tomb, 2nd century BCE , who was said to have lived in the
3rd millennium BCE.
Hanfu generally comprises all historical clothing classifications of the Han Chinese with a recorded history of more than three millennia. Each succeeding dynasty produced their own distinctive dress codes, reflecting the socio-cultural environment of the times. Clothing made of silk was initially used for decorative and ceremonial purposes. 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. From 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. There is even a saying in the
Book of Change, which says that:
Hanfu had changed and evolved with the fashion of the days since its commonly assumed beginnings in the
Shang dynasty. Many of the earlier designs are more gender-neutral and simpler in cut than later examples. Later garments incorporate multiple pieces with men commonly wearing pants and women commonly wearing skirts. Clothing for women usually accentuates the body's natural curves through wrapping of upper garment lapels or binding with sashes at the waist. From ancient times, the
ru upper garments of
hanfu were typically worn wrapped over the front, in a style known as ; the left side covering the right side and extend to the wearer's right waist. Initially, the style was used because of the habit of the right-handed wearer to wrap the right side first. Later, the people of the
Central Chinese Plain discouraged left-handedness, considering it unnatural, barbarian, uncivilized, and unfortunate. The collar follows the
yin and yang theory, wherein the left lapel represents the yang (which symbolizes life) suppresses the yin (which symbolizes death); therefore, is the clothing of the living while if it is worn in the opposite way in a style called , the clothing then becomes burial clothing and is therefore considered a taboo. Many factors have contributed to the fashion of
ancient China: beliefs, religions, wars, and the emperor's personal liking. Following the
Qin dynasty, colours used in the
sumptuary laws of the Han Chinese held symbolic meaning, based on the Taoist
Five Elements Theory and the yin and yang theory; each dynasty favoured certain colours. Some elements of Hanfu have also been influenced by neighbouring cultural clothing, especially by the nomadic peoples to the north, and
Central Asian cultures to the west by way of the
Silk Road.
Shang dynasty, 2nd millennium BCE In China, a systemic structure of clothing was first developed during the
Shang dynasty, where colours, designs, and rules governing use was implemented across the social strata. Only primary colours (i.e. red, blue, and yellow) and green were used due to the degree of technology at the time. The a style of upper garment, started to be worn during this period. In winter, padded jackets were worn. This attire appears to have been designed for the aristocratic class. Principle of this practice was the standardization of a garment style called (上衣下裳, "
upper top, and
lower garnment", meaning separating the upper and lower garments into two items). Though the fashion gradually evolved and was replaced by styles such as
shenyi, the still maintained as the basis for formal and ceremonial wear such as the
mianfu and
chaofu. This created a strict hierarchical society that used clothing as a status meridian, and inevitably, the height of one's rank influenced the ornateness of a costume. Costumes would also be distinguished by their ceremonial usage. This became the antecedent for the complex system of clothing for all succeeding eras and dynasties. The was used to distinguish social ranks; the use of '''' was one of the distinctive features of the Hanfu system, and men could only wear it after the Adulthood ceremony known as . The was the most distinguished type of formal dress, worn for worshipping and memorial ceremonies; it had a complex structure and there were various decorations which bore symbolic meaning; there were six ranked types of which were worn by emperors, princes and officials according to their titles. could also worn by princes during sacrificial occasions and by scholars who would go pay respect to their parents in the morning. Broad and narrow sleeves both co-existed. The was closed with a sash which was tied around the waist; jade decorations were sometimes hung from the sash. Men could also wear alone, however more commonly men wore with the to fix the headwear.
Spring and Autumn period, Warring States period . During the
Spring and Autumn period and the
Warring States period, numerous schools of thought emerged in China, including
Confucianism; those different schools of thoughts naturally influenced the development of the clothing. Moreover, due to the frequent wars occurring during the Warring States period, various etiquette were slowly revoked.
