Page 11
The CheongsamA reader's questions
|
Page 11
The CheongsamA reader's questions |
Dear sir
I was puzzled by the call made by an MCA
woman politician that we should wear the Chinese
"traditional' cheongsam with the object, she says, of
teaching other people Chinese culture.What is "traditional"? To me, the traditional dresses are the sarong kebaya and what the Cantonese call sam foo. My mother always wore sarong kebaya, morning, noon and night. The grandmother of one of my class wore the "long blouse" (baju panjang or baju labuh). My sister wore the samfoo, Staff of the Convent Light Street School 1929 
cloth buttons down the side, and trousers.
She was dressed in this style for school and also when
she went to study at Raffles College. After the 50's the preferred dress for women was the Western frock. To my mind the cheongsam represented Cantonese cabaret girls It was later that I learnt that the fashion came from Shanghai cabarets where the slits were very high up the thighs. Perhaps your readers can enlighten me on this Yours fauthfully Chew KF Editorial Note: Cheongsam (in Hokkien k'oon) is the Cantonese for the long gown, the qipao. The word 
came from qiren, the banner people: the
Han ("Chinese") name for Manchus. Hence their gowns were called
qipao, banner gowns. Cheongsam entered the English
language in 1952, Cantonese
being the preferred language for the Briitish whose favourite
colony was Hong Kong;
the word connotes the female version. .
In the early 17th century Nurhachi , a political and military strategist of north China, unified the various Nuzhen tribes and set up the Eight Banner System. Later he led his troops into Beijing and overthrew the Ming Dynasty. The Manchus ruled from 1644 to 1911 (the Qing dynasty). Over the years, a collarless tube-shaped gown was developed, which was worn by men and women in all seasons. This was the qipao. It became popular at the royal palace of the Qing Dynasty and among Manchu nobility. At that time, it was loosely fitted and long enough to reach the insteps. Usually it was made of silk, and embroidered, with broad laces trimmed at the collar, sleeves and edges. |
| Four slits Simply tailored, a qipao has a round collar, a loose-fitting front and back and narrow sleeves, There are four slits to facilitate the mounting of and dismounting from a horse. Semicircle cuffs are attached to the ends of the narrow sleeves to facilitate the shooting of arrows, Since the cuffs are shaped like horse hooves, they are called horse-hoof sleeves or arrow sleeves. When the Manchus gradually abandoned horse-riding and the bow and arrow, the arrow sleeves became mere ornaments. It was a custom of the Manchus of the upper classes to flap down the arrow cuffs when they met and saluted one another. The qipao worn by Manchu women was more ornamental than the men's. The collar, the 
front and the sleeve ends were decorated with
colourful strips. As the qipao developed the four
slits were reduced to two, one on the left and one on the rightright.
Importance was attached
to the design of the qipao than the shape of the wearer's
body. The hand-embroidered patterns on the knots tied to their
hair and qipao were very complex. We quote from Cao Juren, a scholar, on the evolution of the Qipao 
" In 1644 when the Manchus united China, established
the Qing Dynasty and moved its capital to Beijing, the qipao began
to spread throughout Central China. About 100 years later, it replaced
the long skirts the Han women had worn since the Ming Dynasty and became
the everyday dress for most women. With the introduction of Western
ideas and culture into China, qipao also became influenced by Western
fashion. Hence the waist became thinner and the sleeves narrower. It evolved
to compliment women's figure more." The Revolution of 1911 toppled the rule of the Qing Dynasty and founded the Republic of China. Most Manchus gave up wearing qipao and began to wear Han style clothes instead. So during the first 10 years of the 20th century, few people wore qipao. It was slowly coming into fashion again by the 1920s. But by that time the qipao was already somewhat different from what Manchu women wore in the late Qing Dynasty. " The Manchu qipao was worn with trousers inside; the embroidered edges of trousers 
could be seen through the slits in the skirt,
while the qipao of the Republic was worn with silk
stockings. The material of the Manchu qipao was heavy
satin, silk or jacquard fabric with complicated decorations. The
Rublican qipao was light and thin with printed
patterns and simple designs. These fundamental changes transformed
the qipao from a modest to a sexy outfit." The Republic abolished Manchu restrictions on what women could and could not wear. In this atmosphere of democracy and freedom intellectual women carried out a bold reform of the old style costumes, so the style of qipao changed frequently; its most eye-catching change was taking the split higher up the thigh. 
