Aoqun 2.jpg

(;) is a set of attire in which consists of a short jacket typically called () worn under a long Chinese skirt called (). However, when use as a general term, can broadly describe a set of attire which consists of a separated upper garment and a wrap-around lower skirt, or (), in which ' () means the "upper garment" and the ' () means the "lower garment". In a broad sense, can include the () and (; ) in its definition.

As a set of attire, the was worn by both men and women; it was however primarily worn by women. It is the traditional for the Han Chinese women. The and/or is the most basic set of clothing of Han Chinese women in China and has been an established tradition for thousands of years. Various forms and style of Chinese trousers, referred broadly under the generic term , can also be worn under the .

Terminology

The generic term () can be applied to any style of clothing consisted of a pair of upper and lower garments. The term is composed of the Chinese characters:《》 and 《》, where () refers to the upper garment while the () refers to the lower garment, which can be either the Chinese skirt, , or the Chinese trousers, and . The character is also a generic word for "clothing". Therefore, the , , , as well as the wedding dress called , all belong to the category of as a broad term.

The term () is composed of two Chinese characters:《》and《》; when these characters are combined, can literally be translated as "jacket skirt". However, the term is relatively unstable in both original texts and in secondary sources as different regions may use different terms to describe the same clothing. When used as a broad term, refers to a set of attire which consists of a separate upper garment and a as a lower garment.

As a specific term, refer to a specific style of wearing a short upper garment called () under a long skirt called (). The word has sometimes been used as a synonym for other clothing items such as () and (). The can also be a short jacket with either short or long sleeves. In addition, the term () also appear in texts and has been described as the precursor of the long jackets () by scholars.The term () typically refers to a specific way of wearing the on over the lower garment, . The Chinese character《》appears in a Sui dynasty rime dictionary called , published in 601 AD, and can be translated as "padded coat", but it can also refer to a lined upper garment. The ''Xinhua Dictionary'' defines as a general term referring to an "upper garment with multiple layers". As such, it is a thick piece of clothing worn mostly during cold seasons. Usually, the is worn outside of the lower garment, which is often a skirt, especially the .

The term (), sometimes literally translated as "unlined upper garment and skirt" in English, is also type of clothing style where the upper garment called is generally worn over the lower garment, . The ''Xinhua Dictionary'' defines as a general term referring to an "upper garment with a single layer". The Jin dynasty book 《》states that women had been wearing one-piece clothing that has the upper and lower garments connected together since the time of the Yellow Emperor, until the Qin dynasty, when was invented.

Historically, the comes in as varying styles, shapes and lengths, and is usually worn outside of the lower garment. However, there are also cases where the is worn under the lower garment, as during the Jin dynasty. A form of which appeared in the Han and Wei period was a new type of gown which had equal front pieces which were straight, called , instead of collar and was fastened with a string; it was also a form of unlined upper garment with straight sleeves and wide cuffs. This was worn by men and women and became popular as it was more convenient for wearing.

In addition, the term is sometimes used interchangeably with to refer to short upper garment worn on skirt. The term can also refer to long garments.

Of note of importance, the term is not only used to describe the specific types of , but also modern western clothing styles consisting of separate top and bottom garments as well.

Cultural significance

Heaven and Earth symbolism

In traditional Chinese culture, the symbolism of two-pieces garments hold great importance as it symbolizes the greater order of Heaven and Earth. In the 《》, upper garment represents Heaven () while the lower garment represents the Earth (). It is also why the (and the in the ) has a black upper garment and typically a red (or yellow) lower garment which symbolized the order between Heaven and earth and should never be confused. According to the (), the colour black symbolized the colour of the sky, which was dark before dawn, while the colour yellow represented the earth.

The order between Heaven and Earth can also translate into clothing length differences between men and women. For example, in 1537, in an attempt to reverse the trend in the late Ming when women clothing was gradually getting longer, Huo Tao, a Ming dynasty Minister of Rites, expressed:

The silhouette of can also be made into (), which looks like an A-line silhouette. The ' was a trend in the Wei, Jin, Northern, Southern dynasties. However, during the Ming dynasty, silhouette created with the use of reflected an inversion of Heaven and Earth as this form of clothing silhouette contradicts the traditional Chinese principle of ''Heaven and Earth order.'' The 《》refers to the as being (); the was eventually banned in the early Hongzhi era (1487-1505) according to Lu Rong.

