Cheongsam is known as the representative of Chinese clothing culture. With its flowing melody, chic painting and rich poetry, it expresses the virtuous, elegant, gentle and beautiful temperament of Chinese women. Although it is now difficult to see elegant beauties walking in cheongsam, holding oil-paper umbrellas in their left hands and incense fans in their right hands, many people still yearn for that beautiful scene.
For thousands of years, my country has had very serious requirements for women, and cheongsam clothing is also a product of feudalism's requirements for women. However, as a beautiful element of Chinese women's clothing, cheongsam has been recognized by the world and has become an important part of our country's traditional culture. Cheongsam follows the times, carries civilization, reveals self-cultivation, embodies virtue, and evolves into a brilliant rainbow between heaven and earth.
If the feudal tradition of China for thousands of years has set the highest expectation of women here, then the key word that can best explain all the mysteries is "performance". The only medium to express a beautiful body is through good clothing.
Human civilization has a long history, and women's clothing has continued to change with history. Compared with the huge changes that technology has brought to the world, the human body has stubbornly remained the same. Although this cannot be regarded as a miracle, it provides possibilities for the development of clothing.
Clothing cannot exist in isolation from the human body, and the same goes for cheongsam. A woman's head, neck, shoulders, arms, chest, waist, hips, legs, hands and feet form a perfect whole that is cleverly combined with many curves. The aesthetics of cheongsam seems to start from here.
A century of development history of cheongsam
The beginning of the Republic of China - the cheongsam that passed quietly. At the beginning of the 20th century, China's political situation was in turmoil. The Revolution of 1911 abolished the monarchy, established the Republic of China, cut braided hair, changed the color of clothes, destroyed everything, and sent the hierarchy of crowns and uniforms belonging to the feudal dynasty into the history museum. All these created conditions for the extension of the new style of cheongsam, which became fashionable among urban women for a while. "Civilized New Clothes".
The 1930s and 1940s were the golden age of cheongsam and the most glorious period of modern Chinese women's clothing. It was at this time that the cheongsam established its irreplaceable and important position on the women's clothing stage and became a typical representative of Chinese women's clothing. The process of cheongsam becoming classic can be said to have been basically completed in the 1930s, and the 1940s was the continuation of its golden age in time.
There was also a glorious moment in the 1950s. In an era when the people were the masters of the country, if clothing was also popular, the dominance of fashion had shifted to the common people.
The 1960s and 1970s were the 20 years when the cheongsam was neglected. The "Cultural Revolution" from 1966 to 1976 was a catastrophe for traditional culture and a disaster for the cheongsam.
From the 1980s and 1990s to now, the cheongsam has never been more glorious. After the reform and opening up, the heyday of cheongsam has gone. It has been neglected for 30 years, and it seems a bit outdated in the land that has been opened since the 1980s.
The aesthetics of cheongsam
In the past ten years, the cheongsam has reappeared in fashion and has frequently appeared in international fashion shows. Its grace is even better than that of the past, and it has been used as a formal dress with national significance to appear in various international social etiquette occasions.
The Beijing style and Shanghai style of cheongsam
Beijing style and Shanghai style represent two styles of art and culture. The Shanghai-style style is characterized by absorbing Western arts, is innovative, flexible and diverse, and has a strong commercial atmosphere; the Beijing-style style has an official style and appears reserved and concise.
Artists and cheongsam
Art is a social ideology that concretely reflects social life and expresses the author's thoughts and feelings by shaping images.
Designers and cheongsam
After the evolution in the first half of the 20th century, the various basic characteristics and constituent elements of cheongsam gradually stabilized. The cheongsam has become a classic women's clothing. Classics are relatively stable, while fashion is ever-changing. But fashion designers often seek inspiration from the treasure trove of classics, and cheongsam is also one of the sources of inspiration for designers.
In short, the cheongsam is a traditional clothing for Chinese women, not a lost historical clothing. It has both a vicissitudes of the past and a brand-new present. The cheongsam itself has a certain historical significance and is highly appreciated, making it extremely valuable for collection. Although not many women wear cheongsam in modern times, many parts of modern cheongsam still maintain the traditional charm and at the same time reflect the beauty of fashion, so they also have certain collection value.