Ancient China Clothing

Han Chinese clothing, or Hanfu (TC: 漢服; SC: 汉服; pinyin: hànfú;; literally “Clothing of the Han people”) refers to the pre-17th century traditional clothing of the Han Chinese, the predominant ethnic group of China.

Hanfu encompasses all types of traditional clothing worn by the Han Chinese ethnic group. As such, it has a history as long as the history of the Han Chinese people. Hanfu was eliminated by Manchu invaders by force in the 17th century, and is largely unknown in China today, except among a small but vocal group of people advocating the revival of Hanfu as a Chinese national costume.

Qipao and Tangzhuang, although usually regarded as traditional Chinese clothing, are not regarded as Hanfu by advocates of Hanfu revival. This is because these were introduced by the Manchus, whom revival advocates accuse of having stamped out Hanfu in the first place. Qipao and Tangzhuang are also relatively recent clothing styles, and cannot represent the entire history of Chinese clothing.

Many traditional costumes of Asian countries, such as the kimono in Japan, along with the traditional dresses Korean Hanbok and Vietnamese ao dai, are derived from Hanfu and have the same style as Hanfu. In contrast to China, Japanese and Korean traditional dress have been preserved over the centuries, and are close to what pre-Manchu Hanfu looked like.

Filed under: Ancient China: Culture and Clothing on August 27th, 2008