“One Hundred Years Fashion---- Cheongsam(Qipao) and Fashion Art Exhibition ”and the Cheongsam show was solemnly opened in Henan Museum on Jan. 26, 2015

This exhibition was co-sponsored by Henan Museum and China National Silk Museum. Mr. Tiankai, the president of Henan Museum and Mr. Zhao Feng, the curator of China National Silk Museum made a Speech respectively at the opening ceremony.

The exhibition collected 132 set of gauderies. It was divided into two parts:“One Hundred Years of Fashion”and the “Contemporary Art Fashion”.All of the fashion cheongsams came from China National Silk Museum.

Besides this cheongsam exhibition, we were going to hold the specialist seminar, interactive activities, audience participation, cheongsam show and Series of public activities in Henan Museum.It was said that the cheongsam show would last to March 15, 2015.

The Style of Cheongsam (Qipao)

•Qipao has been experiencing constant changes with the fashions in different ages. There are a wide range of Qipao styles.

•Original Qipao: The first and "traditional" qipao when introduced to the larger Han population were wide, baggy and rather loose. It covered most of the women's body.

•Modern-day Qipao Features: straight collar, right placket, tight waist, knee-length and slits on both sides. Either be long-sleeved or short-sleeved. The new-style one is associated with new features and a great deal of modern design elements in color, cutting and match, which are mainly embodied in the change of the bottom, as well as diversified materials.

•The neck styles: high-neck, low-neck and neck-less styles.

•The Sleeves: long-sleeve to short-sleeve and sleeveless.

•The Slits: high and low-slit styles.

•The Placket Patterns: Ruyi plackets, Pipa plackets, Slant-cut plackets and Double plackets, etc;

•The Fancy Patterns on Qipao:

- Peony: Chinese National Flower. Peony symbolizes richness and prosperity and it is the most favored flower in China.

- Lotus: symbolizes beauty and purity

- Chrysanthemum: symbolizes longevity

- Fish: a symbol for prosperity

- Dragon: symbolizes "Supreme Power"

- Phoenix: beauty and purity.

The History of Cheongsam (Qipao)

When the Manchu ruled China during the Qing dynasty, certain social strata emerged. Among them were the Banners (qí), mostly Manchu, who as a group were called Banner People (pinyin: qí rén). Manchu women typically wore a one-piece dress that retrospectively came to be known as the qípáo (Manchu: sijigiyan or banner gown). The generic term for both the male and the female forms of Manchu dress, essentially similar garments, was chángpáo . The qipao fitted loosely and hung straight down the body, or flared slightly in an A-line. Under the dynastic laws after 1636, all Han Chinese in the banner system were forced to wear a queue as did all Manchu men and dress in Manchu qipao instead of traditional Han Chinese clothing , under penalty of death (along with the July 1645 edict (the Queue Order) that forced all adult Han Chinese men to shave the front of their heads and comb the remaining hair into a queue, on pain of death). However, the order for ordinary non-Banner Han civilians to wear Manchu clothing was lifted and only Han who served as officials were required to wear Manchu clothing, with the rest of the civilian Han population dressing however they wanted. Until 1911, the changpao was required clothing for Chinese men of a certain class, but Han Chinese women continued to wear loose jacket and trousers, with an overskirt for formal occasions. The qipao was a new fashion item for Han Chinese women when they started wearing it around 1925.

The original qipao was wide and loose. It covered most of the woman's body, revealing only the head, hands, and the tips of the toes. The baggy nature of the clothing also served to conceal the figure of the wearer regardless of age. With time, though, the qipao were tailored to become more form fitting and revealing. The modern version, which is now recognized popularly in China as the "standard" qipao, was first developed in Shanghai in the 1920s, partly under the influence of Beijing styles. People eagerly sought a more modernized style of dress and transformed the old qipao to suit their tastes. Slender and form fitting with a high cut, it had great differences from the traditional qipao. It was high-class courtesans and celebrities in the city that would make these redesigned tight fitting qipao popular at that time. In Shanghai it was first known as zansae or "long dress" (—Mandarin Chinese: chángshān; Shanghainese: zansae; Cantonese: chèuhngsāam), and it is this name that survives in English as the "cheongsam".

The controversies on the origin of Cheongsam[edit]Usually, people take Cheongsam as adapted from a one-piece dress of Manchu women in Qing Dynasty. But debates on the origin of Cheongsam have never stopped in academic circle. There are mainly three arguments on the origins of Cheongsam: The first argument says that Cheongsam stemmed directly from the clothing of Banner People when the Manchu ruled China during the Qing dynasty. This argument was prominently represented by Xibao Zhou in his work--The History of Ancient Chinese Clothing and Ornaments.

The second opinion thinks that Cheongsam inherited some features of the chángpáo of Banner people in Qing dynasty, but the origin of Cheongsam should date back to a period between the West Zhou dynasty (1046 BC-771 BC) and the pre-Qin era, which is much earlier than the Qing dynasty. According to Jieming Yuan’s book Chinese Cheongsam, the modern Cheongsam shares many similarities with the narrow-cut straight skirt that women wore in West Zhou dynasty. And Chinese Professor Xinmin Bao also pointed out in his book A Real Record of Modern Chinese Costume that the Cheongsam originated from the ancient robe in Han dynasty (206 BC-220 AD). The robe is a one-piece upper and lower connected long dress which was quite popular among ladies in Han.

The third argument was raised by Chinese Professor Xiangyang Bian in his book An Analysis On the Origin of Qipao. Bian thinks that Cheongsam originates from neither the robe nor the chángpáo. It is an adaption of western-style dress during the Republican period of China when people were open to the western cultures. In his opinion, Cheongsam was a hybrid of traditional Chinese costumes and western costumes such as the waistcoat and one-piece dress.

Cheongsam is a female dress with distinctive Chinese features and enjoys a growing popularity in the international world of high fashion. It is said that Qipao is the earliest fashion for women in Shanghai.

Qipao was the basal garment for the Manchus in Northeast China. It was modified in early 20th century to be more suitable and comfortable yet retained the craftwork of traditional ones.

As a traditional Chinese dress. Qipao is like a wonderful blossom in China's bright-colored fashion scene. Because of its unique charm, many women wear it to show their special grace.

  cheongsam fashion show     Mr. Tiankai, the president of Henan Museum makes a speec at the opening ceremony.   Mr. Zhao Feng, the curator of China National Silk Museum addresses at the opening ceremony.       The audiences are enjoying the cheongsam fashion show.