School uniforms: a history
Print Edition
About 100 years ago, the concept of school uniforms entered China along with the concept of modern education.
At the beginning of the Republic of China (1912-49), girls at church schools set up by foreigners such as Shanghai’s McTyeire High School became the first to wear uniforms.
At a time when girls had limited access to formal education, those in school uniform were a symbol of social progress. The uniforms, combining features of traditional Chinese attire and Western fashion, were regarded as “civilization clothes.”
In the 1920s and 1930s, schools adopted simplified qipao as uniforms. Uniforms for boys were long robes, Western pants and cloth shoes.
Chinese tunic suits advocated by Sun Yat-sen also became popular.
In the 1940s, sportswear appeared on Chinese campuses.
After the People’s Republic of China was set up, students wore casual clothes due to the poor economic circumstances. Boys wore white shirts with blue trousers while girls wore white shirts with blue skirts. Long robes disappeared.
During the “cultural revolution” (1966-76), colorful clothes were rarely seen and school uniforms were also mainly in plain colors.
At the end of the 1970s, white shirts and blue trousers became popular again.
After the reform and opening-up policy, school uniforms became more diversified. There were no regulations on uniforms and some schools had no uniforms at all.
In 1993, the Ministry of Education issued regulations to require primary and secondary students in urban schools to wear uniforms and schools were asked to choose the styles themselves. Most schools choose loose sportswear or jackets for both boys and girls.
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