Later, the people of Zhongyuan discouraged left-handedness, considering it unnatural, barbarian, uncivilized, and unfortunate. Initially, the style was used because of the habit of the right-handed wearer to wrap the right side first. įrom ancient times, the upper garments of hanfu were typically worn wrapped over the front, in a style known as jiaoling youren the left side covering the right side and extend to the wearer's right waist. Clothing for women usually accentuates the body's natural curves through wrapping of upper garment lapels or binding with sashes at the waist. Later garments incorporate multiple pieces with men commonly wearing pants and women commonly wearing skirts. Many of the earlier designs are more gender-neutral and simpler in cut than later examples. Hanfu had changed and evolved with the fashion of the days since its commonly assumed beginnings in the Shang dynasty. "Huang Di, Yao, and Shun (simply) wore their upper and lower garments (as patterns to the people), and good order was secured all under heaven". There is even a saying in the Book of Change, which says that: Ī painting of the Yellow emperor, painting dating from 151 AD, Han dynastyįrom the beginning of its history, hanfu (especially in elite circles) was inseparable from silk and the art of sericulture, supposedly discovered by the Yellow Emperor's consort Leizu, who was also revered as the Goddess of sericulture. The cultivation of silk, however, ushered the development of weaving, and by the time of the Han dynasty, brocade, damask, satin, and gauze had been developed. Clothing made of silk was initially used for decorative and ceremonial purposes. Each succeeding dynasty produced their own distinctive dress codes, reflecting the socio-cultural environment of the times. Hanfu comprises all traditional clothing classifications of the Han Chinese with a recorded history of more than three millennia. 9.2 Traditional Chinese clothing and culture.3.2 Growing Popularity and Market Trend.2.2 Hanfu in modern Taoism (20th century – present).2.1 Hanfu in popular media and opera (20th century – present).1.13.3.4 Chinese opera and drama performers.1.13.3.2 Taoist and buddhist priests/monks.1.13.3.1 Rebellion and resistance to Qing.
1.13.2 Ban of Chinese clothing and hairstyle.1.13.1 Development of Qing imperial court clothing.
1.12.2 Establishing new dress regulations.1.12.1 Ban of hufu, return to hanfu, and cultural integration.1.10 Liao, Western Xia, and Jin dynasties.1.8.2 Tang dynasty and Five dynasties and Ten kingdoms period.1.8 Sui, Tang, Five dynasties and Ten kingdoms period.1.7 Sixteen Kingdoms, Northern and Southern dynasties.1.3 Spring and Autumn period, Warring States period.: 3 Hanfu has influenced the traditional clothing of many neighbouring cultures, including the Korean hanbok, the Japanese kimono, the Okinawan ryusou, and the Vietnamese áo giao lĩnh. įollowing the Han dynasty, hanfu developed into a variety of styles using fabrics that encompassed a number of complex textile production techniques, particularly those used to produce silk. Nowadays, the hanfu is gaining recognition as the traditional clothing of the Han ethnic group, and has experienced a growing fashion revival among young Han Chinese people in China and in the overseas Chinese diaspora. In addition to clothing, hanfu also includes several forms of accessories, such as headwear, footwear, belts, jewellery, yupei and handheld fans. Traditionally, hanfu consists of a robe, or a jacket worn as the upper garment with a skirt commonly worn as the lower garment. There are several representative styles of hanfu, such as the ruqun (an upper-body garment with a long outer skirt), the aoqun (an upper-body garment with a long underskirt), the beizi and the shenyi, and the shanku (an upper-body garment with ku trousers). Hanfu ( simplified Chinese: 汉服 traditional Chinese: 漢服 pinyin: Hànfú) is the traditional styles of clothing worn by the Han Chinese.
Ming dynasty portrait of General Tang Tong (唐通) wearing Hanfu