The development history of Soviet-style cheongsam ~ ~ has its own characteristics! ~

Tired of making Hong Kong salty, Zeng Xiangbei thought of Ni Guang.

On the history of Suzhou embroidered cheongsam

Cold sword

Qipao was originally a robe worn by Manchu people. Because Manchu is called standard bearer, this kind of robe is also called cheongsam. At first, this kind of cheongsam was of the same style, regardless of gender, age. According to the season, it is divided into three types: single, clip and leather. Its style is: right lapel, straight tube, round neck, straight hem, split left and right, split four sides, inlaid with stone blue collar edge, long sleeves connected with horseshoe sleeves. This style is to meet the needs of Manchu riding and shooting. After the Qing dynasty unified the whole country, in the second year of Shunzhi (1645), the decree of shaving hair and changing clothes was promulgated, forcing Han people to shave their hair and wear full-flag clothes instead. However, due to the influence of Han culture and the change of Manchu riding and shooting lifestyle, the style and materials of cheongsam have gradually changed. In particular, the women's cheongsam has changed obviously, and the horseshoe sleeves have been removed, and the cuffs have gradually widened from the narrow 8 inches to 1 foot. The neckline, skirt and sleeve tail are embroidered with patterns, and even cheongsam is embroidered with flowers and auspicious patterns that were popular at that time. The workmanship is getting thinner and thinner, and the cheongsam is getting better and better. So Su embroidery cheongsam came into being.

Suzhou is the birthplace of Suzhou embroidery and the hometown of silk, with exquisite embroidery, reeling and weaving techniques. Therefore, from the Yuan Dynasty to the Mindfulness period, the court set up a weaving bureau in Suzhou, taking Suzhou as the base for weaving and embroidering palace costumes. After that, although the dynasties changed, the position and role of Suzhou Weaving Bureau was always valued by all previous dynasties, from Ming Dynasty to Qing Dynasty without exception. In the third year of Shunzhi in Qing Dynasty (1646), the imperial court rebuilt the general weaving bureau in Suzhou. The following year, 89 rooms, including machine room, dyeing room and embroidery room, were built on the former site of the Ming Dynasty Weaving Bureau, which was called the North Weaving House, and Suzhou people commonly called it the North Weaving Bureau. (Duan, Zhang Qifu: History of Suzhou Handicraft Industry) Weaving workshops specialize in making clothes for the imperial court. From the empress dowager to officials at all levels, the imperial court sent Beijing officials to supervise the production, which cost a lot. In the 21st year of Kangxi (1682), the expenditure on silk weaving and embroidery materials alone reached more than 80,000 taels of silver. The cheongsam made by Suzhou embroidery technology is particularly radiant. According to 1966 archaeological discovery in Shijiazi Village, Mangbalin Right Banner, Zhaowuda, Inner Mongolia, there are three robes in the tomb of Princess Rongxian, the third daughter of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty. (Now in the Museum of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region) One is Jifu robe, and the other is Su Xiu cheongsam. Although these two cheongsam embroidered with exquisite patterns have been buried for two or three hundred years, they are still shining and bright as new. Its style is quite different from modern cheongsam; Except for the right-handed buttons, its style is like a dress with a narrow top and a wide bottom. The embroidery pattern of cheongsam is very rich in content. Among them, the predecessor of 1 piece includes two sleeve embroidered bottles, birds, pots, Baoding and so on. ; Embroidered Baoding, a smoking pot and a fruit bowl on the chest, with crabs in between; Embroider titles, ding, ruyi, swords, etc. The lower edge of the back is embroidered with lions, ruyi, ding, calligraphy and painting. One axis is embroidered, with the word "summer painting" embroidered with black silk thread, and the other axis is embroidered with the poem "Spring City is full of flying flowers", and embroidered with calligraphy and painting to collect three stamps. Another cheongsam is embroidered with butterflies; Colorful butterflies are flying in competition, dotted with flowers and colorful clouds, with mountains and rivers embroidered on the lower edge and auspicious treasures embroidered between them. There are two big butterflies flying towards each other on the chest and back, forming a circular pattern with a diameter of 26 cm. (Wang Zhu's "Ancient Dressing Country") These two cheongsam fully demonstrated the noble demeanor of Princess Rongxian, and also reflected the life interest and aesthetic pursuit of Kangxi's daughter at that time.