Eastern Zhou dynasty dress code started to erode by the middle of Warring States period. The with a loose rise was then introduced. Based on the archaeological artifacts dating from the Eastern Zhou dynasty, ordinary men, peasants and labourers, were wearing a long with narrow-sleeves, with a narrow silk band called () being knotted at the waist over the top. and was worn in the or . An archeological example of a bronze figure wearing is the bronze armed warrior holding up chime bells from the
Tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng. During the Warring States period, the was also developed. The , a type of which wrapped in a spiral effect and had fuller sleeves, was found to be worn by tomb figurines of the same period. Unearthed clothing from tombs show that the was worn by aristocrats in the state of Chu. The increased popularity of the may have been partially due to the influence of Confucianism. and instead of the for the emperor, with the officials following suit and wearing the same black robes. The commoners and labourers wore with narrow sleeves,
trousers, and skirts; they braided their hairs or simply wore skull caps and kerchiefs. Cavalry riders were also depicted wearing long-sleeved, hip-length jackets and padded trousers. File:Mawangdui Painted Figurines (10112640664).jpg|Mawangdui Painted Figurines wearing
qujupao shenyi, Han dynasty File:China.Terracotta statues007.jpg|A female servant and a male advisor in Chinese
shenyi, ceramic figurines from the
Western Han period (202 BCE – 9 CE) File:Changguan of Hatted man male figurine, Han dynasty, Hunan Museum2.jpg|Wooden figurine of a male servant wearing a
changguan(长冠) and
shenyi. File:Mawangdui Han Embroidered Fabric (10113178246).jpg|Silk from the
Mawangdui tomb 2nd century BCE. File:Silk from Mawangdui.jpg|Flower-patterned silk piece; 2nd century BCE, Mawangdui. File:Eastern_han_husband_and_wife_banquet_mural_BM2_Zhucun_Luoyang_洛阳朱村东汉墓BM2夫妇宴饮图.jpg|Eastern Han mural of husband and wife. File:Fresco of two Men from a Han Dynasty Tomb in Sian, Shensi.jpg|Fresco of two Men from a Western Han Dynasty Tomb in modern-day
Xi'an, Shaanxi File:Han Dynasty Tomb Mural in Chin-hsiang County (金鄕縣), Chi-ning City (濟寧市).jpg|Mural painting of a male figure wearing (武冠), discovered in a
Western Han dynasty (206 B.C. – 8 A.D.) tomb in
Jinxiang County File:Wall Mural of a Male Figure, Han Tomb from Hou-t'un Village (後屯村), Tung-p'ing County (東平縣).jpg|A man dressing in the Han dynasty style
shenyi File:Holding Shield and Holding Broom tomb doors, 2 of 2, China, unearthed from Lanjia Yard, Pixian County, Sichuan, Eastern Han dynasty, 25-220 AD, stone - Sichuan Provincial Museum - Chengdu, China - DSC04747.jpg|An
Eastern Han carved stone tomb door showing a man wearing trousers underneath a long robe with a hat, stored in
Sichuan Provincial Museum in
Chengdu File:Holding Shield and Holding Broom tomb doors, 1 of 2, China, unearthed from Lanjia Yard, Pixian County, Sichuan, Eastern Han dynasty, 25-220 AD, stone - Sichuan Provincial Museum - Chengdu, China - DSC04745.jpg|An
Eastern Han carved stone tomb door showing a man carrying a shield, wearing a long robe with apron and a (武冠)/ (武弁) on (介帻), stored in
Sichuan Provincial Museum in
Chengdu. File:Confucian scholars of Wu Family Shrines, tracing from Jinshisuo CADAL09010673 金石索(九)2.jpg|Tracing of stone-relief depicting scholar-officials on
Wu Family Shrines. In the beginning of the Han dynasty, there was no restrictions on the clothing worn by common people. According to the new dress code, the emperor had to be dressed in a black-coloured upper garment and in an ocher yellow-coloured lower garment. In addition, regulations on the ornaments used by emperors, councillors, dukes, princes, ministers and officials were specified. There were distinct styles of clothing based on social ranks, these regulations were accompanied with Confucian rituals. Different kind of headgear, weaving and fabric material, as well as ribbons attached to officials seals, were also used to distinguish the officials. The
jinze was adopted into widespread use and worn commonly by military personnel and commoners. Military was red in color, also called (赤帻). Another variant with a roof-shaped top called (介帻) is used by civil servants, usually greenish black in colour until summer seasons. Men and women also wore a lined, long robe called
paofu. File:Han dynasty scholars relief 讲学画 砖四川成都青杠坡出土 重庆市博物馆藏.jpg|Scholars depicted on Han dynasty pictorial brick, discovered in Chengdu. Scholars wore hats called (进贤冠) to denominate educational status. File:Jieze_Chengdu_Museum_东汉陶人俑.jpg| (介帻), as worn by a ceramic xiao-flute player. File:Czinke.jpg| worn by man (left) Ornaments and jewelry, such as rings, earrings, bracelets, necklace, and
hairpins, and hair sticks were common worn in China by the time of Han dynasty. And a new type of women hair ornament invented during Han dynasty was the
buyao, which was
zanzi added with dangling decorations that would sway when the wearer walk and was unique to the Han Chinese women.
