World leaders wearing
tangzhuang at the 2001
APEC summit
Tangzhuang (Chinese: 唐裝; pinyin: tángzhuāng; literally "Chinese suit"[1]) refers to the Chinese jacket that originated at the end of the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911). Tangzhuang evolved from Magua (马褂), a Manchurian clothing, which was in turn adopted by the Han Chinese during Qing Dynasty. At that time, only noblemen, aristocracy and government officials were wearing it, however, in modern times it was eventually adopted by common people. This kind of clothing is often seen as a national costume for men, although women wear it as well. [2]
At the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shanghai, China in November 2001, the host presented its silk-embroided tangzhuang jackets as the Chinese traditional national costume.
Now in Chinese communities, the Mao suit, the western suit, and the Tang suit are main formal dressing for men in many occasions. Tangzhuang is made in different colors, most commonly red, dark blue, gold and black. One common design is the usage of Chinese characters (Hanzi, 汉字) as monogram such as Fu (福,'happiness' in Chinese) , Shou (寿, 'longevity' in Chinese) to spread good luck and wishes.
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