Han Chinese Clothing--Han Fu

Since ancient times, the Chinese people are a fashionable kind and have set many trends. Chinese clothing has seen immense variations and influences from the olden days. Many designs at present still draw inspiration from the ancient Chinese culture. There are various dynasties that influenced the styles of Chinese clothing. From long robes to wide sleeves, each had their own distinct pattern, which made its mark. Han Chinese clothing, or Hanfu, refers to the clothing worn by the Han ethnic people from the ruling periods of the Three Emperors and Five Sovereigns to the Ming Dynasty. It was the traditional costume of the nation worn for millennia and representative of the characteristics of the Han nationality. Over thousands of years, the Han people created brilliant Hanfu culture with their wisdom. Han Chinese clothing retained its simple and elegant style. The main characters of the clothing include Y shaped cross collar with the left one upon the right, no buttons, and string or belt fastening, giving a free and elegant feel. There are ceremonial wear and informal wear in Hanfu clothing. It was also known that one has to follow the rules of dressing that belonged to the Hanfu styles, as a mark of respect. The basic style and design of the Hanfu were developed to a great extent in the Shang Dynasty. The Shang dynasty saw 2 basic styles-The Yi and the Shang. The Yi is the coat worn on top and the Shang is the skirt that is worn beneath. There was a major use of sash instead of buttons and the sleeve cuffs were styled narrow. The colors of the fabrics were basically in warm tones. Accessories and hair ornaments are also important components of Hanfu. In ancient times, boys and girls of the Han nationality would wear their hair in a coil and hold it in place with a hairpin after the coming-of-age ceremony. Men traditionally wore coronets, scarves and caps etc. Women would comb their hair in various styles of coils or buns and wear all kinds of hair ornaments such as pearls, flowers and buyaos (a kind of hairpin) etc. Hanfu also created a great influence on Korean and Japanese clothing at that time. With increasing cultural ties between Korea and China since the latter half of the Three Kingdoms period, the aristocratic class and rulers started adopting traditional style of Chinese clothes. As Silla unified the Three Kingdoms of Korea, various foreign cultures and systems were imported from Tang China. In the process, the latest fashion trend of Luoyang, the capital of Tang, were also introduced to Korea. This fashion was similar to the Western empire style but differed from the Korean style in that women wore a skirt over a jacket to make the body slim. After the unification, Korean women started wearing the new style, which was popular not only in China but also in countries influenced by the Silk Road exchange. The style was, however, discontinued during the Goryeo dynasty, the next ruling state of Korea. Dallyeong, a style of clothing from nomadic cultures of Western Asia, was introduced via Tang China and was adopted as the official robe system, Gwanbok, in the 4th century until the 17th century. As the kimonos, the earliest kimonos were heavily influenced by traditional Han Chinese clothing, known today as Hanfu through

Japanese embassies to China which resulted in extensive Chinese culture adoptions by Japan, as early as the 5th century AD. It was during the 8th century, however, that Chinese fashions came into style among the Japanese, and the overlapping collar became particularly womens fashion. Click here to get more information about Han chinese clothing.