Three Kingdoms, Jin dynasty The
paofu worn in the
Han dynasty continued to evolve. During this period, 220–589 AD, the robe became loose on the wearer's body so a wide band functioned as belt was in use to organise the fitting, and the sleeves of the robe changed to "wide-open" instead of cinched at the wrist; this style is referred as
bao yi bo dai, and usually worn with inner shirt and trousers. The style of men's
paofu gradually changed into a more simple and casual style, while the style of women's
paofu increased in complexity. The robe continued to be worn in the
Northern and Southern dynasties by both men and women, as seen in the lacquered screen found in the Northern Wei tomb of Sima Jinlong (ca. 483 A.D); however, there were some minor alterations to the robe, such as higher waistline and the sleeves are usually left open in a dramatic flare. File:Ornamental plaque, Eastern Jin dynasty, Metropolitan Museum of Art.JPG|
Eastern Jin dynasty cicada-patterned
dāng (珰) plaque ornament, with embedded gemstones. Shoes worn during this period included
lü (履; regular shoes for formal occasions),
ji (屐; high, wooden clogs for informal wear), and shoes with tips which would curl upward. The shoes with tips curled upward would later become a very popular fashion in the Tang dynasty. Clothing during the
Three Kingdoms era and the clothing in
Jin dynasty (266–420 AD) roughly had the same basic forms as the Han dynasty with special characteristics in their styles; the main clothing worn during those times are:
ruqun (jacket and skirt),
ku, and
qiu (裘; a fur coat). During this period, elites generally wore
paofu while peasants wore shanku consisting of short jackets and ku. Han Chinese living in the south favoured the driving dress of the northern minorities,
trousers and xi (褶; a tight sleeved, close fitting long jacket, length reaching below crotch and above knees), while the rulers from northern minorities favoured the court dress of the Han Chinese. it is not to be confused with a type of doubled-faced cuirass
armour, also named
liangdang, which was worn during this period. Young people liked to be dressed in trousers; however, it was not well-perceived for women to wear trousers; women wore skirts. In the
Northern dynasties (386 - 581 AD), ordinary women always wore short jackets and coats. The
Wei shu even claimed that the Xianbei rulers were descendants of
Yellow Emperor, just like the Han Chinese, despite being non-Chinese. For example, both male and female patrons appeared in Xianbei-style attire during the 5th century AD, this can be seen particular at the
Yungang caves temples near
Datong and in the earliest carvings at
Longmen, whereas in the first third of the 6th century, the patrons tend to appear in Chinese-style clothing in the majority of Northern Wei caves at Longmen; this change in clothing style has been suggested to be the result of sinicization policies regarding the adoption of Chinese-style clothing in the Northern Wei court. When their tunics had lapelled, the lapel opening was typically
zuoren. Xianbei people also wore Xianbei-style cloaks and xianbei hat'' (鮮卑帽; xianbei mao). Despite the sinicization policies attempted by the
Northern Wei court, the nomadic style clothing continued to exist in China until
Tang dynasty. For example, narrow and tight sleeves, which was well adapted to nomadic life-style, started to be favoured and was adopted by Han Chinese.
Cultural diversity was also the most striking feature in China in the sixth-century AD. The wife of Xu Xianxiu is depicted with a
flying-bird bun; she is wearing a Han Chinese cross-collared, wide-sleeves attire which has the basic clothing design derived from the
Han dynasty attire with some altered designs, such as a high waistline and wide standing collar. File:Mural of a Gate Guard (門吏) from Tomb of Lou Jui (婁叡).jpg|A
Northern Qi dynasty mural of a gate guard from the tomb of Lou Rui (婁叡). File:Riders on Horseback, Northern Qi Dynasty.jpg|Riders on Horseback; Tomb of Lou Rui,
Northern Qi dynasty. File:Paintings on north wall of Xu Xianxiu Tomb.jpg|The wife of Xu Xianxiu is wearing Han Chinese style clothing which derived from Han prototype with altered details such as high-waist and wide standing collar; Mural from
Xu Xianxiu Tomb,
Northern Qi, 571 AD. File:Paintings in Xu Xianxiu Tomb 5.jpg|The wife of the Xu Xianxiu in Han Chinese-style clothing, Mural painting from
Xu Xianxiu Tomb,
Northern Qi, 571 AD. File:Northern Qi Pottery Warrior (9832768635).jpg|A warrior in Xianbei-style costume,
Northern Qi. The opening of the upper garment is
zuoren. File:Northern Dynasties Pottery Figure (11865509226).jpg|Northern dynasties attendant wearing
pingshangze and
liangdang (裲裆) File:Sogdian figures on the Tomb of An Jia 579 CE.jpg|Sogdian figures, wearing Sogdian clothing, Tomb of An Jia, 579 CE. Of note, significant changes occurred to the form of the garments which had been originally introduced by the Xianbei and other
Turkic people who had settled in northern China after the fall of the
Han dynasty; for example, in the arts and literature which dates from the 5th century, their male clothing appeared to represent the ethnicity of its wearer, but in the 6th century, the attire lost its ethnic significance and did not denote its wearer as Xianbei or non-Chinese. On the other hand, the Xianbei women gradually abandoned their ethnic Xianbei clothing and adopted Han Chinese-style and Central Asian-style clothing to the point that by the Sui dynasty, women in China were no longer wearing
steppe clothing.
