Believe it or not those two square pieces of cloth were what Chinese ladies of yore wore as underwear. YuP! If I were to get one as a present, I'd most probably use them as a tablecloth. Wouldn't have imagined that these were underclothes.
Read the article below to find out more:
Secrets of Women's Underwear
In ancient China, where the patriarchal society left few opportunities for women to express their thoughts, the underwear became a unique channel to let out their romantic passion. Underwear revealed women's beliefs toward life, taste in beauty and appeal for love. They expressed all this through various patterns, bold colors and delicate craftsmanship. Compared to outer garments, which were strictly governed by courtesies and ranks, ancient underwear was a private room for women to pursue their individuality. Whether well-bred women in rich families or girls of a humble birth, they all tried hard to distinguish themselves through underwear.
Ingenious designs
Ancient women's underwear visually adjusted the body shape through form designing. Whether it was square-shaped, diamond-shaped, triangular-shaped, a semi-circle or modeled after nature, underwear in different forms resulted in different visual impressions, while revealing ingenuous creativity at the same time.
From the overall design to the detailed ornaments, ancient underwear also reflected the trends and beliefs of the time, which gives these articles a deep historical essence. According to the style and structure, there were two types of underwear: double-pieced to cover both chest and back, and single-pieced to cover chest only. The most distinguishable design might come from where the lace is placed: the shoulders, the oxter, or behind the neck. Some didn't even have laces.
Ingenious designs
Ancient women's underwear visually adjusted the body shape through form designing. Whether it was square-shaped, diamond-shaped, triangular-shaped, a semi-circle or modeled after nature, underwear in different forms resulted in different visual impressions, while revealing ingenuous creativity at the same time.
From the overall design to the detailed ornaments, ancient underwear also reflected the trends and beliefs of the time, which gives these articles a deep historical essence. According to the style and structure, there were two types of underwear: double-pieced to cover both chest and back, and single-pieced to cover chest only. The most distinguishable design might come from where the lace is placed: the shoulders, the oxter, or behind the neck. Some didn't even have laces.
Patterns and ornaments
As in other traditional forms of art, women in ancient China decorated their underwear with almost every subject that they could imagine, including landscapes, flowers, birds, clouds, myths, legends and characters in literature. Usually the designs expressed certain ideas. For instance, the combination of a magpie on plum blossoms represented happiness, since the design reminded people of a Chinese idiom suggesting someone radiant with joy. Other designs include bats, representing good fortune, and lotus with fish, suggesting affluence.
Delicate craftsmanship
Seemingly simple, traditional Chinese underwear is painstakingly difficult to make. The making involves dozens of techniques, including embroidery, sewing, pasting, patching, embellishing and rolling. The stitch should neither be too loose nor too tight. Also, creases and cracks were never permitted. The underwear was a considered a platform to exhibit the owner's delicate craftsmanship, which was a highly valued merit for women in ancient China.
Evolution of underwear in different dynasties
Just as outer garments, women's underwear was also heavily influenced by the social beliefs and humans' understanding towards beauty in different dynasties..
Before Han Dynasty, the underwear was called "Xieyi". "Xie" in Chinese means frivolity, suggesting people's evasive attitude towards underwear at that time.
During Han Dynasty, the "Baofu" and "Xinyi" were the most common underwear. "Baofu" was a piece of cloth with laces that could be fastened together to cover the belly. While "Xinyi" had a "Dang," a sleeveless jacket at the top of a "Baofu" so that the chest could also be covered. Both "Baofu" and "Xinyi" were single-pieced underwear that exposed one's back completely. Thin silk was the main material for the underwear in the Han Dynasty. Colorful threads were embroidered with the designs suggesting love.
As in other traditional forms of art, women in ancient China decorated their underwear with almost every subject that they could imagine, including landscapes, flowers, birds, clouds, myths, legends and characters in literature. Usually the designs expressed certain ideas. For instance, the combination of a magpie on plum blossoms represented happiness, since the design reminded people of a Chinese idiom suggesting someone radiant with joy. Other designs include bats, representing good fortune, and lotus with fish, suggesting affluence.
Delicate craftsmanship
Seemingly simple, traditional Chinese underwear is painstakingly difficult to make. The making involves dozens of techniques, including embroidery, sewing, pasting, patching, embellishing and rolling. The stitch should neither be too loose nor too tight. Also, creases and cracks were never permitted. The underwear was a considered a platform to exhibit the owner's delicate craftsmanship, which was a highly valued merit for women in ancient China.
Evolution of underwear in different dynasties
Just as outer garments, women's underwear was also heavily influenced by the social beliefs and humans' understanding towards beauty in different dynasties..
Before Han Dynasty, the underwear was called "Xieyi". "Xie" in Chinese means frivolity, suggesting people's evasive attitude towards underwear at that time.
During Han Dynasty, the "Baofu" and "Xinyi" were the most common underwear. "Baofu" was a piece of cloth with laces that could be fastened together to cover the belly. While "Xinyi" had a "Dang," a sleeveless jacket at the top of a "Baofu" so that the chest could also be covered. Both "Baofu" and "Xinyi" were single-pieced underwear that exposed one's back completely. Thin silk was the main material for the underwear in the Han Dynasty. Colorful threads were embroidered with the designs suggesting love.
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