Residents in Changan included people of such nationalities as Huihe (Uygur,) Tubo (Tibetan), and Nanzhao (Yi), and even Japanese, Xinluo (Korean), Persian and Arabian. Changan (now Xian, Shananxi Province), the capital, was the political, economic and cultural centre of the nation. “The Tang Dynasty was the most prosperous period in China’s feudal society. As a result the flying ribbons and swallowtailed corners were combined into one.” (5,000 years of Chinese Costume, pg. The long flying ribbons were no longer seen and the swallowtailed corners became enlarged. “During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, costumes underwent further changes in style. While the wearer was walking, these lengthy ribbons made the sharp corners n the lower hem wave like a flying swallow, hence the Chinese phrase ‘beautiful ribbons and flying swallowtail’.” (5,000 years of Chinese Costume, pg. Xian refers to some relatively long ribbons which extended from the short-cut skirt. The latter refers to pieces of silk cloth sewn onto the lower hem of the dress, which were wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, so that triangles were formed overlapping each other. Typically the women’s dress was decorated with xian and shao. However, the style was quite different from that seen in the Han Dynasty. “During the Wei, Jin and the Southern and Northern Dynasties, though men no longer wore the traditional one-piece garment, some women continued to do so. Many of these styles are mentioned in historical records.” (5,000 years of Chinese Costume, pg.
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Apart from wearing a multi-coloured skirt, women also wore other kinds such as the crimson gauze-covered skirt, the red-blue striped gauze double skirt, and the barrel-shaped red gauze skirt. There was also an apron between the upper garment and skirt for the purpose of fastening the waist. The skirt had spaced coloured stripes and was tied with a white silk band at the waist.
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The sleeves were broad and fringed at the cuffs with decorative borders of a different colour.
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The upper garment opened at the front and was tied at the waist. “From the costumes worn by the benefactors in the Dunhuang murals and the costumes of the pottery figurines unearthed in Louyang, it can be seen that women’s costumes in the period of Wei and Jin were generally large and loose. “On the whole, the costumes of the Wei and Jin period still followed the patterns of Qin and Han.” (5,000 years of Chinese Costume, pg.