Zhongshi Garment Making Craftsmanship
01 · Historical Records
In working the fields side by side with the Han people, the Manchu gradually absorbed features of Han attire, and after the 1920s and 1930s the qipao style that emphasizes colorful ornamentation and the beauty of the human form took shape, passing down to the present day through master-apprentice and social transmission.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Manchu qipao-making craft is one of the representative forms of Chinese garment-making techniques. Its distribution is relatively broad, concentrated mainly in the three northeastern provinces and in the main northern Manchu-inhabited areas such as Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei. Jilin City lies in the central-eastern part of Jilin Province and is one of the important birthplaces of the Manchu people in China. Historically, the Daxing Wula area where the city is located was rich in animal furs, and the local ancestors mostly used them as raw materials for making clothing. The Manchu qipao, called "yijie" in the Manchu language, is a highly representative and iconic garment of the Manchu. Its traditional craftsmanship is exquisite and refined, producing a qipao with a wide, flat body, a stand-up collar, pankou (frog buttons), a right-front closure, narrow or sword-shaped cuffs, and a hem that is wide and often slit, reflecting the folk cultural traits of a hunting people. The cutting of the Manchu qipao inherits the cross-shaped whole-garment cutting structure of traditional Chinese robes. In sewing, it makes extensive use of a unique concealed stitching method, where seams are visible but no stitch marks show. The Manchu qipao is noted for its ornamentation with Manchu embroidery, ranging from "three edgings and three bindings" to "five edgings and five bindings," and even to "eighteen edgings and bindings," a complex and exquisite craft. After the whole garment is completed, the collar is attached separately by hand. This post-mounted collar can be washed at any time and removed or replaced according to the season's warmth or cold, with options of single, lined, padded, and fur collars, offering practical, convenient, and flexible wear. The Manchu qipao is a symbol of Manchu culture and Manchu identity, and is deeply loved by the Manchu people. The Manchu qipao-making craft carries rich information about Manchu history and culture, ethnic characteristics, religious belief, and living customs, and plays an important role in the study of Manchu clothing changes, customs, and traditional techniques. Its design concepts—such as flat cutting and three-dimensional collar attachment—and its craft characteristics have exerted a certain influence on the development of Chinese garments. This craft has played a positive role in driving employment for people in surrounding areas and in promoting traditional clothing culture.
Cross-shaped pattern cutting
The qipao is cut on the cross-shaped structure of the Chinese robe, the flat pattern being adjusted to the body while the skirt is wide and often slit.
Invisible stitching
Much of the sewing uses an invisible stitch: the seam shows but no needle marks do, leaving the inside smooth and comfortable in movement.
Three borders to eighteen borders
Borders run from three, to five, even to eighteen passes of piping and Manchu embroidery, each additional round adding sewing and stitching work.
Setting detachable standing collars
The collar is set by hand after the garment is finished, so it can be washed apart and swapped with single, interlined, cotton or fur versions.
Gongtong, Old Street and Hantun villages
The most typical centres are the Manchu villages around Wula Street in Longtan District, Jilin, where population patterns and fishing-and-hunting life shaped the dress trade.
Fur from the Dalatal hunting ground
The Dalatal region was rich in animal furs, which local people used as their dress material, and the special function of the hunting office kept the demand steady.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Within Jilin Province, it is mainly distributed in Manchu townships and towns in Jilin City, Siping City, Changchun City, and Tonghua City, among which the villages and towns of Gongtong, Jiujie, and Hantun in Wulajie Manchu Town, Longtan District, Jilin City are the most typical. The concentrated distribution of the Manchu population, the unique fishing-and-hunting production and living environment of Manchu ancestors, and the special function of the historical Daxing Wula General Administration together brought about the prosperity of the Manchu qipao in the Jilin region.
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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Over the years, the inheritors have actively relied on qipao museums, studios, and qipao art troupes, and through skill training, academic seminars, and activities such as intangible cultural heritage entering campuses and enterprises, have promoted the transmission and popularization of the Manchu qipao-making craft and its folk culture, cultivating many inheritors and related practitioners.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Xu Yongliang 04-1921
- Lin Ruixiang 04-1922
- Bao Wenqi 04-1923
- Chen Yuqiu
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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