Hanfu

            Chinese Clothing - Five Thousand Years' History

The History of Chinese Clothing

Each dynasty in China had its own memorable culture. The many facets of colour and design that emerged during a dynasty’s reign were marvellous and made every aspect of Chinese culture, including their wearing apparel, - highly acclaimed works of art.

The costumes of ancient China were emblems of Chinese tradition, as well as an essential element in the history and culture of each dynasty. Costume maintained an important place in Chinese culture for more than three thousand years. The culture of China is ancient and well established, brilliant and resplendent. The costumes are likewise magnificent and colourful. There were many dynasties throughout China’s history, each having its own unique style of dress. And each style would change or disappear as its dynasty changed, declined, or was replaced. With the advent of each new dynasty and the progression of time, costumes were revolutionised. The style was classical and conservative in the Qin and Han dynasties, luxurious and glamorous in the Tang dynasty, delicate and exquisite in the Song dynasty, graceful and magnificent in the Ming dynasty, and very intricate in the Qing dynasty. Stylised costumes first appeared in the Yellow Emperor, Yao and Shun periods. Chinese characters were invented during the ancient Yin Shang period. Although eighty percent of the characters were pictographic drawings, they were quite sufficient for writing and had special pronunciations. The inscriptions on bones and tortoise shells in the Shang dynasty, from about the 16th to 11th century B.C., show characters representing the social classes at the time, including wang (monarchs), chen (officials under a feudal ruler), mu (shepherds), nu (slaves), and yi (tribesmen). There were also words that related to dress and personal adornments, such as as yi (clothing), lu (shoes), huang shang (skirts), and mei (sleeves). Ornaments of varying value, like jade pendants, jade rings, earrings, necklaces, combs, silk fabrics, burlaps, and copper decorations, have been found on excavated statues. Valuable, exquisite items belonged to the aristocrats exclusively, not slaves or tribesmen. With the developments and advances made regarding textiles, articles of clothing for different functions began to appear, such as dresses, skirts, crowns, footwear, hats, and stockings. Costume styles evolved from simple and practical to ornamental. This is reflected in the invention of “twelve designs of symbols.” Looking at the patterns and styles of clothes in history books such as The Rites of the Zhou, Book of Rites and Rites, you can see that Chinese clothing evolved from nothing to very simple and functional styles, and then to styles that were quite complex. During the Ying Shang period, the etiquette, music, rituals, and clothing showed no evidence of any distinction among different social classes. Starting in the Western Zhou dynasty, however, class distinction became apparent, as evident in the differences in clothing and personal adornment. More and more variety in clothing also appeared, depending on the occasion. For example, paying respects to the gods and making obeisance to heaven and earth at the palace temples required special clothing. Special clothes were worn for grand ceremonies. There were army uniforms, wedding ceremony outfits, bereavement clothes, and so on. Clothing at the time was still made in accordance with old systems and thus had dark tops and yellow bottoms, but official garb included four-inch-wide sashes made from silk or leather that were worn over the lapels. Other costumes included jade adornments on the waist belt linked together with silk ribbons. In addition, clothing of different colours indicated different social classes. During the Warring States, the costume of the seven dukedoms of Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, Zhao, Wei and Qin, each developed changes accordingly. The so-called “skirt around the front of the body" style actually referred to loose-cut cloth with wide rims that was wrapped around the lower body. The ancient designers wrapped the cloth ingeniously from the front of the upper body to the back, making full use of horizontal and diagonal lines to complement space and achieve both quietude in motion and motion in quietude. Materials were light and thin, and stiffer brocade was used to embroider the borders with wavy patterns that reflected the wisdom and intellect of the designers.

Qin and Han Dynasties

During the Qin and Han dynasties, changes in the style of dress were dramatic. The Emperor Qin, who was influenced by the concept of Yin and Yang as well as the theory of the Five Elements, believed that the Qin dynasty would subdue the Zhou dynasty like water extinguishes fire. Therefore, because the Zhou dynasty was "fire superior to gold, its colour being red," the favourite colour of the Qin dynasty was black, since the colour black was associated with water. Thus, in the Qin dynasty, black was the superior colour to symbolise the power of water, so clothing and adornments were all of the colour black. During the two hundred years of the Western Han dynasty, the “dark style” continued for clothing and personal adornment. Its characteristics were: cicada-like hats, red clothing, square sleeves, sloping necklines, jade hanging decorations, and red shoes. The general term for this style of clothing was “Buddhist clothing” and is basically a one-layer coat. Court dress was black in colour. As for the formal dress used in performing sacrificial rites, it was edged with red. The only way to tell a person’s rank or position in society was by the colour and quality of his clothing — there was no difference in the style of the clothing worn by government officials and ordinary people. There were two types of robes, classified according to the style of the front of the robe. One style had a front with a diagonal opening, where the material was wrapped on a diagonal from the collar to under one arm, and the other had a straight opening down the front. Because this style of clothing was long and loose, it was a popular style for men.

The Eastern Han dynasty started from 25 A.D. and ended in 200 A.D. During the period of the Guangwu emperor, red was regarded as the most respectful colour, as it displayed the Han dynasty’s “fire virtue.” Until the second year of Yongping period, red was still the popular colour, but a white inside layer had to be worn when performing sacrificial rites. This white layer was edged with red, which matched the red socks and shoes. Government officials dressed in colours that were appropriate for the seasons, according to the theory of Five Elements. They held ceremonies to pray according to the four seasons. At the beginning of spring, they would hold a ceremony in the eastern suburbs, and carriages and clothing would be a gray-green colour. At the beginning of summer, the ceremony would be held in southern suburbs, and both carriages and costumes would be red. At the beginning of autumn, carriages and dress would be yellow, and at the beginning of winter, everything would be black. According to History of the Song Dynasty, “The Han dynasty inherited the style of the Qin dynasty. There were thirteen different types of hats. Since the Wei-Jin dynasty people still used these hats, such as, law hats, high hats, hats for skilled craftsmen, mountain-like hats, square hats, Jian-Hua hats, Que-Di hats, swordsman’s hats, Que-Fei hats, Jin-Xian hats, and many others.” In the Han dynasty, a man’s rank and status was indicated by the style of his crown. In the Han dynasty, a woman wore a short jacket and a long skirt, and a decorative belt hung down to the knee. A man always dressed in a short jacket, trousers in the style of calf’s nose, with a short cloth skirt outside. This style was the same for everyone — workers, farmers, businessmen, and scholars. During the Wei-Jin period, court dress was red, and casual clothing was purple. In the ancient book History of the Wu Empire -- The Story of Lu Meng, it says, “ask the people who wear white clothing to be businessman’s servant.” From this description, we can tell that white was the colour for ordinary people. During this period, the emphasis was on the jacket and skirt. A coat was considered informal dress. Women’s adornments were particular delicate, including golden earrings, silver rings, and bracelets. There was a big difference in quality for women’s accessories worn inside and outside the imperial palace.

 

Left: A lady with a flowery hairpin; Tang dynasty
Center: Women colouring fabrics; Tang dynasty
Right: A gentlewoman in a court-style costume; Tang dynasty

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