The Historical Evolution of Hanfu in China

Hanfu, also known as Hanfu, is a traditional costume of the Han nationality in China. During the 4,000 years from the Emperor's accession to the throne (about 2698 BC) to the end of the Ming Dynasty (AD1the middle of the 7th century), the etiquette and costume system remained unchanged for thousands of years, centering on Chinese etiquette culture.

According to historians, China's clothes were made by the Yellow Emperor. "Before the Yellow Emperor, there were no clothes and houses. The Yellow Emperor built houses, made clothes and held funerals, so the people were spared the difficulties of survival. " (Records of the Five Emperors, Volume I) Since Huangdi and Yao Shun ruled the world by hanging down their clothes, Hanfu has taken a basic shape. After the inheritance of the etiquette of the Zhou Dynasty, a perfect clothing system was formed in the Han Dynasty and extended to the people.

In the early years of the Qing Dynasty, Manchu rulers implemented the policy of "shaving hair and changing clothes", forbidding people to wear Hanfu and have long hair. Since then, Hanfu has gradually disappeared from people's lives. Because of the policy of "ten obedience and ten disobedience" in the Qing court, Hanfu has not completely disappeared, and people can still see her shadow. For example, the costumes of Taoist and Buddhist monks have been preserved.

Hanfu has a long history and diverse styles. Each dynasty has its own characteristics, but the main characteristics are unchanged. It is famous for its unique clothing structure, such as "straight buckle with horizontal collar", "praise for wide sleeves" and "concealed buckle with lace", which is full of national cultural style. Everyone knows that Hanfu is beautifully dressed, but do you understand the cultural connotation? What is recorded below is the evolution of Hanfu from Qin and Han Dynasties to the end of Ming Dynasty.

ancient times

According to China's traditional ancient books, Hanfu was made by the Yellow Emperor about 5,000 years ago or during the Yellow Emperor's period. For example, in the History Book of the Han Dynasty, the courtiers of the Yellow Emperor "Apollo made clothes" and "Hu Cao made crowns". The Book of Changes says that "the Yellow Emperor Yao Shun hangs down his clothes to rule the world". Records of the Five Emperors said that Lei Zu, the wife of the Yellow Emperor, raised silkworms and made silk for clothes.

Archaeological findings confirmed that bone needles and spinning wheels were found in Peiligang Cultural Site and Baijiacun Site in Lintong, Shaanxi Province seven or eight thousand years ago, indicating that people at that time could already spin cloth and make clothes. By the time of Yangshao culture about 5000 years ago, not only a large number of spinning wheels were found, but also a large number of cloth prints were found on pottery. At the same time, ramie and cocoon were also found in the site, indicating that primitive agriculture and textile industry had appeared at this time. People's clothes are made of linen woven from ramie and silk spun by nibbling, and people's clothes and costumes are more and more complete. Only the clothing objects of this period have not been found in archaeological excavations so far.

Xia, Shang and Western Zhou Dynasties

The clothes of this period inherited the characteristics of ancient times, and there is sufficient physical evidence to prove that the basic characteristics of Hanfu have been determined at this time: horizontal collar, right collar and lace are the most basic typical characteristics, and up and down are the most basic styles. Among the various glyphs of Oracle Bone Inscriptions and Jinwen, the word "Yi" in a common glyph is the image of a shirt with a collar and a right shirt. Jade people unearthed from Yin Ruins in Anyang, Henan Province also wear this kind of clothing, which is the earliest and most complete clothing style unearthed in China. The bottom dress that matches the coat with collar, right slit and lace is a "skirt". The dress under the coat is the most basic style of Hanfu. The word "clothes" is still a general term for clothes in Chinese.

Qin and Han dynasties

The costumes in the Qin and Han dynasties basically followed the Warring States period, and still dominated by deep clothes, which can be roughly divided into two types: curved and straight, and can be worn by both men and women.

Curved deep clothes in Qin and Han dynasties are the most common clothes in women's wear. They are tight and narrow, long enough to mop the floor, and the hem is generally trumpet-shaped and not exposed. Wear a few clothes, and the collar of each layer will be exposed, up to more than three layers, which is called "triple clothes". Because of the improvement of underwear in the Han Dynasty, it was unnecessary to wrap clothes in front, so straight lines gradually became popular after the Eastern Han Dynasty. Due to the popularity of deep clothes, the number of women wearing long skirts has decreased, but it has not disappeared, and there are many descriptions in Han Yuefu's poems. The skirt styles in this period are generally very short, only reaching the waist, while the skirt is very long and hangs to the ground. 1957, the Yan skirt was found in the tomb of Mo Zuizi in Wuwei, Gansu Province.

From 22 BC1to 220 AD in Qin and Han Dynasties.

During the Han Dynasty, China was unprecedentedly prosperous and powerful in culture, economy, politics and military affairs, hence the name of the Han nationality. The dress etiquette system in this period was also very complete, so an idiom "Han Guan Wei Yi" appeared to praise the dress system in Han Dynasty. The name "Hanfu" also indirectly comes from this.

Wei, Jin, southern and northern dynasties

During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, clothing was a relic of the Han Dynasty, but the style of Hanfu became chic and elegant because of the prevailing atmosphere. Celebrities in Wei and Jin dynasties often wore wide coats, or wore a strange underwear similar to today's halter top under their coats, instead of Hanfu. This style of clothes is only available in this era. For the style, see Beiqi School's book spectrum.

Or influenced by the nomadic people in the north, in this era, men in the Central Plains began to be popular with coats and trousers. Pants and pants are called each other. Due to the hot and humid climate in the south, high-toothed clogs became popular. Dress (miscellaneous clothing) is a kind of dress in women's wear in Wei and Jin Dynasties. Clothing in Wei and Jin Dynasties inherited the style of pursuing wealth and luxury in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Clothes are styles with sharp corners on both sides. During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, people hung ribbons next to my clothes with sharp corners. Clothing looks elegant, which is the word "fancy flying" at that time.

Wei and Jin Dynasties and 220-420 AD

Southern and Northern Dynasties: 420-589 A.D.

Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties AD 220-589

Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties

During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Hanfu began to develop with high-end innovation, but it did not deviate from its basic characteristics. The main dress style of women in Sui and Tang Dynasties is still the unity of skirt, blouse and blouse. Chest-length skirts are very popular among women, that is, skirts that lift the lower skirt to the chest with silk. Among the ladies, they also wear gift clothes. Flower patterns are widely used in Hanfu decoration, with lively and free composition, symmetrical density, plump and round, and bold colors. At this time, the clothing pattern design tends to express the artistic style of freedom, fullness and fatness.

Men's wear in Tang Dynasty based on robes and shirts, also known as Fu Tou, was the first kind of clothing formed on the basis of Han and Wei Dynasties. In addition to wearing round neck and narrow sleeves, officials still wear dresses on some important occasions, such as sacrificial ceremonies. The styles of formal dress are mostly inherited from the old system of the previous dynasty, wearing veils or cage crowns, double-breasted sleeves, ribbons from overskirt and Yu Pei, etc. The basic banquet of costumes in the Five Dynasties followed the costumes of the Tang Dynasty without much change.