Men

 

 

Although there are undoubtedly some women at the market depicted below from a photograph published in 1899, most of the people seem to be men.  

What do you notice about their clothing?  What seem to be major differences in how people are dressed?

A rural market in the 1890s

SOURCE:  Arthur H. Smith, Village Life in China (New York: Fleming H. Revell, 1899), opposite p. 148.
What do you notice about the shoes, jackets, pants, and other elements of the dress of the people here.  

Do you think there are any women present?

What fabric do you think was used for most of the clothes?

ANSWER:  All of these men seem to be wearing clothes of cotton, with the thicker jackets padded with cotton wadding.

An outdoor barber and his customer
SOURCE:  Arthur H. Smith, Village Life in China (New York: Fleming H. Revell, 1899), opposite p. 118.

 

Can you think of any reason why this carpenter would wear a padded jacket but not shoes?  

A carpenter
SOURCE:  Arthur H. Smith, Village Life in China (New York: Fleming H. Revell, 1899),  opposite p. 310.

The next three pictures are all of men from the elite class.  

Which features of this man's dress tell you something about his status?  Compare the way he is dressed to the ordinary people above and the well-to-do men below. 

 

 

HINT:  Think about the sort of fabric used.

A  wealthy man in 1870

SOURCE:  A Pictorial History of Modern China. (Hong Kong: The Seventies Publishing Co., 1976),  p. 75.

 

 Men having a meal
SOURCE:  A Pictorial History of Modern China. (Hong Kong: The Seventies Publishing Co., 1976),  p. 6.

 

What do you notice about collars, sleeves, and fastenings in the clothes of this man and the ones above?

Late Qing man

SOURCE:  Tang Zhenchang, ed. Jindai Shanghai fanhualu. (Hong Kong: Shangwu yinshuguan, 1993), p. 246.

Move on to Women