| Shuitianyi | |||||||
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 A style of shuitianyi used as atheatrical robe for a female Daoist priest (front view), 18th century. | |||||||
 Back view | |||||||
| Chinese | 水田衣 | ||||||
| Literal meaning | "Paddy field garment" or "rice-paddy robe" | ||||||
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Shuitianyi (Chinese:水田衣), also known as "paddy field garment", "Shuitian clothing", or "rice-paddy robe",[1] is a non-religiousChinese patchwork gown which was made and worn by women inChina during theMing dynasty andQing dynasty; it was made by using many pieces of fabric sewn together (similar toChinese patchwork); the clothing reflected the era's tendency towards fashion novelty during theMing dynasty.[2][3][4][5]
Theshuitianyi is a popular, but rare fashion phenomenon, which appeared in the middle and the lateMing dynasty and remained popular in theQing dynasty.[5][6] Theshuitianyi may have originally originated from poor people, who would use whatever leftover clothing they would have at hand for saving purposes, and was initially only popular among poor women.[5] Its origins may have been inspired by Buddhist robes,[4] theKasaya orBaina, which was made when monks would make clothes out of a variety of useless clothes.[5] It was later adopted by aristocratic women duringMing dynasty who found it beautiful, and they began to cut cloth (even from entirebrocade) voluntarily into a design shape and sew it into an aristocratic form of the shuitianyi.[5] While theshuitianyi was a popular form of fashion for women in theMing dynasty, men during this era would also wearbaina clothing.[5]
A version of theshuitianyi worn by children is calledbaijiayi.[5]
InBeijing opera, the shuitianyi is worn as acostume calledsanse daobeixin (Chinese:三色道背心;pinyin:sānsè dào bèixīn;lit. 'Three color Daoist vest'). It originates from Buddhist clothing and represents the ragged clothing ofBuddha.[7]: 177–178
Thesanse dao beixin is characterized by a diamond-shaped pattern which is created through patchwork.[7]: 177 It can be used by actors who perform as male or female monks and asTaoist characters.[7]: 177 While both male and female roles used it; however, there are differences between the man's and woman'ssanse dao beixin.[7]: 177
The female version looks like a knee-lengthpifeng as it features a centre-front opening and a collar band which ends at the mid-chest level; however, it differs from the pifeng due to the absence of sleeves.[note 1][7]: 177
The man's version is floor-length and the collar band has a straight lower edge; it is also tied with a sash without the back of the garment being caught in the sash, which is the manner monks wear their vest.[7]: 177 When male monks characters wear it, it indicates that they have outstanding martial arts skills.[7]: 177
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