Study On The Change Of Women’s Clothing In The Late Qing And The Republic China From The Viewpoint Of People-clothing Relationship

Clothing has been an indispensable part of human culture since the beginning of civilization.Ancient Chinese clothing culture tended to conceal the human body,biological attributes and individual characteristics;it manifested hierarchical order,cultural representation and social implication.During the late Qing Dynasty and Republican China,not only clothing tradition,regulation,style and culture were undertaken dramatic changes,but also social form,social understanding and women’s social roles were transformed.The People-clothing relationship has experienced conflict,reflection,and evolution.Research on the change of women’s dress in this period has academic and practical signification in transition of modern society,the reform of clothing culture,and the course of women’s emancipation.This dissertation consists of four main parts: from the viewpoint of people-clothing relationship,the first chapter gives an historical overview and context of women’s dress changes in the way of clothing trends.The second chapter explains the connection between industrial progress,technological innovation and women’s dressing change.It discusses the material basis and industrial technology support for the dressing change from three aspects: technological innovation in textile raw materials and fabrics,renewal of garment manufacturing methods and industries,and changes in textile trade markets.The third chapter discusses the relationship between social transition and women’s dressing change from social phenomena bearing the imprint of dress,social movements accompanying dress behavior and social trends manifesting dress claims.The fourth chapter explores the internal connection link between cultural change and dressing change,and analyzes the fundamental reasons for clothing change,from the four major defensive lines: the conception of the Hans and other barbarian races,the distinction of Tao and Qi,the separation of ritual and custom,and the transition of face culture.The main ideas and innovations are as follows.1."Clothing trends" is a vital way to reveal both the phenomenon and essence of clothing change.This paper attempts to break the narrative of modern dress history,which is based on the mainstream historical stages and social changes,as well as the thematic classification of dress categories.From different aspects of the people-clothing relationship,it examines the trend of dress change such as natural physiology,conceptual thought,social life,aesthetic value and technical support,then abstractly outline the four clothing trends including "dress to fit the body" "dress to cultivate people" "dress to suit the person" and "dress to manifest individuals".It is a way to show the whole picture of clothing change by means of clothing trends,which not only conforms to the historical lineage and transmutation trajectory of dress itself and respects the development law of the research object itself,but also presents the innovation and inheritance,reciprocity and diversity of dress change,all kinds of complex and multi-substantial laws and characteristics,leaving clues and links for studying the technical,social and cultural factors behind dress change.2.The relationship between industrial and technological change and clothing change is supply-driven and demand-pull.The development of textile and clothing industry and technological change,especially the progress of electrification,mechanization and chemistry,fundamentally changed the performance of clothing fabrics and provided a possible material basis for the reformation of clothing structure,opened a new pattern of modern textile and clothing trade market and consumption,and provided a strong guarantee for the rise of women’s clothing fashion and trend of extension of cloth during the late Qing Dynasty and Republic of China.This chapter illustrates how technological change in the industry played a vital role in the transformation of clothing by drawing a block diagram of the correlation mechanism between clothing trends and related factors,aiming to explain the mode,path and mechanism of influence.Technological change is a reformation of the physical characteristics,production methods,market supply and aesthetic values of clothing,to provide people with many clothing selections that can be consumed,chosen and economically adapted.As the consumer of clothing,people have influenced the trade market pattern of textiles and clothing according to their wearing needs,economic base and consumption preferences,and put forward demands for clothing materials and fabrics and cutting structures.The relationship between technological change and clothing change essentially affects the demand of people by changing the supply of clothing,and the demand of people in tern promotes the technical and industrial optimization of clothing.3.Social transformation and clothing change promote and cause each other.On the one hand,social transformation led the clothing change.Social Darwinism and the women’s emancipation thoughts have enlightened and led modern women to participate in social movements as subjects,and promoted the voice and spread of dress trends.The social phenomena of dress,represented by the "self-combing" in the Pearl River Delta and the "modernization" in the Yangtze River Delta,have accumulated strength for the trend of women’s clothing change.On the other hand,clothing change is a dynamic force of social change.Representative women and women’s groups have become a important force for social transformation by promoting women’s emancipation with their masculine and neutral dressing behaviors,or personalized and popular dressing styles.In this sense,dress acts as a prop,a tool and a mask for women to participate in social transformation,and as the main object to reform social customs and improve social practices.The interaction between social change and clothing change is basically a discussion of the relationship between costume and human subjectivity.Through the dressing behavior of modern women and the evaluation and reaction of social opinion to women’s dress,the function of clothing was rediscovered,the humanity under dress was liberated.4.Cultural change is both an important defense against clothing change and a deep-seated motivation to catalyze dress change.For a long time,Chinese costumes were the cultural carriers to distinguish between the Hans and other barbarian races,During the historical period when the Chinese culture were dominant,and in the late Qing Dynasty when the country’s boundary was closed to the outside world,the court officials and scholar-bureaucrat who supported cultural traditions and national dignity opposed clothing reformation.With the persuasion of modern Western missionaries,the foot-binding,which was a symbol of civilization,has transformed a mark of barbarism,and the distinction between Hans and other races was broken,and the positions of civilization and barbarism were exchanged,so that the tendency to respect the West became the new trend of clothing change.In the background of the era of Western learning and the spread of Western tools to the East,the clothing industry as a "vital implement",symbolizing the traditional Confucian culture and the rules of the political system,could not be easily changed.In the political system transition period,clothing reformation have became a strategy to revive the nation,and the theory of Social Darwinism became an important force to promote clothing reformation.The reason that clothing change is difficult at beginning but changed dramatically is basically from the face culture.5.The path of female clothing change in the Republic of late Qing Dynasty did not follow the three stages of modernization of "utility-institution-culture",but was a combination of several categories,with participation in each stage.clothing is a material artifact,a social institution that represents people relationships,and a manifestation of culture.Generally speaking,women’s clothing change came about at the time of institutional change.The anti-foot-binding movement began with the Hundred Days Reform,which called for institutional reform,and after the Xinhai revolution period,clothing boundary was broken and for the convenience of the people.During the New Culture period,women’s clothing changed in a wider range to a greater extent,and modern clothing trends gradually took shape.Locally speaking,during westernization period and in the open cities,young,fashionable women or women in the workplace have began to wear machine-woven clothing.For the working women in the rural areas,the thick and self-produced clothing was more convenient for their work,thus clothing change came more sluggishly and slowly,perhaps until after the change of production relations and social organization,the clothing changed accordingly.The change of women’s clothing in this period showed a historical pattern of multiple tracks,multiple signs and multiple stages.6.The change of clothing is essentially a renewal and reconstruction of the people-clothing relationship.Clothing is not a purely natural object,but a typical cultural product.The study of the people-clothing relationship can be divided into three dimensions: the clothing dimension,the human dimension and the human-clothing dimension which is how people view and evaluate the human-clothing relationship.The relationship between people and clothing is in a state of interaction and complementary.