[1] Nowadays, the xiuhuaxie continue to be used as a type of footwear item in Hanfu, and are also used as traditional Chinese wedding shoes.

The traditional social division of labour in ancient China has been based on the concept of Nangeng Nüzhi (Chinese: 男耕女织; pinyin: nángēng nǚzhī; lit.

'men plough', 'women weave'); a concept which existed since matrilineal society of ancient China was replaced by a patrilineal one.

Basic embroideries patterns tend to be flowers, birds, animals, scenery, and figures from traditional Chinese opera; it can also be decorated with more auspicious patterns such lotus seeds, which symbolizes the birth of a child, pomegranate which symbolized multiple offspring, and the Longfei fengwu (Chinese: 龙飞凤舞; pinyin: lóngfēifèngwǔ; lit.

According to the popular Chinese tale, Jinguo Xie《晋国鞋》, literally 'Jin state shoes', Jin Xiangong expanded his territory by merging ten vassal states in 606 BC; and to immortalize his cultural and military achievements in the mind of the general population, he ordered that all women's shoes had to depict ten fruits or flower patterns; this patterns could include pomegranate blossoms, peach blossoms, grapes, etc; he also ordered that all civilian women had to wear the Shiguoxie (Chinese: 十果鞋; lit.