Quick Answer: What Are Chinese Cloth Shoes?
Chinese cloth shoes, or buxie (布鞋, bùxié), have a textile upper. In one traditional form, the upper is attached to a qiancengdi (千层底, qiāncéngdǐ), or multilayer cloth sole. Dense stitches hold the stacked cloth together.[2][3]
- Upper: Cloth shapes the front, sides and opening around the foot.
- Sole: A traditional multilayer sole has cut cloth layers pressed and stitched together.[2]
- Finish: A sole edge can be bound or brushed, depending on the craft.[3][4]
Cloth shoes are part of the history of Chinese clothing, alongside other forms such as woven straw sandals.
The upper is what you see on the foot. Turn a shoe over to see how the sole is put together. The two surfaces can use different materials.
How the Upper and Sole Come Together
In the multilayer process documented for Beijing, white cloth is stiffened into sheets. Cut layers are stacked to form a sole, then held together by the close stitches of nadi (纳底, nàdǐ), or sole stitching.[2]
The rows of stitches across the underside bind the layers. Attaching the upper to the sole is a separate step around the edge of the shoe. In the Tangchang (唐昌, Tángchāng) craft, the upper and lining are prepared before the shoe is shaped on a foot-shaped form called a last.[4]
From Beijing Shops to Regional Shoemaking
The Neiliansheng (内联升, Nèiliánshēng) shop opened in Beijing in 1853, making court boots. Its makers later used those shoemaking skills for multilayer cloth shoes. The craft entered China’s national heritage inventory in 2008.[1]
In Tianjin, the Laomeihua (老美华, Lǎoměihuá) entry records dense hemp stitches in a sole made of white cloth layers.[3] In western Sichuan, the Tangchang entry records a brushed finish that raises the fibres along the sole edge. The craft was added as a national-list extension in 2021.[4]
An early twentieth-century silk satin wedding shoe at The Met has a leather sole. Its decorative upper also illustrates the use of Chinese embroidery on footwear.[5]
What to Check Before Wearing a Modern Pair
Try the shoes with the socks you intend to wear. Walk far enough to see if the heel lifts or the front compresses your toes. Turn the shoes over to see whether cloth or a separate outsole contacts the ground.
The toe shape can change the line below a long hem. Compare the ornament and upturned fronts of Chinese cloud shoes.
FAQs About Chinese Cloth Shoes
Is a Thousand-Layer Sole Literally a Thousand Layers?
The name describes the stacked construction. One documented tradition uses dozens of cloth layers.[3]
Does Every Cloth Shoe Have a Cloth Sole?
The upper and sole are separate components. A textile upper can be paired with a leather sole.[5]
What Does a Row of Sole Stitches Tell You?
On a traditional multilayer sole, the dense stitches hold the fabric layers together.[2]
Sumber
[1] China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network. Neiliansheng Multilayer Cloth Shoe Craft
[2] China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (Jaringan Warisan Budaya Takbenda Tiongkok). Heritage Demonstration of Multilayer Shoe Construction
[3] China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network. Laomeihua Handmade Shoemaking
[4] China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network. Tangchang Cloth Shoemaking
[5] The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Woman’s Wedding Shoe