外事好禮·百年君臨旗袍

劉丁睿

A silky cheongsam narrates the beauty of passing years， and a satin gown tells the story of alluring elegance.

In January 2022， Jiang Lingjun， the third-generation successor of a century-old brand—Chongqing Junlin Cheongsam （Qipao）， was invited to present the Chongqing-style cheongsam at the maiden voyage of the “Yangtze River III” cruise ship， where a “flowing cheongsam museum on the Yangtze River” was elaborately set up aboard. Cheongsams and high heels were exhibited together with long gowns and suits， offering an exquisite cheongsam feast for hundreds of tourists from home and abroad.

Jiang Lingjun was wearing cheongsams handmade by herself throughout the 8-day voyage， whether she was on the cruise， at scenic spots， or even skiing. “Cheongsam fits all seasons. We can wear cheongsam made with different materials or thicknesses on different occasions. In the 1930s and 1940s， it was daily clothing. Especially in Chongqing， it was quite common.” said Jiang Lingjun in an interview with The World and Chongqing on January 27th， the day she returned to Chongqing， “I wear cheongsam to be the spokesperson of Junlin Cheongsam.”

Junlin Cheongsam as Gifts for Foreign Affairs Events

Located at an old street in the Shapingba District of Chongqing， the entrance of Junlin Cheongsam Museum was rather discreet. Upon entering the third floor， a closed bamboo door surfaced and one needs to ring a hanging bell. A girl in cheongsam answered the door. Welcomed by beating drums and gongs， the stairs took guests upstairs. The moment guests entered the museum， walls full of written words came into view， in Chinese， English， French， Spanish， Korean， and more：

“my home in china”

“j’amie ?a ici， je reviens” （French - I love everything here. I’ll be back.）

“in china， casa mea” （Romanian - My home in China.）……

Jiang Lingjun told us that these words were left by visitors. This museum also acts as Jiang’s cheongsam workshop and a cheongsam-themed homestay. It has received hundreds of tourists from 138 countries， who are fascinated with traditional Chinese costumes and fond of cheongsam.

In the museum， you can also appreciate the beauty of retro cheongsam， modified cheongsam， Chinese-style men’s wear， children’s cheongsam， and Chinese-style women’s wear. They are made of gambiered Guangdong gauze， mulberry silk， satin， Song brocade， cotton， hemp， and other materials. These Chinese-style clothing are displayed together with ancient beds， old-fashioned square tables， floor screens， and draperies， taking the visitors on a journey back to a century ago.

A delicate craft ornament， about 35 centimeters tall and 25 centimeters wide， in a blue floral cheongsam with Chinese button knots was quite eye-catching. As Jiang Lingjun introduced， to better inherit and display the Chinese cheongsam culture， the workshop designed and made a series of unique and portable cheongsam-themed craft ornaments and souvenirs. This “Junlin Cheongsam Craft Ornament” was one of them and it was selected as a “Chongqing Gift for Foreign Affairs Events” in 2021.

A Century-old Shop of Intangible Cultural Heritage

Traditional Chinese knot buttons include designs such as straight knots， butterfly-shaped knots， calabash-shaped knots， and Pipa-shaped buttons. They bear not only auspicious meanings but also serve as the finishing highlights of a cheongsam. Jiang Lingjun put on her glasses and told her story while doing needlework.

Junlin Cheongsam has gone through four generations， from her grandparents’ door-to-door sewing and her mother’s small tailor shop to her transition from factory uniforms to handmade cheongsams with her assistant Zhang’s independent customization.

High collars， diagonal lapels， slits， bias strips， beads， frog closures， embroidery… Making a cheongsam by hand requires over a hundred processes， including material selection， tailoring， cutting， and more. Among them， cheongsams of vintage designs are all handmade or semi-handmade as required by customers. Jiang Lingjun said that customizing a cheongsam takes at least 15 days， some even take a year or two because some embroidery needs to be done by specific professionals.

As she spoke， Jiang Lingjun knocked loudly on the wooden desk， and a woman walking by stopped and looked back. It was learned from the gestures and lip-reading that all the frog closures of handmade cheongsams were made by this female worker with hearing loss. Apart from the process of embroidery， there are other craft souvenirs relating to cheongsams， including handmade cloth animals， sachets with lucky Chinese characters， cell phone bags， silk cotton masks， etc. As Jiang Lingjun said， every day she thinks about how to let more people know about cheongsam culture and how to make more creative products based on traditional craftsmanship， so that more people will fall in love with cheongsam and she can also help more people with disabilities to find a job or even start a business.

