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The total population
of Manzu Nationality is now 9,821,900 ,of which, more
than 7,000 live in Yunnan who live mainly in Kunming
city and other place. Most of them are immigrant from
north China in Qing Dynasty. They have not formed
compact community yet due to the population is small
and live dispersedly ,and their language and custom
keep conformable with local Han Nationality.
Qipao, or Cheongsam,
is a typical piece of clothing of the Manchus worn
by both men and women, old and young in all seasons.
Simply tailored, a qipao has a round collar, a loose-fit-
ting front and back and narrow sleeves, There are
four slits on the four seasons to facilitate the mounting
of and dismounting from a horse. Semicircle cuffs
are attached to the eds of the narrow sleeves to facilitate
the shooting of arrows since the cuffs are shaped
like horse hooves , they are called horse-hoof sleeves
or arrow sleeves. Later, when the Man-chus gradually
abandoned horse-riding and arrow-shooting, the arrow
sleeves became mere ornaments. It was a custom of
the Manchus of the upper classes to flap down the
arrow cuffs when they meet and salute to each other.
The qipao worn by Manchu women is more ornamental
than the one worn by men. The collar, the front and
the sleeve ends are decorated with colorful strips.
The style of the qipao has changed continually as
society develops. Instead of four slits there are
now only two slits on the left and right. The one
worn by women has become close-fitting to emphasize
the curves of a woman's body
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