The beautiful qipao is a cultural symbol of China that originated through hundreds of years of innovation and influence. Through the years, the qipao has two significant stages of evolution with the first being during the Qing dynasty where it originated, and the second stage being during the early republic period (Lu and Chen, 2006). The first stage was during the takeover of Beijing during the 17th century by political and Manchu military strategist, Nurhachi (Lu and Chen, 2006). Nurhachi took extreme measures to integrate his dominance by implementing rules on how to dress (Lu and Chen, 2006). However, this policy allowed the practical dressing custom of a top and skirt of the Han women to be kept. This interaction between the Han’s
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Due to the May Fourth Movement and the other social movements that occurred after that, Chinese women desired gender equality in both their daily life and the way they dressed. In tradition Chinese civilization, females had to obey social norms and follow defined domestic roles, which showed a huge inequality in gender roles compared to males who are free to do what they want (Yang, 2007). To rebel against this inequality, Chinese women decided to wear men’s attire in the form of loose fitting robes that are knee length (Yang, 2007). This caused the qipao style to change, and thus, so did its cultural meaning. The qipao symbolized the pursuit of women’s freedom and gender equality through its resemblance to the pao, which is a men’s long robe. Many female students who were educated adopted the qipao into their wardrobe to support the eradication of traditional social norms and roles for females. This eventually led to a new socially progressive role for women (Yang, …show more content…
Regardless if a female wears a traditional qipao, an urbanized qipao, or a masculine style qipao, they each refer to a unique cultural meaning. The qipao shows China’s ability to change towards the needs of its people, and China’s ability to adapt to its rapidly evolving heritage. Unfortunately, the qipao today does not bring nearly as much of its previous meaning (Heroldova, 2014). However, it is still nevertheless a very aesthetic and elegant gown that will attract attention for many generations to
Due to the May Fourth Movement and the other social movements that occurred after that, Chinese women desired gender equality in both their daily life and the way they dressed. In tradition Chinese civilization, females had to obey social norms and follow defined domestic roles, which showed a huge inequality in gender roles compared to males who are free to do what they want (Yang, 2007). To rebel against this inequality, Chinese women decided to wear men’s attire in the form of loose fitting robes that are knee length (Yang, 2007). This caused the qipao style to change, and thus, so did its cultural meaning. The qipao symbolized the pursuit of women’s freedom and gender equality through its resemblance to the pao, which is a men’s long robe. Many female students who were educated adopted the qipao into their wardrobe to support the eradication of traditional social norms and roles for females. This eventually led to a new socially progressive role for women (Yang, …show more content…
Regardless if a female wears a traditional qipao, an urbanized qipao, or a masculine style qipao, they each refer to a unique cultural meaning. The qipao shows China’s ability to change towards the needs of its people, and China’s ability to adapt to its rapidly evolving heritage. Unfortunately, the qipao today does not bring nearly as much of its previous meaning (Heroldova, 2014). However, it is still nevertheless a very aesthetic and elegant gown that will attract attention for many generations to