Unique phoenix dress of She Ethnic Group

General Features of She Women's Clothing

She women’s costumes vary slightly across different regions, yet they share a notable feature: coats are decorated with diverse embroideries. In particular, women’s jackets popular in Fuding and Xiapu of Fujian Province feature embroidered patterns of flowers, birds, dragons and phoenixes on collars, front plackets, standing panels and even cuffs.

The most representative costume for She women is the Phoenix Dress (凤凰装). Every detail of the outfit carries symbolic meanings related to the phoenix: a long braid tied with red string on top of the head stands for the phoenix head; garments and aprons are embroidered with vivid colorful patterns using bright red, pink, light yellow threads as well as gold and silver silk threads, representing the phoenix’s neck, body and feathers; the end of the golden waist sash flutters behind the body, symbolizing the phoenix tail; tinkling silver ornaments worn all over the body signify the chirping of a phoenix.

Phoenix Coronet for Married Women (已婚妇女凤冠)

Styling and Structure

Married She women traditionally wear the Phoenix Coronet (凤冠). It is crafted from delicate thin bamboo wrapped with red cloth, with a piece of red damask silk (30 centimeters long and 3 centimeters wide) hanging down from it. A round silver plaque is fixed on the coronet, with three small silver pendants dangling in front of the forehead. This ornament set is named Dragon Coil (龙盘), and the whole headwear is known as the phoenix coronet for the Third Princess.

Origin Legend

There is a time-honored legend behind the phoenix coronet. The ancestor of the She people, King Pinggua, made remarkable achievements in quelling rebellious feudal lords. To reward his merits, Emperor Gaoxin betrothed his daughter, the Third Princess, to King Pinggua. On the wedding day, the Queen personally placed the phoenix coronet on the princess’s head and dressed her in jewel-encrusted phoenix garments, praying that she would live a blessed and prosperous life just like a phoenix. When the Third Princess gave birth to a daughter later, she also dressed her child in the same phoenix-style costumes.

Customs Related to Phoenix Dress and Bridal Etiquette

According to folklore, when She young women were about to get married, a phoenix flew over from Phoenix Mountain in Guangdong Province and delivered a set of phoenix dress as the wedding attire. Since then, wearing the phoenix dress has become a tradition for She women, which is believed to bring good fortune.

In some local areas, brides are respectfully called "phoenixes". Due to the noble status inherited from the Third Princess legend, a She bride does not kneel before ancestral spirit tablets when arriving at the bridegroom’s home for wedding rituals.