Sui dynasty Following the unification of China under the
Sui dynasty, the Sui court abolished the
Northern Zhou rituals and adopted the rituals, practices and ideas of the
Han and
Cao Wei dynasties, and the clothing code of the Han dynasty was restored. The first emperor of Sui,
Emperor Gaozu, would wear
tongtianfu on grand occasions,
gunyi (衮衣;
dragon robe) on suburban rites and visits to ancestral temple. Crimson was the colour of martial clothing (i.e. chamber guards, martial guards, generals and duke generals) whereas servants would wear purple clothing, which consisted of hood and loose trousers. Women wore
ruqun consisting of short jackets and long skirts. File:Sui Painted Pottery Attendant 04.jpg|Painted pottery of a female attendant,
Sui dynasty (581–618 AD) File:Sui Painted Pottery Attendant 05.jpg|Painted pottery of a male attendant,
Sui dynasty (581–618 AD) File:Sui Figurines of Musicians - a.jpg|Female figurines of musicians,
Sui dynasty from Zhang Sheng's Tomb File:Jinxianguan 五星二十八宿真形图.jpg|
Jinxianguan, from
Five Stars and Twenty-Eight Mansions (五星二十八宿真形图) painting by Liang Lingzan.
Tang dynasty and Five dynasties and Ten kingdoms period in
Xianbei-influenced Tang fashion. Taizong himself was half
Xianbei by blood. Many elements of the
Tang dynasty clothing traditions was inherited from the Sui dynasty. Clothing colours and fabric materials continued to play a role in differentiating ranks; for example, officials of the three upper levels and princes had to wear purple robes; officials above the fifth level had to wear red robes; officials of the sixth and seventh level had to wear green robes; and officials of the eighth and ninth levels had to wear cyan robes. Common people wore white and soldiers wore black. Regardless of social status, women in the Tang dynasty tend to be dressed in 3-parts clothing: the upper garment, the skirt, and the
pibo (披帛). This Tang dynasty-style ensemble would reappear several times even after the Tang dynasty, notably during the
Ming dynasty. The
banbi was commonly worn on top of a plain top and was worn together with high-waisted, striped or one-colour
A-line skirt in the seventh century. This change in the ideal corporal shape of women's bodies has been attributed to a beloved consort of
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, called
Yang Guifei, although archeological evidence shows that this ideal of the female body had emerged before Yang Guifei's ascension to power in the imperial court. File:Tang Dynasty-Fat Lady holding a Dog.JPG|A
sancai figurine of a plump lady holding a Dog, Tang dynasty. File:Sancai glazed female figurine Tang dynasty 618-907.jpg|Sancai glazed female figurine Tang dynasty 618–907. File:Tang Dynasty, sancai pottery, woman figurine.JPG|Tang Dynasty, sancai pottery, woman figurine. File:Anonymous-Astana Graves Courtesan1.jpg|Anonymous-Astana Graves Courtesan, , Tang dynasty. File:A palace concert.jpg|Women wearing
qixiong ruqun, Painting of
"A palace concert", Tang dynasty, c.836 - 907. Another form of popular fashion in women's attire during the Tang dynasty was the wearing of male clothing; it was fashionable for women to dress in male attire in public and in everyday life, especially during the Kaiyuan and Tianbao (742-756 AD) periods; this fashion started among the members of the nobility and the court maids and gradually spread in the community. The Tang dynasty inherited all the forms of belts which were worn in the
Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern dynasties and adopted them in the official costumes of the military and civil officials. The Tang dynasty also saw the ready acceptance, and syncretisation with Chinese practices, of elements of foreign culture by the Han Chinese. The foreign influences prevalent during Tang China included cultures from
Gandhara,
Turkestan,
Persia and
Greece. The stylistic influences of these cultures were fused into Tang-style clothing without any one particular culture having special prominence. An example of foreign influence on Tang women's clothing is the use of garments with a low-cut neckline. The headwear of women during the Tang dynasty also demonstrates evidence of foreign clothing inclusion in their attire. In the Taizong era, women wore a burqa-like
mili which concealed the entire body when horse back riding; the trend changed to the use of
weimao during the reign of
Emperor Gaozong of Tang and Wu Zetian; and after that, during the early reign of
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, women started wearing a veil-less hat called
