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MANCHU CHANGYI (long robe), domestic semiformal robe. Collection of the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. Photograph courtesy of the Museum. ( ong (lo g robe)rob ), obee. Col obe Coo lecctio u useeum o ourtes Sa co tesy of t ion um of f San e San the version of the qipao was made fashionable by socialites and upper-class women in the city then known as the Paris of the East. ao o wa as mad cia te men in th s the he Par hiis d ess ar dr rin g iallit s and i he aris In the West, this dress was called a mandarin gown, wiggle dress or cheongsam (Cantonese pronunciation of long dress or robe). Qipao literally means a 'banner gown' which was a derogatory term for the Manchus who originally came from the region north of the Great Wall. The qipao did not appear in the Qing dynasty diction. It is understood that the possible earliest reference of the term qipao was found in Xue Huan Xiu Pu Tu Shu, a book on Chinese embroidery techniques published in 1918. Given this background, this article will use the term qinupao (or Manchu robe) to refer to the traditional 'banner' women's gowns while qipao will refer to the one-piece modern dresses from 1911 onwards. gownn The term 'banner' can be traced back to 1583 when fierce Nurhaci, a Tungusic Jurchen group member living north of the Yalu River, managed to unite all the scattered Jurchens into a vast confederacy under one rule. He was a descendant of the aristocratic Aisin Gioro clan of the Jianzhou. Nurhaci organized the Jurchen into a powerful niulu system with each unit headed by an ezhen. In Manchu, niulu meant 'arrow' and ezhen meant 'master.' There were five niulus which formed a jiala and five jialas made up a gushan or Qi (banner in Chinese). By 1601, all tribesmen, their allies, captives and slaves were assigned to administrative units named 'banners.' This was illustrated by the colored flags they flew with each flag representing three hundred warriors. In 1615, Nurhaci added an additional four 'banners' which put the Jurchen into a powerful 'eight banners' military system. This led the Manchus to call themselves the Qiren or 'banner' people. In October 1626, the Jurchen leadership fell under the command of Nurhaci's eighth son, Huang Taiji. He then changed the tribal name from Jurchen to Manchu. In 1636, he also altered the dynastic name from Houjin to Qing (clear and pure), parodying the Ming (bright and clear) dynasty (1368- 1644) of China. It was during this time the Ming dynasty was on the verge of losing its 'mandate of heaven' because of its corrupt court system. Fearing that his descendants would become victims of 'Sinicization' or the process of assimilating to the Chinese, Huang Taiji admonished his people to follow ade religiously old Manchu customs. These customs covered clothing, grooming, language, horsemanship, and archery so that they would not only be ready for warfare but also be able to be reminded of their ancestral origin. Huang Taiji was succeeded in 1643 by his six-year-old son, Shunzi who was under the protection of the regent Dorgon. In 1644, the fierce Manchu horsemen swept down across the Great Wall from the northern frontiers and they not only assumed the mandate to rule but also imposed their nomadic costume on the Han Chinese. All men were required to wear Manchu dress and to braid their hair in a Manchu queue as a sign of submission. By 1759, all clothing became regulated when Emperor Qianlong issued an edict on dress published in the Huang Chao Li Qi Tu o Col Collected Acts of the Dynasty. However, while official clothing re e c othi cllo h thatt th to to be su ucc unde c e u d r Maanc the no to to rul ChinCh ne b aidbrai 17 1 599, is i su orr ued EMPRESS WANRONG in a Manchu robe and headdress, at age seventeen. Courtesy of Professor Wang, JSSI. 59 ORNAMENT 35.5.2012