Chongqing-style Cheongsam with Cultural Confidence

“One single piece of garment with sleeves connected to the main body， coupled with a stand collar with buttons and side slits… The tailoring of cheongsams implies the Chinese philosophy of ‘Heaven and Earth’.” Jiang Lingjun said that customizing a cheongsam is not just to make a piece of clothing， but to polish a work of art.

The 1930s was the golden time for the development of cheongsam. As the National Government of the Republic of China relocated westward to Chongqing， various cultures merged in the mountain city， and cheongsam also changed with the times. The Chongqing-style cheongsam represents the generous and inclusive Beijing-style cheongsam as well as the fashionable and international Shanghai-style cheongsam. It is both loose and well-fitting， sexy but not tight， making it a unique feature of the mountain city. At that time， both young ladies and college students wore cheongsams， which even influenced foreigners in China. Jiang Lingjun rolled the handle of an old phonograph in her studio， and the sound of squeaky music sang. “It was given to my grandmother by a Japanese customer at the time because his wife liked her cheongsam made by my grandmother very much.”

“Today， cheongsam is a ‘luxury’ among our national costumes in China. Now not only Chinese people， but more and more foreigners， even foreign influencers are coming to us to customize cheongsams.” Jiang Lingjun is quite proud.

“China has great etiquette， thus called Xia; it enjoys the beauty of clothing， thus called Hua. （Huaxia， another name of China）” This famous quote from the Legend of Spring and Autumn Century by Zuo Qiuming expresses the important meaning of clothing in the history of China. As a cultural carrier and medium， cheongsam carries human wisdom such as history， art， aesthetics， customs， etc.， representing Chinese national culture and its language.

“Wearing cheongsam is to exhibit our confidence in culture.”

To promote the cheongsam culture， Jiang Lingjun often brings her team and various styles of cheongsams to participate in cultural activities and entrepreneurship contests at home and abroad， exhibiting and giving speeches on traditional art while learning ideas of innovation. They have attended the Western China International Fair for Investment and Trade， Western China Tourism Industry Expo and Chongqing International Cultural & Tourism Industry Expo held in Chongqing and participated in cultural and tourism expos， international cultural expos， international fairs for investment and trade， and Silk Road international expos in Hainan， Wuhan， Xining， Hefei， Changsha， and other places. They have also held academic salon activities of “Inheritors Talk About Inheritance” in communities， companies， and schools to share the knowledge and craftsmanship of cheongsam.

Some Photos/The interviewee

一襲青衣，染就一樹芳華。兩袖月光，訴說絕世風雅。

2022年1月，重慶百年君臨旗袍第三代傳人蔣玲均受邀攜渝派旗袍亮相“長江叁號”游輪首航，在輪船上精心打造了一所“長江上流動的旗袍博物館”。旗袍與高跟鞋、長衫和西服相互碰撞交織，為百名國內外游客帶來一場場精美絕倫的旗袍盛宴。

無一例外，在8天的航程中，蔣玲均在游輪上、在景區，甚至體驗滑雪，她都身著自己制作的手工旗袍。“穿著旗袍不分四季。可以不同場合穿著面料不同厚薄不同的旗袍。它在（20世紀）三四十年代就是大眾的普通穿著。尤其在重慶。”1月27日，蔣玲均剛剛回到重慶就接受了本刊記者的采訪，“我身著旗袍就是為君臨旗袍代言。”

君臨旗袍·外事好禮

通過隱匿在沙坪壩老街的入口走上三樓，記者來到一扇關閉的竹門前，拉響垂著的鈴鐺，一位身著旗袍的姑娘前來開門。敲鑼、擊鼓，拾級而上進入君臨旗袍博物館，映入眼簾的是寫滿中文、英文、法文、西班牙語、韓語等不同語言的幾面留言墻：

“my home in china”（我在中國的家）

“j’amie ?a ici，je reviens”（我喜歡這里的一切，我會再回來）

“in china，casa mea” （我在中國的家）……

蔣玲均說，這些是游客參觀體驗后留下的。博物館同時是蔣玲均的旗袍工作室，也是旗袍主題民宿，這里已來過138個國家的數百名游客，他們對中國傳統服飾充滿好奇，十分欣賞和喜愛旗袍。

