Bijia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A woman wearing a Ming dynasty bijia.

Bijia (Chinese: 比甲) is a long, sleeveless jacket of Mongol origins which has opened side slits.[1][2] The bijia started to be worn in the Yuan dynasty when it was designed by Empress Chabi.[3] The bijia eventually became one of the most typical form of women's clothing item in the Ming dynasty[4] and in the Qing dynasty.[5] It is also a type of hanfu which has been revived in present days.[6]

History[]

Yuan dynasty[]

The bijia originated from a long-length Mongol vest.[1][7] According to the Yuan shi, the invention of bijiia is attributed to Empress Chabi during the Yuan dynasty.[3][8] Empress Chabi designed the bijia so that it would be a convenient form of attire while riding horses and shooting arrows.[3] The front region of the bijia designed by Empress Chabi was made of 1-piece of fabric, and its back region was twice longer than the front region.[3][8][9] It was collarless and sleeveless, and there were two loop straps which attached to it.[3][8][9] It also had no lapels.[9] The bijia was first worn by the Yuan dynasty emperor but it later became popular among commoners.[10]

Ming dynasty[]

After the fall of the Yuan dynasty, Mongol fashion of the Yuan dynasty continued to influence some styles of clothing worn in the Ming dynasty; this included the persisting usage of bijia.[1][7] The bijia became a type of women clothing in the Ming dynasty, and by the middle of the Ming dynasty it had become a favourite form of dress for women, especially young women.[10]

In the Ming dynasty, the bijia was long in length and would reach below the knee level.[4] It was embroidered on woven textile and a jade ornament would be attached at the front of the bijia as a front closure.[4] Bijia created an illusion of slenderness, which women in the Ming dynasty sought after.[4]

Qing dynasty[]

In the Qing dynasty, Han Chinese women were allowed to continue the Ming dynasty clothing customs.[5] The bijia remained very popular in Qing dynasty,[10] and it was one of the most common forms of female clothing worn in the 17th and 18th century.[5]

  • Woman wearing bijia (right). Woman wearing beizi (left). From the painting Amorous Meeting in a Room Interior, late 18th century Qing Dynasty.

21st Century[]

In the 21st century, the bijia regained popularity and is widely worn as a hanfu item.[11]

  • Waist-length modern bijia (green), 2013.

  • Woman wearing a long, yellow bijia (middle), 2020.

Influences and derivatives[]

Theatrical beixin[]

The Chinese opera beixin (Chinese: 背心), also known as kanjian, majia, and beida, were sleeveless vests which originated from both the Ming dynasty's long-length bijia worn by women from the lower-middle class and from the Qing dynasty's majia (Chinese: 马甲),[12] a type of vest which were worn by the Manchu.[13]

  • Theatrical beixin for a female Buddhist priest (front view).

  • Theatrical beixin for a female Buddhist priest (back view).

Majia[]

The majia (Chinese: 马甲), the sleeveless riding vest of the Qing dynasty, evolved from the bijia which was popular among women during the Ming and Qing dynasties.[10][14]

  • Sleeveless Jacket with Flowering Vine Pattern and Bands (front), late 19th–early 20th century

  • Sleeveless Jacket with Flowering Vine Pattern and Bands (back), late 19th–early 20th century

  • Sleeveless Jacket, 19th century.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c Finnane, Antonia (2008). Changing clothes in China : fashion, history, nation. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 46. ISBN 978-0-231-14350-9. OCLC 84903948.
  2. ^ Finnane, Antonia (2008). Changing clothes in China : fashion, history, nation. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 68. ISBN 978-0-231-14350-9. OCLC 84903948.
  3. ^ a b c d e Zhao, George Qingzhi (2008). Marriage as political strategy and cultural expression : Mongolian royal marriages from world empire to Yuan dynasty. New York: Peter Lang Pub. pp. 240–241. ISBN 978-1-4331-0275-2. OCLC 192134589.
  4. ^ a b c d Hua, Mei (2011). Chinese clothing (Updated ed.). Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. p. 41. ISBN 0-521-18689-7. OCLC 781020660.
  5. ^ a b c 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. doi:10.2307/26585538. ISSN 0004-3958.
  6. ^ "A Brief History of Chinese Outfit for Girl - Bijia (vest) - 2021". www.newhanfu.com. 2020-02-16. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  7. ^ a b Schlesinger, Jonathan (2017). A world trimmed with fur : wild things, pristine places, and the natural fringes of Qing rule. Stanford, California. p. 31. ISBN 978-1-5036-0068-3. OCLC 949669739.
  8. ^ a b c Shea, Eiren L. (2020). Mongol court dress, identity formation, and global exchange. New York, NY. p. 89. ISBN 978-0-429-34065-9. OCLC 1139920835.
  9. ^ a b c Lee, Lily Xiao Hong (2015). Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women, Volume II : Tang Through Ming 618-1644. Sue Wiles. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis. p. 25. ISBN 978-1-317-51562-3. OCLC 905984401.
  10. ^ a b c d 5000 years of Chinese costumes. Xun Zhou, Chunming Gao, 周汛, Shanghai Shi xi qu xue xiao. Zhongguo fu zhuang shi yan jiu zu. San Francisco, CA: China Books & Periodicals. 1987. p. 164. ISBN 0-8351-1822-3. OCLC 19814728.CS1 maint: others (link)
  11. ^ "A Brief History of Chinese Outfit for Girl - Bijia (vest) - 2021". www.newhanfu.com. 2020-02-16. Retrieved 2021-07-03.
  12. ^ Ye, Tan (2020). Historical dictionary of Chinese theater (Second ed.). Lanham. p. 352. ISBN 978-1-5381-2064-4. OCLC 1128888776.
  13. ^ "Woman's domestic vest (majia)". collections.mfa.org. Retrieved 2021-07-30.
  14. ^ Li, Jinzhao (2005). Constructing Chinese America in Hawaiʻi: the Narcissus Festival, ethnic identity, and community transformation, 1949-2005 (Thesis thesis).
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