Arts

Chinese Traditional Dress

The Chinese Opera in Taipei wear Two feathers of a ho bird (a kind of pheasant good at fighting) were inserted into the headwear of warriors of this period to symbolize a bold and warlike spirit, that of the ho. The characteristic of traditional Chinese clothing is not only an external expression of elegance, but also an inter symbolism. This combination of external form with internal symbolism is clearly exemplified in the pair of fighting pheasant feathers used in headwear.

China's Shantingtung culture, which flourished over 18,000 years ago, such as bone sewing needles, and stone beads and shells with holes bored in them, attest to the existence of the concept of ornamentation and the craft of sewing already in that age. It was established by the era of the Yellow Emperor and the Emperors Yao and Shaun (about 4,500 years ago).

• The three main types of traditional Chinese clothing:

1. The pien-fu is an ancient two-piece ceremonial costume, including a tunic-like top extending to theknees, and a skirt reaching to the ankles; one had to wear a skirt on certain occasions in order to be properly dressed.

2. The ch'i-p'ao is a traditional Manchu design still popular today. Modified form of a traditional Ch'ing Dynasty fashion, on formal occasions to the spring of modern fashion.

3. The shen-I is unique features of traditional Chinese dress. Relatively plain design and structure, embroidered edgings, decorated bands, draped cloth or silks, embellishment on the shoulders, and sashes were often added as ornamentation.

• The Colors:

1. Darker colors were favored over lighter ones in traditional Chinese clothing, so the main color of ceremonial clothing tended to be dark, accented with elaborate embroidered or woven tapestry designs rendered in bright colors.

2. Lighter colors were more frequently used by the common people in clothes for everyday and around the house. The Chinese associate certain colors with specific seasons, for example, green represents spring, red is for summer, white for autumn, and black for winter.

• Sophisticated Fashion

Fashion designers today in the Taiwan are finding new ways to freely combine modern fashion aesthetics and trends with traditional Chinese symbols of good fortune. The great wealth of source material designs including guardian deities, lions, the eight trigrams, and masks of Chinese opera characters. Woven, embroidered, and appliquéd design for clothes is Chinese bronzes. People of Taiwan are incorporate traditional Chinese dress into modern life.

Architecture

Since the Tang Dynasty, Chinese architecture has had a major influence on the architectural styles of Korea, Vietnam and Japan. Chinese’s architecture style has taken shape in Asia over many centuries. The structural principles of Chinese architecture have remained largely unchanged, the main changes being only the decorative details.

The architecture of China is as old as Chinese civilization. From every source of information - literary, graphic, exemplary - there is strong evidence testifying to the fact that the Chinese have always employed an indigenous system of construction that has retained its principal characteristics from prehistoric times to the present day. Over the vast area from Chinese Turkistan to Japan, from Manchuria to the northern half of French Indochina, the same system of construction is prevalent; and this was the area of Chinese cultural influence. That this system of construction could perpetuate itself for more than 4.000 years over such a vast territory and still remain a living architecture, retaining its principal characteristics in spite of repeated foreign invasions - military, intellectual, and spiritual - is a phenomenon comparable only to the continuity of the civilization of which it is an integral part.

Throughout the 20th Century, however, Western-trained Chinese architects have attempted to combine traditional Chinese designs into modern (usually government) buildings, with only limited success. Moreover, the pressure for urban development throughout contemporary China required higher speed of construction and higher floor area ratio, which means that in the great cities the demand for traditional Chinese buildings, which are normally less than 3 levels, has declined in favor of modern architecture. However, the traditional skills of Chinese architecture, including major carpentry, minor carpentry, masonry, and stone masonry, are still applied to the construction of vernacular architecture in the vast rural area in China.

Bilateral symmetry and the articulation of buildings are found everywhere in Chinese architecture, from palace complexes to humble farmhouses. When possible, plans for renovation and extension of a house will often try to maintain this symmetry provided that there is enough capital to do so.