' is a general term with negative connotation which is employed for what is considered as being strange clothing style, or for deviant dressing styles, or for aberrance in clothing. Clothing which were considered as ' typically (i) violates ritual norms and clothing regulations, (ii) are extravagant and luxurious form of clothing, (iii) violates the yin and yang principle, and (iv) are strange and inauspicious form of clothing.

History

As a set of attired consisting of an upper garment and a skirt; the is the eldest type of . According to the chapter 《》of the , the was worn in Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors period by the legendary Yellow Emperor, Emperor Shun, and Emperor Yao who wore it in the form of the ():

Shang dynasty

In Shang dynasty, the basic form of was established as the combination of a separate upper and lower garment worn together; which was known as (). In this period, the was a unisex set of attire. The consisted of a narrow, ankle length skirt called () and the upper garment called (), in shape of a knee-length tunic with narrow cuffs; the was tied with a sash and could be . The as a set of attire featured the wearing of over the .

Zhou dynasty

The Zhou dynasty, people continued to wear the as a set of attire. The was similar to the one worn in the Shang dynasty period; however the Zhou-dynasty style was slightly looser and the sleeves could either be broad or narrow. The was and a sash was used around the waist to tie it closed. The length of the , could also vary from knee to ground length. In the Western Zhou dynasty, it was popular to wear as a set of attire consisting of a jacket and skirt.

Spring and Autumn Period, and Warring States Period

The as a set of attire was also worn by men and women during the Warring States period. Elites women in the Warring States period also wore a blouse or a jacket, which was fastened to the right to form a V-shaped collar and was waist-length, along with a long full skirt. The women's blouse tended to have relatively straight and narrow sleeves. During the Warring States Period and the Spring and Autumn period, the clothing known as , which combined the upper and lower garment into a one-piece robe was also developed.

Qin and Han dynasty

Even though the clothing of the Warring states period were old, they continued to be worn in Qin and Han dynasties, this included the wearing of cross-collared blouse and skirts.

The as a set of attire was worn during by elite women and ordinary women. Ordinary women during the Han dynasty wore the with the jacket being covered by the , which came in various colours throughout the year. Ordinary women wore plainer form of ; the skirts were typically plain but the sash which was worn around the waist was decorated.

During the Qin and Han dynasties, women wore skirts which was composed of four pieces cloth sewn together; a belt was often attached to the skirt, but the use of a separate belt was sometimes used by women. The popularity of the jacket and skirt combination briefly declined after the fall of the Eastern Han dynasty, but returned into fashion in the Jin and Northern Wei dynasties and continued to be worn until the Qing dynasty.

File:Funerary Sculpture of a Noble Lady LACMA M.73.48.122.jpg, A noble lady figure, Western Han dynasty, 206 B.C.-A.D. 25.
File:Ruqun han.jpg, A Han Dynasty painting illustrates women wearing , with blouses tucked into skirts
File:Dahuting Eastern Han Tombs Mural - 8.jpg, A woman in ruqun, i.e. a black cross-collar upper garment tucked inside a red skirt, Dahuting Eastern Han Tombs Mural.

Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern dynasties

During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern dynasties, both the and the co-existed. The was popular among women during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern dynasties. In the early Six dynasties period, women wore a style of composed of a and a long . The jacket worn by commoner women was longer than commoner's men.

Elite women in the Wei and Jin dynasty wore the combination of wide-cuffed, V-shaped, unlined blouse which was made of pattern fabric and was lined at the neck with a decorative strip of cloth, a long skirt which came in different styles, and apron. However, in the early Six dynasties, most ordinary men did not wear anymore; men, instead wore a set of attire referred as shanku consisting of ku, trousers, under their cross-collared jacket (i.e. ). The men's jacket were either hip-length or knee-length. The jackets can be tied with a belt or with other forms of closure.

The (; similar to A-line silhouette) style was also a trend in the Wei, Jin, Northern, Southern dynasties, where skirts large and loose giving an elegant and unrestrained effect.''''