humao; women eventually stopped wearing hats when horse riding, and by the 750's, women dressing in men's garments became popular. Noble women of the Tang dynasty wore the veil, and after the
Yonghui reign the veil with hat was worn. After the mid-seventh century, the social expectation that women had to hide their faces in public disappeared. Another trend which emerged after the An Lushan Rebellion is the sad and depressed-look while looking exquisite which reflected the instability of the political situation in this period. Of note, just like women in the Tang dynasty period incorporated Central Asian-styles in their clothing, Central Asian women were also wearing some Hanfu-style clothing from the Tang dynasty and/or would combine elements of the Han Chinese-style attire and ornamental aesthetic in their ethnic attire. In 840 AD, the
Uyghur empire collapsed, the Uyghur refugees fled to
Xinjiang and to the Southeast of Tang frontier to seek refuge, and in 843 AD, all the Uighur living in China had to wear Chinese-style clothing. The influence of
hufu eventually faded after the
High Tang period, and women's clothing gradually regained a broad, loose fitting, and more traditional Han style. Some features of
Tang dynasty clothing were carried into the Song dynasty, such as court dress. Song dynasty court dress often used red colour, with accessories made of different colours and materials, black leather shoes and hats. Due to the shift in philosophical thought, the aesthetics of the Song dynasty clothing showed simplicity and became more traditional in style. The everyday clothing of the Empresses and Imperial concubines included: long skirts, loose-sleeves garments, tasselled capes and
beizi. File:Qingming Festival Detail 12.jpg|Commoners as seen on
Along the River During the Qingming Festival. File:南宋 · 斗浆图 Tea Fighting Southern Song dynasty.png|Commoners engaged in "tea fighting". File:The Knickknack Peddler2.jpg|A "Knickknack Peddler", by
Su Hanchen. File:儒巾 五百罗汉像轴之一 南宋 周季常日本大德寺藏.png|
Scholars wearing
zhiduo-robes and
rujin (儒巾) headscarf. Various kinds of headscarves became fashionable among the commoners and the educated gentry. file:扎巾 巾环 灸艾图.jpg|In the Song dynasty, the headscarf was also secured with a decorative ring. File:Looking in the Mirror and dabs on Rouge Powder.jpg|Song dynasty women wearing
beizi; Northern Song dynasty. File:Sung Dynasty Tomb Painting Found in Tengfeng City 6.jpg|Song Dynasty Tomb Painting Found in Tengfeng City 6. File:瑤臺步月圖2.jpg A painting, called
Sericulture, by the painter
Liang Kai in Southern Song dynasty depicts rural labourers in the process of making silk.
Foot binding also became popular in the Song dynasty at the end of the dynasty. Some Song dynasty scholars, such as
Zhu Xi and
Shaoyong, made their own version of the scholar gown,
shenyi, based on
The book of Rites, while scholars such as Jin Lüxiang promoted it among his peers. Song dynasty women also wore the Song-dynasty
gaitou, when they would ride animals, such as
horses and
donkeys, in order to relieve embarrassment and to conceal their bodies. The
guofu of the Liao dynasty was also heavily influenced by the Hanfu system. In Han Chinese tombs dating from Liao dynasty, there are tombs murals which depicts purely Chinese customs and Chinese clothing. Tombs in
haner families, for example the Zhang and Hann families, often depicts men dressed in Khitan clothing in corridors and antechambers while inner culture shows
haner culture. Some Han Chinese or
Haner men adopted and/or combined Hanfu with Khitan clothing and boots, wore Hanfu or wore Khitan clothes. Han women on the other hand did not adopt Khitan dress and continued wearing Hanfu. For example, the tomb of Hann Shixun (a man from distinguished
haner families) who died in the early 12th century during the late Liao dynasty depict Khitan-style clothing in the antechamber whereas women in Hanfu-style clothing is seen in the painting found in the inner chamber. File:KhitanMural.jpg|Children and servants wear Khitan-style clothing and hairstyle; the standing women wears Song-style hanfu, Mural painting from the Tomb of Zhang Kuangzheng (M10), Liao dynasty, 1058-1093 AD. File:Mural in liao tomb.jpg|Women wearing Song-style clothing, consisting of shanqun (upper garment over skirt) and
beizi, inner chamber of the Tomb of Zhang Kuangzheng, Liao dynasty. File:Pao-Shan Tomb Wall-Painting of Liao Dynasty (寳山遼墓壁畫：寄錦圗).jpg|Khitan women wearing Tang-style ruqun; Baoshan tomb No.2 wall-painting of Liao dynasty. File:Pao-Shan Tomb Wall-Painting of Liao Dynasty (寳山遼墓壁畫：頌經圗).jpg|Khitan women wearing Tang-style
qixiong ruqun, Baoshan tomb No.2 wall-painting of Liao dynasty.
