One will find that the traditional Chinese wedding dress is a little
different from the typical American dress. It is generally much more
decorative, and much more work is put into it. The type of dress that
is worn usually has something to do with the region that the family is
from. Those who are in the north may wear the Qi Pao, and those who
are from the south would wear the Cheongsan. There are many other
examples from within china which are shown in the styles of dress,
which could be Mongolian, Tibetian, or even Taiwanese. There are many
other groups as well which we will not have time to go into.
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photo credit: cheongsamdress.co.uk
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The dress's color is also important. Most often, women wear red
because this signifies happiness. Traditionally, brides do not wear
white, because white symbolizes death in China. However, lately,
Chinese brides have begun to embrace Western traditions, and are
wearing more white.
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photo credit: redchinesedress.com
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A man getting married in a traditional Chinese wedding is likely going
to wear gray or black. These colors are suitable for a man, but on a
bride would signify grief. They may also have clothing colored
specific to their station, much like western wedding ceremonies. They
generally do not wear red, and instead wear colors such as those who
grieve do. This doesn't mean anything bad; it's just the way it is.
Most Chinese wedding dresses are also embroidered with golden
decorations, and it is important to note that not just every tailor
can work with golden fabric. For this reason it may be necessary to
call in a highly skilled cloth worker, and for this reason it may only
be the very wealthy Chinese who use any sort of gold embroidery on
their wedding dresses.
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photo credit: cozyladywear.com
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The modern Chinese wedding dress tradition is said to be coming from
the ancient Qing Dynasty, the last dynasty to rule in China. This
Dynasty ruled from 1644 to 1912, and was established by the Manchu
Clan, still in existence in northeast China today.
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photo credit: cozyladywear.com
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It is absolutely amazing to look back at the past and see the things
that influence who we have become. This is of course true for every
culture, and not just China. Every culture has its own traditions and
past, and if you look closely at your own culture, you may find that
it's not that much different than it was just a few hundred years
ago.
There is a lot more to this, and in order to find every piece of
information on the traditional Chinese wedding dress, you will have to
look back in time and do a lot of reading. There is a fascinating
story behind everything that is just waiting to be uncovered!
