Feb 21 , 2023
Origin of Chinese Hanfu
Hanfu is the traditional national costume of the Han nationality in China. From the period of the Three Emperors and Five Emperors to the Ming Dynasty, the Chinese people did not change the basic characteristics of clothing. The clothing worn by the Han people during this period was Hanfu.
It is the embodiment of China's "Clothing Country", "Etiquette State" and "Splendid China". It carries the outstanding craftsmanship and aesthetics of the Han nationality's dyeing, weaving and embroidery, and inherits more than 30 Chinese intangible cultural heritages and protected Chinese arts and crafts. .
1. Origin and formation
(1) Hanfu activities
According to some ancient books, the Han nationality (and its ancestors) already had a unique clothing system. Before the era supported by archaeological objects, the earliest appearance of Hanfu should be in the Yin and Shang Dynasties. About 5,000 years ago, people began to use woven linen to make clothes. Huangdi's wife, Leizu, invented silkworm feeding and silk spinning, and people's clothing and clothing became more and more complete.
After the Yin and Shang dynasties, the crown clothing system was initially established. In the Western Zhou Dynasty, the clothing system was gradually improved, and a chapter clothing system centered on "the emperor's crown clothing" was formed.
(2) Hanfu Movement
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the styles of clothes were unprecedentedly rich, mainly in deep clothes and Hu clothes. In the late Zhou Dynasty, Shenyi was created. The crown and clothing system was included in the scope of "rule by etiquette" and became a form of etiquette. Since then, China's clothing and crown system has become more detailed. In short, the system of deep clothing is actually the first of the ancient clothing, and the leader's clothing of the deep clothing is not only in its system form, but also in the upper and lower uniforms. In terms of time, it has been popular for the longest time. Along with the deep clothing, Hu clothing also appeared. Hu clothing generally consisted of short jackets, trousers and boots.
2. Future development
After Qin unified China, a system of clothing and hats was established. Men's and women's clothing in the Western Han Dynasty still followed the form of deep clothing. There are middle clothes and deep clothes in the cicada clothes. The typical women’s deep garments in the Western Han Dynasty came in two types, straight and curvy, and the cut was different from the Warring States period. Men's deep coats in the Western Han Dynasty had necklines as wide as the shoulders, straight skirts on the right lapel, and the front lapel drooped to the ground. In order to facilitate activities, the back lapel was cut out in a trapezoidal shape from below the knee, so that the two lapels on both sides were shaped like dovetails. Women in the Han Dynasty liked to wear a broken jacket and a long skirt when they were working, and a long belt was decorated on the top of the bag; men in the Han Dynasty wore a broken jacket when they were working, and they wore short-nosed trousers and a cloth skirt around their clothes. wear.
By the time of Emperor Ming of the Eastern Han Dynasty, referring to the clothing systems of the Three Dynasties and Qin Dynasty, he established the crown clothing system of the Han Dynasty with the crown and hat as the main symbol of class distinction. It is mainly divided into two types: Qufu gown and straight gown, which can be worn on other occasions except for sacrifices and court meetings. Another feature of the Han Dynasty was the implementation of the matching ribbon system.
The costumes of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties still followed the old system of the Qin and Han Dynasties to the mutual influence, mutual absorption, and gradual integration of various ethnic groups during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. The clothing of this period is mainly characterized by natural, free and easy, elegant and sparse. The clothing of the Han men in this period is mainly shirts with wide cuffs and no binding. Han women's hair accessories are also quite characteristic, mainly the popularity of chignon. Women's clothing in the Wei and Jin Dynasties inherited the customs of the Qin and Han Dynasties and improved on the traditional basis. Generally, the upper body wore shirts, jackets, and jackets, and the lower body wore skirts. , the skirt is a multi-pleated skirt, the skirt is long to the floor, and the hem is loose, so as to achieve a handsome and chic effect.
The clothing of the Tang Dynasty is a link between the past and the future, and the legal clothes and ordinary clothes go hand in hand at the same time. Legal clothes are traditional dresses, including crowns, crowns, clothes, skirts, etc. Ordinary clothes, also known as official clothes, are clothes worn on general formal occasions, including round-neck gowns, Futou, leather belts, boots, etc. Pinseyi has formed a system in the Tang Dynasty. Commoners mostly wear white clothes. In the Sui Dynasty and the early Tang Dynasty, women's short jackets were all made of small sleeves and tight-fitting long skirts. Slender feeling.
The costumes of the Song Dynasty generally followed the old system of the Sui and Tang Dynasties. But the costumes of this period advocated simplicity, rigor and restraint. Women's hairstyles are most expensive in the high bun, which was popular in the late Tang Dynasty, and it has become a custom to insert flowers in hairpins. The women's skirts in the Song Dynasty were narrower than those in the Tang Dynasty, and had thin pleats; most of the shirts were double-breasted and covered the skirts.
