Chinese Culture Introduction(15) Qi Pao. Mandarin Garden

Mandarin Garden. Language & Culture.

Traditional Chinese Dress: Qipao

The history:

Qipao / Cheongsam is an elegant type of Chinese dress. This close－fitting dress with a high neck and the slits on the sides, comes from China's Manchu Nationality.

Legend:

There is a legend that a young fisherwoman lived by the Jingbo Lake. She was not only beautiful, but also clever and skillful. But when fishing, she often felt hindered by her long and loose fitting dress. Then an idea struck her: why not make a more practical dress for work？ She got down to sewing and produced a long multi-looped-button gown with slits, which enabled her to tuck in the front piece of her dress, thus making her job much easier. As a fisherwoman, she never dreamed that a fortune would befall on her.

The young emperor who ruled China at that time had a dream one night. In the dream, his dead father told him that a lovely fisherwoman in Qipao by the Jingbo Lake would become his queen. After awakening from his deep sleep, the emperor sent his men to look for her. Sure enough, there she was！ So she became the queen, bringing her Cheongsam with her. Manchu women all followed suit and soon the Qipao became popular.