老外写杭州：杭州女人怎么连一件旗袍都没有？

  By Jennifer Harvey (from US)

  Ever since I saw the 1955 movie, Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing, I fantasized about wearing a qipao - the elegant, close-fitting high-neck dress with slits on the sides - also called a cheongsam. In the movie, Jennifer Jones plays the part of a Eurasian woman from mainland China who falls in love with an American. Jones proudly wears the dress when not at work in the hospital, and in one particularly romantic scene, dressed in an exquisite qipao, she sashays gracefully with her lover on the beautiful Hong Kong hillside.

  Now that I am living in China, to my mild disappointment not only can't I buy a qipao off the rack that fits my body, but with the exception of restaurant hosts, I rarely see a woman wearing the qipao. Consequently, I conducted an informal survey to discern the reason for the demise of this dress that was popular in China in the 1920's.

  I spoke to a dozen or so high school seniors and a handful of college juniors - all female. Not one of the young women in my sample said she owned a qipao. In fact, they were all astonished that I would contemplate such a question. "Normal Chinese women will not wear it unless they're going to a wedding," said one girl. "We seldom see people wear qipao in daily life," added another.

  In my discussion with one of the college students, she indicated that the dress was merely a fashion many years ago and not really a cultural costume. Whether or not the qipao is an authentic traditional Chinese dress may be debatable. However, from a western viewpoint, it is an integral part of Chinese culture, probably reinforced by media images. The closest I came to receiving an affirmative response to my question, 'do you own a qipao?' was one girl who said, "I had one as a child." Another commented that when she leaves for college in the coming year she intends to take one with her to show her cultural identity.

  Other than the qipao not being fashionable today there was one other reason cited by more than one respondent for the abandonment of the traditional dress. That is, that they did not have the ideal body image. Did Chinese women bodies change shape over the years I pondered, or did the women's self-image change? If yes in either case, what caused that change?

  It appears that the qipao went the way of some hitherto forgotten customs for a number of reasons, with globalization being a primary factor. Through globalization, which has brought significant benefits to developing countries, Chinese women have been exposed to western images via movies, television, music videos, foreign visitors, etc. In addition, many international companies outsource part of their garment industry to factory workers in China, thus those fashions become within reach of the Chinese market.

  With respect to changing body shape, globalization may also have played a part. Do Chinese women compare themselves to models in the multitude of fashion magazines on kiosks and in book stores, such as the recent 452-page issue of Ray Li? Or are people's diets different or more abundant than before, thus causing many young girls to be, or to perceived themselves as, a different shape than their mothers and grandmothers? With China's burgeoning development so has prosperity proliferated among its residents, thus affording opportunities for a greater and more diverse palate.

  The two men I interviewed about the absence of qipao from daily life, without deep consideration surmised that it was simply a reflection of changing times. I am, however, still desirous of having a qipao custom made and will wear it gladly, if not daily.