Fashioning 1940s China: A Dissection of Republican and Mao Era Chinese Dress

In the summer of 2023, the Asian Studies Program received a generous donation of Chinese garments. Mary Scott, the donor, had given the school this collection of Chinese garments that her late husband collected during his time studying in Chengdu in 1949-1951 as a representative from Syracuse University. I selected three pieces from this collection to use as primary sources for my research, which combines my interests in both Chinese culture and fashion history. I strive to ask and answer how has the history of clothing changed in its significance from then to now, from physical materials, craftsmanship, and adornment upon analyzing the condition of these garments. I will discuss the technical and social aspects of its provenance, as well as clothing's role in China's social and cultural history during the end of the 1940s and early 1950s between Republican China and the rise of the Mao era. Through my research I have concluded that the primary source garments didn't align neatly with the history of Chinese fashion at the time they were bought. Because my interests include garment construction, I sought to create a garment that could seem more representative of what people in that time would wear. A significant portion of this research was dedicated to designing and making a garment that would reflect the fashion of the late 1940s in China.