What's in a Chinese Wedding Dress?

What's in a Chinese Wedding Dress?


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.

What's in a Chinese Wedding Dress
photo credit: cheongsamdress.co.uk
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.

What's in a Chinese Wedding Dress
photo credit: redchinesedress.com
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.

What's in a Chinese Wedding Dress
photo credit: cozyladywear.com
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.

What's in a Chinese Wedding Dress
photo credit: cozyladywear.com
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!

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