Clothes and Wearer’s Position

服装与穿戴者的身份

Clothing in ancient China told something about the wearer's position in their daily life. The color,fabric¹,and jewelry² all had a meaning to the person. Also the type of jewelry a person wore showed what position they had in society. High ranking people wore the finest silk in public. Peasants wore a long，shirt like garment made of hemp³ fiber⁴. Hemp is a rough fabric that is made of plant fibers⁵. A man wore a hat in public almost always. The hat showed the man's job and status in society. Fashions for the rich changed as the years went by,but the poor still had to wear the same clothing until recently. Women's long hair had to be put in a knot type bun thing that the Chinese called a topknot that was held in place by hair pins and other fancy hair ornaments⁶. Also the wealthiest women wore very elaborate makeup⁷.

服装在中国古代会反映佩戴者在日常生活中的地位。颜色、面料和珠宝都对人有特别意义。同样的珠宝类型也表明穿戴者在社会中的地位。高官显爵在公众面前穿最好的丝绸。农民穿着一件长长的，像大麻纤维制成的衬衫。大麻是一种由植物纤维制成的粗糙织物。男子在公众面前几乎总是戴着帽子。这顶帽子表现其主人在社会中的工作和地位。随着岁月的流逝富人的时尚有所变化，但直到现在穷人还是不得不穿同样的衣服。女子长头发必须扎成包子形，在头顶会戴着一个中国人称为发夹等花哨的头饰。另外最富有的女人穿着非常复杂的妆容。