Han dynasty

The Ming Dynasty, a luminous chapter in Chinese history, shines brightly not only for its political and economic milestones but also for its captivating fashion legacy. This era's sartorial splendor can be credited to the visionary Ming Taizu, Zhu Yuanzhang. He masterfully melded Zhou and Han dynasty traditions with the artistic flair of the Tang and Song dynasties, laying the groundwork for a unique Ming Dynasty hanfu. Timeless Innovations in Men's Hanfu In the Ming Dynasty, government officials’ attire was a visual testament to the era's strict social hierarchy. They donned black gauze hats and round-collared robes, which were color-coded and embellished with patches indicating their rank. These robes were complemented by belts of varying quality, symbolizing their societal status. Scholars, or “shusheng,” favored straight-cut or flowing robes paired with distinctive headpieces. Conversely, commoners opted for shorter garments, paired with small hats or netted scarves. Beauty of Ming Women’s Apparel Noblewomen of the Ming Dynasty were often draped in voluminous robes with striking red sleeves, while common women gravitated towards lighter hues like peach, purple, and green. Their everyday wear comprised short jackets, wide skirts adorned with silk sashes, and intricate gold and jade pendants. Accessories like cloud-shaped shoulder coverings…

The Han Dynasty was the longest feudal dynasty in ancient China after the great unification of the Qin Dynasty. More than four hundred years of the Han Dynasty laid a solid foundation for Han, Hanzi, and Han culture. The same is naturally true in traditional Chinese makeup history. Overall, the core ideas that influenced women's aesthetics during the Han Dynasty were the ideas of Taoism and New Confucianism. The former had the greatest impact on the early and mid-Han Dynasty. The policy of "Recover from a Social Upheaval and Restore Production and Develop" was implemented by the rulers in the early Han Dynasty. Taoism's "Huang–Lao political ideology" responded to this social demand. Focused on the development of natural and "Wu Is the Origin ideas", while advocating an open, positive atmosphere, had a profound impact on the aesthetics of female makeup in this period.   01 Han Dynasty Makeup powder Compared with the pre-Qin dynasty, makeup powder in the Han dynasty had a great development. The powder for the face was based on rice powder, and with the rise of alchemy in the Qin and Han dynasties and the improvement of smelting technology in the Han dynasty, lead powder appeared and became…

The rise of the hanfu market restored traditional festivals back to former hustle and bustle. Lighting lanterns, pasting couplets, wearing hanfu, and singing ancient poems, built a bridge between ancient and modern times and seized the young people’s hearts. Hanfu brings feelings of nostalgia, ancestor worship, and gratitude to modern people. At the same time, hanfu production, sales, makeup, and supporting service markets have risen, and hanfu element immersive experience marketing is also in the stage of vigorous development.   Traditional culture in the costume The West Lake cruise ship with rabbit lanterns is swaying in the lake, and several tourists in hanfu complement with beautiful scenery, which is pretty much in line with the feeling of crossing Hangzhou, a thousand-year-old city. Many young people are immersive in it. "When I watched costume dramas as a child, I often put on a bed sheet to imitate a robe, and now wearing hanfu is more like a dream come true." Yan Peishan, who studied in Italy, said, "Earlier, I played erhu on stage in hanfu and won a lot of praise. It turns out that there are not only cheongsams in China, but also beautiful hanfu." Hanfu does not only refer…

Hanfu is the Chinese traditional national costume. It covers a wide range of time. Different dynasties have different styles of Hanfu. This article will sort out the most classic Hanfu styles of each dynasty so that you can quickly understand the classic Hanfu styles of each dynasty. Qin and Han Dynasties The Qin and Han Dynasties are the two unified dynasties in Chinese history, the first imperial era in Chinese history. After the unification of China in the Qin Dynasty, the dress system was established, and the standard etiquette of Han clothing was more obvious. The clothes of the Qin and Han Dynasties mainly inherited the influence of the Zhou Dynasty, and still took the robe as the typical clothing style, which was mainly divided into straight trains and curved trains. In daily life, the difference between men and women is not significant. Both men and women wear wide sleeves with large lapels. The difference is that men tie leather belts around their waists, while women tie them only with ribbons. Wei and Jin Dynasties During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, influenced by social politics, economy, and culture, the style of Hanfu was free and easy, simple and elegant, and…

