Photography Elegant Chinese Woman in a Summer Dress
Photography Elegant Chinese Woman in a Summer Dress
CC BY-SA 4.0
A black-and-white photograph, a studio portrait of a Chinese woman in traditional light silk clothing for hot summer days. She is wearing a type of clothing used by Han Chinese women in the 19th and 20th centuries. In the Qing Dynasty (1644–1912) women wore Manchu clothing less often than men, and liked to mix different styles, especially favouring the fashions prevalent in the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644). The Chinese woman has her lips painted with rouge. This form of lip makeup, which emphasises the entire upper lip and the middle part of the lower lip, was one of two fashion options for Qing Dynasty women.
On her feet, the woman wears lotus shoes (lianlü 蓮履), a type of conical shoe worn by women with bandaged feet. The shoes, ornately sewn from silk or bamboo, were the size of a palm of the hand. Some had a heel or a thickened sole.
The woman has embroidered bamboo branches (zhuzi 竹子) on her robe, symbolising perseverance in difficult situations. Bamboo is ... more
A black-and-white photograph, a studio portrait of a Chinese woman in traditional light silk clothing for hot summer days. She is wearing a type of clothing used by Han Chinese women in the 19th and 20th centuries. In the Qing Dynasty (1644–1912) women wore Manchu clothing less often than men, and liked to mix different styles, especially favouring the fashions prevalent in the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644). The Chinese woman has her lips painted with rouge. This form of lip makeup, which emphasises the entire upper lip and the middle part of the lower lip, was one of two fashion options for Qing Dynasty women.
On her feet, the woman wears lotus shoes (lianlü 蓮履), a type of conical shoe worn by women with bandaged feet. The shoes, ornately sewn from silk or bamboo, were the size of a palm of the hand. Some had a heel or a thickened sole.
The woman has embroidered bamboo branches (zhuzi 竹子) on her robe, symbolising perseverance in difficult situations. Bamboo is pliable (flexible) but never breaks (unbreakable). These natural properties of bamboo reminded people of the virtues of sustainability – physical, mental and moral.
Portrait photography has become the most popular genre in China after photography “conquered” China.
The photograph is the 158th of 449 photographs of Beijing and its surroundings in the album of Ivan Skušek Jr., purchased during his stay in Beijing (1914–1920). In the handwritten inventory of the album, the photograph is referred to as Vornehme Chinesin im Sommerkleid. (DZ, MV)
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