【正文】 . In sum, clothing protects human beings against anything that might injure the naked, unprotected human body. The social reasonClothing also delivers social messages to other humans. Social messages sent by clothing, accessories, and decorations can involve social status, occupation, ethnic and religious belief, marital status, cultural degree and sexual availability, etc. For example, only Roman citizens can wear “Toga” in Rome while dragon robe can only be dressed by the emperor in China.2 CULTURAI DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CHINESE AND WESTERN CLOTHING As the saying goes：People rely on apparel, beauty relies on good makeup. This is the same between China and the West, but for the specific performance it will be different.Chinese clothing culture differs from western clothing culture in the following aspects. DesignThe Chinese style is decided by the unique Chinese culture and the Oriental body feature. As the curve of we yellow race’s body is not so obvious, and Chinese are fastidious about selfrespect, implicitly and the doctrine of the mean, our clothing is a straight overall with wide coat and fat sleeves, which emphasizes plane design. Men’s wear is a onepiece robe while women’s wear is a short Chinesestyle jacket and a long skirt. The western style is determined by the western aesthetic thought of pragmatism and nationalism and the white race’s body structure. Their body curve is pretty sharp. Stressing scientific nature, the western clothing is in keeping with the law of motion. Its semistereoscopic designed with muffs, puckers, etc. Besides, it advocates individuality and physical beauty. Various kinds of designs sharply revealed the body line. Men wear a suit of coat and trousers while women wear a onepiece dress. In a word, Chinese costume culture is a “covering” one while the western one is a “revealing” one. ColorChinese clothing color lays particular stress on ethic and asks for maintaining social order, but westernstyle clothing color lays particular stress on emotion and pays attention to psychological adjustment. The most important factor is the color element of clothing. Clothing color falls into two colors which are the pure color and the secondary color in ancient China. The pure color is blue, yellow, red, white and black, the other colors are secondary color, and it provides that: ＂The upper garment is the pure color, the under garment is the secondary color.＂ (②《禮記 and black, the north. These five colors were “principal colors,” and in some dynasties were exclusive to the garment of emperors and officials, Common people were allowed to wear only secondary colors.”(③Zhi 73) This system of clothing colors had lasted to the Qing Dynasty and the yellow robe had been the symbol of imperial power all the time. The red color is regarded as an auspicious color. While having a happy event, such as wedding, the bride and bridegroom will wear red clothes and shoes in ancient China to show their happy feelings and wishes for good luck. Today Chinese people still tend to choose red color on happy occasion. Pattern and ornamentsThe former emphasizes color matching, pattern design, the effect of embroidery and the change of the clothing’s front piece, collar, sleeves, and buckles and so on. Representing the Chinese writers’ ideal spirits, plum blossom, orchid, and chrysanthemum and pine tree can be monly seen on Chinese clothing. Among all ornaments, the jade is the most popular one. However, the latter pays more attention to the lace and embroidery of the neck, chest and sleeves. The patterns are mostly regular pomegranate grains and water chestnut lines. Its layout is symmetrical, modeling full and colors gorgeous. The female attire is usually decorated with jewelry like pearls and diamonds. Besides, the hat and gloves are indispensable ornaments. For men, a hat and a walking stick are enough. Material The relationship of human to nature is also reflected in the choice of the materials. During the Stone Age, Chinese invented the bone awl and the bone needle and created primitive clothing with the aid of these tools. Approximately 5000 years ago, China was in the Neolithic Primitive agriculture and the textiles industry. At first people use plant fiber, such as linen, ramie, etc., and animal fibers, such as wool to weave. Later they discovered how to raise the silk worn and spin silk, and the pure silk clothes were liked by many Chinese people, especially the wealthy. It is a symbol of their social status. Silk is a great contribution to human life from Chinese people, so it is impossible to talk Chinese clothing culture without silk.In a word, Chinese clothing prefers silk, cotton, linen and cohemp while the western one tends to use flax, wool, cotton and velvet. The silk is one of the contributions China has made to the world. “We westerners have received too much from the Chinese.” (④法國服裝設(shè)計師伊夫洛朗， 中國美術(shù)館舉辦作品回顧展時的前言， 1985年5月﹚The former adopts bast