The qípáo (旗袍), qípáor (旗袍儿), or ch'i-p'ao, also known as the cheongsam or mandarin gown, is a body-hugging (modified in Shanghai) one-piece dress for women.
The English loanwordcheongsam comes from the Cantonese pronunciation of the original Shanghainese term. In most western countries and in the Cantonese dialect cheongsam is the name of a garment worn by both men and women. Chinese who do not speak the Cantonese dialect view the cheongsam as an exclusively male dress and use the word qipao for its female equivalent. In Cantonese usage the word qipao is either interchangeable with the female cheongsam or refer to the two-piece qipao variant that is popular in mainland China.
Contents
1History
2The Qipao in popular culture
3See also
4External links
[edit]History
When the Manchu established the Qing Dynasty over all of China, certain social strata emerged. Among them were the Banners (qí), mostly Manchu, who as a group were called Banner People (旗人pinyin: qí rén). Manchu women typically wore a one-piece dress that came to be known as the 旗袍(qípáo or banner quilt). The qipao fit loosely and hung straight down the body. After 1644, all Han Chinese were forced to make a close shave and dress in cheongsam instead of Han Chinese clothing (剃发易服), or they were to be killed. For the next 300 years, the cheongsam became the adopted clothing of the Chinese. The garment proved popular and survived the political turmoil of the 1911 Xinhai Revolution that toppled the Qing Dynasty. The qipao has become, with few changes, the archetypal dress for Chinese women.
The first and "traditional" qipao when introduced to the larger Han population were wide, baggy and rather loose. It covered most of the women's body revealing only to head, hands, and the tips of the toe. The loose baggy nature of the clothing also served to demphasize and conceal the figure of the wearer regardless of age. However, with time the qipao were tailored to become more form fitting and revealing. The modern version of the qipao was first developed in Shanghai around 1900. Slender and form fitting with a high cut, it contrasted sharply with the traditional qipao. In Shanghai it was first known as 长衫(or long dress. Mandarin: chángshān, Cantonese: cheongsam, Shanghainese: zansae).
The modernized version is especially noted for accentuating the figures of women, and as such is highly popular as a dress for high society. As Western fashions changed, the basic cheongsam design changed too, introducing high-necked sleeveless dresses, bell-like sleeves, and the black lace frothing at the hem of a ball gown. By the 1940s, cheongsam came in transparent black, beaded bodices, matching capes, and even velvet. Later, checked fabrics also became quite common.
The 1949 Communist Revolution ended the cheongsam and other fashions in Shanghai, but the Shanghainese emigrants and refugees brought the fashion to Hong Kong where it has remained popular. Recently there has been a revival of the Shanghainese cheongsam in Shanghai and elsewhere in Mainland China; the Shanghainese style functions now mostly as a stylish party dress (see also Mao suit).
Many secondary schools in Hong Kong use a plain rimmed sky blue cotton and/or dark blue velvet (for winter) cheongsam with the school badge as part of a basic uniform for their female students to be worn to regular classes. Schools known to set this standard include St. Paul's Co-educational College, St. Stephen Girl\'s College, etc.
In the 1950s, women in the workforce started to wear more functional cheongsams made of wool, twi
cheongsamll, and other materials. Most were tailor fitted and often came with a matching jacket. The dresses were a fusion of Chinese tradition with modern styles.
The Tibetans and Vietnamese (ao dai) have related versions of this dress as their national dress.
[edit]The Qipao in popular culture
Nancy Kwan wearing a cheongsam on the cover of Life magazine in 1960The movie In the Mood for Love by Wong Kar-wai of a Shanghainese community in Hong Kong is notable for its use of a variety of cheongsams worn by female lead Maggie Cheung.
In the movie The World of Suzie Wong, Nancy Kwan made the cheongsam briefly fashionable in the west.
The popular Chinese Street Fighter video game character Chun-Li is very well known for her signature blue cheongsam (first seen in Street Fighter II: The World Warrior), worn with white knee-high boots, hair bun covers, and oversized spiked bracelets for a non-traditional style. A male Street Fighter
character known as Gen wears the male version of the cheongsam. Tekken video game character, A
nna Williams wears a qipao with a peacock on it.
In the anime Naruto the character Sakura Haruno wears a qipao, and the character Tenten wears a pink cheongsam before the timeskip in the series.
In the movie Kill Bill, Sofie Fatale wore a typical male black cheongsam. The costume department may have mistaken it for a qipao.
In the manga & anime Mahou Sensei Negima, characters Ku Fei and Kaede both are fond of qipaos.
In the movie Spider-man (film) the character Mary Jane Watson played by Kirsten Dunst wears a qipao.

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