Chinese fashion elements have always been closely related to Chinese traditional culture, auspicious patterns and Hanfu also have a very good combination. There are many auspicious patterns in Chinese folk. On the new year's day, or on a festive day, people like to decorate their rooms with these auspicious patterns to express their yearning for a happy life and the celebration of a good day. It is the most common way to extend and extend the natural attributes and characteristics of some animals and plants. For example, dragon and Phoenix are used to symbolize power. From ancient times to now, Dragon is the auspicious God of ancient China. It is regarded as the totem of the Chinese nation and has supreme status. In Chinese, pronunciation often corresponds to several Chinese characters, so using the same and similar pronunciation can achieve a certain rhetorical effect. These auspicious patterns have been popular from the Han Dynasty to Ming Dynasty, and they are mostly seen in ancient porcelain of the Ming and Qing Dynasty. Today, Chinese fashion elements are constantly integrated into our modern life, and our Hanfu and auspicious patterns are also very well combined. Let's follow the steps of Hanfu Time…

Quju Robe This style of Han clothing comes from the Qin Dynasty to the Han Dynasty, also known as the round Lapel robe, which is usually defined as the robe made of deep clothes. It is characterized by a right Lapel with a cross collar. The end of the lapel is usually triangular in shape and is fixed by a tie around the back. So far, the unearthed objects are the Shan Rao Qu Ju robe from the Han Dynasty tomb of Mawangdui in Changsha, and its shape needs further study. Qixiong Ruqun Qixiong Ruqun is generally composed of a short upper Ruqu and a long chest skirt. It is also a variation of Ruqun, which is usually defined as a clothing system.Qixiong Ruqun is characterized by that the skirt is usually tied above the chest, and the chest strap can be tied in the center or the front and sides of the chest. Qixiong Ruqun was mainly popular during the Sui Dynasty, Tang Dynasty, and Five Dynasties. Today’s common forms are generally made with reference to the styles of the middle and late Tang Dynasty. In addition, the collar type of Qixiong Ruqun can be divided into two types:…

The history of the Shangsi Festival dates back to ancient times, and in the ancient China, Shangsi had already become a large-scale folk festival. With the arrival of spring and clear, bright scenery, people would step out of their homes, gather by the water, and participate in rituals to purify and dispel inauspicious energies. According to historical records, the Shangsi Festival was already popular during the Spring and Autumn Period. The term "Shangsi" first appeared in Han Dynasty literature. This festival had a unique custom before the Han Dynasty, serving as a carnival organized by the government for young men and women. The "Zhou Li • Di Guan • Mei Shi" recorded, "In the middle of the spring month, men and women were ordered to gather. At that time, those who ran away were not restrained." The term "ran away" refers to young men and women meeting outdoors, and besides bathing by the riverside, romantic affairs during these gatherings were not considered a violation of customary norms. The Shangsi Festival is also associated with witchcraft activities aimed at warding off evil spirits using orchid-infused water. Orchids were considered spiritual entities with a fragrant aroma. Before conducting significant rituals, ancient people observed…

With the rise of ancient Chinese costume "Hanfu culture" among young people, the China-chic has become an unstoppable trend. The September issue of Harper's BAZAAR e-magazine features a stylish restoration of hanfu, and a closer look at these "trendy elements" from a thousand years ago that are still stunning today.   HAN DYNASTY The restored hanfu shot by Harper's BAZAAR During the Han Dynasty, large-sleeved clothes were popular, called "Zhu Yu (诸于)". The characteristic of large-sleeved clothes is the use of the slanting cutting method, which makes the clothes look wide at the top and narrow at the bottom. This set of hanfu designs in "Harper's BAZAAR" uses this typical slanting cutting method, which makes the model look taller and slimmer, so it can be said to be a "slimming secret". During the Han Dynasty, common women wore Ru upper and Qun underneath, which shows that women in the Han Dynasty wore a skirt and a dress as their daily wear. Han Dynasty costumes in the drama The Han Dynasty was a feudal period with a strict hierarchy, which was also reflected in women's clothing, which could be basically divided into two different dress systems for nobles and commoners. Hairstyle…

