你对古代传统服饰了解多少？

传统服饰Ancient Chinese Clothes

1汉代之前的中国传统服饰是什么样式?

What did ancient Chinese clothes look like before the Han Dynasty?

Ancient Chinese dress can be classified into two styles．The first style emphasizes the separation of the upper and lower garments(上衣下裳)which according to legend came into style during the days of the Yellow Emperor．Most upper garments have a Y shaped collar(交领)，with the front side covered from left to right(右衽)．The lower garment resembles a skirt with a ribbon around the waist．

The second style is called“the full clothing(深衣)”design，a kind of robe，which first appeared in the Zhou Dynasty(1046 BC－771 BC)．Similar to the contemporary dress in design，the clothing has upper and lower garments，but these two parts are sewn and united around the waist(衣裳连属制)．As well，the rim of the cloth is embroidered with fabric．During the Han Dynasty(206 BC－220 AD)，women used this type of clothing as a ceremonial dress．

From the Xia to the Zhou dynasties(2070 BC－256 BC)，people usually wore the first style of clothing．In early Zhou Dynasty，however，laws strictly mandated different styles of clothing to reflect the different social classes．The full clothing started in the Zhou Dynasty，and by theWarring States Periods(475 BC－221 BC)，this style was quite popular．At the same time，the hu styled clothing(胡服) appeared．Hu(胡) refers to ancient nomadic people of the northwestern regions who wore short jackets and pants．During theWarring States Periods，King Wu Ling of the Zhao State(赵武灵王) ordered all subjects to wear the hu styled short jackets and pants，and to learn how to ride horses and shoot arrows，thus greatly promoting the fighting capacity of his army．Since then，the hu style of clothing became the norm across the country．

Notes:①garment(一件)衣服②ribbon缎带③contemporary当代的④embroider刺绣⑤mandate命令⑥capacity能力

2自汉朝起古代中国传统服饰发生了什么变化?

What changes in ancient Chinese traditional clothes have happened since the Han Dynasty?

The full clothing still remained very popular during the Han Dynasty(206 BC－220 AD)．Pants worn by a person then had a split-seat covered by outer garments or full clothing．Even though the closed-seat pantswere in use，the split-seat pants still existed for a long time．

From the Jin and Wei period to the Northern and Southern Dynasties(265－589)，a large number of ethnic groupsmigrated to central Chinawhere the hu styled clothing had become the customary dress．At the same time，the Han styled clothing worn by common people had hu-style narrow sleeves，a close-fitting body，a round collar and slits up the sides of the garment; the Han ceremonial clothes still remained unchanged．

During the period of the Sui and Tang dynasties (581－907)，typical male clothing consisted of the head bundle wrapped in cloth(袱头)，the robe(袍衫)，and the long boots．The robe had a round collar and narrow sleeves; the front pieces of the robe were covered from left to right．

The clothing in the Song Dynasty(960－1279) generally followed the same pattern of the Tang Dynasty with the exception of a more plain conservative look．The colors were not as bright as in previous dynasties due to the influence of Neo-Confucianism．

The clothing style of the Liao，Jin and Yuan dynasties(907－1368) generally followed the stylesworn during the Han，Tang and Song dynasties，but also retained its own ethnic features．The cloth usedmainly came in white，blue or reddish brown with cotton as the fabric of choice．

In the Ming Dynasty(1368－1644)，the clothing style reflected influence from the Tang and Song dynasties．The clothes of the Qing Dynasty(1616－1911) exerted a great influence on present day traditional styles．There were three kinds of outfits for men: traditional Han styled clothes，the Manchu ethnic wear，and the Western suit．The Qing robe had narrow and tight sleeves，a round collar，and buttons on the right side．Towards the end of the Qing Dynasty，Chinese clothes underwent a great change due to Western influence，gradually evolving intomodern day fashion．

Notes:①split-seat pants开裆裤②closed-seat pants封裆裤③migrate迁移④bundle包裹⑤collar衣领⑥conservative保守的⑦exert an influence on对……施加影响⑧undergo经历

3现在传统样式的衣服仍然受欢迎吗?

Are the traditional-style clothes still popular now?

