The girl in Chinese chi-pao.
Every nation in the world has their own unique clothes & accessories that was long time evolved with the culture, environment and history. These clothes & accessories have different meaning as the time changes. Take Chinese chi-pao, or Cheongsam, for example. Chi-pao is the Chinese traditional costume, hailed as the quintessence of Chinese culture. Though there are still a lot of controversies about the definition and origin time, chi-pao is still one of the most gorgeous phenomena and forms in China’s long dress culture.
It is generally believed that chi-pao formed in 1920s when it became the most popular female costume in China. In 1929, it was decided as one of the national dresses. In 1950s it was criticized as Feudalism dross and was snubbed. After 1980s, as traditional culture was reevaluated in China, and with the influence of film and television culture, fashion show, beauty pageant, and so on, chi-pao began to revive till now. It even was designated as female diplomatic dress in 1984. From the 1990 Beijing Asian Games on, chi-pao was the ceremonial dress for Olympic Games, Asian Games, international conferences and exhibition held in China. In 2011, Cheongsam handmade craft has approved as the national intangible cultural heritage. In November 2014, at the twenty-second APEC meeting in Beijing, the Chinese government chose cheongsam as the dress of the leaders’ ladies of the participating countries.
Maybe there many films show the image of Chinese females in chi-pao, but there are few films show the image of white females in chi-pao. Kill Bill: Volume 1 is one seen up to present. Kill Bill: Volume 1 (or simply Kill Bill), a 2003 American martial arts film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, stars Uma Thurman Lucy Liu, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah and Vivica A. Fox and David Carradine. The film tells the story of revenge. After the killers try to kill her and her unborn child, the leading lady begins her revenge. Her journey takes her to Japan, where she battles the Tokyo yakuza.
One of the female killers by Jules is dressed in chi-pao. Sorry, but it is really awful.
It is embarrassed for most foreign girls to put on Chinese chi-pao.
In China, there is a saying in the fashion world that God has written a “Bible” for every Western woman, but only one Chinese chi-pao for all the Chinese women. Think about it that this really makes sense. Western females really do not fit to wear cheongsam. The Western woman who put on the Chinese cheongsam is really a bit awful, because her body, temperament, and gesture are inharmonious with chi-pao.
Chinese and white females are both women, but why they look so different when they are in chi-pao? There are reasons.
In the eyes of the Chinese people, in addition to fit the body, the temperament of women wearing cheongsam is also very important. Chinese often emphasize being implicit and reserved, which coincided with the Western women, so even if the Western women body is very suitable to wear the cheongsam, but people will feel strange from the Chinese perspective.
Compared to foreign women, Chinese female body is relatively small. A Chinese female wearing cheongsam will be more delicate, with the flavor of a small woman. But with a wide shoulder, foreign women wearing cheongsam will give people the magnificent feeling, lack of the sense of the beautiful cheongsam.
Foreign females’ bodies are more buxom. When wearing cheongsam, although a woman with larger chest looks more feminine, but if the chest is too plump, the women will lose the elegant charm. Most China women’s breast size is still relatively moderate, so it is very fit to wear a cheongsam!
Gentle and graceful posture wearing chi-pao significantly fit the figure, and especially those women with slender waist and round hips look better-looking. Many foreign women’s buttocks are too large, and sometimes the chi-pao even deform when being dressed. And the body looks disproportional, and the original ancient charm of cheongsam is lost.
As a traditional Chinese dress, cheongsam is a Chinese characteristic, specially designed for Chinese women. It can best embody the charm and posture of Chinese women. If a foreign woman wants to put on a chi-pao, remember to choose the very right chi-pao.
Look at the picture below, you can find how beautiful the Chinese woman wearing a chi-pao is.
