Editing Chinese culture (section)

=== Qipao ===
During the [[Qing dynasty]], China's last imperial dynasty, a dramatic shift of clothing occurred, examples of which include the [[cheongsam]] (or qipao in Mandarin). The clothing of the era before the Qing dynasty is referred to as [[Hanfu]] or traditional [[Han Chinese clothing]]. Many symbols such as [[Fenghuang|phoenix]] have been used for decorative as well as economic purposes. Among them were the ''[[Banner system|Banners]]'' (''qí''), mostly Manchu, who as a group were called ''Banner People'' ([[wikt:旗人|旗人]] [[pinyin]]: ''qí rén''). [[Manchu]] women typically wore a one-piece dress that retrospectively came to be known as the ''qípáo'' ([[wikt:旗袍|旗袍]], [[Manchu language|Manchu]]: ''sijigiyan'' or ''banner gown''). The generic term for both the male and the female forms of Manchu dress, essentially similar garments, was ''chángpáo'' ([[wikt:长袍|長袍]]/长袍). The ''qipao'' fitted loosely and hung straight down the body, or flared slightly in an A-line. Under the dynastic laws after 1636, all [[Han Chinese]] in the banner system were forced to adopt the Manchu male hairstyle of wearing a [[Queue (hairstyle)|queue]] as did all Manchu men and dress in Manchu ''qipao.'' However, the order for ordinary non-Banner Han civilians to wear Manchu clothing was lifted and only Han who served as officials were required to wear Manchu clothing, with the rest of the civilian Han population dressing however they wanted. Qipao covered most of the woman's body, revealing only the head, hands, and the tips of the toes.  The baggy nature of the clothing also served to conceal the figure of the wearer regardless of age.  With time, though, the ''qipao'' were tailored to become more form fitting and revealing. The modern version, which is now recognized popularly in China as the "standard" ''qipao'', was first developed in [[Shanghai]] in the 1920s, partly under the influence of Beijing styles. People eagerly sought a more modernized style of dress and transformed the old ''qipao'' to suit their tastes.  Slender and form fitting with a high cut, it had great differences from the traditional ''qipao''. It was high-class [[courtesans]] and celebrities in the city that would make these redesigned tight fitting ''qipao'' popular at that time. In Shanghai it was first known as ''zansae'' or "long dress" (長衫—Mandarin Chinese: chángshān; [[Shanghainese]]: ''zansae''; Cantonese: ''chèuhngsāam''), and it is this name that survives in English as the "cheongsam". Most Han civilian men eventually voluntarily adopted Manchu clothing while Han women continued wearing Han clothing. Until 1911, the changpao was required clothing for Chinese men of a certain class, but Han Chinese women continued to wear loose jacket and trousers, with an overskirt for formal occasions.  The ''qipao'' was a new fashion item for Han Chinese women when they started wearing it around 1925.The original ''qipao'' was wide and loose. As hosiery in turn declined in later decades, cheongsams nowadays have come to be most commonly worn with bare legs.