Diasporic Garment in Overseas Chinese Literature: The Cultural Memory of the Cheongsam in the 20th Century Nanyang Writings

Abstract

This study investigates the qipao (cheongsam) in terms of its garment construction, material properties, and sartorial evolution as represented in twentieth-century Nanyang (Southeast Asian) Chinese literature. Through systematic textual analysis, it examines how textile characteristics—including fiber selection, fabric architecture, garment configuration, and decorative techniques such as embroidery and batik motifs—operate as narrative mechanisms for cultural expression and identity formation. The findings reveal that the adaptation of the qipao to tropical environments involved substantial modifications in material selection and structural design to improve wearability, thermal comfort, and functional practicality while preserving symbolic continuity. The qipao consequently emerges as a diasporic garment whose physical configuration evolves into a tangible archive of cultural memory, reflecting the dynamic negotiation between tradition and local adaptation. By integrating literary criticism with textile history and clothing studies, this research demonstrates that literary descriptions of material structures can illuminate the social evolution and technological transformation of garments. Furthermore, the analysis provides methodological insights into hierarchical pattern organization, material–structure relationships, and functional surface representation, offering potential reference for computational textile modeling, wearable engineering, and electromagnetic functional fabric design involving complex patterned structures.