Modern Chinese desire that clothes do notmerely cover their bodies，but also express their personality，mood，and outlook．They scour shopping centers，boutiques，and wholesale markets hoping to keep up with the latest fashions．The Shanghai APECmeeting where various country leaders appeared at the closing ceremony wearing Chinese-style silk jackets gave impetus for a revival in traditional-style clothes．Subsequently traditional-style garments flooded stores，and appeared overnight in shopping malls，boutiques，and clothing wholesale markets．The design of traditional clothes has been revamped by younger designerswho have given traditional clothes amore refined，elegant image．These young designers have a deep understanding of traditional Chinese esthetics，and skillfully mix classical and modern elements in their designs．

Notes:①personality人格②outlook观点③scour搜索④boutique精品店⑤wholesale批发⑥keep up with跟上……⑦revival复兴⑧subsequently随后⑨revamp修补⑩esthetics美观性

4有关裙子的出现有什么传说吗?

What are the legendary stories about the origin of the skirt?

According to legend，Xi Shi(西施) invented the skirt．The legend starts during theWarring States Period (475 BC－221 BC) when the army from the State of Wu(吴国) destroyed the State of Yue(越国)，King Gou Jian of the Yue(越王勾践)and his primeminister Fan Li(范蠡)were both captured and brought to the State of Wu．While being held captive，Gou Jian and Fan Li pretended to be subservient to the State ofWu in order to save revenge for later．

One day，the king of theWu was ill，and the court medical doctorswere unable to find out what illness he had．Gou Jian said to the king thathe could cure the illness，and advised him:“You have caught a cold．The illnesswill be cured if you drink some warm wine．”

The king followed Gou Jian's advice，drank the warm wine，and immediately feltmuch better．With the illness gone，the king trusted Gou Jian and Fan Li and decided to grant them the freedom to return to the State of Yue．

Upon arriving back home，Gou Jian and Fan Libegan thinking of a plan to restore the State of Yue．They knew that the king of the Wu was fond of women，so they decided that the best schemewould be to present to him a beautiful lady from the State of Yue．This lady would then collaborate to help their future attack on the State ofWu．

One day，as they passed a river bend，Gou Jian and Fan Li found a woman washing clothes．Her name was Xi Shi，and she looked as beautiful as the goddess of the Yue．

Gou Jian and Fan Li took her to the royal palace．One day，Xi Shi said to Gou Jian，“Everyone says that Iam beautiful，but Idon't think so．Just look atmy feet．．．they are so big! It is too late to bindmy feet，so I'll get a tailor tomake a piece of clothing to cover them．”

Of course，no tailors couldmake that kind of clothing because the skirt had not been invented yet，so Xi Shi did it herself．She spent three days and nights drawing a picture of an 18-folded long skirt and then gave this pattern to an extremely skilled tailor to have it made．

Afterwards，Fan Li sent Xi Shi to the Wu Kingdom．Her long skirt and beautiful looks seduced the king of the Wu．From then on the king idled away his time with Xi Shi from morning till night，neglecting his state affairs．Seeing that the king of the Wu had fallen into their trap，Gou Jian and Fan Li led a surprise at-tack on the State of Wu．The vulnerable Wu Kingdom could not resist the Yue army's strong attack and was thus destroyed．

In order to honor Xi Shi，Gou Jian had all thewomen in his state wear skirts．From then on，wearing long skirts became a custom that spread far and wide in China．

There is anothermyth about the origin of the skirt that comes from Chang'an(长安)，capital of the Tang Dynasty(618－907)．

According to this legend，the Tang imperial court handpicked women to be the emperor's princesses or concubines based on facial appearance and well-rounded figure．A beautiful woman by the name of Wu Zetian(武则天)was selected because her figure and appearance satisfied the imperial court's standards．

Years later Wu Zetian was ordained to be the empress，butwith the passing of time she had gained a lot of weight．Shewore silk pants，butas shewalked，her thighs rubbed against one another producing a tss tss sound．The empress felt embarrassed because people often looked around upon hearing the sound．

One day，Wu Zetian looked at her overweight legs and decided to use a piece of satin silk to cover her legs，hoping thatmight drive away her frustration．

Suddenly an idea came to hermind．Shewrapped her legs up with satin silk，and looked at herself in front of a mirror．Walking back and forth，a smile appeared on her face．She then had tailorsmake a piece of clothing according to this pattern．After the tailors finished，Wu Zetian had a courtmaid put on this new piece of clothing．As the maid walked around，Wu came up with ways to further improve on its look，and ended up liking the final design so much that shewore it inside and outside the court．Graduallymore andmorewomen copied her new clothing design．

When people asked Wu Zetian to name this kind of clothing，she thought it over and then said，“Let's call it‘qun(skirt，裙)．'”Qun is composed of two parts: the radical yi(clothing，衣)appears on the left，and jun (monarch，君) on the right．These two parts suggest that the skirtmight have been invented by the empress．

Notes:①primeminister宰相②subservient卑屈的③revenge报仇④collaborate协作⑤a folded long skirt折叠长裙⑥seduce引诱⑦vulnerable脆弱的⑧handpick仔细挑选⑨well-rounded丰满的⑩thigh大腿frustration挫折

5旗袍是怎样出现的?

