2. Chinese Costume Customs

（1）Ancient Costume Features of Han Nationality

The costumes of ancient China were emblems of Chinese tradition which possess not only an external elegance, but also an internal symbolism, a perfect exemplification being the pair of fighting pheasant feathers in head wear of warriors in the Warring States Period, symbolizing a bold and warlike spirit.

As early as 18, 000 years ago, ornaments and sewing existed in ancient Chinese civilization, with archaeological proofs being artifacts like bone sewing needles, stone beads and shells with holes bored in them. In the era of the Yellow Emperor and the Emperors Yao and Shun, diversity in clothing was generally shaped. The complication and elaboration of clothing was further manifested in the remains of woven silk, hemp articles and antique ceramic objects in the Shang dynasty.

Accordingly, seemingly distinct design and Chinese traditional clothing framework produce various ornamentations such as embroidered edgings, draped cloth or silks, patterns on the shoulders, decorated bands, and sashes. Every dynasty in China had its own notable features.

Qin Dynasty

The dressing style Qin dynasties were impressive. The Emperor Qin held the belief that the Qin dynasty would conquer the Zhou dynasty like water extinguishes fire. Consequently, because the Zhou dynasty admires the golden and red color as the symbol of fire; Qin Shi Huang preferred black, the color related with water. As a result, black was the dominating color within the whole Qin dynasty to symbolize the energy of water, with clothing and adornments all being black.

Han Dynasty

The Han dynasty was divided into two parts: western Han dynasty, and eastern Han dynasty. Guangwu emperor adored red, regarding it as the most respectful color which embodied the virtue of fire. Until the second year of Yongping period, a white layer was added to match the red socks and shoes during ritual performances.

Following the theory of Five Elements, the ceremonial dress colors of government officials were seasonally changing, respectively being graygreen, red, yellow and black from spring to winter.

The dress of an average man, no matter he was a farmer, a worker, a businessman or a scholar, was always the same: a short jacket and trousers in the style of calf's nose, plus a short cloth skirt; with the style of his crown identifying his rank and status. However, a common woman usually wore a short jacket and a long skirt with an adorning belt hung down to the knee. Decorations such as golden earrings, silver rings and bracelets are exquisite.

Tang Dynasty

The Tang dynasty was the most thriving period of ancient Chinese culture.

The distinctive Tang costume was natural, beautiful and elegant. The style of female attire was various which comprised a shirt with short sleeves plus a long skirt; or a loose-sleeved shirt, long skirt and a scarf, or low-cut gowns with a high waistband. Hair was coiled high in a bun, the most popular being the“cloud bun”which covered the temples and framed the face.

Another distinct feature of Tang dynasty was“the rule of the wide belt”, applying the quality and number of decorations on the belt to identify the rank of government officials. For example, officials lower than the first rank wore a sword or knife, officials and generals higher than the third rank wore jade belts, officials of the fourth and fifth rank wore gold belts, and the six-and seventhranking officials wore silver belts. In contrast, common people could only wear a small bronze or iron knife.

Song Dynasty

Song dynasty women had separate clothes for official, formal and casual occasions. The first type was for empresses and other nobility up to 7 Pin（level）. Formal clothes were worn at great events like weddings or to funerals, and the third was casual for daily use. Generally speaking, the clothing designed for government officials was splendid, and common people dressed decently, the fabrics being superb, and the hair styles being special, braided and hung down on the shoulder, People who could not afford fancy jewelry used paper decorations in their hair, fragrance on the body, and wore shoes with embroidered flowers.

Yuan Dynasty

Yuan dynasty（Mongol dynasty）, was first established by Genghis Khan in 1206, a dynasty established in China by Mongol nomads which proceeded to copy a Chinese-style administration. Within the Yuan dynasty, “Zhi Sun dresses”were prevailing worn by all classes of individuals which could be produced from materials of varying weight and quality. Aristocratic women had their own styles of dress of leather coats and hats as their national attire, marten and sheepskin clothing was popular as well. Gowns were long and loose with wide sleeves and narrow cuffs.

