The research

paper

Chinese
Costumes
Vs
Thai

Costume
Amornkarn Srisawad
(Babe)
pg. 1
 Abstract

This research paper includes the information about costumes of The Chinese and the

Thais. The paper is a part of and related to Chinese Cultural subject. The editor hopes that the

reader would receive knowledge and understand more about Chinese and Thai cultures. The

research paper summarizes and provides secondary information which presents the

background histories, the similarities and the differences of costumes between China and

Thailand. Another important point in this research is that the editor wants to conserve the

conventional and traditional costumes of these two countries.

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 What a strange power there is in clothing quoted by Isaac Bashevis Singer. Do

people think that clothing is a vital part of their lives? Clothing is one of the eternal things

which people always evolve and endlessly develop it. The costume of each country has its

own identity which can represent its culture and tradition. In ancient history, clothes were

made from natural materials such as animal furs and vegetation to protect themselves from

coldness and sunlight. When people had begun to receive civilizations, they produced their

costumes which were made from textile and fabric. Textile industry was originated from

Middle-East for ages, and the cotton has its origin in India. In each region, people use several

materials which can be found in their countries, and they also have their own techniques and

processes to create their clothes. There is no doubt why each country has different style of

clothing. For instance, people in China and Thailand dress up differently even these two

countries are both in Asia. The research will specifically provide information about

background, similarities and differences of costumes in these two countries.

Background of China and Thailand

Chinese clothing has been developing since the eras of Qin dynasty and Han dynasty,

about 211 BC to 220 AD. The costume which made from silk was called Hanfu and it was

developed in Han dynasty. It included several histories about China in the past. Each of the

costumes details represented different meaning. For example, in the period of Qin dynasty

people who were in upper-class had to wear black as an implication of power and authority.

For the epochs of Wei dynasty and Jin dynasty, they had similar style of clothing, and the

costume was still based on Han dynasty.

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 For these two periods, they added additional details such as cloak, plants, skirt, gold

accessories and bracelet. Later in epochs of Northern and Southern dynasties, there was a

compulsory clothing which were jackets and coats. However, teenagers in Southern dynasty

preferred to wear trousers. At that time, Chinese people believed that dresses made from silk

were not formal. Tang dynasty which was one of the successful dynasties of China preferred

high quality materials and gorgeous style. The inspiration of Tang dynastys costume came

from the Western part of China and other neighboring countries such as Korea, Japan, and

Vietnam. Tang dynasty was one of the significant dynasties in terms of garment and trading

with neighbors. Subsequently in Song dynasty, the costume was quite easygoing as designers

got inspired by the nature. In addition, the pattern of Song dynastys costume was based on

Tang dynasty with additional

details such as jackets, long coats

and robes. Interestingly, there were

different types of clothing during

this period including Chaofu for

citizens who worked in the court,

Jifu for the special ceremony,

Gongfu for the formal events,

Rongfu for people who work as soldiers, Sandful for the funeral, and Shifu for seasonal

occasion. Yuan dynasty gathered several ethnic groups in China, so the dress code which

included characteristics of Han and Mongol had been existed in the period of 1321.

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In this period, the garment focused more on the details of textile such as wrists line and big

beads. For Ming dynasty, there were a lot of changes which happened. The bottom part of

clothes were added more details, and the costume at that time was also influenced by

Confucianism. The conventional styles of clothing in China were abandoned since the period

of Qing emperor. A lot of Chinese folks thought that the cause of this contention or problem

was from the soldiers. In this period, Manchu had a lot of influences, so the garment and

textile industry got inspiration from Manchu.

In early 13th centuries, Thai people had begun to concern about their dresses. As a

result, they made their clothes themselves. They tried to dye their clothing and made some

long skirt for women. For Rattanakosin period, Thai costumes in Rattanakosin era can be

separated into five categories, and Thai clothing styles in each era are different. The style of

clothing in the past depended on the situation and the surrounding at that time. In the period

of King Rama V and IV, Thai people gained a lot of inspirations from the Western. Costumes

for both men and women had started to look more modern. Many aspects of Thailand were

developed such as transportation, communication and clothing. Thai formal dresses have

emerged since King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit visited Europe and America. Thai

formal dresses was first made in 1964. The major material of the Thai national dress is silk.

The design and pattern has been adapted to make it suitable for Thai people at present. There

are several types of Thai national dresses which are Thai Ruean Ton Dress, Thai Chit Lada

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Dress, Thai Amarin Dress, Thai Borom Bhiman Dress, Thai Chakkri Dress, Thai

Chakkrabhat Dress, Thai Siwalai Dress, Thai Dusit Dress, Thai Prayook Dress and Suea

Bhraratcha-than for men only.

