In this episode, we unravel the origins of the qipao or cheongsam. This garment is inextricably linked to the formation of modern China and has origins going back to at least the Qing Dynasty. Join us as we explore its role as a symbol of elegance and empowerment.

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RESOURCES:

• Finnane, Antonia. Changing Clothes in China: Fashion, History, Nation. New York: Columbia University Press, 2008.


• Lee, Chor Lin and Chung May Khuen. In the Mood for Cheongsam: A Social History, 1920s-Present. Singapore: Editions Didier Millet, 2012.


• Ling, Wessie and S Segre Reinach (eds). Fashion in Multiple Chinas: Chinese Styles in the Transglobal Landscape. London/Oxford: I.B. Tauris/Bloomsbury, 2018.


• Ling, Wessie. Fusionable Cheongsam. Hong Kong: Hong Kong Arts Centre, 2007.


• Sim, Cheryl. Wearing the Cheongsam: Dress and Culture in a Chinese Diaspora. London & New York: Bloomsbury, 2019.


• Steel, Valerie and John S. Major. China Chic: East Meets West. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999.