Sung Dynasty clothing
During the Sung Dynasty, in the 1100s AD, most people still wore clothes made of hemp, but rich people continued to wear silk clothing. Both men and women wore robes with very wide sleeves for formal occasions (but not to work in the fields).
During the Sung Dynasty, everybody liked to wear fancy clothes, even if they didn't have very much money. Women spent hours creating fancy hairstyles with braids and puffs, and they used paper flowers and birds to decorate their hairstyles. Many people also used perfume, and they embroidered flowers all over their shoes.
To find out more about Chinese clothing, check out these books from Amazon.com or from your library:
China and Japan (Cultures and Costumes), by Paula Hammond (2003). For middle schoolers.
Moonbeams, Dumplings & Dragon Boats: A Treasury of Chinese Holiday Tales, Activities & Recipes, by Nina Simonds and others (Children's Museum of Boston, 2002).
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(a project)
Chinese Clothing: An Illustrated Guide, by Valery Garrett (1994). Expensive, but there's a lot of pictures. Some of it deals with a time period later than this site.
5000 Years of Chinese Costumes, by Zhou Xun and Gao Chunming (1987). This is for theater costumers and historians, and really goes into detail, with great pictures - but it's not cheap. Get it through your library.
Bound, by Donna Jo Napoli (2004). A novel for young adults about footbinding in medieval China.
More on how to make
Chinese costumes for kids, Chinese food, and some ideas for activities?
Click here.
Main China page
Main clothing page
