Bijia (Chinese: 比甲) is a long, sleeveless jacket of Mongol origins which has opened side slits. 46,68 The bijia started to be worn in the Yuan dynasty when it was designed by Empress Chabi. It is also a type of hanfu which has been revived in present days. According to the Yuan shi, the invention of bijiia is attributed to Empress Chabi during the Yuan dynasty. The bijia originated from a long-length Mongol vest. Empress Chabi designed the bijia so that it would be a convenient form of attire while riding horses and shooting arrows. The front region of the bijia designed by Empress Chabi was made of 1-piece of fabric, and its back region was twice longer than the front region. It was collarless and sleeveless, and there were two loop straps which attached to it. It also had no lapels. After the fall of the Yuan dynasty, Mongol fashion of the Yuan dynasty continued to influence some styles of clothing worn in the Ming dynasty; this included the persisting usage of bijia. The bijia was first worn by the Yuan dynasty emperor but it later became popular among commoners. In the Ming dynasty, the bijia was long in length and would reach below the knee level. It was embroidered on woven textile and a jade ornament would be attached at the front of the bijia as a front closure. The bijia became a type of women clothing in the Ming dynasty, and by the middle of the Ming dynasty it had become a favourite form of dress for women, especially young women. Bijia created an illusion of slenderness, which women in the Ming dynasty sought after. In the Qing dynasty, Han Chinese women were allowed to continue the Ming dynasty clothing customs. 17th and 18th century. Woman wearing bijia (right). From the painting Amorous Meeting in a Room Interior, late 18th century Qing Dynasty. In the 21st century, the bijia regained popularity and is widely worn as a hanfu item. Woman wearing beizi (left). Theatrical beixin for a female Buddhist priest (front view). The majia (Chinese: 马甲), the sleeveless riding vest of the Qing dynasty, evolved from the bijia which was popular among women during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Theatrical beixin for a female Buddhist priest (back view). Sleeveless Jacket, 19th century. Song dynasty beixin – Sleeveless and translucent vests, which became a popular female fashion in the Southern Song. Finnane, Antonia (2008). Changing clothes in China : fashion, history, nation. New York: Columbia University Press. Zhao, George Qingzhi (2008). Marriage as political strategy and cultural expression : Mongolian royal marriages from world empire to Yuan dynasty. Hua, Mei (2011). Chinese clothing (Updated ed.). New York: Peter Lang Pub. Wang, Anita Xiaoming (2018). “The Idealised Lives of Women: Visions of Beauty in Chinese Popular Prints of the Qing Dynasty”. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. Arts Asiatiques. 73: 61-80. doi:10.3406/arasi.2018.1993. Schlesinger, Jonathan (2017). A world trimmed with fur : wild things, pristine places, and the natural fringes of Qing rule. Shea, Eiren L. (2020). Mongol court dress, identity formation, and global exchange. New York, NY. p. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis. Lee, Lily Xiao Hong (2015). Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women, Volume II : Tang Through Ming 618-1644. Sue Wiles. Xun Zhou, Chunming Gao, 周汛, Shanghai Shi xi qu xue xiao. 5000 years of Chinese costumes. Zhongguo fu zhuang shi yan jiu zu. San Francisco, traditional chinese clothes CA: China Books & Periodicals. Li, Jinzhao (2005). Constructing Chinese America in Hawaiʻi: the Narcissus Festival, ethnic identity, and community transformation, 1949-2005 (Thesis thesis). Kuhn, Dieter (2009). The age of Confucian rule : the Song transformation of China. Ye, Tan (2020). Historical dictionary of Chinese theater (Second ed.). Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. This page was last edited on 21 June 2024, at 16:40 (UTC). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.