in Western style.
This change was criticized by public opinion, and after 1931, the cheongsam began to grow longer and the hem sagged. In the mid-thirties, the length of the cheongsam developed to the extreme, and the bottom of the robe covered the feet on the ground, called the “sweeping cheongsam”. The cheongsam sleeves that originally covered the wrists were shortened to the elbows. Later, the sleeve length became shorter and shorter, shrinking to two inches below the shoulder, and after 1936 it was almost sleeveless.
In the past, the cheongsam was slit-free, and when the sleeves were shortened, the cheongsam also quietly opened a low slit on the left. Later, the slit opened higher and higher, gradually reaching the knees and reaching the thighs. Due to objections, the robe was once returned below the knee. However, as soon as the pressure of public opinion decreased, the robe slit rose rapidly, and after 1933, the cheongsam with a wide slit became popular.
The traditional cheongsam is a straight line up and down, plus a high stiff collar. In the early thirties, the waist began to shrink over time, and after 1934, the curves of the female figure were finally fully revealed. The towering collar gradually became shorter, and later some became collarless cheongsam.
In the collision of tradition and modernity, the “goodness” of maintaining tradition and the ideological trend of pursuing beauty, the cheongsam is getting closer and closer to the times and life, breaking away from the original style, and becoming economically convenient and beautiful.
(3) The Cultural Revolution also abolished the life of the cheongsam
However, from the fifties to the period before the reform and opening up, the cheongsam was said to be the “four old”, “sealed, funded, and repaired”. President Liu Shaoqi’s wife Wang Guangmei wore a cheongsam when she visited abroad, which became a major crime during the “Cultural Revolution”.