As an integrated cultural system, Hanfu can contain totally different expressions at the same time. The ancient traditional Hanfu is a way of expression, and the daily Hanfu with modern style is also a way of expression. We should treat the traditional and modern Hanfu with an inclusive attitude. Now let’s take a look at the differences between traditional and modern Hanfu? The traditional dress of Han Dynasty is elegant, like a cloud of immortals. Modern Hanfu pays more attention to the beauty in details. After all, the pursuit of “beauty” may be one of the reasons why young people like Hanfu. Therefore, the current Hanfu is not limited to restoration, but focuses more on the beauty and convenience. Traditional Hanfu Modern Hanfu Neckline: Traditional Hanfu: in the Ming Dynasty, because of the cold weather at that time, the cross collar design of the jacket was very high, almost covering the whole neck. Modern Hanfu: but the jacket and collar of the current Hanfu are very shallow, more beautiful, and more modern. Modern Hanfu Color: Traditional Hanfu: due to the limited colors in ancient Han Dynasty, the most common colors in ancient Hanfu are cinnabar, indigo, azure and other common…

With the revival of traditional culture, traditional Chinese outfits, Hanfu, is also more and more popular. However, there are still many readers who have some confusion about the structure of Hanfu. This article will introduce you to a complete set of structural details of Hanfu. "Hanfu", in general, refers to the traditional costumes of the Han nationality. It does not just refer to the clothing of the Han Dynasty. The traditional costume of the Han nationality can be traced back to the Zhou Dynasty. After the development of the Qin Dynasty, it gradually reached maturity in the Han Dynasty. Hanfu contains a complete set of clothing systems, including headwear, clothes, shoes, accessories, etc. 1. Hanfu Headwear (Shoufu, 首服) Shoufu is the headwear, which is an important part of traditional Chinese outfits. We know that the traditional Han people, both men, and women, should have their hair tied. When men and women grow up, they will wind their hair into a bun and put it on their head, and fix it with a hairpin. The main headdress is Mao (hat, 帽), Jin (scarf, 巾), etc. The headwear of adult men is often Guan (crown, 冠) Bian (弁), Futou (幞头), etc. Of…

Embroidery, known as needle embroidery in ancient times, is a kind of technology that uses an embroidery needle to guide color thread, embroiders and transports the designed patterns on textiles, and forms patterns with embroidery traces.Because embroidery is mostly made by women, it belongs to an important part of “needlework”. According to the records of the book of history, the system of Zhang Fu, which was more than 4000 years ago, stipulated that “clothes should be painted while clothes should be embroidered.” Today, let’s take a look at the embroidery features of different dynasties! (only partial pattern and process reference are provided in the following drawings) Han Dynasty The motifs of embroidery are mostly wavy cloud patterns, flying birds, and animals, as well as ribbon patterns and geometric patterns commonly seen in Han mirror patterns. Tang Dynasty In the Tang Dynasty, besides the Buddha figures, the landscape flowers and birds also gradually flourished, and the composition was lively and the colors were bright. The use of gold and silver thread to coil the outline of the pattern and strengthen the three-dimensional sense of objects is an innovation of embroidery in Tang Dynasty at that time. Song Dynasty In order to…

