Mamianqun

Mamianqun (simplified Chinese: 马面裙; traditional Chinese: 馬面裙; pinyin: mǎmiànqún; lit. 'horse face skirt'), also known as mamianzhequn (simplified Chinese: 马面褶裙; traditional Chinese: 馬面褶裙; lit. 'horse-face pleated skirt'), sometimes simply referred as 'apron' (a generic term to refer to Chinese style skirts) or 'paired apron' in English although they are not aprons as defined in the dictionary, is a traditional Chinese skirt (Chinese: 裙子; pinyin: qún zi; lit. 'skirt') worn by the Han Chinese women.[1][2][3] It originated in the Song and Liao dynasties and became popular due to its functionality and its aesthetics style.[4] Since then, it continued to be worn in the Yuan,[3] Ming and Qing dynasties, in the Republic of China, and only disappeared in the 1920s and 1930s.[4] In the 21st, the mamianqun regained popularity with the Hanfu movement.[5][6]

Mamianqun
Mamianqun, dating from the late 19th to early 20th century.
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese馬面裙
Simplified Chinese马面裙
Literal meaninghorse face skirt
Korean name
Hangul마면군
Hanja馬面裙
English name
EnglishHorse-face skirt/ paired apron/ apron

History

Wrapped skirt artefacts worn by Chinese women appeared as early as the Zhou[3] and Han dynasties.[7]

Song dynasty and Liao dynasty

The mamianqun originated in the Song (960 –1279 AD) and Liao dynasties (916 – 1125 AD).[4] During the Song dynasty, the mamianqun first appeared and seems to have absorbed some influences from the clothing worn by its nomadic neighbours.[2]

There are two forms of wrapped skirts which are both related to the early prototypes of the mamianqun and the mamianqun which continued to be used in the Qing dynasty. Those two forms of wrapped skirts were found in the Song dynasty tomb of Huang Sheng in Fuzhou, Fujian Province.[7]

The first mamianqun prototype skirt found in the tomb of Huang Sheng was made of plain silk with a reinforcing layer at the centre of the skirt and patterns borders on one side side, on the hem, and one side of the central panel.[7] It was made of 2 pieces of fabric which overlapped at the central region at the front and the back; the openings of the skirt allowed horseback riding.[2] It also had a wide waistband and was closed with ties;[2] the waistband was made from fabric which was different from the one used in the skirt.[3] However, the skirt was similar to a wrap-around skirt and had no pleats compared to the mamianqun of the later centuries and thus restricted movements;[3] this form of skirt is known as liangpianqun (Chinese: 两片裙; pinyin: liǎngpiànqún; lit. 'two-piece skirt')[8][9] or xuanqun (Chinese: 旋裙; pinyin: xuánqún; lit. 'swirl skirt').[10]

The second prototype from the tomb of Huang Sheng was made of thin silk printed with large dots all-over pattern; this skirt was densely pleated except for the two sections at both edges of the skirt and the waistband was made of the same fabric as the skirt.[7] This form of skirt is now referred as baidiequn (百迭裙).[11]

Yuan dynasty

In the Yuan dynasty, the mamianqun which was made of two fabrics and which could be found pleated appeared.[3] The waistband was made from fabric which was different from the one used in the skirt.[3]

Ming dynasty

In the Ming dynasty, the mamianqun was made of two fabrics and was deeply pleated.[3] The waistband was made from fabric which was different from the one used in the skirt.[3]

  • Mamianqun with a cross-collar upper garment, Ming dynasty.

Qing dynasty

In the Qing dynasty, a fashionable clothing worn was the mamianqun.[12] The mamianqun also continued to be worn by Chinese brides following the Ming dynasty clothing customs.[13]

During this period, the tailoring of the mamianqun did not show significant changes except for the side panels which started to show some variations in terms of width and number of gores and the pleats techniques.[3] The waistband of the mamianqun in this period was larger than those words in the previous dynasties.[3] Several mamianqun are stored in museums outside of China.[14][15][16] Variations of the mamianqun included the rainbow skirt (a skirt made of 12 gores and each gores has a different coloured fabric).[3][17]