博物館內，香云紗、桑蠶絲、綢緞、宋錦、棉、麻等各種材質的復古旗袍、改良旗袍、中式男裝、童裝旗袍、中式女裝琳瑯滿目，這些中式服裝與古床、八仙桌、屏風、帷幔陳設在一起，讓人仿佛穿越到百年前。

一件高度約35厘米、寬度約25厘米，身著一字扣、藍色碎花旗袍的精致工藝擺件吸引了記者的目光。蔣玲均介紹，為了更好地傳承和展示中國旗袍文化，工作室設計制作了一系列獨具特色、便于攜帶的旗袍工藝擺件及周邊。其中這件“君臨旗袍工藝擺件”入選2021“重慶好禮·外事禮品”。

百年老店·非遺技藝

一字扣、蝴蝶扣、葫蘆扣、琵琶扣，不僅有著各種吉祥的寓意，更是一件旗袍的點睛之處。蔣玲均戴上眼鏡，一邊做著針線一邊向記者娓娓道來。

從外公外婆上門縫制，到母親小店裁縫，到蔣玲均從工廠制服轉向手工旗袍，再到助理小張獨立完成定制，君臨旗袍經歷了四代人的傳承。

高領、斜襟、開叉，滾邊、釘珠、盤扣、刺繡……從選料、量身、裁剪到手工，做一件旗袍整個工序多達上百道。其中，復古旗袍會根據客人的要求，有全手工、半手工。蔣玲均說，定做一件旗袍最少需要15天，更長甚至一兩年，因為有的繡花要專人來做。

說話間，蔣玲均用手重重地敲了一下木桌，一位從旁走過的女子一頓，回過頭來。一番比劃加唇語，記者才知道，這些手工旗袍的各式盤扣都是這位聾人女工做的。包括繡花這道工藝，還有手作布藝動物、福字香包、手機布袋、絲棉口罩等旗袍周邊工藝品，就是蔣玲均說的，她每天都在思考怎樣讓更多人了解旗袍文化、如何在傳統工藝上創新產品，這樣不僅可以讓更多人喜愛旗袍，同時可以幫助更多殘障人士就業、創業。

渝派旗袍·文化自信

“單片衣料、衣身連袖，立領盤紐、擺側開叉……旗袍的裁制暗含‘天圓地方’的中國哲學思想。”蔣玲均說，定制旗袍不僅僅是做成一件衣服，對于我們來說更是在打磨一件藝術品。

20世紀30年代是旗袍發展的鼎盛時期，隨著國民政府西遷至重慶，各種文化在山城融合，旗袍也因勢而變。既有京派旗袍的大氣也有海派旗袍的洋氣，既寬松又合身，既性感又不緊身的渝派旗袍也因此具有了山城的特質。當時無論是大家閨秀還是院校學生都穿旗袍，甚至影響了在華的外國人。蔣玲均搖動著工作室內一臺“古老”的留聲機的手柄，吱吱呀呀的音樂聲響起。“這是當時一位日本客人送給我外婆的，因為他夫人非常喜歡外婆做的旗袍。”

“而今，旗袍就是我們民族服飾中的‘奢侈品’。現在不僅僅是國人，越來越多的外國人，甚至外國網紅都來我們這里定制旗袍。”蔣玲均為此很驕傲。

“中國有禮儀之大，故稱夏;有服章之美，謂之華。”這句出自《春秋左轉正義》的名句道出了服飾在華夏歷史中重之要意。而旗袍作為一種文化載體和傳播媒介，承載了歷史、藝術、美學、風俗等人類智慧，代表著民族的文化，代表著自己的語言。

“旗袍穿上身，文化有自信。”

為了傳播旗袍文化，蔣玲均經常帶著團隊和各式旗袍參加國內外的文化活動和優秀創業大賽，對傳統藝術進行展覽和演說，同時吸取創新經驗。他們出現在重慶舉行的西洽會、西旅會、文博會，也參加了海南、武漢、西寧、合肥、長沙等地的文化旅游博覽會、國際文化博覽會、國際貿易洽談會、絲綢之路國際博覽會等;還在社區、企業、學校開展“傳承人講傳承”“一塊布的DIY”等活動，分享旗袍的相關知識及制作工藝。

部分圖片/受訪人提供