Clothing becomes a motif within the novel, indicating different levels of self-respect and self-worth, and the sartorial details in the novel are often loosely paired with historical precedents for the ways in which clothing communicates status and class in Chinese culture. People’s various garments—from the emperor’s dragon-embroidered garments to Diao’s ragged furs—are used to communicate their values and their personal traits. Within this context, Ping’s’ shifting wardrobe reflects her growth as a character. She starts the novel clad in inadequate rags, which communicates her lowly social status as an enslaved person, her maltreatment at the hands of Lan, and her view of herself as a nameless, unimportant person who will never realize her dreams. After meeting Danzi and being treated kindly by the peasant family, she receives a new gown but refuses to wear it until Danzi forces her to do so. Her reluctance in this matter shows her struggles to improve her self-worth. Essentially, she doesn’t think that she deserves to wear the dress, even though it is a gift that is intended to replace her rags.

When Danzi forces her to put on the new clothes, his decisive action demonstrates his equally forceful role as Ping’s mentor. For the first half of the book, he does not give her a choice when he introduces new improvements in her life. Yet by the time Ping arrives at the imperial lodge, she chooses to wear the fine silks, showing that her sense of self-respect has increased to the point that she believes she deserves them. Yet even then, she never puts on airs. Thus, her changing attitude toward clothing illustrates her improving self-worth and shows her deeper understanding of nuanced social contexts.