Ancient China Clothing

The earliest dynasty recorded, the Shang Dynasty (c.1600 BC-1000 BC), developed the fundamentals of the Hanfu; it was made up of a knee-length tunic tied with a sash, with narrow cuffs called yi, a narrow, ankle-length skirt, called shang. This was accompanied by a bixi, which was a length of fabric that reached the knees.

Since technology was limited, the only colours that could be used were primary colors- red, blue , yellow and green. It was a unisex outfit worn by men and women alike. The higher strata of society of course had more elaborate work and motifs on it inspite of the limited colours available.

The following dynasty, the Western Zhou Dynasty managed to enforce a social system in the ancient Chinese clothing. This was displayed by the complexity in their outfits. The higher the rank, more flamboyant and ornate their attire. This included the length of a skirt, the wideness of a sleeve and the degree of ornamentation. Further, the Hanfu became looser.

The sleeves were wider and the yi was fastened with a sash which was adorned with jade ornaments. Since left-handedness was looked down upon, the yi was essentially draped in a style known as jiaoling youren, or wrapping the right side over before the left.

Filed under: Styles and Fabric on September 5th, 2008