video about cheongsam

History of the cheongsam

The cheongsam evolved from the 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 cheongsams

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. 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 cheongsam is either interchangeable with the female cheongsam or refers to the two-piece cheongsam 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 cheongsam 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 cheongsam was 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).

cheongsams evolved from Manchu dresses, such as these Manchu princesses wore

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Chinese Dress: From the Qing Dynasty to the Present

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