Could you tellm e the origin of qipao?

Between the late Kang Xi and the Yong Zheng periods (1662－1736) of the Qing Dynasty，menmainly wore gowns and Mandarin jacketoutfits．The Manchurian women usually wore a gown called qipao while Han women had separate jacket and skirt．

From the middle of the Qing period，the clothing designs of both Manchurian and Han cultures influenced each other; palace robes were cut short and made into jackets and Manchurian styled clothing prevailed among Han high officials and noble lords．

Since the Qing Dynasty，woman clothing wasmore diversified in design; it included undershirts，skirts，overcoats，scarves，and belts．By 1840 asWestern culture entered China and gradually influenced the local culture，clothing stylesalso changed，particularly in Shanghaiand other cities along the coastal areas．The clothing designs and styles varied because therewas no professional clothing research center to uniform the designing system．For example，qipao underwent constant changes in accordance with individual designers．Qipao was a one-piece dress originally worn by the Manchurian women during the Qing Dynasty．Designers further updated qipao by absorbing some elements from the Western clothing style．The dresswas easy and comfortable to wear，fitting the female Chinese figure well．The neck was high，and collar closed; its sleeveswere short or full in length，depending on season and taste．The outfit was buttoned on the right side and had slits running up along the sides．From the 1920s to 1940s，qipao was in fashion，becoming the Chinese women's standard clothing．From school girls to feminists，Chinesewomen from all levels of societywore qipao．Qipao trend even became popular in foreign countries．

Notes:①mandarin(满清的)官吏的②diversified多样化的③overcoat大衣④professional职业性的⑤outfit配备

6你对古代帝王服装知道多少?

How much do you know about the emperors' clothing in ancient China?

According to the records of The Classic of Rites，monarchs of the Zhou Dynasty(1046 BC－256 BC) had ceremonial clothing to perform sacrifices to Heaven．In addition，kings had special clothing available for their court services，field hunting and military activities．The ceremonial clothing consisted of the crown hat(冕冠)，xuanfu(玄服) and xunfu(纁服)．Xuanfu is a black material clothing，and xunfu a red outer garment hanging from the waist．During sacrificial ceremonies，the Zhou monarchs wore large black lambskin coats in order to show respect to Heaven．

During the Qin Dynasty(221 BC－206 BC)，offi-cials of the 3rd rank or abovewore silk robes and the full clothing(深衣)．Emperor Qin wore an unlined garment made of light silk fabric when Jing Ke(荆轲) tried to assassinate him．

In the Western Han Dynasty(206 BC－25 AD)，emperorswore robes，but the colors of their robes varied according to seasons．In spring，emperors wore blue or green robes; in summer，they wore bright red ones; in autumn，they wore white ones; in winter，they wore black ones．In the Han Dynasty，a highly valued robe had its large sleeves and narrow sleeve cuffs．

In the Tang Dynasty(618－907)，an emperorwore a large fur coat，bright red lower garments and shoes when he performed sacrifices to Heaven and Earth．His ceremonial hat had no silk hanging strings．He wore a dark blue coat and xunfu，a red outer garment hanging from thewaist，when he received congratulation from his court officials upon hismarriage or returned from his expedition．Since the Zhenguan Period(贞观年间)，emperors usually wore informal clothing except on the New Year's Day，in the Winter Solstice or during the sacrificial ceremony．

In the Song Dynasty(960－1279)，when an emperor performed a sacrificial ceremony in theWinter Solstice，he wore a large fur coat thatappeared blue in color but red inside，and its collar was made of a dark lambskin．On the New Year's Day when he had an audience with his court officials，he wore his crown hatwith 12 silk hanging strings，and blue clothing drawn with the moon，stars，the mountain，the dragon，flowers，fire，and other images．

In 1370，the Song court tentatively mandated different styles of clothing for imperial families such as the emperor's crown hat，ceremonial clothing，and informal daily dresses and formal clothing for the queen and maids of honor of different ranks．

