Hanfu Accessories

Vocabulary Ji, 笄 (jī) - the most simplistic hair accessories to secure updos used by ancient Chinese.  Zan, 簪 (zān) - a more complex version of Ji. What hanfu hairpins are now called. On one end are accessories, and the other is a pin that is inserted into a hair bun. Chai, 钗 (chāi) - also a hairpin quite similar to Zan. Chāi have two split pins on one end. The two pins will get pushed into the hair bun and stay much more securely than one pin in Zan and Ji. Guan, 冠 (guān) - literal translation is "crown". The crown in ancient China looked more like a net hat that encompassed hair buns within. Based on the crown, any sort of hairpin can be used to further secure the hat to the head.   Materials and Purpose Ji are considered the earliest and plainest hair accessories. It takes on the shape of a stick with or without a simple carved out design on one end and a single stick on the other. It is often carved out of a single piece of material or cut out separately then assembled at the end. This accessory is said to exist even…...

When it comes to eastern beauties, we often think of those beautiful ladies who seem to come out of the pictures. There is such a female star - Gong Li, this legendary female star in the Chinese film industry, has become an idol in the hearts of countless people with her exquisite acting skills and unique temperament. Her cheongsam style is even more deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Whenever she appears in front of the camera in a cheongsam, it seems that time comes to a standstill. With her exquisite acting skills, she has shaped one classic role after another. And among them, her image in a cheongsam is even more unforgettable. Today, let's unveil the story behind Gong Li's cheongsam together and explore the source of the charm of this eastern goddess. As a representative of traditional Chinese clothing, the cheongsam and Gong Li's temperament complement each other. In "Farewell to My Concubine", the elaborate and delicate embroidery on the cheongsam that Gong Li played as Ju Xian wore, and the opponent scenes with Leslie Cheung and Zhang Fengyi can be called a classic. The embroidery on that cheongsam is exquisite and delicate, and it is…...

Moe (抹额), a kind of Chinese traditional clothing accessories, was popular in the Ming Dynasty. Moe tied on the forehead, usually decorated with embroidery or pearl jade. The application of Moe in the ancient army In the Tang Dynasty, Moe often appeared on the warrior's forehead. On the murals of the tomb of Prince Zhang Huai in the Tang Dynasty, there are warriors wearing red Moe. In the written records at that time, the word "Moe" appeared. Li He, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, once wrote a poem describing the drill of the water army: "water splashes on the Moe, flags, and drums will greet the tide at night." In the Five Dynasties, there was a "military Moe" clause. At that time, different colors were used as marks in the military to distinguish different armies. Moe - the mystery of women's beauty In the Song Dynasty, it was more used by women who loved beauty. Women's Moe in Song Dynasty became more exquisite in production. Historical materials also recorded that "ordinary families can't decorate jewelry, clothes, earrings, Moe and so on with pearls". Although women of ordinary status are not allowed to decorate Moe with pearls, their Moe styles…...

Hey everyone, thanks for waiting! Our next topic is gonna be pretty exciting for most of you who love the classic ruqun aesthetic: we’re going to be going over the historical relics for the Wei/Jin and Northern/Southern Dynasty! Since there are so few of these relics, this article is going to focus on the Wei/Jin Dynasty as a whole, including restored relics, art references, and misconceptions about the Wei/Jin Dynasty. It might be a bit of a shorter article due to little material, but I know that people are really interested in this period of time, so let’s get to it! 魏晉南北朝/魏晋南北朝/wei4 jin4 nan2 bei3 chao2/Wei/Jin and Northern/Southern Dynasties refers to the period of time between 220 and 589CE. Also known as 六朝/六朝/liu4 chao2/Six Dynasties, this set of dynasties are compressed into one general block of time by historians because of the rapid exchange of power. Following the Eastern Han dynasty, the Three Kingdoms period had the Cao Wei kingdom at its forefront, with the Western Jin Dynasty coming right after ruled by Sima Yan. This was followed by the Northern Dynasties, when the Northern Wei, Western Wei, Easter Wei, and Northern Zhou and Qi Dynasties followed each other rapidly,…...

