China Books

The material contained in this volume was collected from various official historical records, unofficial histories, archaeological discoveries, folklore, and recently published works on traditional Chinese costumes. One special feature is a set of 106 reconstructed drawings based on original costumes designs or on unearthed relics. These detailed and precise drawings are an important reference in the study of the history of Chinese costumes. (For this item please quote stock ID 19551) ISBN: 9789620750557

Mandarin squares, the embroidered insignia sewn on to the robes of the ruling mandarin classes in China's Qing dynasty (1644-1911) are prized collectors' pieces. This fully illustrated introduction begins with an account of the Chinese system of government and the selection of mandarins. The second half traces the origin and development of mandarin squares and describes the symbolism and embroidery techniques of the insignia. Readership: Students and collectors of Chinese embroidery and/or clothing. General readers with an interest in Chinese crafts. (For this item please quote stock ID 7296) ISBN: 9780195852394

In lively text and nearly 300 illustrations, many in full-colour and never before published, Chinese Clothing traces the development of Chinese dress and accessories from the beginnings of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) to the present day. While providing a full treatment of court dress, textiles, and accessories, this book documents several areas of costume design, such as children's wear, rural clothing, and wedding and funeral attire, often overshadowed by the more common discussions of imperial robes. Readership: Fabric and clothing designers; students of Chinese culture. (For this item please quote stock ID 7297) ISBN: 9780195864267

An extraordinary exploration of footbinding that encompasses Chinese art and mythology, social and political history, and truly exotic eroticism. The author's vast collection of historical and contemporary photographs, plus 40 full-colour 'portraits' of her most prized slippers, creates a uniquely poignant and evocative panorama. (For this item please quote stock ID 8469) ISBN: 9780898159578

Sixty (60) authentic full-colour motifs drawn from highly stylised opera traditions. Symbolic representations of dragons, lions, phoenixes, mandarin ducks, cranes, peonies, lotuses, etc. Vibrant colour, subtle hues, beautifully rendered illustrations. Invaluable source of authentic Chinese design and colour. Descriptive captions. (For this item please quote stock ID 11464) ISBN: 9780486239798

~Fashion today is increasingly international and multicultural, and many designers are turning to Chinese clothing and decorative motifs for inspiration. Yet few people - Western or Chinese - understand the historic significance of Chinese clothing. China Chic is the first book to explore the evolution of Chinese dress, from the dragon robes and lotus shoes of the imperial era to the creation of new fashions like the cheongsam and the 'Mao suit' that symbolised modern Chinese identity. ~For China specialists, the focus on fashion will open up an entirely new way of thinking about modern Chinese culture and society. For readers whose primary interest is fashion, China Chic demolishes the Eurocentric myth of an ancient, unchanging mode of dress. China Chic features a narrative and interpretive text by Valerie Steele and John Major, supplemented by six more specialised essays by some of the world?s foremost scholars of Chinese dress. The book also features a wide range of well-chosen illustrations, including some that have never before been published. (For this item please quote stock ID 12914) ISBN: 9780300079302

Zha Hua was a handicraft mastered by Beijing women during ancient times. It is a relatively simple variety of embroidery and is mostly used to decorate small articles for daily use, such as mirror cases, glasses cases, fan cases, brush cases, powder box covers and jewel case covers. It was also seen on people?s collars, head bands, doudu, insteps, pillow ends, etc. The Zha Hua designs included in this album are the ?cultural remnants? of half a century ago and are collected as historical relics. (For this item please quote stock ID 14177) ISBN: 9787805263120

This book presents the historical development of Chinese textiles with a selection of 100 representative examples from collections all over the world. The book is in 10 sections: >The pre-Han era >Clouds from the Heavenly Realms >New currents from the West >Splendid Roundels >Spring Streams & Autumn Mountains >Gold Medallions & Silver Units >Birds and Flowers >Auspicious Subjects >Rank & Status >Religious subjects. Each section is headed by an introduction and cosnists of 10 items of textiles with descriptions of their artistic and technical significance. There are about 300 supplementary illustrations, most published for the first time. A glossary of textile terminology is appended, with all text in English and Chinese. An important reference for students, art lovers, designers, collectors. (For this item please quote stock ID 15495) ISBN: 9789628569113

This exquisite collection of traditional apparel includes two attractive dolls and 16 authentically rendered costumes, including graceful, elaborately embroidered robes, dresses, and tunics from five dynasties-Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing, as well as the Republican period (1911-1949). Appropriate hair styles accented with flowers and decorative combs accompany each outfit. (For this item please quote stock ID 16084) ISBN: 9780486408125

