Hanfu | Traditional Clothing | Chinese Costume | Hànfú
Facts About Hanfu
There are many kinds of clothing in traditional Chinese dress system during the five thousand years of history and culture in China. Hanfu (汉服 [hàn fú]) is the most important one and widely dressed, which is a traditional Chinese costume of the Han people (the predominant ethnic group of China). From the reign of Emperor Huang to the middle of the 17th century (the late Ming Dynasty and the early Qing Dynasty), Hanfu, centered on Chinese etiquette culture, has formed unique features and characteristics of the Han nationality through natural evolution, which is obviously different from the traditional Chinese clothing and accessories system of other nationalities. Hanfu has evolved with the change of fashion since its appearance. With the history of more than four thousand years, Hanfu bears outstanding handicraft and aesthetics of Han nationality such as dye, weave, and embroider, and inherits more than 30 Chinese intangible cultural heritage.
Characteristics & Styles
Unlike modern times, traditional Chinese men’s clothing is similar to Chinese women’s clothing in some aspects. Generally, the basic structure of Hanfu consists an underwear, an inner garment, and an overcoat. A complete Hanfu garment is assembled from several pieces of clothing:
Yī (衣): Any open cross-collar garment, and worn by both sexes
Páo (袍): Any closed full-body garment, worn only by men in Hanfu
Rú (襦): Open cross-collar shirt
Shān (衫): Open cross-collar shirt or jacket that is worn over the Yi
Qún (裙) or Chang (裳): Skirt for women and men
Kù (褲): Trousers or pants
In the garment structure of Hanfu, there is a special part called Ju (裾 [jū]), the full front and back of a Chinese jacket or gown. According to the length of Ju, Hanfu could be divided into three types: Ru (襦 [rú]), Shu (裋 [shù]), and Shenyi (深衣 [shēn yī]). Ru (襦 [rú]) means the jacket and skirt, and Shenyi means the deep robe which is a combination of tunic and skirt.
The main feature of Hanfu is wrapping the right side over before the left, which is called right lapel, “右衽 [yòu rèn]” in Chinese. When the skirt on the left side and the right side cross over the chest, they naturally form a cross collar. The two straight lines intersecting in the middle of the clothing represents the symmetry of traditional culture, showing the unique sense of integrity, which symbolizes a man should be impartial. Hanfu has wide sleeves which make the lines soft and elegant. Another important feature of Hanfu is tying with the sash in place of buttons. In general, Hanfu does not use buttons. Even if buttons are useful, they are always hidden inside the garment without being exposed. It is usually tied with a knot to tie the clothes. There are a lot of patterns with auspicious meanings on Hanfu. At the same time, according to different occasions, people choose different patterns.
The informal wear of Hanfu includes Yi on the top and Qun or Chang (pants and skirts for both genders) with a one-piece robe. This type contains Shenyi, Zhongyi, Ruqun (襦裙 [rú qún], a top garment with a separate lower garment or skirt), etc.
The formal wear is only dressed at formal rituals like important sacrifices or religious activities usually with long wear with long sleeves.
As for the court dress, it can only dressed at very formal and important occasions in the presence of the monarch. In general. Mianfu (冕服 [miǎn fú]) is the most formal dress for emperors and officials; Chaofu (朝服 [cháo fú]) is a red ceremonial court dress of the emperor, officials or nobility; Gongfu (公服 [gōng fú]) is a formal court dress.
The Development of Hanfu
The earliest Hanfu form took shape during Xia (21th BC — 16th Century BC), Shang (17th — 11th Century BC) and Zhou Dynasties (11th Century BC — 256 BC). In the Western Zhou Dynasty, the dressing system was gradually perfected, and a dressing system centered on the “Tianzi Mianfu” (the emperor wears Mianfu) was formed. And Shenyi was invented at that time as well. Later in Qin (221–206 BC) and Han (202 BC — 220 AD) Dynasties, the dressing system was reformed and had new styles. The crown was formed as the main mark of social ranks. In the Tang Dynasty (618–907), men usually wore a small black kerchief to cover the hair, while women wore high waist dress. After the Tang Dynasty, people added buttons on military uniforms. Hanfu disappeared at the beginning of the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911) when the Manchus established the regime and banned traditional Hanfu. After that, the western dressing style got popular in China and people didn’t wear Hanfu anymore.
Dressing Culture & Current Situation
Chinese civilization is also called “Hua Xia”. “Hua” means the beauty of the dress and decoration which is Hanfu, and “Xia” is the grandeur of rites and social conduct. It is obvious to find that Hanfu plays an important role in traditional Chinese culture. Many East Asian national costumes such as the Japanese Kimono and the Korean Hanbok still share the basic style with Hanfu, as historically these nations were largely influenced by Han culture. Hanfu is also associated with Chinese etiquettes such as Hair pinning ceremonies, weddings, and sacrificial rites. In the Tang and Song Dynasties, people with different ranks should wear different Hanfu at their weddings. For example, men over the fourth rank should wear Mianfu. Sacrificial rites are the highest etiquette in China. There are about six types of Mianfu at sacrificial rites and five different types of Hanfu in Chinese mourning apparels.
With the development of Chinese society, Hanfu has been paid more attention to the Chinese again. Under the guidance of students or teachers, various Hanfu clubs have been established in various universities at home and abroad. In the Internet era, Hanfu has been more and more frequently showed on TV and screen as well as on various cultural stages including Beijing Olympic Games which had shown Chinese culture to people all over the world. Besides, it appears Modern Hanfu which inherits the essence of traditional Hanfu and has been innovated and developed in combination with the needs of modern social life. It can be worn for general ceremonial occasions that could be more widely and more frequently used than the traditional Hanfu.
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