Vocabulary Moon-shaped fan; 团扇 (tuánshàn). Also called 宫扇(gōng shàn), 纨扇 (wánshàn), 合欢扇 (héhuān shàn), a fan that is made from silks, embroideries, golds, beads, etc. later on into the period.  Barrier fan; 障扇 (zhàng shàn) - one of the earliest version of fan from ancestors. Made with pheasant’s feathers and has a long handle. Also known as 长扇 (Chǎng shàn)、掌扇 (zhǎng shàn)、五明扇 (wǔ míng shàn). It is under the category of moon-shaped fan (团扇). Imperial carriage; 辇 (niǎn). Also known as chariot. This is the earlier versions of traveling vehicles primarily used by prestigious people for ceremonial processes, imperial tours, and any other formal occasions. The usage of this is closely related to imperial court instead of public, such as for emperor, queen’s mother, empress, and imperial concubines. These types of carriage are still man-drawn, and are made of simple designs with either a cushion or a chair for the individual seating on it.   History of Tuanshan The moon-shaped fan, also known as 团扇 (tuánshàn), is a traditional handicraft tool of the Han people from ancient China. It consists of four main components: the fan's frame, handles (usually short in length), the fan's surface (made of semi-transparent or opaque…...

The popularity of palace dramas has always been at the forefront of Chinese costume dramas, such as Empresses in the Palace, Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace, Story of Yanxi Palace, and other classic dramas. The most famous of them is the Empresses in the Palace, a decade-old drama that is still a hit today and is watched repeatedly by netizens to study the relationships and details of the characters in the drama. If you have ever watched a Qing Dynasty palace drama, did you find that the concubines in the drama often wore a white scarf? Its official name is: Ling Jin (领巾). But the vast majority of the time, it was mistakenly called the Long Hua (龙华), but there is no historical record associated with this name. The Qing Dynasty was a minority dynasty, and its dress and costumes were different from those of all the dynasties, with typical minority characteristics. Out of the need for safaris, in order to keep the flexibility of head-turning, the clothes of the Qing Dynasty maintained the attributes of collarless, or the separation of clothes and collar. The collarless design was originally designed for hunting life, so with the Qing army established…...

Our previous articles have covered the costume components of the Song emperors, but today we focus on the composition and details of the Song empress costumes, using the Empress Cao's costume from the Qing Ping Yue TV series as a reference for comparison with museum collections. From the makeup poster of Empress Cao's character, Jiang Shuying, the cast still referenced the costumes in the "Axis of the Seated Portrait of empress Song Renzong (宋仁宗皇后坐像轴)" which is now in the National Palace Museum in Taipei, and perhaps due to the poor detail definition of the phoenix crown in the portrait, the phoenix crown was restored with reference to Liu E's phoenix crown in the similar era of Empress Zhenzong (真宗皇后). It's also worth noting that this empress costumes are of a higher class and therefore more elaborate, so let's start with a brief dissection of what Empress Cao is wearing. "Axis of the Seated Portrait of empress Song Renzong"   Dragon & Phoenix Flower Hairpin Crown In today's context, we are accustomed to referring to the Empress's ceremonial crown as a "phoenix crown" and sometimes the bride's jewelry as a "phoenix crown", but for a long time in ancient China, jewelry…...

In December 2020, Pantone Color Institute announced the 2021 popular colors, Ultimate Gray and Illuminating, these two colors, a bright and a reliable & calm, Illuminating color is like a light that cut through the moments that were fixed in 2020and becomes the most comfortable match for 2021. Returning to the traditional Hanfu, what are the historical origin and matching of yellow and gray? Let's take a look. 01 - The honored yellow color in history Perhaps subconsciously, you would think that yellow is the exclusive color of ancient emperors. Is this true? In ancient times, yellow was a frequently mentioned color: During the Zhou Dynasty, it was recorded in Yi-Kun (易·坤): "Huang Shang Yuan Ji (黄裳元吉)", meaning that wearing inconspicuous yellow lower garments was greatly auspicious. In ancient China, yellow is used to refer to the earth, which is actually a very friendly color. The yellow color in the ancient painting "Bunian Tu (步辇图)" is a bit on the red side of the yellow, which is the earthy brown we often talk about. In addition, we must mention Zhao Kuangyin. Zhao Kuangyin launched the Chenqiao mutiny, the soldiers offered the yellow robe to Zhao, embraced as emperor. Thus, after…...

