Programme 

The First Act: Chinese Traditional Costumes of Pats Dynasties 

Spring and autumn and the Warring States Periods (770-221B.C.)

Qin Dynasty (221B.V-2206B.C.)

Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-220.A.D.)

Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.)

Song Dynasty (960-1279A.D.)

Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 A.D.)

Qing Dynasty (1644-1911 A.D.)

The Second Act: Costumes of Minority Groups of China

Costumes of the Tibetan Nationality

Costumes of the Mongolian Nationality

Costumes of the Yi Nationality

Costumes of the Daiu Nationality

Costumes of the Miao Nationality

The Third Act: Chinese Qipao Dress(Cheongsam) 

Brief Introduction of Chinese National Costumes

Chinese Traditional Costumes of Past Dynasties

China, known as a“ land of dresses”, has a long history in the development of its clothing culture. Dresses in different periods reflect, to a certain extent, the situation of the politics, economy, military affairs, religions, and the civil customs of the specific historical stages. In the primitive society, people led a simple life in caves and generally worn nothing. In the Neolithic Age, the ancestors of the Chinese people were able to make tools. They invented bone needles and sewed primitive cloths. Abouts 5,000 years ago, during the Yangshao Cultural period, people lived a stable life and agriculture and textiles came into being. They raised silkworms and began to weave silk clothing which made people’s clothing more perfect. After human kind entered the calss society, clothing became the symbol of people’s social statuses. During the Western Zhou Dynasty (1066-771B.C.) China virtually had a complete clothing system. From the Zhou Dynasty to the elimination of the feudal society in China, emperors, empresses, imperial concubines, princes, princesses, officials, and common people were attired in different ways.

Chinese clothing in the past dynasties can be roughly divided into the following categories: clothing of the remote times; that of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties; that of the Qin and Han Dynasties; that of the Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties; that of the Sui, Tang , and the Five Dynasties; that of the Song Dynasty; that of the Liao, Jin, and Yuan Dynasties; that of the Ming Dynasty; that of the Qing Dynasty; and that of modern times.

Chinese Traditional Costumes of Past Dynasties

Costumes of Minority Groups of China

China is a country consisting of 56 ethnic nationalities, and each of them has its own clothing style with distinct ethnic characteristics, due to the influence of different culture, traditions, and geographical feature. On the other hand, they influenced and learned from one another in the way they dresses themselves as people of various ethnic lived together or migrate.

As a result, the dresses of various ethic groups, like their culture, share something in common while they have their own ethnic, regional, and traditional features as well as traces of merge and transformation, forming a brilliant feature, colorful clothing culture of the Chinese. Roughly speaking, the loose gown and long robe worn by the people of the minority tribes in northern China are straightforward and the long skirt and pants worn by the people in southern China are made of fine workmanship. Due to the impact of the complicated geography and climate, the clothing of the minority nationalities in southern China is richer in variety and more colorful than that of the minority groups in the north. Dresses are the important symbols of the ethnic nationality identification and the blood lineage of China’s minority groups. People usually are attired in special way on such occasions as festivals, wedding, religious, and funeral ceremonies, and other important activities. The change of clothing manifests an ethnic group’s economic life, religious belier, world outlook, ideology, aesthetic consciousness, customs, and its course of development.

Costumes of Minority Groups of China

Chinese Qipao Dress (Cheongsam)

The Qipao dress dates back to the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Perfectly fitting the beautiful figure of Asia females, it is regarded as quintessence of china, reflecting the Chinese culture and arts. While the Qipao makes people’s life more colorful with its national characteristics and strong happy colors and fashion designs, it possesses a lasting value itself. 

Chinese Qipao Dress (Cheongsam)