In museums, we can often see many female figurines from the Tang Dynasty. In this article, we will select some of the common female figurines to introduce their hairstyles.   Duo Ma Ji (堕 马 髻) Duo Ma Ji is perhaps one of the most familiar hairstyles of the Tang Dynasty. In fact, this name already appeared in the Han Dynasty, but the exact form of Duo Ma Ji in the Han Dynasty is still uncertain. The name was used during the Tang Dynasty to describe a bun that was tilted to one side. The shape of the Duo Ma Ji is the hair falls between the ears and is combed towards the face, and the bun is not located in the middle of the head, but to the side. It is also known as the "Pao Jia Ji". This kind of bun is especially common in the late Tang Dynasty. In the famous "Lady Guoguo's Spring Outing", you can see the image of woman wearing the Duo Ma Ji.   Wo Duo Ji (倭堕髻) Wo Duo Ji also has the form of double sideburns holding the face, with single or multiple buns placed on top of the head from…

What hanfu styles are from which dynasties? Can you tell what dynasty the cover photo for this article depicts? Hanfu is a catch-all term for clothing that spans a very wide time period, and as a result can have many variations. But what styles of hanfu come from what time periods specifically? What are the characteristics that can help identify what dynasty most likely inspired which hanfu? In truth, while there’s a lot of speculation and artistic license taken by designers, the most popular styles of hanfu from each of the dynasties are very easy to tell apart. Let’s jump in chronologically.     Han 漢朝 (206 BCE–220CE) The Han Dynasty is the dynasty that hanfu gets its name from, as well as the term hanren (the han people, the dominant ethnicity in China). It’s only one of the various dynasties from which hanfu can come from, but it’s one of the older ones and is also pretty easily recognizable. A lot of the most popular han dynasty styles are zhishen, or one-piece robes that go down to the floor and wrap around the body. One of the most commonlyseen versions of this is the quju, the curved-hem robe, with…

Chinese empresses from various dynasties, had distinct and elaborate clothing styles that reflected their status and the fashion trends of their respective eras. From the elegant robes of the Han Dynasty to the elaborate gowns of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the attire of Chinese empresses reflects not only their status but also the cultural influences of their time. In this article, we will explore the unique clothing styles of empresses from different dynasties, showcasing the diversity of fashion. Han Dynasty: During the Han Dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE), empresses adorned themselves in flowing robes with wide sleeves and loose-fitting garments. The attire featured intricate embroidery and vibrant patterns, symbolizing prosperity and grace. Tang Dynasty: In the Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE), empresses embraced a structured and layered style. They wore multiple robes in various colors and patterns, accentuated by elaborate headdresses, jewelry, and decorative accessories. This period witnessed opulence and sophistication in imperial fashion. Song Dynasty: The Song Dynasty (960-1279 CE) marked a shift towards a more refined and modest aesthetic for empresses. They favored long, loose robes with narrow sleeves and high collars. Delicate embroidery and simple designs exemplified the elegance and subtlety of their attire. Ming Dynasty:…

Hanfu, as the traditional clothing of China, appeared as early as 5000 years ago in the Huaxia period. And until the Han Dynasty, uniform dress standards were established, and Han Fu clothing officially became the basic style clothing for the ancient Chinese people. The Han Dynasty clothing developed rapidly in this period and had a great influence on the history of Chinese dress. Each China's dynasty has its own memorable culture. Han dynasty, for the first time, costume design and color use have become unified, making traditional Chinese clothing an extremely important part of Chinese culture and a great work of art. Actually, throughout China's history, clothing style experienced a notable changing from ancient times to the modern era. Spanning over four centuries, the Han period is considered a golden age in Chinese history. The Han dynasty is a long history, but the Han dynasty clothing retained its simple and elegant style. So, let's through this short article to explore that fascinating history.   A Brief History of Han Dynasty Clothing The Han dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms period (220–280 AD). To this day,…