For paper doll fans and devotees of Far Eastern art and culture - a splendid collection of two figures and 16 dazzling costumes designed for traditional characters in Chinese opera. Includes a colourful set of trousers and long robe for the Monkey King, a lavishly embroidered costume for a high-ranking government official, a simply cut robe with floral designs for a romantic young man, and an exquisitely embellished floor-length robe for a noble young lady. Accompanied by ornate headdresses and brief descriptive captions. (For this item please quote stock ID 16090) ISBN: 9780486403670

In Every Step a Lotus, Dorothy Ko embarks on a fascinating exploration of the practice of footbinding in China, explaining its origins, purpose, and spread before the nineteenth century. She uses women's own voices to reconstruct the inner chambers of a Chinese house where women with bound feet lived and worked. Focusing on the material aspects of footbinding and shoemaking - the tools needed, the procedures, the wealth of symbolism in the shoes, and the amazing regional variations in style - she contends that footbinding was a reasonable course of action for a woman who lived in a Confucian culture that placed the highest moral value on domesticity, motherhood, and handwork. Her absorbing, superbly detailed, and beautifully written book demonstrates that in the women's eyes, footbinding had less to do with the exotic or the sublime than with the mundane business of having to live in a woman's body in a man's world. Footbinding was likely to have started in the tenth century among palace dancers. Ironically, it was meant not to cripple but to enhance their grace. Its meaning shifted dramatically as it became domesticated in the subsequent centuries, though the original hint of sensuality did not entirely disappear. This contradictory image of footbinding as at once degenerate and virtuous, grotesque and refined, is embodied in the key symbol for the practice - the lotus blossom, being both a Buddhist sign of piety and a poetic allusion to sensory pleasures. Every Step a Lotus includes almost one hundred illustrations of shoes from different regions of China, material paraphernalia associated with the customs and rituals of footbinding, and historical images that contextualize the narrative. Most of the shoes, from the collection of the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto, have not been exhibited before. Readers will come away from the book with a richer understanding of why footbinding carries such force as a symbol and why, long after its demise, it continues to exercise a powerful grip on our imaginations. The author: Dorothy Ko is Professor of History at Barnard College, Columbia University. She is the author of Teachers of the Inner Chambers: Women & Culture in Seventeenth-Century China (1994). (For this item please quote stock ID 17203) ISBN: 9780520232846

'The Book of Silk is as luxurious as the remarkable material itself' - Fashion Weekly 'Full of scholarship, wit and fine writing' - The Washington Post 'The most comprehensive history of silk ever written' - Drapers Record The Book of Silk tells the rich history of this remarkable material through five millennia, reproducing hundreds of fabrics, furnishings and garments from all parts of the world. From ancient China, where the secret of reeling silkworm cocoons was first discovered, the narrative leads by the legendary Silk Routes to Byzantium and the Islamic world, to Ottoman Turkey and India - and on to the Renaissance, and the baroque and rococo silks of western Christendom. In modern times the fashion industry yields a wonderful array of designs, from Fortuny and Balenciaga, Poiret and Schiaparelli. At every stage, silk's status as the most prized fabric of all ensured that it drew the most creative talents of every period, from anonymous Chinese masters to the celebrated couturiers of France and Italy. A dazzling selection of illustrations, many drawn from private collections, reveals silk's omnipresence in couture and decoration, carpets, embroidery and even painting. Complete with a detailed reference section that includes terms and technical processes, collecting and care, galleries and museums, and a bibliography, The Book of Silk will appeal to anyone interested in history, fashion, beauty and textiles. (For this item please quote stock ID 20522) ISBN: 9780500283080

The Historical Encyclopedia of Costumes is a visual feast for the interested general reader and a treasure trove of valuable information for the student of costume. With unsurpassed scope and scholarship, the encyclopedia details how men and women have dressed throughout history and across the world?from ancient Egypt to 19th-century Europe, and from the Kalahari Desert to the Arctic Circle. Its coverage encompasses costumes of people from all walks of life, including princes and paupers, soldiers and scholars, bourgeoisie and boehemians. An introduction by Dr. Aileen Ribeiro gives readers an overview of the topic. More than 2,000 quality full-color reproductions of Racinet's original lithographs are provided; these are presented on every other page, with facing pages of text offering descriptions of the costumes and information about their backgrounds. (For this item please quote stock ID 21058) ISBN: 9780816019762

~It was within the sensual, cinematic setting of 1930s Shanghai that traditional Chinese fashion changed forever. Call them cheongsam, qi pao, or Suzy Wong dresses ? the high-collared, body-clinging, slit-to-the-thigh gowns evolved in a world of dramatic change, where Chinese citizens mingled with foreigners from such cosmopolitan cities as Tokyo, London, New York, and Moscow. In Shanghai Girl Gets All Dressed Up, Asian art?historian Beverley Jackson explores the city that fostered such radical cultural and social change and the daring and fashionable women ? including actresses, courtesans, and showgirls ? who wore these fabulous and revealing dresses. Twenty luminous photographs of cheongsams and Chinese costumes from the author?s collection, combined with spectacular archival photographs and art, chronicle the social life and history of a groundbreaking city and the beautiful fashions that were born within its walls.