During the Wei and Jin dynasties, women also wore the , which consisted of a long and a , an unlined upper garment. The found in this period were typically large and loose; the had a front and was tied at the waist. A (), which looked similar to an apron, was tied between the and in order to fasten the waist. Styles of can be found in the Dunhuang murals where they are worn by the benefactors, in the pottery figurines unearthed in Luoyang, and in the paintings of Gu Kaizhi.

At Luoyang during the Northern Wei dynasty, several variety of clothing styles found on female tomb figures were largely derived from the traditional -style set of attire. One style of was the combination of short jacket (usually belted and tied at the front of the jacket) with wide sleeves which falls to the knee or below knee level with a very high waist, pleated and multicoloured long skirt. Based on a female tomb figure dating from the Eastern Wei, this form of is jacket worn over skirt.

A popular form of was the jacket worn under skirt. The -style also first appeared in the Northern and Southern dynasties.

Sui and Tang dynasties

In the Sui dynasty, ordinary men did not wear skirts anymore. In the late sixth century, women's skirts in the Sui dynasty were characterized with high waistline; this kind of high waistline skirt created a silhouette which looked similar to the Empire dresses of Napoleonic France; however, the construction of the assemble differed from the ones worn in Western countries as Han Chinese women assemble consisted of a separate skirt and upper garment which show low décolletage. This trend continued in the early decades of the Tang dynasty when women continued the tend of the Sui and would also wear long, high-waist skirts, low-cut upper garment.

During the Sui and Tang dynasty, women wore the traditional in the -style; a style where the skirts were tied higher and higher up the waist until they were eventually tied above the breasts and where short upper garment was worn.

In addition to the classical or (crossed collar upper garments), (parallel/straight collar upper garments) were also worn in this period, thus exposing the cleavage of the breasts. Some Tang dynasty women skirts had accordion pleats. Red coloured skirts were popular. There was also a skirt called "Pomegranate skirt" for its red colour, and another skirt called "Turmeric skirt" for its yellow colour.

By the Mid-Tang period (around the 8th century), the low cleavage upper garment fell out of fashion; the female beauty ideology changed favouring plump and voluptuous beauty.

File:Sui Painted Pottery Attendant 04.jpg, Woman in qixiong ruqun, Sui dynasty.
File:Xian May 2007 115.jpg
File:Court ladies pounding silk from a painting (捣练图) by Emperor Huizong.jpg, A Tang Dynasty painting illustrates women wearing , with skirts tied above the breasts and short parallel-collar blouses
File:Tanghanfu.jpg, Another Tang Dynasty painting illustrating
File:A palace concert.jpg, A Tang Dynasty palace concert wearing
File:Gu Hongzhong's Night Revels, Detail 2.jpg
File:Zhou Fang. Court Ladies Wearing Flowered Headdresses. (46x180) Liaoning Provincial Museum, Shenyang..jpg
File:Zhou Fang. Court Ladies Playing Double-sixes. Freer. Detail.jpg
File:韋貴妃墓壁畫1.jpg

Song and Liao dynasties

Song dynasty

Women continued to wear the Tang dynasty's fashion of wearing the upper garment and skirts tied around their breasts until the Song dynasty. In the Song dynasty, the women's skirts were also lowered from the breast level back to the normal waistline. Pleated skirts were introduced and became the main feature of the upper-class women. Song-style for women consisted of long narrow skirts and jackets which closes to the right. These jackets could be worn over the narrow skirts; this form of existed in both the Liao dynasty and Song. Cross-collared jackets with narrow sleeves could also be worn under a waist-length skirt or under high-waist skirt.
File:Song dynasty women.jpg, Commoner women wearing ruqun, Song dynasty.
File:Song dynasty sculpture of maids.JPG, Sculpture of maids wearing ruqun, Song dynasty.

Liao dynasty

In Liao dynasty, the Song-style and the Tang-style clothing (including the ) coexisted together; both Khitan women and Han Chinese women in the Liao wore the Han Chinese style Tang-Song dress. Tang-Song style clothing women clothing in Liao also included a long-sleeved, outer jacket with ample sleeves which could cropped or waist-length, was tied with sash in a bow below the breasts to create an empire silhouette. The outer jacket could also be worn over floor-length dress which was worn a , a short over-skirt which looked like an apron, on top. In Northern Liao mural tomb depictions, women who are dressed in Han style clothing are depicted in Tang dynasty fashion whereas in the Southern Liao murals, women dressed in Han style clothing are wearing Song-style clothing.
File:Mural in liao tomb.jpg, Women possibly wearing shanqun (upper garment over skirt) and beizi (Song-style clothing), inner chamber of the Tomb of Zhang Kuangzheng, Liao dynasty.
File:Pao-Shan Tomb Wall-Painting of Liao Dynasty (寳山遼墓壁畫：寄錦圗).jpg, Khitan women wearing Tang-style clothing; Baoshan tomb No.2 wall-painting of Liao dynasty.
File:KhitanMural.jpg, alt=, Khitan women wearing Song style ruqun.

