Colorful Dress in the Warring States Period

In the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods (770-221 B.C.), the textile industry in both urban and rural areas produced more varieties of silk textiles along with more advanced techniques of weaving, dyeing and printing. The gao (a kind of white silk) produced in the State of Lu and the xiu (a raw silk fabric) of Chenliu in modern Henan province were both famous in their time. And because the best textiles were found in the states of Chu and Qi, each came to be regarded as a "world of Fashion".

In an era characterized by great social changes, all schools of thought same into being, such as Confucianism, Taoism, and Legalism - and all these schools influenced how people dressed. Following the division of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty into many vassal states, different styles of dress characterized each state and people.

In the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 B.C.), chariots were used in war. IN the Warring States Period when wars extended from plains to mountain areas in north China, rulers of the states abandoned chariots for cavalry and infantry. "Hu Dress"(clothes worn by nomads or semi-nomads in northwest China and suitable for riding horses and shooting arrows) was closely associated with horsemanshop and archery.

King Wuling of the State of Zhao (325-299 B.C.) decided to introduce "Hu Dress" to strengthen his military force, but his decision was opposed by some ministers who said it violated traditional rites. The king insisted that "laws and regulations should be as adaptable and suitable as clothes and weapons." The jacket, trousers and leather boots favored by the nomads then became popular in the Central Plains.

Chinese Dress and Accessories in Various Periods

China has gained a reputation as "a country of fashion" with distinctive styles of dresses associated with different periods of history.

The Beginnings

Ancient Chinese began to sew clothes 5,000 to 6,000 years ago when a primitive textile industry followed the appearance of primitive agriculture, and people began to lead a stable life. People spun thread from bast fibers on spinning wheels of stone or pottery, then wove the fabric to make clothes. From relics excavated from tombs, we know that decorative headwear and necklaces were made of various matericals such as the skin and teeth of animals, fish bones, and shells. Clothes were designed not only for modesty and protection but also for a display of bravery skill and acheevements.

By the Shang Dynasty (C. early 17th century - 11th century B.C.), Chinese had already acquired high technical skill in silk weaving. A new device for the loom was invented in this period to enable more complex patterns of weaving.

By the Zhou Dynasty (c. 11th century - 256 B.C.), the dress of Chinese ancestors had tended to be bright and colorful. According to inscriptions on bronzeware as well as records in The Book of Songs and Rites of Zhou, the royal court set up a dress code with a special official in charge of implementing the code and attending to the king's wardrobe...

Bridge and Silk in Suzhou

As the "Venice of the East", Suzhou has a maze of bridges. Therefore, even stories of Suzhou's silk production is linked with bridges, as manifested in the following records of the silk textile workers in Suzhou of the 14th-19th centuries:

"In the east side of the city, almost all the people learned silk-weaving techniques. Weavers in Suzhou were paid by their regular employers on a daily basis... Those without regular employers stood on a bridge early in the morning, waiting for their names to be called for work. There were cotton weavers and spinners as well as silk weavers. They gathered in groups of tens or handreds and would disperse of their own accord if on a given day, no work was available. If there was not enough work, they could not feed and clothe themselves properly!"

There is a "Jiao Xie" (call or rest) tablet beside Jiao Xie bridge in Suzhou. Whether spinners could have work, and thus feed themselves, depended only on whether they were called by employers or if not, just rested. The rough tracks on the bridge might be workers footprints while waiting for calls from employers.

Suzhou, Silk weaving, Chinese bridges, silk-weaving techniques

Itroduction to the Chinese fragrance cloud silk

The fragrance cloud silk, ""Xiang Yuan" voile in Chinese, dated back to the Ming, Qin dynasty rein. It is a product specialized by the people in the pearl triangle area of South China. The whole process uses only natural dyeing material, and the plant which used to produce the colors has the function of cooling down the internal heat and removing the silt up of the human body, so the finished garment is not only soft and pleasantly cool, but also it is environment protection garment.

Taking the white silk from Zhejiang and Jiangshu province as raw material, they use herbal color materials to dye the raw fabric. After dazons of processes, the fabric takes on the colors of clay, black, coffee, brown, etc..

After applying the elegant traditional patterns to the fabric, we make it all the more endearing.