~Part history and part fashionable frolic, Shanghai Girl Gets All Dressed Up steps back in time and paints a vivid picture of a lost generation of intrigue, style, and beauty.

~Features: >Includes more than 100 new & vintage photographs of the city, the clothes, the Chinese cinema stars who led the trends, & the Hollywood movie queens who inspired them >Addresses the profound influence of Chinese costumes on Western fashion trends via film in the 1930s. (For this item please quote stock ID 21308) ISBN: 9781580083676

In 1759, the Qianlong Emperor of China commissioned a catalogue of comprehensive, illustrated regulations for ceremonial garments and accessories worn by the members of the imperial household. Not since the Huangchao Ligi Tushi was written have we seen a more stunning look at the colours, designs, and insignias of China's last imperial dynasty. With detailed descriptions and exquisite illustrations, this invaluable reference preserves the fashionable side of China's dynastic history for generations to come. With beautiful colour illustrations culled from public and private collections and a helpful glossary of Chinese terms, Imperial Wardrobe is an ideal reference book for collectors, scholars, and Chinese history enthusiasts. 'Photographs abound; detailed enlargements clearly show each stitched thread. . . . Imperial Wardrobe should appeal to scholars and textile enthusiasts alike' ? PieceWork. 'A very successful combination of scholarly information and accessible format . . . superb quality [of colour illustrations]' ? Visual Resources. 'Imperial Wardrobe unravels stitch-by-stitch the Manchurian dictates of its luscious silks, scrupulous embroidery and hierarchical insignias' ? Contra Costa Times. Gary Dickinson is a Felllow of the Royal Asiatic Society and a scholar of Chinese history and philosophy. He has written and lectured extensively on the symbolism of Chinese art. Linda Wrigglesworth is a London-based dealer specialising in Qing-period court costumes and textiles. She has served as visiting curator, cataloguer, and advisor to museums and collectors throughout the world, and is considered a leading expert in her field. (For this item please quote stock ID 21311) ISBN: 9781580081887

So you thought the cheongsam was just a kind of Chinese dress? Think again. It's also a perfect symbol of the changes which, in the last hundred years, China itself has undergone. In Fusionable Cheongsam Wessie Ling explores the fascinating connections between the forces of modernity and tradition that have given birth to the cheongsam as we know it today. The emergence of the cheongsam coincided with the political and social movements of Republican China, as well as with the beginnings of large-scale manufacturing processes in the Chinese clothing industry, and it represents the meeting point of many roads: between traditional Chinese style and Western consumerism, between the old and the new, between women's struggle for emancipation and men's attempts to eroticise them. In this remarkable book, the author examines the paradoxes inherent in women's fashions, whereby a single dress can be seen as variously stylish, exotic, practical or decadent, depending on the social conditions in which the wearer puts it on. Fusionable Cheongsam is a book arising from a series of installations exhibited by Wessie Ling in the Hong Kong Centre in June 2007. This book is released in conjunction with the exhibition and it documents the research and artwork for the project. Through colourful photos and a polemical essay the author testifies to the beautiful and endlessly evolving form of this iconic garment. (For this item please quote stock ID 28017) ISBN: 9789627630685

East meets West in this lavishly illustrated book of Chinese style - from fashion and food to art and architecture and home decor. This visual memoir by one of today's hottest designers is full of stunning candor and beauty.

In this beautifully designed and stylish book fashion icon, Vivienne Tam, shares the rare individuality of her own crosscultural style, combining traditional Eastern elements with a modern Western edge. The seductive 'East-meets-West' journey featuring the people, places, and things that give her inspiration. She teaches us how to savour the world in a simple bowl of noodles and shows us the essence of Chinese design and her favourite Ming chair. China Chic is style that is hot, hip, and pervasive in today's - and tomorrow's culture.

Vivienne Tam was born in Canton, but emigrated to Hong Kong when she was three years old. She has been featured in Newsweek, People, Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Town & Country, Marie Claire, Harpers Bazarre, and Instyle. Her fashions are respresented in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Museum at F.I.T., and the Andy Warhol museum. She lives in New York City. (For this item please quote stock ID 25024) ISBN: 9780060796631

