help??

[Ming Che]

I heard a new word from Taiwanese friends, could you elaborate on it? The new word is qipao. It looks like "flag robe"?

John

[Hanzi Wensheng]

Qipao is a traditional Chinese dress for women. Compare to other more ancient Chinese clothing, Qipao is relatively young since it didn't come around until the late 1800's to early 1900's. It's still often worn today during formal ceremonies, especially weddings. You can find many different designs online. Also, it's interesting that many Western designers have tried to incorporate Qipao elements into their clothing.

[John]

Ah... Traditional dress. Can you tell me more about it? How did the name come about? Where exactly are they from? Wherever ever they came from they are endangered. You know, I saw more Qipao in Chinatown (USA) than I ever did in China...

Ming Che

[Angie]

We call it a "cheongsam" here in Singapore. I think that's in Cantonese.

[Ming Che]

Whatever you call ch'i pao, I think it's very elegant and beautiful.=) Better than kimono, ao dai, sari, jallabia, and chima!

John

[grace]

Qipao originally means robes of qi people, which is the race of which the
qing Emperor belongs to.