Hanfu (Hanfu, Huafu, Huaxiayiguan) is the traditional costume of the Chinese nation. According to legend, it was created by the Yellow Emperor and lasted for more than 4,000 years until the bloody and mandatory shaving of hair in the early Qing Dynasty. Its basic feature is the cross-collar and right-flap lace-up, supplemented by a round collar and a placket.
What is Hanfu?
I think you are like me. Before you understood Hanfu, you mistakenly thought that the clothes worn by the ancients were Hanfu! Hanfu is not "the costume of the Han Dynasty", but the "traditional costume of the Han nation", also known as "Han costume", "Han costume" and "Huafu". According to legend, it started under Emperor Xuanyuan and began to decline in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, but it was not completely extinct.
Hanfu is one of the oldest ethnic costumes in the world. It has lasted for more than 4,000 years and embodies the Chinese national culture style formed by the ancestors' images of heaven and earth. Hanfu is not just a piece of clothing, but the epitome of a great civilization and the skin of a great nation.
What are the characteristics of Hanfu design?
The main features of Hanfu are crossed collars, right gussets, waistbands, tied with ropes, and belt hooks, etc., giving people a free and elegant impression. These characteristics are obviously different from the costumes of other ethnic groups. The so-called "cross-collar" means that after wearing it, the left and right fronts of the clothes overlap and the two sides of the clothes intersect to form a collar.
The so-called "right gusset" means that the right side of the jacket's front is shorter and the left is longer. After wearing it, the front is covered to the right.
Seven major styles of HanfuDeep clothes
Shenyi and Shenyi Hanfu are two different concepts. Deep clothing refers specifically to styles derived from deep clothing according to the Book of Rites, such as Zhu Zi's deep clothing. Shenyi type Hanfu refers to long clothing that is sewn up and down and has a deep quilt. Because it is similar to Shenyi, it was classified as Shenyi during the revival of modern Hanfu and archaeological classification.
Judging from the literature records that can be accessed so far, "deep clothes" first appeared in the "Book of Rites". Among them, it is mentioned in the chapters "Tan Gong Shang", "King Zhi", "Tamazao" and "Shen Yi".
When wearing dark clothes, you must also take into account the specific personal and family circumstances and use different edges as modifications. "With parents, eldest parents, the clothes are pure with silk. With parents, the clothes are pure with green. Like an orphan, the clothes are pure with plain clothes, the clothes are pure, the edge is pure, and each inch and a half is wide."
Skirt
The short coat worn on the upper body and the skirt tied on the lower body are collectively called the Ruqun, which is a typical "top and lower skirt" clothing system. The top is called "ru" and is shorter in length, usually no longer than the knee. The lower body is called "skirt". It can be seen that "Ruqun" is actually the collective name of two types of clothing. Ruqun appeared in the Warring States Period and rose in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties.
Based on the height of the skirt waist, the skirts are divided into waist-length skirts, high-waist skirts and chest-length skirts. Depending on the style of the collar, underskirts can be divided into cross-collar underskirts and straight-collar underskirts. According to the difference between whether it is tucked in or not, the skirt is divided into single skirt and compound skirt. The single skirt is closer to a shirt, and the compound skirt is closer to a coat.
Half arm
Half-arms were very popular in the early Tang Dynasty, and people wore short sleeves and short jackets for a long time. In the early Tang Dynasty, most of the clothes were narrow. On the murals discovered today from the tomb of Princess Yongtai in the Tang Dynasty, among the maids in the honor guard, there is a woman with a bun and a half-armor cover over her dress.
In the Tang Dynasty, the fabrics of half-arms were mostly brocade, and they were worn under round-neck robes, so they were called brocade half-arms. Women in the Tang Dynasty liked to wear narrow and thin clothes, but the sleeves were mainly loose. The half-arm style looks more everyday in modern times. It is considered a quarter sleeve. It can be paired with a fur shawl in autumn and winter, and it looks very delicate in summer.
Bunt
The bunt is "苋Brown", also known as "vertical brown" and "short brown". It is a type of ancient Hanfu. The "short" here does not mean long or short. The three characters "duan", "vertical" and "裋" have the same pronunciation and are all pronounced as "shù". "Short" means "裋", and "苋" means vertical cutting, which means a straight-cut top. Brown: linen, animal hair knitted fabrics. The original meaning of short brown is a coarse cloth top woven from burlap or animal hair.
Quju
The emergence of curved trains may be related to the fact that the Han nationality initially did not wear crotchless trousers. It was in line with etiquette to have such multiple protections for the hem. Therefore, deep clothes with curved trains were more popular from the pre-Qin to Han dynasties when crotchless hakama was not popular. It can be worn by both men and women at first. Later, men's skirts became less and less popular, and skirts remained as women's clothing for a relatively long time. The curved robe is long and touches the ground, and the feet are not exposed. It has the characteristics of subtlety and elegance.
Bare collar
The bare-collared dress was a semi-topless undergarment in the Tang Dynasty. The material was made of gauze. At that time, people described it as "a slow-cut skirt that half-covers the chest," "a staggered and shameful snow lotus," and "the delicate strands of silk are visible on the skin." , paired with a long skirt, fully reflects the graceful figure and natural beauty of women in the Tang Dynasty.
Beizi
Backs are also different in different eras. They are generally tops with slits, lengths ranging from the waist to the tops of the feet, and most of them are straight collared tops.
Three major misunderstandings about HanfuFirst of all, Hanfu is the clothing of the Han people, not the clothing of the Central Plains dynasties in the traditional sense, such as the Han, Tang, Song, Ming and other dynasties. Hanfu has no specific time dimension, only a specific cultural dimension.
Secondly, there is a particularly obvious feature to distinguish whether it is Hanfu, that is, there are no buttons. If you see someone wearing Hanfu with buttons, then it is not Hanfu in the true sense.
Finally, Hanfu is worn with the right lapels folded over the collar, and the left lapels are worn by the deceased. At the same time, when wearing Hanfu, you cannot dishevel your hair. I hope our female readers can pay attention to this.
Today we introduced in detail the seven major styles and three major misunderstandings of Hanfu. Hanfu culture is broad and profound. Its cultural connotation is not only the clothing itself, but also includes daily life etiquette.