This special issue of positions deals at once with the concrete and abstract meaning of the word fabrication itself. In the concrete, fabrication refers to actual garments created and worn in a society. In the abstract, it alludes to the social characterisations of class, ethnicity, nationality, and gender attributed to fashion. This special issue explores the self-conscious efforts in cultural China and Japan to exert social position, using body and cloth as the crucial points in the construction of identity, modernity, and imagination. By focusing on clothing and body practices in East Asia, this collection delves into the dynamic interplay between global trade, images, products, and standards as mediated through and on individual bodies. It investigates what fashion means in the Asian context, past and present, and enters into the debate on fashion as a modern phenomenon predicated upon capitalism and consumerism. One contributor critically assesses ideas about the proper proportions and display of breasts - including implants and other nonsurgical practices for enhancement - in Japan and how such norms may be affected and altered by the spread of a global Euro-American beauty ideology. Another essay debates the influence of globalisation and cultural localisation on the emergence and popularity of exposed short stockings in China. Fabrications also features a translation of Eileen Chang's classic article Chronicle of Changing Clothes which has defined thinking on Chinese fashion since the 1920s. Contributors: Peter Carroll, Tina Mai Chen, Matthew Chew, Antonia Finnane, Andrew Jones, Laura Miller, Henrietta Harrison, Paola Zamperini. Tina Mai Chen is Assistant Professor of History at the University of Manitoba. Paola Zamperini is Assistant Profesor of Asian Languages and Civilizations at Amherst College. (For this item please quote stock ID 21139) ISBN: 9780822365600

Beijing Opera Costumes is the first in-depth English-language book focused exclusively on the costumes of Jingju, the highest form of stage arts in China. This comprehensive volume provides both theory and analysis of the costumes and the method of their selection for the roles as well as technical information on embroidery, patterns, and construction. Extensive descriptions illuminate the use of colors and surface images derived from historical dress and modified for the stage. Details on makeup, hairstyles, and dressing techniques present a complete view of the Jingju performer from head to toe. (For this item please quote stock ID 29033) ISBN: 9780824829568

(For this item please quote stock ID 782) ISBN: 9787805275611

The Qipao is a dress that originated around 1335 during the Manchu period, and is one of the most distinctive and recognisable styles of traditional Chinese clothing for women. This richly descriptive and vividly illustrated album presents a comprehensive examination of the Qipao by looking into its past, present and future, as well as its origin, development, artistic value and social position. (For this item please quote stock ID 14245) ISBN: 9787506417075

~Silk is one of China's major contributions to world civilisation, the secrets of its cultivation closely guarded for generations. The famous network of trade routes between West and East is still known as the Silk Road. The organisation and techniques of Chinese silk production, the uses of the silk produced - both bolts and made-up pieces - and the types and styles of its ornament are celebrated in this richly illustrated and accessible book, the first general survey to be published in English.

~Shelagh Vainker traces the cultural history of silk in China from its Neolithic origins to the 20th century and considers its relationship to the other decorative arts. She traces the role of silk in Chinese history, trade, religion, and literature. Drawing on the most recent archaeological evidence from other, less perishable, media such as jades and bronzes - as well as paintings, poems, and other texts - Chinese Silk brings together material available until now only in Chinese. Recent acquisitions by public and private collections in the United States and Europe are also noted. The result is a book that illuminates the luxury of silk throughout the ages.

~Shelagh Vainker is the author of Chinese Pottery & Porcelain and co-author of The British Museum Book of Chinese Art. Formerly a curator in the Department of Oriental Antiquities at the British Museum, she is now assistant keeper of Eastern Art at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. (For this item please quote stock ID 23062) ISBN: 9780714114798

The richly woven and embroidered textiles explored in this book belong to the Miao minority group of Guizhou province in south-west China. The Miao?s elaborate festival costumes are not only their most important possessions, but can be considered the major living visual art form of their culture. Gina Corrigan leads tours and textile study groups to China. (For this item please quote stock ID 17223) ISBN: 9780714127422

Patchwork art originated in the farming communities of northern Shaanxi Province in western China, where young married women quickly became nimble-fingered from sewing patches on the torn clothes of their husbands and children. They created an appealing handicraft art out of this rough work which, over the past two decades, has emerged as a traditional folk art in its own right with distinct regional features. With themes that reflect traditional culture, folk tales and the life of the farmers of the Loess Plateau and along the Yellow River, some 90 examples are collected in this album. This title explains and illustrates the customs, handicrafts and paper-cuts peculiar to the Loess Plateau. (For this item please quote stock ID 21399) ISBN: 9787119030296

A beautifully presented work illustrating the history and development of Traditional Chinese costumes. Includes many stunning photographs. From the foreword: Personal ornaments came into being first followed by the birth of clothing. Both underwent an extremely complicated though seemingly simple development. The driving force for this process was deep within the Chinese culture itself. It stemmed from the intricate, complicated relationships that worked together to promote a cultural evolution. Initially an important part of the overall traditional Chinese culture, traditional costume developed into a culture of its own over a period of 5000 years and exerted a profound influence on the world general, and in Asia in particular. (For this item please quote stock ID 21983) ISBN: 9787508502793