On the afternoon of May 22nd, "Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Red-Moon Pact" held an advance screening in Beijing. Five specially invited experts, along with media representatives and 300 audience members, gathered to watch the exciting first two episodes of "Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Red-Moon Pact" on the big screen. They engaged in in-depth discussions with the executive producer of "Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Red-Moon Pact" and senior vice president of iQIYI, Dai Ying, as well as directors Mai Guanzhi and Du Lin. The five experts were Wang Yichuan, Vice Chairman of the China Literary Critics Association; Kang Wei, Editor-in-Chief of China Art News; screenwriter Song Fangjin; renowned director Lin Nan, known for his expertise in fantasy genres; and Li Yinghui, an expert in filigree inlay and lecturer at Zhejiang International Studies University. Li Yinghui was also involved in the prop production for the series and shared the rich history of filigree inlay craftsmanship with the audience, highlighting its clever application in the show. The experts provided immediate feedback and shared their impressions and evaluations of "Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Red-Moon Pact."   Wang Yichuan: Embodies the chivalrous spirit of traditional Chinese culture I've had limited exposure to fantasy dramas in the past, so I…...

It has been twenty years since the revival of hanfu. During this period, some people think that hanfu should be kept in formal wear and not be popularized to daily wear, as modern people already have convenient and customary clothes, so there is no need to change it; others think that daily hanfu costume is the direction and trend of the future development of hanfu. But in fact, since the epidemic, the decrease in hanfu activities and hanfu stages has in fact pushed the development of daily hanfu costumes, and everyday style hanfu has started to become the new popular fashion. Hanfu Shi Dai has compiled a summary of three routes that have emerged for the current everydayization of hanfu.   Style A The first is to follow the traditional hanfu form and change the color scheme, fabric, and matching to create a more fashionable and everyday effect than the traditional classical style hanfu, which also includes some designs that mix and match different styles within the framework of the basic form.       Style B Style B mixes Hanfu with Western-style tailoring clothing. It is more common for a single item of hanfu, such as Ma Mian Qun…...

"Look at the dress she's wearing, it's a breeze to walk in summer."As a spokesperson for this statement, Zhang Ailing liked to wear exaggerated clothes with wide sleeves, and in the classic photo, her outwardly expressive looks are matched. Today, let's follow in the footsteps of Han's costume time, and feel the clash of classics and fashion together! She attributes her fascination with clothing to her personal choices in the face of social collapse: "During political turmoil, people have no ability to improve their life situations. They can only create the environment in which they fit - and that is clothing. Each of us dwells in his own clothes." ▶ It's also elegant to make a flower in a bun. During the feudal era, women' opinion on their appearance was very low, so dressing up became an indispensable part of their lives, especially in the Song Dynasty, when they had to fix their hair and flowers. In the second year of the Song Dynasty (989 A.D.), the imperial court ordered that high buns and crowns should not be worn by women, but the prohibition did not stop women from loving beauty. In the Song Dynasty, there was silk woven with…...

Traditional Chinese nail guards (Zhi Jia Tao, 指甲套), also known as "Hu Zhi (护指, finger protection)". The ancient palace noblewomen used gold and silver to make nail guards to protect their nails and show their status, were extremely fine and gorgeous, with a wide variety. If you have watched the wonderful historical TV drama Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace, you may have noticed that the concubines in the drama have long nails on their slender hands and wear nail guards on their end fingers, showing their nobility and elegance. Such luxurious Chinese nail guards, in addition to showing the identity status characteristics, what is its role, today let's explore it!   History of keeping long fingernails Everyone has a love of beauty. Since ancient times, it has been every woman's wish to have a pair of delicate hands, and the ancient Chinese had three main aesthetic standards for women's fingers: pointed, long, and white. The direct purpose of keeping long nails for women in ancient times was to make the nails extend the fingers, making the hand shape look sharp and long. And in ancient times, both men and women pursued long nails for beauty, many noble families and literati,…...