Beizi

translates literally to "person sitting behind". According to Zhu Xi, the may have originated from clothing worn by concubines and maidservants, and it was named after these people as they would always walk behind their mistress. == History ==

Origins The beizi originated in the Song dynasty; According to Ye Mende, the was initially worn as a military clothing with half-sleeves; the sleeves were later extended and hanging ribbons were added from the armpits and back. While women were allowed to wear beizi as a regular dress, men could only wear it in informal situation. During the Song dynasty, the was worn as a casual form of clothing by the recluse and retired officials; it could be worn over a zhiduo. Hechang were long and loose, and it could be made of down of crane and other birds, it was long enough for its lower hem to reach the ground. File:Gauze Robe, Southern Song (33548426031).jpg|Unearthed with narrow sleeves from the tomb of Huang Sheng, Southern Song dynasty. File:蠶織圖局部2.jpg|Commoner women wearing i, Song dynasty. File:Looking in the Mirror and dabs on Rouge Powder.jpg|Song dynasty women wearing , Northern Song dynasty (960–1127 AD). File:CMOC Treasures of Ancient China exhibit - pictorial brick depicting a woman cleaning and drying vessels, print version.jpg|Song dynasty relief of a woman wearing a beizi. File:Sung Dynasty Tomb Painting Found in Tengfeng City 6.jpg|Women wearing , Song dynasty Tomb Painting Found in Tengfeng City. File:Court Ladies of the Former Shu by Tang Yin.jpg|Court Ladies of the Former Shu wearing post-Tang Style beizi. File:Song Beizi.jpg|Song dynasty beizi, 12th century. File:Beizi song.jpg|A man wearing a "Song Style" , or . File:秦檜.jpg|A man wearing a . File:北宋 佚名 睢陽五老，畢世長像 冊頁-Portrait of Bi Shichang, from the set Five Old Men of Suiyang MET DP275671.jpg|Portrait of Bi Shichang wearing . File:宋梁楷東籬高士圖軸 Gentleman of the Eastern Fence detail K2A000127N000000000PAI.png|Painting of a scholar wearing fur-lined . Ming dynasty Women's became so long by the 16th century that it caused some anxieties to government officials as the women's started to look closer to the men's clothing. Traditionally, women's upper garments stopped at her waist, being covered with a lower garment in order to represent "earth supporting heaven". In the 17th and 18th century AD, the was one of the most common clothing and fashion worn by women in Qing dynasty, along with the ruqun, yunjian, taozi and bijia. The pifeng continued to be worn even after the fall of the Qing dynasty, but eventually disappeared by the 19th century. File:Beizi 1.jpg|Modern pink pifeng. == Construction and design ==

The has a straight silhouette with vents and seams at the sides. where a pair of disconnected foreparts lay parallel to each other. Qing dynasty. In the Song dynasty, other styles of were also found in addition to the aforementioned style: • There is a style of wherein ribbons could be hung from both the armpits and the back, with a silk belt which fastened the front and back of the together, or the front and back parts of the could also be left unbound. In the Song dynasty, the sleeves of the beizi was fuller, but it became more tubular in shape in the Ming dynasty. Gender differences The gender difference is that while wide-sleeved beizi were considered formal wear for women (narrow-sleeved beizi were casual wear for women), both wide and narrow-sleeved beizi were only used as casual wear for men. == Depictions and media ==

• In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Zhuge Liang is said to be wearing hechang. File:Kongming Leaving the Mountains (cropped).jpg|Zhu Geliang wearing a hechang (also known as beizi). == Influences and derivatives ==

China In Chinese opera, costumes such as and were derived from the beizi worn during the Ming dynasty (i.e. ). Both and had tubular sleeves which were longer than then wrist length. In Joseon, fans with white feather and the hakchangui became the representative clothing of Zhuge Liang, hermits, and scholars who followed taoism. Vietnam The Ao Nhat Binh (, ), which was a casual outer garment worn by the female royal family, female officials, and high noble ladies of the Nguyen dynasty during informal occasions, originated from the Ming dynasty pifeng () which was popular in China. The Ao Nhat Binh was further developed in the Nguyen dynasty to denote social ranking of women through the use of colours and embroidery patterns. File:Vietnamese woman wearing Áo Nhật Bình.jpg|Vietnamese woman wearing Áo Nhật Bình == Similar items ==

• Daxiushan • Daopao in the form of hechang (crane cloak) - a form of Taoist clothing == Related items ==