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Extensive Reading 泛 读

Lesson 20
páo
páo shì cóng mǎn lǎo de zhuāng yǎn biàn ér lái
de . Qīng cháo ( gōng yuán liù nián zhì gōng yuán
jiǔ nián ) tǒng le zhōng guó , tǒng
le quán guó shì , nán rén chuān cháng páo guà ,
穿
rén chuān páo . Suī rán xīn hài mìng tuī fān le qīng
穿
cháo tǒng zhì , dàn páo què xìng miǎn zhè chǎng zhèng zhì
biàn , bìng duàn bèi gǎi jìn , jīng chéng wéi zhōng
guó xìng de chuán tǒng zhuāng .
èr shí shì sān shí nián dài , páo
chéng le zhōng guó de biāo zhǔn zhuāng . Mín jiān
, xué shēng , gōng rén , guān xiǎn guì de tài tai,
太,
chuān zhuó . páo shèn zhì chéng le jiāo chǎng
穿
wài jiāo huó dòng de . Hòu lái , páo hái
chuán zhì guó wài , wéi guó xiào fǎng chuān zhuó .
仿 穿
èr shí shì shí nián dài hòu , shòu guó nèi wài
xīn shì shì xīn cháo de chōng , páo yóu kuān xiù
biàn zhǎi xiù , zhí tǒng biàn jǐn shēn tiē yāo , tún lüè
, xià bǎi huí shōu , cháng huái , zhú jiàn xíng chéng
jīn tiān men kàn dào de yàng jiǎng jiu cǎi
zhuāng shì rén xiàn tiáo měi de páo yàng shì .
线
Zhōng guó zhī suǒ ài páo de zhǔ yào yuán
yīn shì , páo de zào xíng zhōng guó de
tài xiāng shì , xiàn tiáo jiǎn biàn , yōu měi fāng .
线 便
Ér qiě , páo shì lǎo shào chuān , xiāng yí,
穿 宜,
gòng shǎng .
Gēn jié de biàn huà chuān zhuó zhě de tóng
穿
yào ài hào , páo cháng duǎn ; zuò dān
páo , jiá páo ; zuò chèn róng duǎn páo ,
mián páo . Bìng qiě , suí zhe xuǎn liào tóng ,
zhǎn xiàn chū tóng fēng .
Xuǎn yòng suì huā , , tiáo chóu zhì zuò ,
xiǎn shì chu wēn , wěn zhòng de fēng yùn ; xuǎn yòng
jǐn duàn lèi liào zhì zuò , dāng yíng bīn , yàn
de huá gui yǎn shi .
páo nóng de mín fēng , xiàn le zhōng
huá mín chuán tǒng de shì měi . jǐn chéng wéi
zhōng guó zhuāng de dài biǎo , tóng shí chéng wéi dōng fāng
chuán tǒng zhuāng de xiàng zhēng .

Chinese Cheongsam

The cheongsam, or Qipao in Chinese, evolved from a style of ancient clothing worn by the Manchu ethnic minority. During the early years of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) they unified China, and standardized the nationwide costume as well. At that time, men wore a long gown and a mandarin jacket over the gown, while women wore the cheongsam. Although the 1911 Revolution toppled the rule of the Qing Dynasty, this female dress survived the political change and, with succeeding improvements, has become the traditional dress for Chinese women.

From the 1930s, cheongsam almost became the uniform for women. Folk women, students, workers and high society women all wore the cheongsam, which even became a formal suit for occasions of social intercourses or diplomatic activities. Later, the cheongsam even spread to foreign countries and became a favorite among foreign females.

After the 1940s, influenced by new fashions at home and abroad, the cheongsam became narrow-sleeved and fitted to the waist, with a relatively loose hip covering, and its lower hem reached the ankles. Next emerged various forms of cheongsams we see today that emphasize color decoration and set off the beauty of the female form.

The main reason that Chinese women like to wear the cheongsam is that it fits the female Chinese figure well. The style has simple lines and looks quite elegant. What's more, it is suitable attire during any season by both the old and the young.

According to the four seasons and the wearers' needs, the cheongsam can either be long or short, unlined or interlined, woolen or made of silk floss. Moreover, when constructed with different materials, the cheongsam presents different styles.

Cheongsams are made of silk stamped with patterns of fine and dense flowers, plain lattices or thin lines, all demonstrating feminine charm and modesty; those made of brocade are eye-catching and magnificent and suitable for formal occasions that require greeting guests and attending banquets.

The cheongsam displays strong national flavor and embodies the beauty of Chinese traditional costumes. It not only represents the Chinese female costume but also has become a symbol of a traditional oriental costume.