Dresses，Qiapan and Mongolian Robe
4 min readWomen of minority ethnic groups such as Uygur and Kazak like wearing colorful dresses，with pants made of figured cloth or colored silk inside and a dark coat matching with embroidered waistcoat.There are many decorations such as colorful organic glass buttons，silver buttons，copper coins，pearls and so on in the front of women’s waistcoats in the Kazak and Kirgiz ethnic groups，making much pleasure out of the sounds made by these decorations when these women are walking.Dresses of Uygur and Uzbek are so wide and long that they can reach the shank and they have many pleats to the chest.There are many pleats on the hem of a dress in Kazak and Kirgiz.Married women add a triangular belt with embroidery when going out.They also add an apron behind the haunch to protect dresses and increase aesthetic feelings.Uygur and Uzbek women like sewing dress with Etles Silk very much.Etles Silk is dved before being made into cloth. This kind of silk is known as Wing Flowers of Cuckoo, which is a metaphor that printed silk can bring the flavor of spring.The color of some silks is matched with white and black, while others are dyedwith green. These decorative patterns are so fascinated and romantic that they are like shining and drifting colored clouds when people wear the dress.Matching with swaying earrings, shining rings, bracelets, necklaces and other decorations, the silk dress gives people a glittering aesthetic feelings directly. In the Han Dynasty (206 BC to 220 AD), people in Hotan hadn’t known production techniques to sew silk. The Hotan King appointed an ambassadorto the Han Dynasty for some breeds, while the emperor didn’t agree. To get breeds of silkworm, the Hotan King humbly made an offer of marriage to the Han Dynasty, and the emperor admitted. The Hotan King told the ambassador who fetched the bride that,”You tell the princess that our country does nothave silkworm breeds and she can bring some for clothes.”The smart princess hid the breeds in the cap and escaped the review of officers. From then on, Hotan, called Yutian in ancient time, began to develop sericulture. Now, paintings in Baicheng Kizil Thousand Buddha Caves and Dunhuang Mogao Caves still maintain the picture depicting the story of the silkworm-princess.Clothes sewed by Etles Silk have become the most representative traditional clothes for the Uygur women.
The men’s clothes of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang are more loose and simple, made of cloth of black, blue and white, or silk of blue, grey and white, or colored strips. Men in Uygur and Uzbek like wearing Qiapan which is openand free of buttons and pockets, reaching the knees, and also like wearing a pullover inside and adding a kerchief belt or a long belt made of cloth of black, brown and blue to the waist. Qiapan is like the sleep coat in present days or Japanese kimono to some extent. Its belt functions as a button and a pocket to carry food and other items which can be used at any time.
Mongolian and Daur People like wearing robes, which are called”Mongolian robe”, and red, yellow or green ribbons are round the waist. Men’s robes are simple and women’s are gorgeous. Married women do not need a belt.
Mongolian robe with cardigan in the right line has no slits. The long and narrow sleeves, high neck and loose hem are suitable for life in grazing areas When grazing, they can protect knees and prevent winds, and in the night, they can be used as quilts which can be separated into thin and thick ones. In winter, herdsmen mainly wear furred robes.
Uygur, Kazak, Kirgiz and Tajik people not only like flowers, but also embroider a variety of beautiful flowers and floral patterns on the collar, chest, cuff, shoulder, trouser legs and belt with colored thread. Sometimes, they decorate it with colored pearls and sequins.
The clothes of some minorities such as Kazak, Kirgiz and Tajik living in the alpine grazing areas reflect the characteristics of the herding culture in grassland. In winter, men like wearing sheepskin coats and leather trousers which are loose and solid and they are easy for riding and can be used as quilt in the night.
Most men and women in many minorities like wearing boots which are divided into two kinds-leather boot and felt boot. In the past, women’s boots were embroidered with beautiful decorative patterns. People of Uygur and Uzbeks are accustomed to wearing overshoes outside the leather boots, which can keep warm and protect leather boots. The leather boots of Tajik, which are sewed with sheepskin and whose soles are made of cowhide and yak leather, usually are dyed in red. This kind of boot is proof of coldness and water. There is a special kind of boot called “Charik”which is made of rawhide with tendon as strings in the Mongolians. It is wear-resisting and people wearing felt stocking in it can walk fast and briskly.