During the Qing Dynasty(1616－1911)，clothing worn by emperors for a sacrificial ceremony was called yanfu(兖服)which was embroidered with four golden dragons，each having five claws; the sun was embroidered on the left shoulder，themoon on the right shoulder and a seal-styled character“longevity”on the front and colorful clouds on the back．The Qing emperor usually had two kinds of court dresses．One was for winter and the other for summer．In the design，the upper and lower garmentswere sewn and united around the waist．Although the clothing appeared bright yellow，the Qing emperor had to wear blue clothing when he performed a sacrificial ceremony in the Imperial Vault of Heaven(皇穹宇)and the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest(祈年殿); he wore red oneswhen he worshipped themorning sun．

Notes:①monarch帝王②lambskin羔羊皮③unlined(衣服)没有衬里的④sleeve cuff袖口⑤have an audience with接见⑥tentatively暂时的⑦vault拱顶⑧worship崇拜

7古代官员穿的是统一颜色的袍服吗?

Did ancient officials wear robes in the same color?

When you watch a Chinese opera，you will be amazed by long gowns or robesworn by actors playing officials of ancient China．These robes'different colors and embroidery signified official ranks in feudal times．Starting from the Tang Dynasty(618－907)，robes had different colors: a government official of the third rank or above wore a purple robe with a goldfish pocket; an official of the fourth or fifth rank wore a bright red robe with a silverfish pocket; and an official of the sixth rank or below wore a green robe without a fish pocket．When some officialswere promoted to higher posts，their ranks stayed the same，but the robe's color would change to indicate the promotion．For example，when someone was promoted to be prime minister，he would wear a purple robe with a goldfish pocket even though his rank was below the third．

The Qing(1616－1911) officials abolished the robe color system，and instead required all robes to be blue．Deep red robes were used only on special occasions and festivities．In the late Qing period，the clothing becamemore diversified as Qing officialswore robes embroidered with python and garmentoutfitswith bird or animal patterns．For example，the nine-python and fiveclaw robeswere offered to the 1st to 3rd ranked officials，the eight-python and five-claw robes to the 4th to 6th ranked officials，and the five-python and four-claw robes to the 7th to 9th ranked officials．

A square pattern in shape of a bird or beast was embroidered right in the center of a garment outfit．Bird patterns specified civil official ranks．The red crowned crane was given to the 1st ranked officials，the golden pheasant to the 2nd ranked officials，the peacock to the 3rd ranked officials，the white wild goose to the 4th ranked officials，the silver pheasant to the 5th ranked officials，and the egret to the 6th ranked officials．The oriole pattern went to official staff that had no ranks at all．

Beast patterns specified military official ranks．For example: the Chinese unicorn was given to the 1st ranked officers，the lion to the 2nd ranked officers，the leopard to the 3rd ranked officers，the tiger to the 4th ranked officers，the bear to the 5th ranked officers，and the young tiger to the 6th and 7th ranked officers．There was one exception: those who served in the departments of law or justice had the pattern of a supernatural sheep called“xiezhi(獬豸)．”It is said that this sheep is able to distinguish right from wrong．

Notes:①embroidery刺绣②signify表示③abolish废除④python蟒蛇⑤pheasant雉⑥oriole金莺⑦unicorn独角兽⑧leopard豹

8你可以告诉我中山装是怎么出现的吗?

Could you tellme the origin of the Sun Yatsen Suit?

The Sun Yatsen Suit(中山装)or Chinese tunic suit is a simplified outfit introduced by Dr．Sun Yatsen．Dr．Sun found Western style suits uncomfortable，and traditional Chinese-style robes and garments unsuitable for the Chinese people's new spirit after the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty．Therefore in 1923，while working as leader of China's Revolutionary Government based in Guangzhou，Dr．Sun introduced a business suit based on a popular style worn by the overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia at the time．In line with Dr．Sun's suggestions，tailors added a fold-down collar and four visible pockets to the suit．In order to have the option to carry more things，the pants also had two hidden big pockets，one on the left and the other on the right，with a small pocket in the front of the pants called the“wrist watch bag”and another pocket with a flap on the back right side．The Sun Yatsen suit came in grey，blue or black，and was considered convenient as well as economical．Since the1920s this style became very popular throughout China．

Notes:①uncom fortable不舒服的②unsuitable不合适的③fold-down折叠的④hidden隐藏的⑤convenient方便的⑥economical节俭的