In ancient China, people generally wore tunics. While the women
wore long tunics that reached the ground, the men wore tunics that
reached their knees. During the winter when it was very cold, people
would wear padded jackets over the tunics. The clothes of the poor
people were made of hemp or ramie while the rich people wore silk.
Most people in China wore their hair long as they believed that
they inherited their hair for their parents and hence considered
it disrespectful to cut it.
The clothes and fashion in ancient China was constantly evolving
over the years and through various dynasties. For example, during
the Sui Dynasty in the 500 AD, the emperor declared that only the
rich people could wear colors while the poor people had to be dressed
in blue or black. In the Sung Dynasty around 1100 AD, a new fashion
began wherein it was thought that to be beautiful, they needed tiny
little feet. When the girls were around six years old, their feet
were wrapped with bandages. These bandages were so tight that they
broke the toes of the young girls and bent it under their feet.
They girls had to undergo immense pain for 3 – 4 years and then
the pain would eventually subside.