Yuan dynasty

In the Yuan dynasty, the Mongols never imposed Mongol customs on the ethnic Han, and they did not force the Han Chinese to wear Mongol clothing. Many Han Chinese and other ethnicity readily adopted Mongol clothing in Northern China to show their allegiance to the Yuan rulers; however, in Southern China, Mongol clothing was rarely seen as both men and women continued to dress in Song-style garments. Tang-Song style clothing also continued to be worn in multiple layers by families who showed that they were resisting the rule of the Mongols. The Song style dress also continued to persist among the southern elites of the Yuan dynasty and evidence of Song-style clothing was also found in the unearthed tombs in southern China.

The casual clothing for men mainly followed the dress code of the Han people and they wore as a casual clothing item while ordinary women clothing consisted of and .

Chinese women also wore cross-collar upper garment which had elbow length sleeves (i.e. cross-collar ) over a long-sleeved blouse under a skirt; the abbreviated wrap skirts were also popular in Yuan. Women jackets closing to the right and closing to the left coexisted in the Yuan dynasty. It was also common for Chinese women in the Yuan dynasty to close their clothing to the left side (instead of the right side).

The way of wearing short-length cross-collar upper garment over long narrow skirt was also a Song-style fashion. Long cross-collar upper garment (about the knee-length) over a long skirt could also be worn by Chinese elite women. The consisting of (), a lined jacket, and a long-length was worn by the Han Chinese women as winter clothing; typically the would be worn over the skirt.
File:Figure of a Woman Jin-Yuan dynasty China 13th-14th century stoneware (1349972905).jpg, Figure of a Woman Jin-Yuan dynasty China 13th-14th century.
File:Figurines, China, Cizhou ware, Yuan dynasty, 1280-1368 AD, stoneware - Östasiatiska museet, Stockholm - DSC09466.JPG, Ruqun and banbi, Yuan dynasty. The jacket is closing to the left which is a common style for Chinese women in the Yuan dynasty.
File:太平風會圖08.jpg, Woman wearing shanqun, Yuan dynasty.
File:Fresco in the Hall of King Ming-ying, Hung-t'ung County.jpg, Women depicted in the Fresco in the Hall of King Mingying. Han women wore elbow-length sleeves, cross-collar upper garment over a long-sleeved blouse; the abbreviated skirts were popular in Yuan.
File:太平風會圖05.jpg, Women wearing Song-style ruqun (jacket over skirt) in the Yuan dynasty, from the painting ''Street Scenes in Times of Peace'' (), Yuan dynasty 14th century.

Ming dynasty

In terms of appearance, the Ming dynasty (i.e. the short jacket and skirt) was similar to the Song dynasty's . Compared to the worn in the Tang dynasty, the Ming dynasty was more gentle and elegant in style; it was also less lavish and yet less rigid and strict as the worn in the Song dynasty. One difference from the Song dynasty is the addition of a small short waist skirt which was worn by young maidservants; it is assumed that it was worn as an apron to protect the long skirt under it. The short overskirt was called . Moreover, following the Yuan dynasty, the style of closing the jacket to the left in women's clothing persisted in some geographical areas of the Ming dynasty, or for at least Chinese women who lived in the province of Shanxi. Ming dynasty portrait paintings showing Chinese women dressing in left lapel jackets appeared to be characteristic of ancestral portraits from the province of Shanxi and most likely in the areas neighbouring the province.

By the Ming Dynasty, the became the most common form of attire for women. The sleeves of the blouse were mostly curved with a narrow sleeve cuff in a style known as (). The collar was of the same colour as the clothing. Often, there was an optional detachable protective () sewn to the collar. The can be white or any dark colour, and is used to protect the collar from being rotten by sweat, therefore to extend the life of the clothing. Towards the start of the Qing Dynasty, the skirt was mostly () or mamianqun.