Jin dynasty The
Jin dynasty rulers imitated the
Song dynasty and decided to establish their own carriages and apparel system. However, the rules were not observed and the order was taken back under the Emperor
Wanyan Liang who was Pro-Chinese allowing the Han Chinese to wear their Han clothing by lifting the ban in 1150 AD. After the occupation of the
Northern Song territories by the Jurchens in 1127 AD, the Han Chinese who were living in Northern Song territories became the majority while the Jurchen became an ethnic minority; this led the Jurchens to make political concessions allowing the Han Chinese to practice Han Chinese culture. In his wish list to the Song dynasty court, Emperor Yizong asked permission to use Han Chinese rites and clothing to greet Song dynasty envoys and seek permission to buy Chinese official clothing; both of these requests were granted. The Mongol attire for both men and women worn in the 13th-14th century was completely different from the Hanfu which had been worn in the
Tang dynasty and
Song dynasty. The Mongol attire was shared by people of different social ranking due to its practicality which contrasted with the dress code of the Han Chinese; as such, Mongol attire was popular. and in the mural painting in tomb M2 at Kangzhuangcun in Tunliu from 1276 AD, maids and servants are seen wearing Song-style attire. According to the
Veritable Records of Hongwu Emperor (太祖實錄), a detailed official account of daily activities of Hongwu Emperor written by court historians, he restored the entire clothing system to the standard of the Tang dynasty shortly after the founding of Ming dynasty: The attempt was to signified the Han Chinese cultural identity after defeating the Yuan dynasty. Thus, many Ming dynasty clothing styles absorbed elements of both Han Chinese and Mongol clothing. The
tieli was mainly worn by the upper class and rarely worn by the lower class. The dressing regulations determined what attire and ornaments could be worn depending on one's social ranks. Hats worn by the scholars and literati were: the
sifang pingding jin (四方平定巾; flat-top square hat), the
dongpo jin (東坡巾; "Dongpo hat"), and the
fangjin (方巾). In the middle of the Ming dynasty, the interlocking buttons were often paired with the upper garment with standing collar; it was commonly used by women partially because they wanted to cover their bodies to show modesty and preserve their chastity and because of the cold climate period. File:Mingbanbi.jpg|Old lady in
banbi accompanied by maid File:墮胎產亡嚴寒大暑孤魂眾2.jpg|A female ghost in typical Ming-style Hanfu, adapted from a Buddhist allegory File:Minggirl.jpg|Painting of a
Ming dynasty woman. File:Ming noble woman.jpg|Ming noble woman. File:漆纱珠翠庆云冠.jpg|
Diji (䯼髻/狄髻), a type of decorative
guan worn over topknot, became a common type of headwear among married women of status. File:吳氏先祖容像十一.jpg File:X Ming Dynasty Empress Ma of Taizu.JPG File:China's Ming Dynasty Empress XiaoKe.jpg File:Chinese Ming Dynasty Empress XiaoJie.JPG While clothing regulation were strictly enforced in the early Ming dynasty; it started to weaken in the Mid-Ming dynasty (around the early 16th century) which has been attributed to the failing of ritual practice and the expansion of commercialization which has led to a weakened state control over the clothing system, and thus to an eventual dress code transgression. The Ming dynasty only wanted the Vietnamese to wear long hair and to stop
teeth blackening so they could have white teeth and long hair like Chinese. A royal edict was issued by Vietnam in 1474 forbidding Vietnamese from adopting foreign languages, hairstyles and clothes like that of the Lao, Champa or the "Northerners" which referred to the Ming. The edict was recorded in the 1479
Complete Chronicle of Dai Viet of
Ngô Sĩ Liên in the
Later Lê dynasty. The Vietnamese had adopted the Chinese political system and culture during the 1,000 years of Chinese rule so they viewed their surrounding neighbours like Khmer Cambodians as barbarians and themselves as a small version of China (the Middle Kingdom). By the
Nguyen dynasty the Vietnamese themselves were ordering Cambodian Khmer to adopt Han Chinese culture by ceasing "barbarous" habits like cropping hair and ordering them to grow it long besides making them replace skirts with trousers.