" From the end of 1920s to the beginning of 1930s,
when short skirts were in vogue among women in the West, the
qipao also became shorter. After 1926, it became shorter
and shorter, so that by 1929, it was knee-length, with a split exposing
the upper thigh. Legs were in! Modern women abandoned trousers and
wore silk stockings. Whether you were showing off your legs or not
was the key factor in deciding if you were "with it," or not. Qipao
not only liberated women's legs but also their arms. Enlightened by
the vest or waistcoat, qipao gave up its sleeves completely.
For a period of time, it was fashionable to edge and lace the qipao
or add flower embroidery to the front. The short style qipao
became the dress for new women in the new times. |
| Golden age " The 1930s to 40s was a golden time for the qipao. The importing of materials from foreign countries, fashion magazines and calendar girls, which were all the rage, helped to promote new innovations. The fitted qipao was highly esteemed in Shanghai, where upper class women lived a luxurious life, followed fashion and aspired to a western lifestyle. The qipao then became even more figure hugging, blending western and Chinese fashion, while at the same time being a symbol of stylish, Chinese glamour. " In the 1940s, due to war, Shanghai's economy crashed and there was a shortage of goods and high inflation. According to the newspapers of the time, the price of cloth went up by 100 percent. People became frugal; they used and adapted old clothes. The qipao of the time had no sleeves in summer and tight sleeves in spring and autumn. " Around 1949, there were few people wearing qipao. Women who had jobs all wore jackets; only some stage announcers and actresses in theatre troupes wore qipaos, but only occasionally. In the 1950s, dressing up had been replaced by the fanaticism of revolutionary work. The lazy, luxurious glamour of the qipao faded out of existence. But when a leader of the former Soviet Union visited China in 1956, he suggested that Chinese people's clothes should reflect the new prosperous look of socialism. The Chinese government then called on people to wear colourful dresses, and the qipao reappeared-albeit with a more casual look, mainly made of cotton cloth. " The death of the qipao occurred during the "Cultural Revolution." The Red Guards said that the qipao represented feudalism and capitalism and they not only burned the qipao but also punished its owners. Some bold women hurriedly hid their qipao, while the cowardly tore up or cut them into strips to make mops. |
Reappearance
" But to everybody's surprise,
the qipao reappeared in the 1980s, when the policy of
reform and opening up to the outside world was implemented. At this
time, the qipao was used as a uniform worn by female attendants
and waitresses in hotels or restaurants or young ladies at ceremonies.
This kind of qipao was mostly made of synthetic fibres or imitation
silk." The qipao became the perfect evening dress for social functions. Brides also chose it for their wedding dresses. The Langfeng Clothing Shop in Shanghai renewed its business of making qipao to order in the 1980s. Their qipaos are stitched by hand and it usually takes one to two months to make just one. Two years' training are required for a tailor to master the job. According to a designer at the store, not many people have a qipao made to order, because of the inconvenience and the few occasions they have to wear it. The clothing store now makes 100 qipaos every month, half of which are made for Japanese customers and the other half for overseas Chinese. " Everyone predicts that the qipao's day will come again, but that day has not come yet. Despite the qipao being perfectly suited for the 1990s ideal of a tall and slender figure, it still remains marginalized. Despite its undisputed elegance, the qipao is just not practical for today's career women, who have to ride a bike or take the bus to work". Is the didactic MCA poltician unwittingly taking on the role of cheongsam saviour? Her party being a "fly the flag" enthusiast, should not the sarong kebaya have a place in her calculations?# Baba wedding 
The remains of the long gown can be seen in the ceremonial dress used by the bride and bridegroom in the Baba wedding photo taken in 1920. Sources : Chinese Qipao (crienglish.com) Expo'99 Kunming Women of China 2002 Chinavoc The Convent Light Street 2001 The Star newspaper Go to the top |
| Letter to Martin McCullogh We replied to your inquiry (sent through Patricia Hick) about Abdullah Ariff but our reply was rejected as the address could not be reached. Please repeat using another email address Editor |
| ______ INDEX Point to the article that you want to read, and CLICK Index
page Baba sayings Book review Cheongsam
Hokkien road names
|
|
Editorial consultants: Mr and Mrs Lim Teong Beng Technical advisor: Tony Ooi Thanks to Robyn Choi for her assistance
this issue
|
If you have any photos of old Penang which you would like published please send them to 35 Halaman Batu Maung 11960 Batu Maung Penang and we shall return them to you after publication We have prepared an Index to The Penang File. If you are interested in having a copy please email us at thepenangfile@yahoo.co.uk giving your name, address as well as your email address ____________________ The Penang File Issue 31 |
Image of Penang Island
by Tina Choong