The origin of qipao

China: qipao/cheongsam

• Known as qipao/cheongsam/mandarin gown/banner dress. The name "cheongsam," meaning simply "long dress," it is known as "qipao", which has a history behind it.
• Its origin comes from the Manchus, and it becomes the traditional dress for Chinese women. When the early Manchu rulers came to China, they organized certain people, mainly Manchus, into "banners" (qi) and called them "banner people" (qiren), which then became loosely the name of all Manchus. The Manchu women wore normally a one-piece dress which, likewise, came to be called "qipao" or "banner dress." Although the 1911 Revolution toppled the rule of the Qing (Manchu) Dynasty, the female dress survived the political change and, with later improvements, has become the traditional dress for Chinese women.
• There is a legend about the origin of qipao. A young fisherwoman lived by the Jingbo Lake. She was not only beautiful, but also clever and skillful. But when fishing, she often felt hindered by her long and loose fitting dress. Then an idea struck her: why not make a more practical dress for work？ She got down to sewing and produced a long multi－looped－button gown with slits, which enabled her to tuck in the front piece of her dress, thus making her job much easier. As a fisherwoman, she never dreamed that a fortune would befall on her.The young emperor who ruled China at that time had a dream one night. In the dream, his dead father told him that a lovely fisherwoman in Qipao by the Jingbo Lake would become his queen. After awakening from his deep sleep, the empero sent his men to look for her. Sure enough, there she was！ So she became the queen, bringing her Cheongsam with her. Manchu women all followed suit and soon the Qipao became popular.There is a legend which says that qipao was invented by a fisherwoman who later became the queen.