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Mongolia. The imperial robes provide a glimpse of the earlier Qing dynasty qinupao. One of the robes had a front right side- closing flap, fitted form above the waist with wide lower hem and trimmed with a narrow black embroidered border around the round collar. Other than the embroidered five-colored clouds and the eight Buddhist precious objects, the hem was covered with the lishui or 'standing water' motif and topped by ten butterflies flying amid blooming flowers. Embroidered at the front and back of the chest, the shoulders and knees sections of the robe were larger flying butterflies representing happiness and prosperity. Its subtle color, structural detail and usage of auspicious decorative motifs suggested the admiring adaptation of the literati taste. It also presented what might have been the prototype of the qipao. Generally Chinese women wore a gua (jacket), ao (surcoat) CHINESE WOMAN wearing gua (jacket), ao (surcoat) or duanshan (short shan) and skirt. Note her bound feet, not practiced by the Manchu. Photograph courtesy of Nadidongtang, San Francisco. and accessories were strictly regulated by the state, Chinese women, children, slaves, Buddhist, and Taoist monks were allowed to keep their traditional ways of dressing as a compromise to the growing protests and resentment of Qing rule. Manchu robes were not nearly as voluminous as the robes worn by the Chinese. However, they covered most of a woman's body, revealing only the head, hands and the tips of the toes. The baggy nature of the clothing also served to conceal the figure of the wearer regardless of age. The main features of the Manchu-style garments were robes with simple and straight tailoring that had a curve-shaped side-closing flap held with loops and toggles; tapered sleeves with crescent- shaped mati hsui or jian hsui (horse-hoof or arrow cuffs); high front and back as well as side vents and waist coats with elbow- length sleeves. Gowns were worn with detachable collars, capes or stoles and a pair of trousers underneath. Around the waist, a tight belt was worn with its necessities such as knives, flint and tobacco purses, and other items. All these features were to accommodate the nomadic life of riding, herding and hunting. Other than the position of the vents being on the two sides to accommodate the forward motion of women walking, Manchu women wore robes generally similar to those of the men. In the Chifeng City Museum in Inner Mongolia, there are imperial robes featured which were excavated from the tomb of Princess Rong Xian. She was the second daughter of a Kangxi emperor who died in 1728 in Baiyindeng in Inner or duanshan (short shan) and a skirt. The gua or ao could range from waist-length to three-quarter length with a front- fastening or curve-shaped side-closing flap like the qinupao. The skirt was usually composed of two front and back overlapping panels with loops-and-toggle fasteners on the sides of the waist band. These front and back panels comprised of a straight, densely embroidered and outlined panel. This consisted of a pleated panel and a narrower and nearly unadorned panel which would be hidden under the overlap. Under the skirt would be loose trousers. Women who were unmarried or working-class wore trousers without an overskirt. By contrast, Chinese men of the elite traditionally wore long robes similar in structural detail as those of the Manchu women. In the late nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries, some Chinese men adopted western suits. Others modernized their robes with accessories such as leather shoes and western hats. A pivotal point in China's textile history occurred with the signing of the Treaty of Nanking in 1842 which marked the end of the first Opium War between Great TWO COURTESANS IN MANCHU ROBES and headdresses, another impersonating a Chinese male wearing a long robe. Photograph courtesy of Nadidongtang, San Francisco. 60 ORNAMENT 35.5.2012