In the 1920s, influenced by western costumes, the improved cheongsam gradually became popular among women. This kind of cheongsam was introduced to thousands of families after Han people absorbed western clothing styles and constantly improved them in Chinese. There are many styles of cheongsam, such as wishful placket, pipa placket, inclined placket and double placket. There are high collar, low collar and no collar; The cuffs have long sleeves, short sleeves and sleeveless sleeves; There are high slits and low slits in the slits; There are also long cheongsam, short cheongsam, double cheongsam and single cheongsam. In 1930s, the improved cheongsam almost became the standard dress for women in China.
The robes popular in ethnic minority areas or nomadic people are generally tight and narrow, which is conducive to riding and shooting or other intense activities. This kind of clothing mostly uses narrow sleeves on the left cuff, and the robe body is more suitable. Historically, the Han people have used this tight-fitting robe and mandarin jacket many times, and the Hufu riding and shooting popularized in Wuling, Zhao Haoqi is a typical example. Khufu was also very popular in the Tang Dynasty. Together with huzhuang, Hu Qi and Le Hu, Khufu was a model of the widespread popularity of foreign cultures during the Kaiyuan and Tianbao years of the Tang Dynasty, and was an "exotic product" on Chang 'an Avenue that year. During the Liao, Jin, Yuan and Qing dynasties, fitted robes and clothes once dominated the costumes, although they all experienced or showed the process or trend of becoming broad-minded. Because it lasted the longest in the Qing Dynasty, robes can be regarded as typical costumes.
In the first year of Shunzhi (AD 1644), the Qing army entered the customs, joined forces with the Han warlords, made Beijing its capital, and then unified the whole country. With the initial stability of the regime, people began to be forced to shave their hair and change clothes, which set off a large-scale bloody killing. Strict laws and regulations are crucial to their lives. There used to be a saying that "there is no hair left, and there is no head left". The Han people rose up and tried to preserve Hanfu, but Hanfu was suppressed and slaughtered by the Qing rulers. The most important question is, after the establishment of the Manchu Dynasty, why did Han people have to be forced to shave their hair, hang braids and change clothes? According to common sense, what clothes to wear and what hairstyle to comb have little to do with the rule, but after the Manchu entered the customs and established the Qing Dynasty, they were given new connotations. Han people can't accept alien rule because they despise barbarism, and accepting barbaric rule is an insult to Han people. The Han nationality has thousands of years of civilization and splendid culture. Compared with other nationalities, the Han nationality has a strong sense of cultural superiority. In contrast, Manchu culture is really superficial and shameful. On the one hand, this sense of national inferiority urges Manchu aristocrats to study China culture hard, on the other hand, it also makes Manchu aristocrats afraid that Han people will look down on them. Therefore, the best way to rule the Han people is to let them learn foreign customs, shrink their spirit through bring disgrace to oneself, make them lose their self-esteem and self-confidence, and destroy their sense of national superiority in their bones. Most of the traditional clothes worn by the Han nationality are forbidden, which is a national shame of the Han nationality. According to legend, for thousands of years, the clothing styles of tops and bottoms have only been reserved for Han women's home clothes, drama, religion and other occasions. Both men and women should wear robes on celebration occasions. There are many kinds of robes, including court robes, dragon robes, embroidered robes and secret robes. From the semantic point of view, cheongsam generally refers to the robes worn by flag bearers (both men and women), but only the robes worn by women of the Eight Banners are related to the cheongsam of later generations, and the robes used as dresses, such as robes and embroidered robes, are not customarily classified as "cheongsam". Manchu rulers emphasized Manchu riding and shooting, trying to maintain their inherent customs and ways of dressing. On the one hand, they tried to assimilate Han people with Manchu costumes, while at the same time forbidding Manchu and Mongolian women to imitate Han people's costumes. Judging from the repeated bans issued during the years of Zhi Ding and Jiaqing, it is obvious that Manchu women are forbidden to imitate the costumes of Han women. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, there were also Han women imitating Manchu costumes. The quiet blending of Manchu and Han women's clothing styles has made the difference between the two sides smaller and smaller, which has become a prelude to the popularity of cheongsam throughout the country.
In the late Qing dynasty, the robes worn by women in the flag were wide, straight and tough, and the clothes were ankle-long. "Yuanbao collar" is widely used. Cover your cheeks and touch your ears with the collar high. The robe is embroidered with various patterns, including collar, sleeves, lapels and a plurality of wide piping. During the reign of Xianfeng and Tongzhi, the inlay reached its peak, and some even the whole clothes were inlaid with lace, so that it was almost difficult to recognize the original material. The decoration of the flag gown is almost at its peak. At this time, the Qing Dynasty was facing the dilemma of internal troubles and foreign invasion. In order to save the nation and survive, the Westernization School of Qing Dynasty put forward the strategy of "taking middle school as the body and western learning as the use", sent a large number of international students to study abroad, and changed the army into a new army. Western-style student uniforms and hats, as well as western-style military uniforms and hats, first appeared among students and soldiers in China. The input of clothing provides another frame of reference for judging beauty, which directly affects the change of social clothing concept. Later, the cheongsam evolved into a new style that blended Chinese and western styles, and its changes influenced by the West can be said to be the beginning.
19 1 1 The sudden outbreak of the Revolution of 1911 overthrew the rulers of the Manchu Dynasty, destroyed the last feudal dynasty in the history of China, cleared the political obstacles for the popularization of western-style clothing in China, and at the same time abandoned the traditional harsh ethics and concepts of weathering, and lifted all kinds of oranges in the clothing system. The free transformation of clothing to civilians and internationalization has come naturally, and cheongsam has thus unloaded the heavy burden of tradition. Due to the demise of the Manchu ruling regime, cheongsam was rarely worn at this time. Western-style Hanfu is bustling and complicated. The old cheongsam was abandoned, and the new cheongsam began to take shape in troubled times.
At this time, the fashion center has already moved from Suzhou and Yangzhou to Shanghai. Huayang, Shanghai, is an open commercial port and a luxurious and prosperous place where five parties live. Shanghai is also an important place for women to seek liberation. Missionaries, businessmen and revolutionaries competed to establish girls' schools, which set off a wave of feminist movement. The social atmosphere of seeking liberation has swept away the stereotypes and bad habits in clothing and makeup. Clothing decoration swept away the posturing of the Qing Dynasty, tended to be simple and elegant in color, emphasizing the natural beauty of women. Cheongsam originally appeared in the form of vest, which grew to the instep and was added to the jacket. Later, the long vest was changed into sleeveless style, which became the prototype of the new cheongsam. It is said that Shanghai female students who are fashion first are the initiators of the popularity of cheongsam. The 1930s and 1940s were the heyday of cheongsam, and its basic silhouette had reached maturity. The new cheongsam, which came into being after the Revolution of 1911 and gradually became popular in the Northern Expedition, is different from the flag gown. The improved cheongsam, which appeared in the late 1930s, absorbed western-style cutting methods in structure, making the robe body more fit, which will be introduced in detail in later chapters.