Hanbok was influenced by the Hanfu of the Ming dynasty. The
Joseon dynasty monarchy looked to Ming China for cultural inspiration. The upper classes and the court of Joseon wore Ming-style clothing but also made a few modifications to make the clothing look distinctively Korean; this led to the formation of the women's hanbok style. The lower class of Joseon imitated the clothing of the upper class. It was mistakenly thought that the hunting ancestors of the Manchus skin clothes became
Qing dynasty clothing, due to the contrast between Ming dynasty clothes' unshaped cloth's straight length contrasting to the odd-shaped pieces of Qing dynasty
longpao and
chaofu. Scholars from the west initially wrongly thought these clothing were purely Manchu as the early Manchu rulers wrote several edicts stressing on maintaining their traditions and clothing. Moreover, the
Manchus originally did not have their own dragon robes or weave textiles and they had to obtain Ming
dragon robes,
Chaofu and cloth when they paid tribute to the Ming or traded with the Ming. The Ming dragon robes were simply modified, cut, and tailored by Manchus at the sleeves and waist to make them narrow around the arms and waist instead of wide and added a new narrow cuff to the sleeves; they also made slits in the skirt to make it suitable for falconry, horse riding and archery. Han Chinese court costume (
chaofu) was modified by the Manchu by adding a ceremonial big collar (daling) or shawl collar (pijianling); the clothing was also reduced in bulk, the sleeves made narrower, and the side-fastening changed from cross-collared to a curved overlapping right front. The clothing was fastened with loops and buttons. The dress code designed in the
Huangchao Liqi Tushi continued to be used as the standard for the court attire until the end of the Qing dynasty. Han Chinese did not object to wearing the queue braid on the back of the head as they traditionally wore all their hair long, but fiercely objected to shaving the forehead so the Qing government exclusively focused on forcing people to shave the forehead rather than wear the braid. Han rebels in the first half of the Qing who objected to Qing hairstyle wore the braid but defied orders to shave the front of the head. One person was executed for refusing to shave the front but he had willingly braided the back of his hair. The Qing imposed the shaved head hairstyle on men of all ethnicities under its rule even before 1644 like upon the
Nanai people in the 1630s who had to shave their foreheads. In 1645,
tifayifu edict was issued; however it was strongly opposed by the Han Chinese, in particular those who belonged to the late Ming dynasty scholars class and literati. Qing Manchu prince Dorgon initially canceled the order for all men in Ming territories south of the Great wall (post 1644 additions to the Qing) to shave. It was a Han official from Shandong, Sun Zhixie and Li Ruolin who voluntarily shaved their foreheads and demanded Qing Prince Dorgon impose the queue hairstyle on the entire population which led to the queue order. Even after a decade following
tifayifu policy implementation, Han Chinese still resisted against the order of shaving the hair and changing into
Manchu clothing frequently. However, the shaving policy was not enforced in the
Tusi autonomous chiefdoms in Southwestern China where many minorities lived. There was one Han Chinese Tusi, the
Chiefdom of Kokang populated by Han
Kokang people. members and Han men serving as government officials, but not the entire male population; therefore, Han Chinese men were allowed to continue to dress in Ming dynasty clothing. In the early middle of the Qing Dynasty, the rhetoric and resistance against the Manchu clothing system subsided slightly. This was similar to the Qing dynasty queue order imposed by Dorgon making men shave the pates on the front of their heads.
Tifayifu exemptions The implementation of
tifayifu policy, the early Qing dynasty court also prohibited Han Chinese from wearing some specific Manchu items and prohibited banner-women from dressing as Han Chinese women in order to maintain ethnic distinction. The early Qing dynasty policies also mainly applied to Han Chinese men. However, this was not fully implemented. Women, men, children, and the elderly still wore Hanfu at home and in daily life, festivals, and ceremonies until the end of the
Qing Dynasty. File:Rochanfu.jpg|Part of the participants of the 17th Confucius Conference wear
hanfu, 1910s. File:Chinese Upper Class Man Sitting at a Table Playing the Qin.jpg|Upper Class Man Sitting at a Table Playing the Qin, 1906–1912. File:Photos of Xia Zhenwu.jpg|A man wearing
hanfu in the late Qing Dynasty File:199. Chiant'ou farmer near Hami. SLNSW FL15408213.jpg|1910 Man from
Hami wearing cross-collared clothing. File:Abbott 主持 1917 Chengdu, Sichuan, China (Sidney D. Gamble Photographs Collection).jpg|Abbot wearing
hanfu. Chengdu, Sichuan, 1917.
Rebellion and resistance to Qing Han Chinese rebels who went against the Qing dynasty even retained their queue braids on the back but the symbol of their rebellion against the Qing was the growing of hair on the front of the head, causing the Qing government to view shaving the front of the head as the primary sign of loyalty to the Qing rather than wearing the braid on the back which did not violate Han customs and which traditional Han did not object to.
