What is the changing process of ancient women's clothing?

As a symbol of civilization, with the development of human social productivity, clothing has changed from the initial practical function of keeping warm and reducing injuries to the function of expressing aesthetics and status. In primitive society, clothes were unisex, with fur on the body, similar to sleeveless skirts now, or tied to the lower abdomen.

During the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, women's clothes made great progress, usually under their coats or pants. During the Zhou Dynasty, the system of crown service was emphasized. At this time, the clothes have a sense of hierarchy, noble silk, colorful colors and so on. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the top and bottom clothes were integrated, which was called "deep clothes". This has become the basic model of Hanfu. The front and rear pieces of the left skirt are stitched, and the rear skirt is stretched into a triangle and tied at the back. Of course, different countries have different popular colors and unique styles. In the Qin dynasty, the basic style of deep clothes was basically followed.

During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, with the appearance of prosperous weather, women's clothing was elegant and magnificent. The main types are: shirts, skirts, short-sleeved half-length shirts. Typical dress is topless and bare arms, veil and long skirt with big sleeves. Another special phenomenon is that women wear men's clothes or Hu clothes. Materials and patterns also have the characteristics of Persia or other countries. All this shows the powerful national strength of the Tang Dynasty. In the Song Dynasty, due to the rise of Neo-Confucianism in Zhu Cheng and the worship of ethics, the bondage to women deepened.

Unlike the Tang Dynasty, there was no bolder behavior such as bare chest and bare arms. Instead, they wear more short sleeves and long skirts, usually with a double-breasted vest. Moreover, the bad habit of foot binding has risen, and long skirts have begun to be short to the ground in order to expose their feet. Of course, because of the existence of several regimes, the national costumes of the Jurchen nationality and dangxiang have also been handed down. Women's dresses in the Yuan Dynasty have national characteristics. Wearing a high hat and robes, the noble skirt is long and brightly colored, while the civilians are shorter and darker.

Han costumes were restored in the Ming Dynasty. Women's wear includes: wide-sleeved gown, stand-up collar shirt, high collar, sleeve lapel, half arm, cloud shoulder, gown, short-sleeved shirt, long skirt and waist skirt. The general style is an upper skirt, but it varies greatly and is rich in materials. At that time, women also had the dress style of "crowned gown", which was more exquisite and gorgeous. At this time, it reached the peak of China ancient women's clothing, which was gorgeous, multilateral, meticulous and exquisite.

The Qing Dynasty injected fresh blood into China's women's clothing-flag dress. Manchu women are mainly dressed up, narrow and slender, with vests outside and skirts or trousers inside. Han women often attack the Ming style. After finishing, their clothes are getting fatter and their cuffs are getting wider and wider. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, women's clothing was extremely particular, from the patterns of clothes to the accessories of clothes to the styles of clothes.

Since modern times, women's dresses have appeared in cheongsam and student clothes in the Republic of China, enriching women's wardrobes. For thousands of years, women's clothing has shown different characteristics in different times, but it still retains many characteristics of traditional culture. It is a star in the traditional culture of China and one of the important historical materials for studying the ancient history of China.