Tibetan Costume
01 · Historical Records
The forms of Tibetan costume in the Qinghai region are closely tied to the formation of plateau settlements since the Tubo period. In the Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture and in Xining and Haidong, Tibetan, Mongolian, and Hui peoples have long lived side by side; while each group maintained its own styles, the costumes borrowed from one another, so that several styles often coexist in the same locality. On the Tibetan side, the basic structure of the Amdo chuba falls into several lines — long robes, fur robes, and lined robes: the old pattern of the large-lapel, full-length, long-sleeved, loose-waisted, pocketless robe sewn from sheepskin has not changed; what has changed is the fabric and the trimming, so that as living conditions improved, pulu woolen cloth, silks, satins, and ribbons entered garments that formerly used only hide and fur.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Classified by region, Tibetan costume has at least thirteen types. Among them, Qinghai Amdo Tibetan costume is mainly distributed over the four Tibetan autonomous prefectures of Hainan, Huangnan, Golog, and Haibei in Qinghai Province, Its texture is thick and substantial, with good resistance to cold. The material of the clothing is mainly sheepskin, though satins, silks, pulu, and other cloths are also used. The cut is mostly long robes, commonly known as the "Tibetan robe" (zangpao). A Tibetan robe sewn from lambskin and trimmed with otter fur is called chari in Tibetan; one sewn from sheepskin is called zihua, which is also the more common everyday garment; the summer robe is called rela in Tibetan, made mainly of cotton cloth and silk for wear during the brief summer. In addition, felt garments, felt hats, and felt shoes sewn from lambswool felt are used in rainy and snowy weather. The ornaments of Amdo Tibetan costume are rich and varied, including earrings, necklaces, kawu, rings, and braid covers worn on the back inlaid with jewels and silver ornaments. At the waist are also worn the Tibetan knife, the milk hook, longguo, tinder boxes, and silver needle-and-thread boxes. The costume is ornamented mainly with silver, gold, pearls, agate, jade, turquoise, silk, jadeite, coral, and amber. Tibetan clothing in general takes the large lapel, full length, long sleeves, loose waist, and absence of pockets as its basic structure and features; the material is mainly sheepskin, with pulu woolen cloth, silk, satin, and lambswool felt also used. Amdo Tibetan costume boldly employs strongly contrasting color combinations such as red and green, black and white, red and blue, and yellow and purple, and skillfully combines them with compound colors and gold and silver threads, making the costume colors both bright and harmonious. A notable feature of its ornaments is the extensive use of gold, silver, jewels, ivory, coral, and the like; the materials are wide-ranging and the colors rich, setting off the colors of the clothing and presenting a beauty that is at once rugged and sumptuous.
Sewing the chhari and zihua leather robes
The chhari robe of lambskin edged with otter and the plainer zihua of sheepskin are named apart but sewn the same way.
Summer shirts and felt rainwear
Summer shirts called rela are made of cotton and silk, while felt coats, hats and shoes are kept for rain and snow.
Attaching the kawu and longguo at the waist
Waist pieces include knives, milk hooks and pouches, while women wear beaded braids set with jewellery and silver.
Bold red, green, black and white pairing
Contrasting pairs are used boldly and steadied with blended tones and gold and silver thread.
From inherited form to modern cutting
Old practice measures an existing garment first; newer practice starts from a pattern, yielding the same form but cleaner fits.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture and the cities of Xining and Haidong can in turn be subdivided into two major types: the pastoral dress of the southern Qinghai plateau and the lake-ringing grasslands, and the agricultural dress of the Hehuang region. The formation and development of Qinghai Amdo Tibetan costume are inseparable from the natural environment and climatic conditions of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau where the local Tibetans live. According to the season, Tibetan robes are generally divided into two kinds: fur robes and lined robes. The folk customs embodied in Amdo Tibetan costume are ancient and mysterious, with rich and varied cultural connotations and distinct ethnic and regional characteristics; they reflect the cultural traditions and value orientations gradually formed by the Tibetans of the Amdo region through long communal life, and embody the aesthetic consciousness and tastes of the people.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Tibetan Costume · Tibetan Costume · Tibetan Costume · Tibetan Costume · Tibetan Costume · Tibetan Costume · Tibetan Costume.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Jiayang Zhuoma (recorded in the official archives of the associated inheritor): Female, Tibetan ethnicity, born in January 1964, from Guinan County, Qinghai Province. In childhood, under the careful instruction of her parents, who were skilled at cutting and sewing, she took her first steps in learning the craft. After her parents passed away, she successively studied cutting under the locally renowned costume artists Zhiba and Tenzin, growing into a deft and skilled cutter. She later went on to the Cultural Labor Service Company of Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture for further study, learning costume design and sewing techniques. She opened a garment workshop in Qiabuqia Town, Gonghe County, dedicated to the transmission and development of Amdo costume. Over more than twenty years she has focused on both inheritance and innovation, skillfully merging traditional garment forms and ornamentation with modern aesthetics and popular demand, so that ethnic character and fashion complement each other. She is a representative inheritor of Tibetan costume, a national-level intangible cultural heritage item in the fifth national-level batch.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Danzengduojie 04-1983
- Awangdanda 05-3047
- Nanbu 05-3048
- Cirenwangdui 05-3049
- Jiayangzhuoma 05-3050
- Jialanben
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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