RE: A'o da`i

[Tuan Pham <tuan.pham@unsw.edu.au>]

Hi ba'c De^ Cu. :)

I found this on the net about the Cheongsam. Apparently
the cheongsam is a Manchu dress.

Cheers
Tuan Pham

PS. Ba'c na`o ddo' ba?o to^i "be^.nh hoa.n" vi` cho ca'i 
"An Nam nhi. tho^'n tho^?" cu?a a'o da`i la` sexy? To^i 
chi? be^.nh chu+' kho^ng co' hoa.n dda^u nhe' ! :)


The Story of Cheongsam

 The cheongsam is a femal dress with distinctive Chinese features and
enjoys
 a growing popularity in the international world of high fashion. 

 The name "cheongsam", meaning simply "long dress", entered the English
 vocubulary from the dialect of China’s Guangdong Province (Cantonese).
In
 other parts of the country including Beijing, however, it is known as
"Qipao",
 which has a history behind it. 

 When the early Manchu rulers came to China proper, they organized
certain
 people, mainly Manchus, into "banners" (qi) and called "banner people"
 (qiren), which then became loosely the name of all Manchus. The Manchu
 women wore normally a one-piece dress which, likewise, came to be
called
 "qipao" or "banner dress". Although the 1911 Revolution toppled the
rule of
 the Qing (Manchu) Dynasty, the female dress survived the political
change
 and, with later improvements, has become the traditional dress for
Chinese
 women. 

 Easy to slip on and comfortable to wear, the cheongsam fits well the
female
 Chinese figure. Its neck is high, collar closed, and its sleeves may be
either
 short, medium or fill-length, depending on season and taste. The dress
is
 buttoned on the right side, with a loose chest, a fitting waist, and
slits up from
 the sides, all of which combine to set off the beauty of the female
shape. 

 Another beauty of the cheongsam is that, made of different materials
and to
 varying lengths, they can be worn either on casual or formal occasions.
In
 either case, it creates an impression of simple and quite charm,
elegance and
 neatness. No wonder it is so much liked by women not only of China but
of
 foreign countries as well.