Typical Chinese clothes 典型的中国服装

王涛涛

汉服、唐装、旗袍是中国部分具有代表性的服装，同时，它们也反映了中国美学、哲学和社会价值观在几千年历史中的变化。

1 Chinese clothes reflected Chinese aesthetics， philosophy（哲学）， and social values as they changed through thousands of years of history. Most countries in the world have their own unique clothes， from which people are able to distinguish （区分） one country from another， and so it has been with China. The Hanfu， Tang suit， and cheongsam （qipao） are the three most representative types of Chinese clothing.

·Hanfu

2 The Hanfu is the oldest of China's traditional clothes. Legend traces it back to over 4，000 years ago when Huangdi's consort（配偶）， Leizu， made cloth with silk. It was constantly improved throughout several dynasties.

3 Until the Han Dynasty， the Hanfu was adopted and promoted by the ruling class. It then became the national clothing of the Han ethnic people. It also had a far?reaching influence on neighboring Asian countries， such as Japan and Vietnam.

·Tang suit

4 The Tang suit often refers to a type of Chinese jacket rather than the clothing of the Tang Dynasty. This name came from the overseas Chinese. As the Tang Empire was famous for being rich and powerful in the world， foreigners called the overseas Chinese people “the Tang people” and the clothes they wore were called “Tang suit”.

·Cheongsam （qipao）

5 The cheongsam developed from the Manchu（满族） women's changpao （“long gown”） of the Qing Dynasty. The Manchu ethnic people were also called the Qi people by the Han people; hence （因此）their long gown was named qipao（“Qi gown”）.

Cheongsam is popular because it fits the Chinese female figure well， and looks elegant. It is suitable for wearing all the year round for both young and elderly group. And it can either be long or short.

[Reading][Check]

I. Choose the best answers according to the text.

Detail                               1. What can we learn about Chinese clothes according to paragraph 1？

A. They show Chinese philosophy to the world.

B. They are totally different within the changes.

C. They are special compared with other countries' clothes.

D. They can be divided into four different types.

Gist                                2. What do the paragraphs of “Hanfu” mainly talk about？

A. The invention of Hanfu.                       B. The change of Hanfu.

C. The development of Hanfu.           D. The production of Hanfu.

Detail                              3. According to the text， the Tang suit_____________________.

A. originated from the Tang Dynasty

B. is designed by the overseas Chinese

C. is just a kind of Chinese jacket

D. is well?known for being powerful

Ⅱ. Discussion

What's your favorite Chinese clothing？ Do you want to revive （复兴） traditional Chinese clothes？ And why？

__________________________________________________________________________________________

[Language][Study]

I. Analyze the difficult structure in the text

Most countries in the world have their own unique clothes， from which people are able to distinguish one country from another， and so it has been with China. 世界上多数国家有着自己独特的服饰，人们可以从中分辨出一个国家和另一个国家的区别，中国也是如此。

【点石成金】本句为复合句，其中from which引导的是定语从句，which指代clothes，作介词from的宾语。it has been with...为固定用法，意为“和……一样”。

Ⅱ. Discover the useful structure in the text

It be suitable for doing sth意为“适合做某事”。

It is suitable for wearing all the year round for both young and elderly group. 它（旗袍）适合年轻人和老年人全年穿着。

Ⅲ. Memorize some text?centered chunks

trace back to 追溯到

ruling class 统治阶级

refer to 参考;涉及

rather than 而不是

be famous for 因……而著名

either...or... 要么……要么……

[Cutural][Background]

嫘  祖

嫘祖，又名累祖，《山海经》中写作“雷祖”，中国远古时期人物，相传为西陵氏之女，黄帝的正妃。她发明了养蚕治丝的方法，史称“嫘祖始蚕”。黄帝战胜蚩尤后，建立了部落联盟，黄帝被推选为部落联盟首领。他带领大家发展生产，种五谷，驯养动物，冶炼铜铁，制造生产工具;而做衣冠的事，就交给嫘祖了。相传，在做衣冠的过程中，嫘祖和黄帝手下的另外三个人进行了具体分工：胡巢负责做帽子，伯余负责做衣服，于则负责做履（鞋），而嫘祖则负责提供原料。她经常带领妇女上山剥树皮，织麻网，她们还把男人们猎获的各种野兽的皮毛剥下来，进行加工。