By the late Ming dynasty, the (jacket over skirt) became more prevalent than the (short jacket under skirt); and the ao became longer in length. By the late Ming dynasty, jackets with high collars started to appear. The stand-up collar were closed with interlocking buttons made of gold and silver, called zimukou (). The appearance of interlocking buckle promoted the emergence and the popularity of the stand-up collar and the Chinese jacket with buttons at the front, and laid the foundation of the use of Chinese knot buckles. In women garments of the Ming dynasty, the stand-up collar with gold and silver interlocking buckles became one of the most distinctive and popular form of clothing structure; it became commonly used in women's clothing reflecting the conservative concept of Ming women's chastity by keeping their bodies covered and due to the climate changes during the Ming dynasty (i.e. the average temperature was low in China).

File:Mingrenwu63.jpg, A painting by Ming Dynasty painter Tang Yin illustrating women in
File:Tangyin7big.jpg, A painting by Ming Dynasty painter Tang Yin illustrating women in
File:Mingrenwu65b.jpg, A painting by Ming Dynasty painter Tang Yin illustrating women in
File:Chujutu.jpg, Illustration of Ming Dynasty
File:Hanfu ming.jpg, A woman (left) wearing an aoqun (i.e. top over skirt), Ming dynasty.
File:Minggirl.jpg, Aoqun, Ming dynasty.
File:明憲宗元宵行樂圖4.jpg, Group of women wearing aoqun, Ming dynasty
File:Ming noble woman.jpg, A ming dynasty woman wearing a chang ao over a skirt (possibly a mamian skirt). A blue pifeng is worn over the outfit. The ao jacket is long and has a high stand-up collar.

Qing dynasty

During the Qing dynasty, the aoqun was the most prominent clothing of Han Chinese women. The ruqun (i.e. short jacket under skirt) continued to be worn in early Qing dynasty, but the later Qing dynasty depictions of ruqun in arts were mostly based on earlier paintings rather than the lived clothing worn by women in this period.

In the late Qing, women wore the long jacket ''ao'' with the skirt. It was fashionable to wear the ao (袄) with the ''baizhequn'' (百摺裙) and the mamianqun. The ao in the Qing dynasty has a front centre closure and then curves crossover to the right before secured with frog buttons. The front closing, collar, hem, and sleeves cuff have edging of contrasting pipings and side slits. The skirts have a flat front and back panels with knife-pleated sides. In Qing, the high collar continued to be used but it was not a common feature in clothing before the 20th century. In the late Qing, the high collar become more popular and was integrated to the jacket and robe of the Chinese and the Manchu becoming a regular garment feature instead of an occasional feature. The high collar remained a defining feature of their jacket even in the first few years of the republic.

For the Han Chinese women, the stand-up collar became a defining feature of their long jacket; this long jacket with high collar could be worn over their trousers (shanku) but also over their skirts. In ''The Chinese and Japanese repository'' published in 1863 by James Summers, Summers described Chinese women wearing a knee-length upper garment which fits closely at the neck; they wore it together with loose trousers with border around the ankles under a skirt, which opens at the front and has large plaits over the hips. Summers also observed that the sleeves of the women's garment are generally long enough to conceal the hands in cold weather; the sleeves were sometimes very wide and were decorated beautifully with embroidered satin lining which would be turned back to form a border. In ''Mesny's Chinese Miscellany'' written in 1897 by William Mesny, it was observed that skirts were worn by Chinese women over their trousers in some regions of China, but that in most areas, skirts were only used when women would go out for paying visits. He also observed that the wearing of trousers was a national custom for Chinese women and that trousers were worn in their homes when they would do house chores. Mesny also observed that men (especially farmers, working men and soldiers) around Shanghai also wore skirts in winter.
Another form of ruqun worn in that period is called ''qungua'' (), which is composed of ''gua'' (褂; a jacket with central closure which closes with buttons) worn with a ''qun'' (裙) skirt. The ''gua'' jacket was a popular form of jacket in Qing and was worn as a summer jacket instead of the ''ao'' which was usually worn in winter. The ''qungua'' also referred to one style of Qing dynasty wedding dress.
File:Hanfu qing.jpg
File:Jiao Bingzhen - Paintings of Ladies - Leaf 2.jpg, Illustration of and during Qing Dynasty
File:庄顺皇贵妃.png, A woman wearing aoqun under a pifeng (aka beizi).
File:Dinastia qing, stampa del nuovo anno con una donna e un bambino in un giardino, xix sec.JPG, Qing dynasty aoqun, the blue ao (jacket) has a slanted/curved opening.
File:Han women during the Manchu Qing dynasty.jpg, Qing dynasty Han Chinese women wearing Manchu-influenced ''aoqun'' and ''qungua''.
File:Cantonese Han noble lady with her servants in 1900s.png, Cantonese Han noble lady with her servants in 1900s wears Manchu-influenced aoqun.
File:Woman's wedding costume from China, Honolulu Museum of Art 10128.1.JPG, Woman's wedding costume from China, an aoqun. c. 1900.
File:A BRIDE.jpg, A bride wearing aoqun,