Ming Dynasty

One of the significant features of Ming clothing was the use of buttons on the forepart, replacing the band knots of thousand years, a breakthrough representing the development of the era.

Compared with Tang attire, the proportion of the upper outer garment to lower skirt was greatly reversed, and the collar was modified from the symmetrical type to the main circular type. Light color was preferred and skirt pleats became in fashion.

In addition, short embroidered capes named“Rosy Cloud Cape”worn over a woman's shoulder were popular in the Ming Dynasty, making the women to be more graceful.

Male attire typically adopted the form of chuddar and circular collar. They featured broad sleeves, inlaid black brims and cyan circular collar. Men wore black silk ribbon, soft chuddar and drooping strap.

Qing Dynasty

Qing attires, or Manchurian-style clothing, featured saddle-shaped collar and short narrow sleeves, and the former had the function of cheek covering and face protection. The whole garment was cut straight from top to bottom without a waist. The box-like look of Qing dynasty clothing indicated a solemn but slightly arrogant image that commanded reverence, which was fairly exclusive.

The Qi robe（Chinese cheongsam dress）and the short clothes resembled the shape of a pi pa（a Chinese musical instrument）front. The sides of the garment, as well as the collar and sleeves, were decorated with inlays and embroidery. The matching skirts and pants were highly decorated with dye printing and embroidery.

（2）Typical Costumes of Han Nationality

①Hanfu

The ancient Chinese garment is characteristic of robes, with Hanfu being the representative. The record showed that the fundamentals of Hanfu was established in Shang dynasty, which consisted of yi, a knee-length tunic tied with a sash and narrow cuffs, and shang, a narrow and ankle-length skirt, with a length of fabric that reached the knees. The outfit was unisex worn by males and females alike. Due to limited technology, only primary colors were used at that time: blue, red and yellow. Despite the similar choice of clothing colors, the upper classes have more elaborate work and patterns.

In the following Western Zhou dynasty, the authority implemented a clothing reform to complicate the outfits. The higher the social rank, more ornate the garment is. Later on, the Hanfu became looser, with sleeves being wider. Yi was tightened with a sash decorated with jade ornaments. An interesting fact about yi was that it was wrapped from the right side over the left since left-hand-edness was despised traditionally.

Roughly speaking, Hanfu had two variations: namely pien-fu and shen-yi, both having wide and long sleeves with loose fittings.

·The Pien-fu

A pien is a cylindrical ceremonial cap. The pien-fu is actually more of a ceremonial costume of two pieces, with a tunic-like top. It goes to nearly the knees, and the rest of the outfit is a second piece like a skirt for women or a pant for men which goes to the ankles.

·The Shen-yi

The skirt or trousers and tunicwere stitched together to make it a one-piece dress, the most widely worn costume of the ancient time.

In the ancient Chinese clothing, most of the traditional designs were unisex uncomplicatedly cut. However, with the time progressed, gender distinction emerged in the Shen-yi. The men typically wore pants and women, skirts. Each dynasty had their own styles of Hanfu as they developed.

②Chang-pao/Long Robe

Chang-pao is a one-piece cloth, broadening from the shoulders to the heels to cover the entire body, with the most notable type being Chinese Cheongsam, or Qipao.

The cheongsam, or Qipao in Chinese, is the variation of a kind of ancient clothing of Manchu ethnic minority. In ancient times, it generally referred to long gowns worn by the people of Manchuria, Mongolia and the Eight-Banner.

In the early years of the Qing dynasty, long gowns featured collarless, narrow cuff in the shape of a horse's hoof, buttons down the left front, four slits and a fitting waist. Wearers usually coiled up their cuff for convenience, and put it down when hunting or battling to protect hands. In winter, the cuff has the function to prevent them from bitter cold. The gown had four slits, with one on the left, right, front and back, reaching the knees. It was fitted to the body and rather warm. Fastened with a waistband, the long gown could hold solid food and utensils when people went out hunting. Men's long gowns were mostly blue, gray or green; and women's white.