Recently, the Chinese Academy of Sciences University held an Hanfu show on the theme of "Guan·Guocui - Chinese Traditional Costumes (觀•国粹 服以载道 中国传统服饰主题嘉会)". The actors for this event were all students from the Chinese Academy of Sciences University. Ten students were dressed in costumes recovered from archaeological data and documents from the Western Han, Eastern Han, Tang, and Song dynasties, demonstrating the beauty of Hanfu. Rhythmic classical music was heard from afar, and a woman in a Quju robe, holding a censer, walked slowly toward the audience accompanied by drum beats. The costumes of the Han Dynasty, represented by the Quju robe, integrated the costumes of the pre-Qin Dynasty and laid down the basic style and tone of Hanfu costumes. Next were men in Eastern Han Zhiju robes and women in Eastern Han Ruqun, who was elegant and square. The woman with a towering bun and a Buyao(步摇) in front of her hair was wearing a big-sleeved Shanqun from the Southern Tang Dynasty, with a graceful, bright, and enchanting figure. The traditional costumes were so different from the modern ones that the teachers and students were amazed and impressed by the exquisite Chinese costumes. The music suddenly turned to lively…

Time passes, in the millennium of Chinese history, each dynasty has evolved a unique style of women's makeup. As the saying goes, light makeup is always appropriate, nowadays we, and then see these exquisite ancient Chinese makeup style, will also be very amazed. The simple elegance of the Han dynasty, the ebullience of the Six dynasties period, gorgeous opulence of the Tang dynasty, each dynasty has its own representative style and unique aesthetic, today for you to take stock of the beauty of the ancient Chinese makeup style of each dynasty.   Han Dynasty Han Dynasty women advocated "white powder and black Dai (黛, Greenish-black pigment used to paint eyebrows.)", but due to the constraints, they often used natural "cosmetics" to decorate their faces, such as finely ground rice grains to put on the face, this foundation is more healthy, but the effect of whitening is not obvious; many women even chose lead powder to put on the face, this mineral powder is toxic, but it has a strong whitening effect. With a white face, the next most important thing is to draw eyebrows. The common tool used by the ancients to draw eyebrows was "Dai", which was need dissolved…

Han Dynasty clothing refers to the hat and clothing system of the Han Dynasty. After the strict governance of the Qin Dynasty, Liu Bang, who rose to power from a common background, aimed to give the people a break and did not make significant changes to the general systems, including the clothing system, which largely followed the Qin Dynasty. It wasn't until the second year of Emperor Ming of the Eastern Han Dynasty's Yongping era (59 AD) that a formal and comprehensive regulation was established. Hanfu in Social Hierarchy  The hierarchical status of clothing during the Han Dynasty was primarily reflected through hats and ceremonial sashes. Different official ranks had different hats. Therefore, the hat system was particularly complex, with as many as 16 types. There were also strict regulations for shoes during the Han Dynasty. Ritual attire required wearing flat shoes (xu), court attire required wearing (lü) shoes, and outdoor attire required wearing sandals (ji). When women got married, they were supposed to wear wooden clogs, which were painted and tied with colorful ribbons. Historical Evolution During the early period of Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang himself had a limited understanding of the symbolic role of clothing. He once…

Quju is a type of hanfu that belongs to the Shenyi dress system and was common during the Qin and Han dynasties, with characteristics such as "overlapping and hooked edges". In ancient times, the more grand the occasion, the more gorgeous the overall look of the Quju was, giving it a sense of grace and elegance. There is a wide variety of accessories and items that can be matched with Quju, and different types of accessories can create different effects with Quju dress. Let's follow Hanfu Shidai (汉服世代) to learn more about it.   01 Dao Shan Dao Shan (刀扇), also known as Bian Shan (便扇), Bian Mian (便面), is a kind of Chinese traditional fan, used to cover the face, shaped like a door. Book of Han - Zhang Chang's Tale has recorded: "自以便面拊马 (patting a horse with a Bian Mian by himself)". Yan Shigu, the historian of the Tang Dynasty, also explained the function of the Bian Mian in his commentary on the Book of Han: “便面，所以障面，盖扇之类也。不欲见人，以此自障面，则得其便，故曰便面，亦曰屏面。” We can learn that the "Bian Mian" can be classified as a fan, but its focus is different, the main function of is not to fan the wind and cool, but to…

