The Chinese Cheongsam Influenced By Western Cultur

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The Chinese cheongsam influenced by western culture (the developing of the cheongsam) Background Cheongsam (also called "qipao" in Mandarin Chinese) is one type of traditional Chinese female costumes. It is featured by stand collar, right side opening, fitting waist and slip bottom, which can fully set off the beauty of the female shape. There are some myths about the origin of Cheongsam in China. Cheongsam dresses basically originated in the northern Manchu region of China. According to legend, a Manchu fisherwoman was having trouble going about her daily tasks wearing an encumbering dress. She created a dress that would allow easy movement, the cheongsam. Later, this woman married the emperor, and the cheongsam grew in popularity. According to another myth, Cheongsam came from the Manchus who grew out of ancient Nuzhen tribes. In the early 17th century, Nurhachi, a great political and military strategist, unified the various Nuzhen tribes and set up the Eight Banners System. Over the years, a collarless, tube-shaped gown was developed, which was worn by both men and women. The Chinese apparel Cheongsam became popular among ladies of the royal family in the Qing Dynasty. In ancient time, Cheongsam was also used as advertisement. The calendar paintings in old Shanghai, originated in the last years of the 19th century, was a kind of commercial advertising painting drawn by the Chinese employed by foreign merchants for their goods dumping, which initially adopted the format of Chinese new year paintings with a calendar on it and so was called as calendar pictures (Lv et al., 2011). From 1911-1927, the Revolution of 1911 overthrew the monarchy as well as the clothing rank system which lasted in China for thousands of years. People started accepting western aesthetic standards with the emphasis on the figure beauty (Bian, 2004). The beautiful ladies dressed in

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