Another characteristic of Manchu cheongsam was that people generally wore it with a waistcoat that was either with buttons down a twisted front, or a luteshaped front etc.

When the early Manchu rulers came to China proper, they immigrated their capital to Beijing, thus cheongsam began to spread in the Central Plains. The unified Chinese costume was the product of the Qing's unifying China. At that time, men wore a long gown and a mandarin jacket over the gown, while women wore cheongsam. Although the 1911 Revolution overturned the rule of the Qing（Manchu）dynasty, the female dress survived the political chaos and has become the traditional dress for Chinese women with further modification.

Manchu men or women all wore loose-fitting and straight-bottomed broad-sleeved long gowns with a wide front till the 1930s, The lower hem of women's cheongsam reached the calves with embroidered flower patterns on it, while that of men's cheongsam reached the ankles without any fancy decorations.

From the 1930s, cheongsam became prevailing among women just like uniforms.

Folk women, students, workers and upper-class women all dressed themselves in cheongsam, especially on formal occasions such as social intercourses or diplomatic activities. Gradually, cheongsam spread to foreign countries and was immensely favored by foreign females.

Under the influence of new fashion home and abroad after the 1940s, Manchu men's cheongsam was phased out, while women's cheongsam underwent further changes such as narrow sleeve, waist-fitting, loose hip part and lower hem reached the ankles. Then there emerge various forms of cheongsams we see today that emphasize color decoration and set off the beauty of the female shape.

The chief reason why the cheongsam gained such popularity is that it perfectly fits female figures, having simple lines with elegance. The cheongsam can either be long or short, unlined or interlined, woolen or made of silk floss. Therefore, with different materials, the cheongsam presents diverse styles. Cheongsams made of silk with flower patterns, plain lattices or thin lines reflect feminine charm; and those made of brocade are eye-catching, the costumes suitable for important occasions like guest greetings or banquets.

In sum, Cheongsam exemplifies beauty of Chinese traditional costume with intense national flavor. It is more of a Chinese female costume, but a symbol of the oriental tradition.

③Chinese Tunic Suit

Known in China as the Zhongshan Suit（named after Sun Yat-Sen）, but in the West as Mao Suit（named after Mao Zedong）, the modern Chinese Tunic Suit is a typical male attire. Shortly after the establishment of the Republic of China, Sun Yat-sen popularized the style as a national dress despite its distinctly political and later governmental implication.

As mentioned above, Chinese typical dress before the Republic was founded was primarily Manchu dress, the result of social control of the Qing Dynasty, but actually the older dressing forms had already been on decline.

The Chinese Tunic Suit was intended to satisfy modern dressing sensibility, but not under the influence of western styles. Dr. Sun Yat-sen participated in the design with his overseas experience in Japan and adopted the Japanese uniform as the basis of Zhongshan Suit, plus some minor alteration: rather than the three invisible pockets in Western suits, the Zhongshan suit had four outside pockets following Chinese philosophy of symmetry and harmony. Gradually, the suit underwent some slight modification such as the number of the buttons is decreased from seven to five.

（3）Contemporary Costumes of Han Nationality

The Chinese clothing changed significantly after the 1911 Revolution, with the official cap being removed and hair plaits being cut off. But Chi-pao remained, meanwhile, the blue short gown of teenage girls was dominating and gaining popularity.

Male and female dresses were specifies in the first year of the Republic of China. men attire consisted of dress suits and routine suits. The former were all made of black cloth, pants and cravats. The latter include western and Chinese style, such as long gown and mandarin jacket. Women attires were collared and reaching knees; skirts were decorated with cartouches, pleats and knots.

With the progress of time, foreign culture exerted great influence on China, and western living styles invaded socially. Urban females started to be involved in social activities from 1930s, leading to transformation on social morals. Modern women were affected by Europe and Japan or even Hollywood, wearing one-piece dress, short skirts, underwear with accessories such as glasses and watches.

