Splendid Skirt: Appreciation Catalogue of Mamianqun Masterpieces

Zhou Jin

Zhou Jin is the president of Shandong Fashion Design Association and the winner of Italian Golden Top Award “Le Grandi Guglie della Grande Milano.”

This book focuses on the Mamianqun skirt， a category with artistic characteristics and representative values in the historical system of Chinese clothing， tracing its origin upward and spreading its aesthetics downward to present the beauty of Mamianqun in an all-encompassing and dynamic way.

Splendid Skirt： Appreciation Catalogue of Mamianqun Masterpieces

Zhou Jin

China Textile amp; Apparel Press

March 2023

168.00 （CNY）

Skirts have a long history in our country. With social development， human beings began to know how to use leaves and other plants to make clothes and gradually formed the ancient form of clothing， skirts. In ancient times， our ancestors used leaves or animal skins to dispel coldness， forming the original shape of the skirt. In the Xia Dynasty， skirts began to appear because of the changes in the dress system. They are made up of little leaves attached to the hide. Legend has it that more than four thousand years ago， the emperor set up a system of clothing stipulating that people in different places should wear different clothes. The “clothes” at that time were skirts.

The railing （Lan Gan） skirt is decorated in a unique way using a few or dozens of dark satin bands to separate the length of the skirt and split it into even， orderly sections. The pleats on both sides form a natural symmetry as you wear the skirt， giving it a solemn， calm， and rigorous vibe. Railing skirts can be divided into isometric and non-isometric ones. There is no obvious difference between the railing skirt and the ordinary Mamianqun skirt in appearance， but they vary in their production process. The patterns of railing skirts are directly decorated on the flat cloth， while the ordinary Mamianqun is pleated.

The Mamianqun skirt is based on the traditional “apron，” with structural handiwork and decoration changes on the skirt door， pleat， embroidery， etc. The skirt is pleated on both sides， and one part of a smooth surface is in the middle， commonly known as “Mamian.” The Mamian is often decorated with embroidery and other techniques. There are many common embroidery stitches in the Mamianqun. The gold-plated embroidery is made of gold and silver thread with a glossy sense as raw materials.

The Mamianqun skirt also has another kind of moon skirt. “Yuehua” refers to the colorful halo of the moon falling on the clouds， so some scholars speculated that the name “Yuehua” in the dress mostly comes from the color changes of women walking in the dress. Yuehua skirts are characterized by the color of each skirt on both sides of the Mamian. Bright colors will be mixed with dark or multiple colors， and even contrasting color pairs. Generally speaking， the Yuehua skirt is a Mamianqun with many skirts and colors. Li Yu’s Occasional Notes with Leisure Motions mentioned： “Yuehua skirt has all the five colors in one pleat， just like the bright moon’s light.” But Li Yu does not recommend the Yuehua skirt， thinking that “artificial materials， often ten times the usual skirts， are wasteful and not very beautiful. The color of the lower body clothing should be lightt rather than strong， and should be pure rather than mixed.”

The horse-face skirt was one of the most basic skirts for women in the Qing Dynasty. Based on the traditional “apron，” it was made with structural techniques and decorative changes， such as the skirt door， pleats， and embroidery， and developed and matured in modern times. The skirt on both sides is pleated， and the front and back in the middle part is a 20 ～ 27 cm flat skirt door， commonly known as “Mamian.” The Mamian is formed by two overlapping combinations. The outer skirt door is decorated more， and the inner skirt door is less decorated or even left undecorated. Decoration methods are mostly embroidery or mosaic， collage and other processes， with the role of modifying the female body shape and highlighting the center of gravity of the human body. After modern times， decorations on the Mamianqun became more and more diversified， with lace and tassel and other elements appearing. The shape and form of the Mamianqun also became diversified and innovative. It was even reprocessed and reformed according to the subjective aesthetic of the wearer， making the style more fashionable.