Baijiayi
Baijiayi, also known as baijiapao and sometimes referred as One hundred families robe, Hundred-Families robe, or One hundred families clothing in English, is a form of Chinese patchwork jacket, particular for male children. The baijiayi is used as a protective talisman for children. It is a traditional Han Chinese custom garment, which has been passed down for centuries.
Cultural significance and symbolism
The baijiayi is a symbol of longevity, and it was one of the ritual procedures of the "One-hundred-day celebration", along with the baijia locks. It is made of donated fabrics, and is composed of one hundred pieces of fabric which could be shaped into tessellated squares, triangles, diamonds, rectangles, and hexagons. It could also be embroidered with symbols and motifs which were considered auspicious, such as auspicious clouds, the Chinese zodiac, the bagua and the five poisons.In the past, due to the lag in health care and education, infant mortality was relatively high. Nevertheless, people believed that an infant's death was due to a ghost. The baijiayi was supposed to protect the child from evil spirits through the use of many donated fabrics of multiple colours. These small pieces of cloth was collected from various local families, which were supposed to represent " one hundred families". These pieces of fabric would symbolize the combined strength of the donators and were believed protect their sons from or ward off evil spirits and ghosts. The mother would receive these pieces of fabrics in order to make the finished baijiayi for her child. The baijiayi could not be taken off until the child reaches one year old.