In the modern society, Chinese wear the clothing with a combination of traditional and new elements which incorporate age-old motifs such as dragons, phoenixes, lion, clouds and masks of Chinese opera characters.

（4）The Costumes of Chinese Ethnic Minorities

Minority costumes differ greatly on many aspects, such as textiles, fashions, decoration, and technology, reflecting distinctive locality respectively. For instance, the ethnic groups who chiefly rely on stockbreeding such as Tibetans, Uygurs, and Mongolians, make the clothes mainly out of animal skins and hair; however, farming minorities like Buyi, Dai, Bai etc. prefer the locally produced cotton or hemp thread to produce clothes.

①Zhuang Nationality

Having the largest population（almost 18 million）among all the 55 Chinese ethnic groups, the majority of Zhuang people live in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Yunnan Province. In Guangdong, Hunan, Guizhou and Sichuan provinces of South China, there exist some distribution of Zhuang People as well.

They always wear traditional costumes on special occasions. For instance, hand-woven fabrics are used to make different clothes. Usually girls wear a blue-and-black collarless jacket with bright furbelow, baggy trousers or Batik skirt, and a delicately embroidered apron is fastened on the waist. Boys are dressed in black front-opening coat with cloth-wrapped buttons, wearing a belt on the waist. Besides, Zhuang people favor silver accessories immensely.

②Miao Nationality

Miao people reside majorly in southern China like provinces of Guizhou, Yunnan, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Hubei, and Hainan and surrounding South East Asian countries like Thailand and Vietnam. The majority of the Miao people living in China are located in Guizhou province.

The Miao attire is full of variety and colors, ranging from region to region. In northeast Yunnan and northwest Guizhou, male Miao clothing features linen jackets with colorful designs, and drape woolen blankets with geometric patterns over their shoulders. However, in other areas, men wear short jackets buttoned down the front or to the left, long trousers with wide belts and long black scarves. Extra cloth leggings are added as puttees in winters. Women's clothing differs even more greatly. In west Hunan and northeast Guizhou, women wear jackets buttoned on the right and trousers, with decorations em-broidered on collars, sleeves and trouser legs. In other areas, women wear high-collared short jackets and full or half-length pleated skirts. They also wear various kinds of silver jewelry on festive occasions.

③Uygur

In China, the major Uygur population live in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Henan and Hunan provinces, with the total reaching up to 9.9 million.

The Uygur dress features uniquely. All of them favor the Russian boot and tetragon cap embroidered with black and white or colored silk threads in traditional Uygur designs. Male garment is always an unbuttoned robe outside their shirt with square webbing tied around their waist. Females favor brightly colored attire, their favorite accessories being earrings, bracelets and necklaces. Young girls like to wear dozen pigtails for their additional feminine beauty. But after marriage, women usually wear two pigtails with loose ends, decorated on the head with a crescent shaped comb.

④Mongolian

Having a population of approximately 5.81 million, most Mongolians live in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in North China, and the rest reside in provinces of Jilin, Heilongjiang, Liaoning, Xinjiang, Hebei, and Qinghai and so on.

The caftan, hat, sash and boots are the essential part of the Mongolian clothing. With materials ranging from leather to drapery, the caftan possess various functions such as a blanket, a makeshift tent, or a screen, whereas its long and wide sleeves can be rolled down to protect the wearer from the sun, wind or rain. Men's sash is long, folded into a broad band and is tightly fastened around the waist, which may serve to stash the Mongolian knife and attach pouches. Comparatively women's sash is shorter and narrower than men's. In some places, married women wear an embroidered silk vest instead of a sash.

The hat is regarded as a characteristic part of a Mongolian's attire, which is typically decorated with whatever trinkets the owner favored, or with pearls or even precious stones, coupled with long, colorful tassels streaming down. Hats are worn on occasions such as meeting or greeting non-family members, entering a ger（though one may be invited to remove the hat once inside）, or when in the street. It is considered indecent to go bareheaded without the hats.