  • Mamianqun worn with a cross collar upper garment, Qing dynasty
  • Han women wearing the mamianqun skirt, which inherited the Ming style of clothing, was also influenced by Qing-style patterns, 19th century.
  • Mamianqun, Qing dynasty.
  • Variation of mamianqun, Qing dynasty.
  • 'Rainbow skirt', a variation of the mamianqun, Qing dynasty.
  • Mamianqun, China, late 19th to early 20th century, from the Textile Museum of Canada

21st century

In the 21st century, the Ming-style mamianqun became a popular form of skirt for hanfu enthusiasts.[5]

  • Modern mamianqun, 2013.

Construction and Design
Qing dynasty mamianqun (overview), Late 19th Century-Early 20th Century
Overlapping front of the mamianqun.

The mamianqun is composed of two overlapping fabrics which wrapped around the lower body.[7] It has a straight panel in the front and back of the skirt.[2] It is decorated with pleated sides panels.[1][2] There are openings at the front and back of the skirt which facilitates horse-riding.[5] The skirts were tied with ties which extended beyond the skirt's width at the waistband.[7]

In the Qing dynasty, the waistband was wide, without decorations; it was made of different materials than the skirt and was made of cheaper fabric than the skirt as it was hidden by the upper garments.[7]

See also

References
  1. "Skirt (China), 19th century". Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  2. Bonds, Alexandra B. (2008). Beijing opera costumes : the visual communication of character and culture. Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press. pp. 54–55. ISBN 978-1-4356-6584-2. OCLC 256864936.
  3. Hays, Mary V (1989). "Chinese Skirts of the Qing dynasty" (PDF). The Bulletin of the Needle and Bobbin Club. 72: 4–42.
  4. "From the Slitting Skirt to the Absorbing Essence,History of Art Development about the Horse-face Apron--《Art and Design》2016年10期". en.cnki.com.cn. CAO Xue; WANG Qun-shan; Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology. Retrieved 2021-07-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link) CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. "Meet Shiyin, the Fashion Influencer Shaping China's Hanfu Style Revival". Vogue. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  6. 张洁. "Young culture fans dress to impress". global.chinadaily.com.cn. p. 1. Retrieved 2021-07-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. Dusenberry, Mary M. (2004). Flowers, dragons and pine trees : Asian textiles in the Spencer Museum of Art. Carol Bier, Helen Foresman Spencer Museum of Art (1st ed.). New York: Hudson Hills Press. p. 144. ISBN 1-55595-238-0. OCLC 55016186.
  8. "宋朝的"包臀裙"——宋制两片裙，触及到你的知识盲区了吗？_腾讯新闻". new.qq.com (in Chinese). Retrieved 2021-07-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. DayDayNews (2020-07-11). "The Song-made Hanfu, which is at the forefront of the trend, combines fashion and classics to show you the taste of ancient people". daydaynews.cc. Retrieved 2021-07-08.
  10. DayDayNews (2020-08-09). "Chapter 7-Huang Sheng, the fashion girl of the Song Dynasty". daydaynews.cc. Retrieved 2021-07-08.
  11. "漢服科普｜回望南宋「白富美」短暫絢爛的一生 原文網址". 2020.
  12. Wang, Anita Xiaoming (2018). "The Idealised Lives of Women: Visions of Beauty in Chinese Popular Prints of the Qing Dynasty". Arts Asiatiques. 73: 61–80. ISSN 0004-3958.
  13. Vollmer, John E. (2007). Dressed to rule : 18th century court attire in the Mactaggart Art Collection. Mactaggart Art Collection. Edmonton: University of Alberta Press. p. 46. ISBN 978-1-55195-214-7. OCLC 166687933.
  14. "Woman's Skirt (mamian qun)". collections.rom.on.ca. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  15. "Woman's skirt (mamian qun)". collections.rom.on.ca. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  16. Wien, Weltmuseum (2017-10-30). "Weltmuseum Wien: Pleated wrap-skirt". www.weltmuseumwien.at. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  17. "Han Women's Style". Chinese Traditional Dress - Online exhibitions across Cornell University Library. Retrieved 2021-07-08.
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