"The six dynasties of the late Han, Wei and Jin dynasties were the most chaotic and socially painful era in Chinese history, yet one of the most spiritually free and liberated, the richest in wisdom and passion, and therefore the richest in artistic spirit." Due to the decline of Confucianism and the rise of Xuanxue, both men and women in the Wei and Jin dynasties sought to express their superior inner personality with a beautiful external appearance. In addition, Buddhism was spread to the east, the exchange of migration between north and south brought about a broadening of horizons. As well as the harem beauties, the number of dancers is vast, must be unique makeup to attract attention, so all the reasons contributed to the Wei Jin and North and South Dynasties on the explosive development of makeup. This development is due to the thin burial of the number of makeup artifacts, mostly presented in the level of written records so that we will call this period the peak era of makeup at the documentary level. This article brings together 10 classic Hanfu makeup looks from the Wei and Jin dynasties. Through them, you can get a glimpse of how…

Valentine's Day is a festival about love, romance, flowers, chocolate, and greeting cards. On this day, men and women send gifts to each other to express their love or friendship. In China, Qixi Festival (on the seventh of July in the lunar calendar), one of the traditional festivals, has the same meaning as Valentine's day. Qixi Festival is a traditional Chinese folk festival. Qixi Festival started in the Han Dynasty and flourished in the Song Dynasty. With the development of history, the Qixi Festival is endowed with the beautiful love legend of "Cowherd and Weaver Girl", which makes it become a festival symbolizing love, thus it is considered to be the most romantic traditional festival in China, and it also has the cultural meaning of "Chinese Valentine's Day" in modern times. the traditional customs of the Qixi Festival Legend of "Cowherd and Weaver Girl" It is said that every seventh day of July, magpies on earth will fly to the sky to build a magpie bridge for Cowherd and Weaver Girl in the galaxy so that they can meet each other. Weaver is a beautiful, intelligent, and handy fairy. On that night, ordinary women begged her for wisdom and dexterous…

As a traditional Chinese costume, Hanfu not only refers to the clothing of the Han Dynasty but also refers to the traditional costume of the Han nationality. Just as the harmony of kimono refers to the Dahe nationality, and the flag of Qizhuang refers to the Qiren (Manchu), the Han refers to the Han nationality, not the Han Dynasty. Tang Dynasty Clothing Hanfu is not divided according to the dynasty. Hanfu is a complete clothing system, just like Chinese characters, different historical periods will have different historical characteristics and styles, but it is not dating, but a continuous line. Some forms of Hanfu are not unique to a certain Dynasty. For example, from the Warring States period with physical research, Ru skirt finally became the most basic form of Han traditional clothing in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasty. During the period of 2000 years, although the length, width, and width have changed from time to time, the basic shape has always maintained the original style. Jin Dynasty Clothing Hanfu is mainly divided into ancient Hanfu and modern Hanfu. In fact, the ancient Han costume is the Han people’s clothing of various dynasties, including the Qin, Han, Tang, Song,…

Recently, the Hunan Museum unveiled a 3D digital avatar of Lady Xin Zhui, captivating enthusiasts of traditional Chinese attire. This legendary figure has always sparked endless discussions. Currently on display at the Hunan Museum’s “Women of the Han Dynasty and the Roman Empire” exhibition is a 48-gram Quju robe that has never been exhibited before, adding a touch of legendary charm. Let’s journey back to the summer of 1972. Lady Xin Zhui, the wife of Li Cang, the first Marquis of Changsha from the early Western Han Dynasty, was unearthed from the Mawangdui Han tombs in Changsha, Hunan. Upon excavation, Xin Zhui’s face was well-preserved, and she was dressed in intricately decorated silk garments, exuding an aura of grace and nobility. However, due to prolonged submersion in the waterlogged tomb, the silk fabrics wrapping her body had fused together. After much discussion, the archaeological team decided to follow the advice of Hunan Provincial Museum’s then-deputy director Hou Liang. They inserted a large wooden board into the side of the wooden coffin, then slowly tilted the coffin towards the board until it was completely flat, allowing them to transfer Xin Zhui onto the board. This method enabled the safe extraction of…