Koxinga insulted and criticized the Qing hairstyle by referring to the shaven pate looking like a fly. Koxinga and his men objected to shaving when the Qing demanded they shave in exchange for recognizing Koxinga as a feudatory. The rebels let their hair grow, wearing headscarves or red turbans over them, while others kept their queues hidden under the turbans. Though many of the male fashion still retained many similarities with that of the Qing dynasty. The kings and princes of the Heavenly Kingdom were the only people allowed to wear yellow
dragon robe. The clothing worn by Taiping Heavenly Kingdom were similarly based on confiscated or repurposed
paofu from the opera stages, including the dragon robes worn by the leaders of the rebellion. As a result, Ming dynasty style clothing was even retained in some places in China during the
Xinhai Revolution in 1911 AD. In the late Qing dynasty, some members of the
White Lotus sect cut down their queues in an act of defiance while most of them only remove a hair strand or unbraided their hair and let it loose. It was only later westernized revolutionaries, influenced by western hairstyle who began to view the braid as backward and advocated adopting short haired western hairstyles. File:189. Lao Tao of Kuan ti miao. Honan man aged 62 - 5 li West of Hsing Hsing hsia. April 3rd. SLNSW FL15408203.jpg|Taoist from 1910 wearing
daopao. File:Chinese fortune teller sitting next to a table (1908) 算命先生坐在桌旁 (Sidney D. Gamble Photographs Collection).jpg|Fortune-teller sitting next to a table, 1908. File:Taoist Priests (Vertical) 福星观的道士们 1919 (Sidney D. Gamble Photographs Collection).jpg|Taoist Priests of Fuxin Temple, 1919. File:Monks on the steps of a temple building 寺庙大殿台阶上站着的和尚们 1908 (Sidney D. Gamble Photographs Collection).jpg|Buddhist monks on the steps of a temple building, 1908.
Burial practices After death, their hair could also be combed into a topknot similar to the ones worn by the Han Chinese in Ming; a practice which was observed by the
Europeans; men who were wealthy but held no official rank were allowed to be buried in a deep-blue silk
shenyi which was edged with bright blue or white band. Yet, Manchu women and Han Chinese women never emulated each other's clothing; and as a result, by the end of the nineteenth century, Manchu and Han Chinese women had maintained distinctive clothing. Trousers were sometimes worn under the skirts if they were commoners or unmarried. The late Qing dynasty
ao had large sleeves, a
slant opening and was waist-length. The mamianqun had very subtle changes in both the cut and decorations throughout the Qing dynasty. However, by the
Xinhai revolution in 1911, the wide hemmed and wide sleeved Qing dynasty aoqun was no more popular among urban Han Chinese women in China; instead they started to make their clothing narrower. Ready-to-wear Western clothing had little popularity among Chinese consumers as due to proportion misfit of Western clothing. File:Thomson, John - Braut aus Manchu (4) (Zeno Fotografie).jpg|On the left, a
Han Chinese woman wearing Han Chinese clothing composed of an ao and a skirt; on the right, a
Manchu woman wearing a one-piece long robe, which is the precursor of the
qipao. File:MET DP241368.jpg|Qing dynasty aoqun worn in theatre for female role, 18th century. File:Playing a small drum.jpg|A woman dressed in an ao and a trousers, she is playing a small drum, from 1800. File:Playing a zheng.jpg|A woman wearing an ao with a long skirt, Playing a zheng, from 1800. File:Playing a wind instrument with a curved bell.jpg|A woman wearing an ao and trousers under an overskirt, she is playing a wind instrument with a curved bell, from 1800. File:Chinese embroidered silk lady's jacket and pleated skirt, c. 1900, East-West Center.JPG|Han Chinese embroidered silk lady's jacket and pleated skirt, c. 1900. File:Han women during the Manchu Qing dynasty.jpg|The clothing of Han women during the 19th century. The top ao from Ming dynasty was changed into a variation of the Manchu qizhuang, while skirt, which inherited the Ming style, was also influenced by Qing-style patterns. File:China, Qing Dynasty, late 19th century - Woman's Bridal Dress, Pleated Skirt - 2005.135.2 - Cleveland Museum of Art.jpg|Qing Dynasty pleated skirt; late 19th century File:Skirt (AM 1944.51-1).jpg|Woman's two panels skirt, Qing dynasty (1644–1912), Late 19th Century-Early 20th Century.
Children Infants would wear dudou, which was embroidered with luck charms, as their only clothing in hot summer months until they reach the age of two to three years old. Han Chinese children were spared from the
tifayifu policy and could be dressed in Hanfu; their clothing was fastened to the right side in the Ming dynasty–style. Their daily clothing was made of silk, and they would wear satin and silk clothing for special occasions; the colours of the clothing were bright and the clothing were typically red and pink as these were auspicious colours. They also wore a
baijiayi in the Qing dynasty to wish a child good fortune and as a protection from evil, as well as different style of hats, such as the "rice bowl hat", the "tiger head hat", and the "dog head hat", which aim to protect against evil spirits and later on to attract good fortune when they have to take important examinations. == 20th century ==