It is difficult to ascertain the nature of “rú” from ancient texts. The information recorded in the literature about rú is varied, with at least four different styles. The only thing that can be determined is that rú is a short garment, and its length is above the knee.
Rú, a short garment. —— Shuowen Jiezi
A short garment is called rú, extending from the knee upwards. —— (Tang Dynasty • Yan Shigu) Jijiu Pian Zhu
There are many records about “rú.” Its last appearance in documentary literature is related to Xie Shang of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. After that, it can only be found in poetry and drama.
Xie Zhenxi wore a purple silk rú, sat on a Hu bed playing the lute, and performed “The Great Road Ode.” —— (Eastern Jin • Pei Qi) Yulin
No matter which type of “rú,” understanding it from the literature is very challenging. Since this approach does not work, the most straightforward method is to find archaeological artifacts to see what they are like. Since the documentary records of “rú” end in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the search for archaeological artifacts should be limited to short upper garments before the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
Dong Han Rú • Excavated in Wuwei, Gansu
R01 has no collar edge, with a deep cross-collar that meets at the armpit, wider at the sleeve root than at the sleeve cuff, and very wide sleeve edges. According to the archaeological report, this set of rú skirts was found with an outer yellow-brown hemp shirt, but the archaeologists did not draw a simplified diagram, so it cannot be confirmed.
It is speculated to be an inner garment style.
Due to the lack of data, here we only simply enlarge and color the line diagram from the archaeological report.
Note: This is just a simplified diagram, not a cutting pattern.
R02 is a left-lapped garment with a differently colored collar edge and trim at the sleeve join. It also has a deep cross-collar that meets at the waist seam, a wider sleeve root than the sleeve cuff, and very wide sleeve edges. The sleeve edges of R02 are also trimmed, and the lower part below the waist seam uses the same material. Comparing the height of the waist seam and the description in the text as a “coat,” R02 may belong to the category of “long rú.”
R02 Cutting Pattern
R02 Simplified Diagram
The hem is close to knee height. R02 has two layers of silk fabric, with the neckline and collar edge forming a closed triangle. The sleeve edges are wide (refer to the curved skirt from Mawangdui), and the material used above and below the waist seam is the same. The front piece is slightly narrower than the back piece (due to the lack of data and comparison, the exact length of R02 cannot be determined).
Comparing it with the curved skirt from Mawangdui, it is recommended to have a sleeve edge width of 23 + 5 and a collar edge width of 7 + 5.
Figure R03 Eastern Jin • Qianliang Green Rú • Excavated in Huahai, Gansu
R03 has a shallow cross-collar, continuing the differently colored collar edge and trim at the sleeve join from R02, but the collar edge is narrower, the sleeve root and sleeve cuff are the same width, the sleeve length is shorter, reaching only to the wrist, and the sleeve edges are shorter with more decoration. The lower part below the waist seam uses different material.
R03 Cutting Pattern
R03 Simplified Diagram
R03 should be an outer garment, but the part below the waist seam needs to be covered by a skirt. R03's sleeve length reaches only to the wrist, and at least one layer of inner garment is needed inside, with a narrower sleeve cuff than R03.
The excavated artifact does not come with a skirt. Here, we refer to the mural of a servant girl from the Dong Han Dahu Ting Han Tomb, recommending a plain pleated skirt. The waistband of the pleated skirt can be relatively high, but when worn, it will be pressed down by the sleeve roots, creating the common feature of a wide middle and narrow sides seen in the servant girl's figure.
Similarly, the rú excavated in Xinjiang and Gansu regions, R01 was found with an outer hemp straight-collar shirt, suggesting that R01 might be an inner garment worn inside a straight-collar shirt of the Western Han Dynasty, possibly a summer style; while R02 and R03 have decorations at the sleeve joins, indicating they might be outer garments. From R01 to R02 and then to R03, the cross-collar becomes shallower, and the sleeves become narrower and wider. These changes may be related to the differences between inner and outer garments, as well as climate changes and fashion trends during the Han, Wei, and Six Dynasties periods. The lower part below the waist seam of R01 and R03 uses different material, while the lower part below the waist seam of R02 uses the same material. It is speculated that R01 and R03 should be worn under a skirt, while R02 can be worn as the outermost layer.
Speculation: Tang Dynasty Rú
Following this trend, it might develop into the style shown in Figure R04. R04 has only a thin collar edge, with the waist seam higher than the human waist, and ties above the waist seam. The tie positions are close, but the directions are opposite. When worn, the ties wrap around the body almost once. Using these ties, the skirt waist can be fixed at a position higher than the waist and lower than the chest, i.e., a high-waist rú skirt. In the Tang Dynasty, there were still rú with separate upper and lower sections connected at the waist seam.
Figure R04 Tang • Half-sleeve • Wu Bazi from the Shōsō-in Repository, Japan
The wearing method of R04 is similar to R03. Due to the characteristics of the era, the skirt waist should be relatively narrow, and a shawl can also be paired.
The wearing effect is similar to the following image:
The sleeves of the above four images are all relatively loose. This looseness comes from the wide sleeve roots, which is different from large cuffs. The lowest point of the sleeve roots should be below the height of a woman's chest, and the sleeve cuff width is less than or equal to the sleeve root width.
This type of rú with separate upper and lower sections can fix the skirt waist using the waist seam and ties, which is key to preventing the high-waist rú skirt from slipping down.
After the Tang Dynasty, this type of rú with separate upper and lower sections connected at the waist seam disappeared. No such examples were found in the artifacts of the Song, Yuan, and Ming Dynasties. Instead, upper garments like ao (coat) and shan (shirt) that are cut through became prevalent. Later literati still had the concept of “rú,” but they could no longer associate this term with the actual clothing styles existing in society.