CS Knowledge Base

A bone needle and 141 ornaments made of stone, bone, shell, and tooth were discovered at the Upper Cave of the Zhoukoudian Peking Man site and dated to 19,000 years old.^[9][10] Archaeologists found seven small stone beads and 125 perforated animal teeth, many of which exhibited marks of long-term wear. Bones interred in the lower chamber of the cave bore traces of hematite powder.^[11]

During the Neolithic period, people used spinning wheels to weave thread and wore linen clothing.^[12][13] A waist loom with a cylindrical back loop, that formed a natural weaving mouth, was found at the Hemudu dig site in Yuyao. Silk production also began during this period, and clothing materials shifted to artificially woven fabrics. Cloak-style garments such as headscarves and drapes became typical attire. These replaced Paleolithic clothing forms and served to distinguish between social classes.^[14] Neolithic pottery also depicts the use crowns, boots, headgear, and other accessories.^[15]

In the Shang dynasty, clothing materials included leather, silk, ramie, and kudzu. The upper class wore dyed silk and leather, while the lower class used hemp, ramie, and kudzu due to limited silk access.^[16][17] As textile technology advanced, artisans produced fine silk, jacquard patterns, and ribbed yarn on warp looms, dyeing fabrics in deep colors.^[18]

During the Western Zhou dynasty, positions such as "Si Fu" and "Nei Si Fu" were established to oversee royal attire. Records indicate that the Chinese system of crowns and dress originated in the Xia and Shang dynasties. Artifacts from the Zhou dynasty show distinct upper and lower garments.^[19]

During the Qin and Han dynasties, women's clothing typically featured long, wide, loose sleeves and high-heeled clogs. Noblewomen also wore a decorative arm scarf called the Jingguo.^[20]

During this period, fashion diversified. According to the Miscellaneous Records of the Western Capital, after Zhao Feiyan became Empress, her sister commissioned matching upper and lower garments for her. Zhao Feiyan's "Yunying Purple Skirt," also called the "Liuxian Skirt," was a tribute from South Vietnam resembling modern pleated skirts.^[21]

During the Sui and Tang dynasties, a garment originally intended for women, known as the "half-arm" originated at court, spread widely, and was later also worn by men. Long scarves were also popular; these were woven from gauze and decorated with painted or powdered silver and gold flowers. One end was fixed to the half-arm's chest strap, draped over the shoulder, and wound between the arms. Tang women used numerous types of hair accessories, and typically wore floral shoes made of brocade, colored silk, or leather.^[22]

Ethnic integration was prominent in the clothing of the Yuan dynasty (founded by Genghis Khan in 1206, whose Khanate became ethnically dominated by Mongols after the conquest of Western Xia and Jin). Prolonged warfare from ethnic conflict damaged the textile and handicraft industries, and the palace dress system continued to follow that of the Song dynasty until 1321, under Yuan Yingzong, when a style based on ancient clothing traditions was introduced: an upper garment joined to a lower one, fitted at the top and short below, with pleats gathered at the waist and a large string of beads hung from the shoulder at the back. This costume was known as zhisun or, among the Han, as "one color clothes".^[24]

After the Yuan dynasty, the Ming dynasty restored Han clothing traditions, and its founder Zhu Yuanzhang re-established the Hanfu system. The emperor wore a black veil folded over a scarf, with wings standing up at the back. Early Ming regulations called for reviving Tang-style clothing and headgear. Court dress followed Tang styles except that the crown for advancing scholars was changed to the Liang crown, and new styles such as the Zhongjing crown were introduced.^[25]

Since the Tang and Song dynasties, dragon robes and the color yellow had been reserved for the imperial family, and purple had been considered a mark of high official rank since the Southern and Northern Dynasties. In the Ming dynasty, red (zhu) was adopted as the official color because it matched the emperor's surname, while purple was dropped from official dress.^[25]

Officials' uniforms consisted of a futou headpiece and a round-necked robe. The futou, lacquered black with short, wide flaps, was known as the Wusha hat and could not be worn by non-officials. Rank was indicated by robe color and by a square silk patch, about 40–50 centimeters wide and embroidered with a distinct design, sewn onto the chest and back. Civil officials' patches depicted birds and military officials' depicted beasts, each in nine grades. Python robes, flying-fish robes, and bullfighting robes were awarded for merit. The python design showed a four-clawed dragon, the flying-fish design added fins to its tail, and the bullfighting design added curved horns to its head. Officials of the highest rank also wore jade belts. Round-necked robes were differentiated by the length of the garment and the size of the sleeves, with longer robes denoting greater seniority.^[25]

Wives and mothers of officials who held titles wore red long-sleeved dresses and various styles of xiapei. Upper-class women also wore high-heeled shoes, made with either an inner or an outer raised sole.^[25]

During the Qing dynasty, the government enforced the shaving of the head and a change in dress. In 1652, the Shunzhi Emperor's ninth year, the "dress and color" ordinance abolished the crowns, gowns, and other Ming-style Han clothing, though Manchu dress retained textile patterns from Ming garments. Ming-dynasty men wore their hair in a bun, with loose robes, stockings, and shallow shoes, while in the Qing dynasty, men shaved the front of the head and wore a queue hanging down the back, along with narrow horseshoe-sleeved robes, tight socks, and deep boots. Distinctions between official and commoner dress still persisted under both dynasties. ^{[citation needed]}

The cheongsam, a traditional Chinese women's dress, emerged in the 1920s. In 1929, the Republic of China government's Regulations on the System of Clothing designated the cheongsam, along with the traditional jacket and skirt, as women's dress.^[26]

The Zhongshan suit is a four-pocket garment with a stand-up lapel and pocket flaps, developed from European, American, Japanese student, and Chinese clothing styles. The Nationalist Government declared it the legal uniform in April 1929, and after the 1950s it became standard dress for both national leaders and ordinary citizens.

Mao Zedong wore a variant of the suit, known in the West as the Mao suit, when he was elected Chairman of the Central People's Government at the 1949 founding ceremony of the People's Republic on Tiananmen Square. Compared to the Republican-era Zhongshan suit, the 1950s Mao suit had a larger neckline and lapel.^[27] Soong Ching-ling, Sun Yat-sen's widow, promoted the cheongsam as standard female dress, while clothing regarded as outdated or backward was banned.^{[citation needed]}

At the first National People's Congress in 1954, men commonly wore the Zhongshan suit, while women wore the Lenin suit, a Soviet-inspired double-breasted style with a wide collar that folded down into two small pointed lapels, a cloth belt, two rows of three buttons, and slanted pockets, usually in gray or blue khaki.^[28]

During the Destruction of the Four Olds campaign in 1964, items associated with Western or traditional culture, including jeans, high heels, Western-style coats, ties, jewelry, cheongsams, and long hair, were treated by Red Guards as symbols of bourgeois wealth.^[29] People seen wearing them in public risked beatings or other punishment, and such items were sometimes thrown into the streets.^[30]