The similarities

There are a lot of similarities between Chinas and Thailands costumes. The first

thing is materials. Chinese and Thai clothing has used silk as the main material to make

dresses for long time. China used to significantly trade silk which leads to what is called The

silk road. The silk road is the trade route that transported products and spread cultures from

China to other regions in Asia including Thailand. Silk in Thailand is called Pasin. It is also

popular in the northern part of Thailand. In the past, people who lived in local villages wore

Pasin with crop shirt as informal custom in Thailand. However, China and Thailand do not

make dresses from silk only, they also make dresses from cotton. In China, they have traded

the cotton with India. Therefore, the main materials of these two countries are silk and cotton.

In addition, style of creating clothing of these two countries is similar in terms of the patterns

and decorations. This is because Chinese people prefer to create the customized size that suits

for their shape, and the sleeve of Chinese clothing is always created in straight shape. There

are several Thai dresses which are fit to shape and have long sleeve such as Thai

Borophimarn, Thai Chitlada, Thai Ammarin and Thai Ruean Ton. For the accessories, Thai

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and Chinese people prefer to wear belt, gold bracelet and gold necklace to make their dresses

more colorful, lively, elegant and magnificent. For the other similarities, the Chinese

designers always get inspired by the nature such as trees, animals and flowers. It is similar to

Thailand in the past that the colors of dresses were inspired by the colors of plants and

flowers. In addition, in the significant ceremonies of both China and Thailand, people will

usually wear bright dresses for celebration, and they will wear dark dresses for the funeral.

The differences

The difference of clothing between China and Thailand can be divided into two parts.

Firstly, the style of clothing between China and Thailand is dfferent. Chinese costumes have

outstanding features in terms of colors and cutting. Moreover, Chinese people pay a lot of

attention to tiny details which are rims, collars and buttons. Some features of Chinese clothes

also have the special meaning. In the past, the color which was shown on the clothes could be

referred to the season. To give an illustration, when Chinese people wore a red shirt, it could

present summer. It is true that most of individuals in China think that when they wear red

costumes, it could bring the good lucks and achievements. At present, this belief still affects

lots of people around the world, especially in Asia. However, the features, patterns and

materials of Thai dresses are different in each region and period. After the period of King

Rama V, the clothing styles had change from wearing skirts to wearing loincloths. The

embroidery in Thailand got inspirations from the Western styles. The clothing styles received

from the Western were modern and fashionable. For the color, palace women always had

specific color of dresses which depended on the days, but local people did not have to wear

specific color for dresses. The dresses for local people focused on simplicity. The color which

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showed on the dresses could make people know the status of Thai people at that time.

Another difference between China and Thailands costumes is clothing styles for

celebrations. For example, in the past, Chinese people paid a lot of attention to wedding

clothes, and the style of Chinese wedding dress was different from others. For instance, every

Chinese spouse had to wear the clothes in red and white color only in wedding ritual because

they had an idea that other colors could bring bad luck, disharmony and disappointment.

Chinese wedding clothes usually had beautiful needlework in ancient period, and it included

two parts which were called Gua and Chengsam. However, if people wanted to wear only one

piece, Qi-pao was one of the suitable choices for them. For wedding dresses of Thai styles,

most of the Thai people choose to wear Thai national dresses which are called Chut Thai.

The color of Thai wedding dress depends on the theme of the wedding, and the popular color

is gold. In addition, bridesmaids and groom maids will wear the same color. Thus, there are

many several celebrations and rituals of China and Thailand which they present the dresses in

different ways.

Clothing is one of the necessary things in humans lives. This is because the costumes

do not only protect peoples body, but also increase confidence and make good personalities

for people. In China and Thailand, they have paid attention to clothing since in the past.

There are some parts of dresses that are different. It can be traced back to the different origins

between China and Thailand in the past. In contrast, there are some similarities of costumes

of these two countries such as the materials and the styles of clothing because China and

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Thailand are located in the same continent, that is Asia. Therefore, there are some cultures or

beliefs that are similar.

After I had done the research, I got several knowledge about costumes between China

and. The knowledge and experience which I got from this project also help me to prepare

myself for the future purposes because I have plan to study in International cultures and

languages for the college. This is because in this research can help me to understand about the

cultures and the origins of these two countries more.

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http://www.thaitopwedding.com/Eng-Thai-Dress-01.html

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