Bijia

Bijia
A woman wearing a Ming dynasty bijia.
Chinese	比甲
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Bǐjiǎ

Bijia (Chinese: 比甲) is a long, sleeveless jacket of Mongol origins which has opened side slits.^{[1]: 46, 68} The bijia started to be worn in the Yuan dynasty when it was designed by Empress Chabi.^[2] The bijia eventually became one of the most typical form of women's clothing item in the Ming dynasty^[3] and in the Qing dynasty.^[4] It is also a type of hanfu which has been revived in present days.^[5]

History

Yuan dynasty

The bijia originated from a long-length Mongol vest.^{[1]: 46 [6]} According to the Yuan shi, the invention of bijiia is attributed to Empress Chabi during the Yuan dynasty.^[2][7] Empress Chabi designed the bijia so that it would be a convenient form of attire while riding horses and shooting arrows.^[2] The front region of the bijia designed by Empress Chabi was made of 1-piece of fabric, and its back region was twice longer than the front region.^[2][7][8] It was collarless and sleeveless, and there were two loop straps which attached to it.^[2][7][8] It also had no lapels.^[8] The bijia was first worn by the Yuan dynasty emperor but it later became popular among commoners.^[9]

Ming dynasty

After the fall of the Yuan dynasty, Mongol fashion of the Yuan dynasty continued to influence some styles of clothing worn in the Ming dynasty; this included the persisting usage of bijia.^{[1]: 46 [6]} The bijia became a type of women clothing in the Ming dynasty, and by the middle of the Ming dynasty it had become a favourite form of dress for women, especially young women.^[9]

In the Ming dynasty, the bijia was long in length and would reach below the knee level.^[3] It was embroidered on woven textile and a jade ornament would be attached at the front of the bijia as a front closure.^[3] Bijia created an illusion of slenderness, which women in the Ming dynasty sought after.^[3]

Qing dynasty

In the Qing dynasty, Han Chinese women were allowed to continue the Ming dynasty clothing customs.^[4] The bijia remained very popular in Qing dynasty,^[9] and it was one of the most common forms of female clothing worn in the 17th and 18th century.^[4]

• 
  Woman wearing bijia (right). Woman wearing beizi (left). From the painting Amorous Meeting in a Room Interior, late 18th century Qing Dynasty.

21st Century

In the 21st century, the bijia regained popularity and is widely worn as a hanfu item.^[10]

• 
  Waist-length modern bijia (green), 2013.
• 
  Woman wearing a long, yellow bijia (middle), 2020.

Influences and derivatives

Theatrical beixin

The Chinese opera beixin (Chinese: 背心), also known as kanjian, majia, and beida, were sleeveless vests which originated from both the Ming dynasty's long-length bijia worn by women from the lower-middle class and from the Qing dynasty's majia (Chinese: 马甲),^[11] a type of vest which were worn by the Manchu.^[12]

• 
  Theatrical beixin for a female Buddhist priest (front view).
• 
  Theatrical beixin for a female Buddhist priest (back view).

Majia

The majia (Chinese: 马甲), the sleeveless riding vest of the Qing dynasty, evolved from the bijia which was popular among women during the Ming and Qing dynasties.^[9][13]

• 
  Sleeveless Jacket with Flowering Vine Pattern and Bands (front), late 19th–early 20th century
• 
  Sleeveless Jacket with Flowering Vine Pattern and Bands (back), late 19th–early 20th century
• 
  Sleeveless Jacket, 19th century.

Similar looking garments

• Banbi
• Song dynasty beixin - Sleeveless and translucent vests, which became a popular female fashion in the Southern Song.^{[14]: 265–266}
• Dahu
• Zhaojia (罩甲)
• Baeja - A sleeveless or very short-sleeved vest in Korea

• 
  Beixin, Song dynasty
• 
  Zhaojia, Ming dynasty

See also

• Beizi
• Fashion in Yuan dynasty
• Hanfu
• List of Hanfu

References