Modern

Republic of China

= Wenming xinzhuang

=
In the early 1910s and 1920s, young women wore ''aoqun'' calle
Wenming xinzhuang (文明新裝)
also known as the "civilized costume" or "civilized attire". It originated from the traditional ''yishang'' (衣裳) and the basic style of this clothing is clearly inherited from ancient Han Chinese clothing although the details have changed over time. The ''Wenming xinzhuang'' continued the unbroken tradition of Han Chinese women's matching a jacket with a skirt which has been established for thousand of years.

The ''ao'' of the ''Wenming xinzhuang'' was typically cyan and blue in colour while the long skirt was dark in colour, mostly in black; the ''ao'' had no complex ornaments as bindings and embroidery was rejected in this period. There was a narrow trim which would bind the hem and the side vents were rectangular in shape. The ''ao'' typically had a standing collar and long in shape with its hemline typically reaching below hip height and sometimes even at knee-height. The sleeves were short and left the wrist exposed. The skirt was derived from the ''baizhequn'' (百摺裙) and became a dark long skirt with larger pleats. With time, the skirt length eventually shortened to the point where the calves of the wearer was exposed, and the ''ao'' had a lower collar and an arc shaped vents started to appear on both sides. This style of clothing eventually faded in the early 1930s.
File:Wei shiyi.jpg, Aoqun, 1920.
File:Woman in Hakka shirt in Toen 1930s.jpg, Aoqun, 1930s

21st Century: Modern hanfu

In the 21st Century, several forms of ruqun, whose design are often based on the previous dynasties traditional ruqun but with modern aesthetics, gained popularity following the Hanfu movement.
File:People wearing Hanfu at IDO32 (20200118144419).jpg, Men and women wearing different style of modern ruqun.
File:HANFU in Clothing store 2018.jpg, Ruqun sold in clothing store, 2018.
File:Woman wearing modern qixiong ruqun (a type of Hanfu) at IDO32 (20200118144012).jpg, Modern qixiong ruqun.
File:Jili2.jpg, Modern Ming dynasty aoqun

Construction and Design

As a set of garments, the ruqun consists of an upper and lower garment.

The ruqun can be categorized into types based on the waist height of the skirt:

* Mid-rise (),
* High-rise () and
* Qixiong ruqun (齐胸襦裙; ''qíxiōngrúqún'').

The ruqun can also be categorized based on the collar style. The collar style of the upper garment can be divided into:

* crossed collar (),
* parallel collar (), also known as straight collar (直领; Zhiling).

Women's skirts

Throughout history, Han Chinese women wore many kind of skirts which came in variety of styles; some of which had their own specific names.

Types of ruqun

*Mianfu
* Qixiong ruqun
*Qungua (裙褂): a type of ruqun worn as a Traditional Chinese Wedding dress in Qing and in modern era.
* Tanling ruqun: a type of ruqun with a U-shaped upper garment
*Xiuhefu (秀禾服): a type of aoqun worn as a Traditional Chinese Wedding dress in Qing and in modern era.
* Xuanduan (玄端): a very formal dark with accessories; equivalent to the Western white tie.

See also

* Han Chinese clothing
* List of Han Chinese clothing
*Shanku

References

{{Folk costume

Chinese traditional clothing