The style of cheong-sam in 1930s,                         Photo 4 (Photo by Zhou Zuyi)       A short coat with round shape lower hem from the Republic of China Period.     (Ieft)  A cut-out plan for the cheong-sam of 1930s.

   During the Republic of China Period, influenced by European and American fashion culture, the styles and forms of traditional Qing costumes gradually changed. Men from middle and upper class also wore Sun Yat-sen's uniforms, western-style clothes, leather shoes, bowler hats besides long robes, mandarin jackets, cotton cloth shoes and skullcaps. Men in the streets wore cotton cloth long robes (mainly blue and grey color), short skirts and trousers made by locally produced white cotton cloth, cotton robes, tight cotton coats, cotton waistcoats and trousers with loose crotch and waistline. Ladies and girls from middle and upper class wore cheong-sams made by all kinds of outside materials, western style skirts, high-heel shoes and jewelry including gold, silver, jade and emerald. Women from lower class wore Chinese style iackets and coats made by patterned cotton cloth and embroidered shoes.

   New styles and clothing arrangements appeared based on the Qing Dynasty men's daily robes and jackets. The mandarin jacket was duijin style down to the belly with tight sleeves, five buttons in the front garment piece. The long robe was usually "button to the right" style with big garment pieces and two inches above the ankle. On both sides of the robe, there were vents of about one "chi" (a meter=3 chi) long. The length of the sleeve was about the same as the length of jacket. Long robes and waistcoats going with western trousers, western style bowler hats, white scarves and shining leather shoes, this dressing style of combining Chinese and western clothes was the typical dress for middle and upper class men in early years of Republic of China. Wearing western suits completely were considered to be very a bold action.

   In early years of Republic of China, many young students went to study in Japan, and brought Japanese student uniforms back. This clothing style that followed the western three-piece tailor with separate sleeves and clothes body cut showed a touch of youthful spirit, sobriety and refinement. It usually didn't use turndown collars, but narrow and low turn-up collars without ties or cravats. In the bottom part of the front garment piece, there were two hidden pockets on left and right sides. There was an outside-' attached pocket in the left chest part. This student uniform was not only welcomed by many advanced young men but also transformed into the typical modern Chinese men's uniform - Sun Yat-sen's uniform.

   The special features of Sun Yat-sen's uniforms are in the design of collars and pockets. A turn-up collar of fitted height plus a reverse collar has the effect of the wing collar of the western style skirt. There are four out pockets in the front garment piece. The lower two ones are pressed and tucked into the style of "qin pockeL" so that more staff can be held. Soft covers are designed above the pocket to prevent articles from losing. There are two big hidden pockets inside the front garment underlining, a small one (watch pocket) in front of the waist and two on the behind with soft covers. This set of men's suit designed by the founder of Republic of China, Mr. Sun Yat-sen, is more practical than western suits, and fits more to the aesthetics and life customs of Chinese people. Even though it adopted the western cut, materials and color, but showed the qualities of the symmetry, solemnity and restraint of Chinese dress. Since it came into being in 1923, the Sun Yat-sen's uniform has become the prevailing classical formal dress for Chinese men.

   With the burst of the First World War, western feminist movement began to sprout. Women were no longer reconciled to be the accessories and victims of the famil3~ so quite a number of women tried to pursue a career that had been previously occupied by men. They began to wear long trousers and cut short hair. This social tide converged with Chinese "New Civilization Movement" that had spread across China. Under these social influences of seeking for science, democracy and freedom, numerous women started to walk out of the family to receive higher education. They sought for both financial independence and freedom in love and marriage.

   Female students who studied overseas and students from local mission schools took the lead in wearing "civilized new dress" - upper outer jacket was mostly jackets with tight waistline, big front garment pieces, elbow-long sleeves or 70% sleeves in the shape of horn. The clothing hem was mostly in arch shape and decorated with patterns. The matching skirts originally were ankle-long black skirts, and gradually the length of skirt rose to the upper shank. This style of simple and plain dress became the most fashionable female image in 1920s and 1930s. The esteem towards the western aesthetics also influenced the remolding of the general image of Chinese women. Cosmetics and adornments from Europe and America entered into Chinese market. To whiten the skin, nourish hair, curl the eyelash, sweep dark eye shadow, cut short hair, curl hair, wear a Channel style camellia or a very long pearl necklace around neck, carry a fur handbag, wear stockings and high heel shoes ...these formed the daily images of Chinese fashionable women.

   And the cheong-sam that is well received nowadays was also amended and improved in this period and became a modern fashionable dress.

   The cheong-sam in Chinese is called "flag robe," which means the flag people's robe. And the flag people are how the middle land Han people referred to Manchu people. Possibly influenced by "Men and women are equal" thought, women who traditionally wore two-piece dress also wanted to follow men's one-piece dress style. In 1921, a group of female high school students in Shanghai took the lead to wear long robes. At the beginning, the prevailing style was a kind of blue cotton cloth cheong-sam with loose clothes body, straight and flat outline and bell-mouthed sleeves. The robe was ankleqong with no edgings or lacework in collar, front garment piece and hem parts. The robe looked very serious and formal. This style of dress aroused great interests of city women and was the rage once it appeared on the streets. Later under constant influences of modern tide, the cheong-sam showed changes in length, waistline, collars and sleeves.

   In middle years of 1920s, the clothes body and sleeve of cheong- sams shortened, and the outer part tightened. The robes were still decorated with embroidery and patterns. At the end of 1920s, the length of the robe shortened greatly, rising from the foot to ankle and then to the middle part of shank. The waistline tightened and the vents on both sides of the thigh part heightened also. After 1930s, cheong-sam improved and changed constantly. First high stand-up collar style was the rage, and then when it was high to reach the cheeks, low collar style began to prevail. When the collar couldn't be lower anymore, suddenly it was again heightened to look fashionable. The design of sleeves was the same case. It rose from wrist, to the middle of lower Dal'f of arm, to elbow, to the middle of the upper part of arm, and then finally there were no sleeves.

The lower hem of robes sometimes was long enough to reach floor and sometimes was knee-high. Besides the vents on the sides, there might be a vent designed in the front garment piece and the lower hem was in the shape of arch. In terms of materials, besides the traditional jacquard woven brocade, more light and thin fabrics with printing such as cotton cloth, linen and silk were used. The colors chosen were usually simple but elegant. The collars, sleeves and garment pieces were decorated with edgings, but didn't look complicate with trivial details. Traditional Chinese costumes didn't highlight the waistline, but with the more and more distinct tendency of seeking the curve beauty of body shape in lady costumes, cheong-sams have become the most desirable dress to show the sexual body shape of women.