In the Yuan Dynasty, long clothes were collectively called robes, and there was little difference in style between the north and the south, but there was a huge gap in the quality of the materials. The hairstyles of Han men have not changed much, but the hairstyles of Han women in the north are simpler than before. The main first clothes of officials in the Ming Dynasty were slightly different from Song and Yuan Futou. Ordinary people's clothing may be long or short, or shirt, or skirt, basically inheriting the traditional clothing style, and the variety is very rich. During the Ming Dynasty, in addition to the hats worn by ordinary people, in addition to the ones handed down in the past, Zhu Yuanzhang personally formulated two kinds, which were promulgated throughout the country and used by scholars and common people, namely the six-in-one unified hat and the square flat scarf.
4. Revival of Hanfu
Although Hanfu itself disappeared under the Qing Dynasty’s ruling policies such as shaving hair and changing clothes, some elements of Hanfu can still be seen in some important sacrifices, commemorative activities, and folk festivals in modern society because of its strong vitality. At the beginning of the 21st century, with the development of China's national power, people began to examine the outstanding parts of their own traditional culture.
Some people have restored the traditional costumes of the Han nationality by textual research on Hanfu and taking its essence and discarding its dross. At the same time, by restoring traditional festivals, restoring traditional etiquette, offering sacrifices to sages, promoting traditional theories, and propagating traditional musical instruments, etc., they re-advocate the restoration of traditional Hanfu and wear Hanfu Promote it and call it the Hanfu Movement.
Five, clothing structure
Hanfu is cut from cloth two feet and two inches wide (about 50cm), and is divided into ten parts: collar, skirt, lapel, lapel, skirt, sleeves, sleeves, belt, and lace. Take two pieces of cloth of equal length, fold them in half, make the front skirt and back skirt, and sew the middle seam of the back. There is no gusset in the front, which is a straight collar paired skirt. If you take another piece of cloth, cut it into two gussets, and sew them on the left and right skirts, it will be a right gusset with a slanted collar. The middle seam of the front skirt and the rear skirt is called the skirt, namely the governor vessel and the Ren vessel, and the skirt is on the right side of the Ren vessel, so it is called the right skirt. The length of the train is divided into waist, knee and foot. According to the length of the skirt,
Hanfu has three lengths: jacket, jacket, and deep clothing. The seam between the sleeve and the skirt is called 袼, and the cuff is called Qu. A complete set of Hanfu usually has three layers: a small garment (underwear), a middle garment, and a coat.
6. Collar the right lapel
In Hanfu, when the left side of the skirt and the right side of the skirt are crossed in front of the chest, the intersection of the neckline is naturally formed, so it is called "intersection collar"; The science of symmetry shows a unique spirit of neutrality, which means that one should be impartial.
The most typical collar shape of Hanfu is "cross-collar right lapel", that is, the collar is directly connected to the front of the skirt, and the front of the skirt crosses in front of the chest. , forming the effect that the overall clothing is tilted to the right. 衽, the original meaning of the skirt. The left front skirt covers the right armpit tie, and the right skirt is covered inside, which is called the right lapel, which is also inseparable from the traditional Chinese thought of "respecting the right".
Another kind of "cross-collar" supplementary is "straight collar" and "coiled collar". Straight collar means that the collar is directly parallel and vertical from the chest, without crossing the chest, some have a tie at the chest, and some are directly open without a tie. This kind of straight-collared clothes are generally worn outside the cross-collared Hanfu, and are often used in daily outerwear styles such as blouses, half-arms, and slacks. The collar is a more common style in men's clothing. The collar is round and plate-shaped, and it is also on the right lapel. There is a tie on the right shoulder. It was used in official clothes of the Han and Tang Dynasties, and it also has a collar style in daily wear. .
7. Status influence
Han people's recognition of Han clothing is part of national consciousness. At the time of the Wuhu chaos, the intellectuals and people of all walks of life in the Central Plains fled to the south one after another, preserving the fire of the Central Plains civilization, and gradually developing the south of the Yangtze River into a prosperous and prosperous place. . In the Song Dynasty, Guo Jing committed suicide because he did not want to abandon the Han clothes.
Hanfu has a far-reaching influence due to the spread of Chinese Confucian kingly culture. The surrounding ethnic groups, including many other countries in the Confucian cultural circle (Han cultural circle), have borrowed certain features of Hanfu by imitating the Chinese etiquette system, and used it for good and bad guests. In addition, the Chinese guest etiquette also stipulated that the monarchs of the Siyi must wear their own national costumes to meet the Chinese emperor, which is called "the barbarians wear their national costumes". In the vassal system of the Han and Tang dynasties, the leaders of the surrounding ethnic groups had the so-called "chaoji" system in which they met the emperor regularly. Whether it is foreign monarchs and their envoys or courtiers paying homage to the Chinese emperor, accepting official positions, contributing party goods, or Chinese emperors entertaining foreign monarchs, foreign monarchs must wear national costumes to worship. The national costume system has prompted the surrounding ethnic groups to form their own national costumes. For example, Emperor Taizong of Khitan entered Jin Dynasty and came into contact with the clothing system of the Central Plains. After returning to the north, he formulated the national and Han clothing systems of the dynasty with reference to the clothing system of the Central Plains. Over the past dynasties, there has been a "Painting of Duties" depicting the costumes of other countries' envoys.
