Petticoats are called Chenqun/衬裙 in Chinese, and women wore them as part of their undergarments called Zhong Yi/中衣 (middle clothes). I have a detailed post about Zhong Yi here, for your reference.
Chenqun are usually white, but can be other colors as well. Like other Zhong Yi, they are required when dressing in formal attire for important events. They do not have to be worn for regular hanfu.
Chenqun was/is worn for formality and to prevent any “slip-ups” from occurring re: the skirt proper. It provides an extra layer of coverage in case the outer skirt is somewhat transparent, or if the outer skirt accidentally unravels. It’s purpose was not really to fluff up the skirt, as that was not the desired silhouette throughout most of Chinese history.
The exception to this is the Ming Dynasty, during which a wide, voluminous skirt was considered stylish. Thus, wearing a puffy petticoat under the skirt was quite fashionable for some time during the Ming Dynasty.
For example, here are two modern Chenqun intended to be worn under Aoqun to add shape and volume to the skirt:
Ordinary nightmares (that have nothing to do with the circumstances, just stupid nightmares much more often than the average person)
Getting sharp pains in your back/neck/collarbones that make it hard to breathe (due to hypervigilance/constant high anxiety)
Learning that “high anxiety” does not mean “generalized anxiety” like other people have with panic attacks and not feeling that they can accomplish thing. PTSD anxiety just means this frenetic energy that makes you want to talk/think/do things (even as an introvert) to avoid stopping.
Feeling constantly bored like you have to chase after something, even if you’re just at home: I spend hours on tumblr, pinterest, watching tv, reading books, making art, never just laying there alone…because if you stop…the darkness is there
Thinking up stories before bed. This is a symptom of high anxiety because you’re trying to calm down and fall asleep in a “safe world” where people are looking out for you and caring for you.
Trouble falling asleep (which is distinct from insomnia) because turning off electronics etc. doesn’t help since your heartrate/fight or flight response is engaged
Periods of racing heart (mine has gotten to 120bpm for five hours) that make you feel like you’re waiting for something to happen
Exaggerated startle response. When I was a kid I used to hide behind corners to surprise my sisters. Two years ago my friend hid under my desk to scare me. I literally screamed, fell out of the chair, and started crying. She was laughing because she thought the joke went well, and then got concerned because I kept crying.
Purposefully “tanking” a bad day with sad music/tv/movies/books because it “was already ruined anyway”
if you call someone to witness and they refused to show up, you are legally entitled to stand outside their house and scream, but only every third day
you can sell your son into slavery once or twice, but after the third time he doesn’t have to put up with that shit anymore
no wailing allowed at funerals
also you can only have ONE funeral per person, don’t get greedy
if your neighbor’s tree has a branch hanging into your yard, you can legally cut down the entire fucking tree
however, if some of your neighbor’s fruit from his dumb tree falls into your yard, he can legally come into your yard to snoop around get it
if you call someone to witness and they’re too sick or old to get to court themselves, you have to provide a cart for them to come in, but it doesn’t have to be, like, a nice cart if you don’t want it to
the best thing about this is that each of these things must have happened at least once
I asked my latinist to fact check these and they’re mostly accurate except:
#2 wasn’t a thing by the early republic, it was done away with before our written records
#3: wailing was definitely allowed BUT there were legal guidelines, such as “don’t spend more than a few weeks mourning an infant, that shit happens all the time”
“but this didnt used to trigger you” or even “this didnt used to trigger me why am i upset about it now, i must be faking”
memory shifts. you build barriers to protect yourself and depending on the frequency of your exposure to something, those barriers can break down or change
understanding something better can make it feel worse sometimes. look, when you were younger you probably couldnt understand that something was hurting you. now that you know it was bad??? yeah its gonna trigger you worse than it used to because you KNOW now.
recovering from some things can unlock deeper struggles. so you dealt with the issues that were on the surface? well your brain is going to let you access the next level of problems that need to be dealt with now.
life has different phases that expose you to different triggers. stuff that triggers a teen with school responsibilities is going to be different than the stuff that triggers a new parent with a new baby or an adult with a social job or a blogger with constant exposure to daily news.
triggers can be shaped by the trauma of people you know. you can gain new triggers from knowing something related to that happened to someone you care about. once you know how awful a thing can be, even if it wasnt awful for you personally, you can still be sensitive to it.
and most importantly
YOU DONT NEED A REASON FOR SOMETHING TO BE A TRIGGER. yes, there IS a reason, but it’s not your responsibility to immediately understand why your brain does what it does. forcing yourself to analyze too soon is skipping the stage where you learn to cope with it first. learn to cope, then analyze. knowing why is difficult if you cant handle the emotions that come with knowing
UNDERSTANDING COMES WITH TIME AND INTROSPECTION. you should not force yourself to explain your triggers, especially without the guidance of a therapist or trusted, stable confidant.
Triggers are like food allergies, in that they can change as you grow and you can get sick on something new any day.
They’re also like video games, in that once you clear a stage (process part of your trauma) and remove one boss (trigger) there’s another level unlocked for you to go through again until you beat the game (become totally recovered).
Some people’s video games are longer or have more backstory or have longer levels or have barily any levels but the levels that are there are really really hard, but I promise that you will get your “the end” screen some day, one way or another. I believe in you. ♡
Tumblin' from a Black Pagan Perspective. In connection with blog Black Witch. I'm just gonna be random and suches here so that means there may not be Witchy stuff here but plenny o' other stuff I like. Things like:- Deco-x (nails, cases, whatever)- Red...
