Chinese clothing changed considerably over the course of some 5,000 years of history, from the Bronze Age into the twentieth century, but also maintained elements of long-term continuity during that span of time. The story of dress in China is a story of wrapped garments in silk, hemp, or cotton, and of superb technical skills in weaving, dyeing, embroidery, and other textile arts as applied to clothing. After the Chinese Revolution of 1911, new styles arose to replace traditions of clothing that seemed inappropriate to the modern era. Throughout their history, the Chinese used textiles and clothing, along with other cultural markers (such as cuisine and the distinctive Chinese written language) to distinguish themselves from peoples on their frontiers whom they regarded...
Ming dynasty (1400s AD) painting by Tang Yin Tunics and padded jackets and pants People in China generally wore tunics (like long t-shirts). Women wore long tunics down to the ground, with belts, and men wore shorter ones down to their knees. Sometimes they wore jackets over their tunics. In the winter, when it was cold, people wore padded jackets over their tunics, and sometimes pants under them. Silk and hemp In early China, poor people made their clothes of hemp or ramie, which is a plant like nettles. Rich people wore silk, and, like the women in this picture, they often wore more than one tunic, in layers. During the Sui Dynasty, in the 500s AD, the emperor decided that all poor people had to wear blue...
Find out what Chinese people wore long ago. Discover the essence of traditional Chinese clothing from emperors’ clothes to qipaos and ornate Chinese hats. 1. Chinese emperors wore dragon robes as a symbol of supreme power. The Chinese hold the dragon in high esteem and dragon symbolism is very prevalent in Chinese culture to this day. The dragon holds an important place in Chinese history and mythology as being the supreme creature. Combining as it does the greatest aspects of nature with supernatural magical power. The emperor wore ‘dragon robes’ (龙袍 lóngpáo) in court and for daily dress as a symbol of his supreme status and absolute sovereignty. Dragon embroidery and dragon related patterns were exclusive to the emperor and...
