Page:Costume, fanciful, historical, and theatrical (1906).djvu/193

XIII decrees that they shall wear dresses adorned with feathers worked in five shades. Inferior again to these are the nine Imperial consorts known as Pins. To them are assigned robes of brilliant yellow, the thirty-seven Chi-fous donning white. The lowest wives of all are the Yu-tsis, eighty in number, and they are doomed to appear in black.

The over-dress common to Chinese ladies is coat-shaped, and opens up the sides for a considerable distance, another distinctive feature being the sleeves, which boast a single seam under either arm and are cut in one with the remainder of the garment, which, in winter, is lined with the costliest fur.

Considerable attention is devoted to the hair. In Pekin girls arrange theirs in tufts on the temples, while the back hangs down in multitudinous plaits. As soon as they become engaged they turn it up and thrust a silver pin, a foot in length, through the thick tresses. This pin, by the way, is as significant of betrothal as is the ring in Europe. On her wedding day the bride's hair is shaven in front, to heighten the forehead, and the remainder braided and coiled about a stiff black silk frame which rests on the nape of the neck. This done, flowers, feathers, glass ornaments, or, for the rich, jewellery set with uncut stones, are added. A popular style on ordinary occasions is to twist the hair into outstanding bunches at either ear and decorate the excrescences with flowers.

A small foot is highly esteemed as a beauty, and causes its possessor to be ardently sought after in marriage. The practice, however, of mutilating