In the folk, the general women's clothing was relatively simple in the early Qing Dynasty, but it was more complicated in the middle Qing Dynasty. After Daoguang, a kind of long casual clothes became popular, called easy clothes. This gown, which can cover feet, is large in size, with round neck, big slit at waist, wide sleeves and short sleeves, and is inlaid with two or three layers of sleeves of different colors. The collar and skirt are inlaid with several laces, and the upper ends of the left and right underarm skirts are decorated with lace. Mourning has a great influence on society. At first, only Manchu women wore it, but later women from all walks of life followed suit and became popular. More importantly, this dress has had a far-reaching impact on the evolution of Suzhou embroidery cheongsam. From the woodcut New Year pictures of Taohuawu carved in the middle of Qing Dynasty, we can see that the cheongsam worn by boudoir women at that time had wide sleeves, and the collar, sleeves, lapels and pendulums were embroidered with exquisite lace patterns, which was very gorgeous and moving. During the reign of Xianfeng and Tongzhi, women's clothing in Suzhou was even more fashionable and bizarre. There are various styles of cheongsam, such as pipa lapels, large lapels and double lapels. In terms of decoration technology, with embroidery, printing or gold embroidery, the cost of inlay and rolling has doubled. The inlay area of some cheongsam accounts for 40% of the whole dress, which makes the governor of Jiangsu have to issue a customized training treaty. During Guangxu and Xuantong years, the cheongsam changed again: the sleeves became smaller and shorter, the coat became shorter, and the collar gradually rose, but the embroidery on the cuffs was still wider, reducing the secondary double inlay. Today, we can still see from the existing embroidery pieces of some Qing Dynasty folk Su embroidery cheongsam: at that time, cheongsam was mostly made of soft satin of various colors with excellent texture, and the embroidery patterns were mainly flowers and auspicious themes, with gorgeous and elegant colors. The embroidery surface is flat, thin, even and bright, and the work of fixing, applying, rolling and sewing needles is quite fine.

After the Revolution of 1911, influenced by foreign western costumes, the waist of cheongsam began to tighten, and the collar was increased from 1 inch to 2 inches. In the 1930s, cheongsam became more popular. At this time, the cheongsam absorbed the advantages of western tailoring, so that the curve of women's chest and waist can be fully displayed, and the styles of big breasts are more diverse, such as single-breasted, double-breasted and oblique-breasted. After entering the 1940s, cheongsam is simple, light and fit, and can be worn all year round, with single, clip, cotton and other styles. There are long sleeves, short sleeves and sleeveless; There are low collars, high collars and no collars; There are also hard collars, soft collars, right-angle collars and round necks. There are silks and satins, cotton silk, stone forest cloth and so on. On the material; Some are embroidered, some are embroidered.

After the founding of New China, cheongsam became a symbol of China culture. Women wearing cheongsam in China can show the solemnity, beauty, elegance and demure of oriental women, and even women in Southeast Asian countries and even Europe and America have fallen in love with cheongsam. The exquisite and beautiful Suzhou embroidered cheongsam is more loved by women all over the world. Since 1960s, Suzhou embroidered cheongsam has been exported overseas. Its fabrics are made of high-quality soft satin and crepe satin, and the embroidery patterns are also rich and varied, such as roses, peonies, phoenixes, plums, orchids, bamboos and chrysanthemums, which are generally distributed on the chest, neckline and sleeves. The stitches used are loose sleeves, needles and seeds. The stitch is lively, the embroidery is fine and the color is elegant. Some high-grade Suzhou embroidered cheongsam are also inlaid with colorful beads and sparkling rhinestones on the embroidery pattern, which makes the cheongsam look elegant and gorgeous. In style, it not only inherits the tradition, but also innovates. For example, there are oblique lapels, pipa lapels, double lapels and curved lapels on the big lapels. 1989, a cheongsam embroidered by Suzhou embroidery factory, won the gold medal at the first Beijing International Expo. This is an ultra-long cheongsam embroidered with pink satin fabric. The front is embroidered with a peacock standing with its head held high, its head on its chest, and its bird body and colorful tail extend to the lower edge of cheongsam. Peacock is colorful but not vulgar, with rich feathers, distinct layers and high artistic appreciation, which makes the audience admire its beauty. After entering the 2 1 century, Su embroidery cheongsam has been sought after by young women who advocate the new trend of the times, and is often used as wedding dresses and celebrations. It is believed that Suzhou embroidered cheongsam with the charm of China traditional culture will have new development in the future.