Traditional Chinese dress Cheongsam

Cheongsam, also known as a qipao 旗袍( qí páo ) , is a distinctively traditional Chinese dress originating from the Manchu people of the Qing Dynasty in the early 17th century. It has evolved through the ages and is still used in contemporary Asian female fashion that is created to uniquely emphasize feminine features while preserving its cultural authenticity.

旗袍的样式(yàng shì ) Patterns of Qipao

The traditional one-piece, form-fitting dress is either made of silk, brocade, velvet or fabric and is the obsession of every Chinese woman. As Western fashions changed, the basic cheongsam design changed too. There are some unique style elements of Cheongsam such as the collar, the sleeve, the button design, the length and the slit of the dress. Take the sleeves as an example:

旗袍的传说(chuán shuō) Legend of Qipao

There was a young fisherwoman living near a place called Jingbo Lake. She was not only very beautiful but also clever and skillful. Her only problem: when fishing, she often felt hindered by her long and loose-fitting clothing. Then an idea struck her: why not make a more practical dress to wear when fishing? She then got down to sewing and produced a long, loop- buttoned gown with wonderfully practical slits down the sides of the skirt for tucking in the front part of her dress. Her creation allowed her to fish with greater ease, but she never imagined that it would bring her good fortune as well.

The young emperor who ruled China at the time had a dream one night. In the dream, his dead father told him a lovely fisherwoman wearing a long dress of her own creation, who lived by Jingbo Lake, would become his queen. After awakening from this vivid dream, the emperor sent his men to look for the mysterious woman. And sure enough, they found her just where his father said? So she joined the emperor as his queen, bringing her lovely Cheongsam with her. Manchu women all followed suit and soon Qipao became all the rage throughout China.