( viz. : and and ), also known as (; ) when it is decorated with outside pendulums, and (), refers to two types of traditional () or (-structured) which were worn as outer robes by men in the broad sense; i.e. the casual in and the priests’ , in the broad sense. As a specific term, the refers to the former. The was also called by Wang Zhishen in the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

although the refers to another kind of . Nowadays, the is sometimes referred as . In present days

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

, the is also worn by the Zhenyi Taoist priests. The term "" can also be a specific term which refers to the long black or yellow robe worn by

Buddhist monks A ''bhikkhu'' (Pali: भिक्खु, Sanskrit: भिक्षु, ''bhikṣu'') is an ordained male in Buddhist monasticism. Male and female monastics (" nun", ''bhikkhunī'', Sanskrit ''bhikṣuṇī'') are members of the Sangha (Buddhist ...

. The was also introduced in both

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

and

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic ...

where

Chinese Buddhism Chinese Buddhism or Han Buddhism ( zh, s=汉传佛教, t=漢傳佛教, p=Hànchuán Fójiào) is a Chinese form of Mahayana Buddhism which has shaped Chinese culture in a wide variety of areas including art, politics, literature, philosophy, ...

had been spread. In

, the was pronounced . In

, the was pronounced as (), and was also referred as the () of the Buddhist monks; the was worn under the Kasaya until the early Joseon period.

Origins and history

The Buddhist monk's was worn as early as the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

. After the middle Tang dynasty, the was worn together with the right bare cassock, called (). The term was borrowed from the term Kasaya in China where it became a specific term to refer to a one-piece rectangular robe made out of patchwork. The was typically black in colour in the Han dynasty; purple in the Tang dynasty and turned yellow since the

Five dynasties period The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (), from 907 to 979, was an era of political upheaval and division in 10th-century Imperial China. Five dynastic states quickly succeeded one another in the Central Plain, and more than a dozen concu ...

until now as the colour yellow in Buddhism represents the highest set of values: desire-less-ness,

humility Humility is the quality of being humble. Dictionary definitions accentuate humility as a low self-regard and sense of unworthiness. In a religious context humility can mean a recognition of self in relation to a deity (i.e. God), and subsequent ...

, and

renunciation Renunciation (or renouncing) is the act of rejecting something, especially if it is something that the renunciant has previously enjoyed or endorsed. In religion, renunciation often indicates an abandonment of pursuit of material comforts, in t ...

. In certain geographical areas, the was also possible for the to be red or brown in colour. In China, there were also regulations established by the Imperial court which regulated the colour of the based on ranks but which could vary depending on the different dynastic period. The wearing of the together with the eventually became the standard dressing style for Buddhist monks and continued to prevail in the

Song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetiti ...

, Yuan, and Ming dynasties with little changes in styles. The custom and practice of wearing over the then spread to

and

. In present-days, the Tang dynasty-style which is purple in colour still remains popular among the Japanese Buddhist monks. During the early

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

, the Qing court issued the policies on the

Han Chinese The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive v ...

population, which led to the disappearance of most . The was, however, spared from this policy as it was part of the ten exceptions. In the Qing dynasty, the stopped being used and the Buddhist monk's was used alone.

Buddhist robes

When

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

was introduced in China during the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by th ...

around 65 AD, the Indian Kasaya was also introduced. The Indian Kasaya was composed of the (). However, the Indian Kasaya was not well-received in China as the Chinese deeply believed in the Confucian concept of propriety; and as a result, any forms of body exposure was perceived as being improper and was associated with barbarians. Being fully clothed is an expression of Chinese clothing culture, and compared to their Indian counterparts, the Chinese did not perceive the exposure of shoulders as a sign of respect. The absence of right shoulder exposure started in northern China in order to shield the body from the cold and to fulfill the Chinese cultural requirements. This change occurred during the Chinese medieval era with the bareness completely disappearing in the

Cao Wei Wei ( Hanzi: 魏; pinyin: ''Wèi'' <

Middle Chinese

: *''ŋjwei^C'' < It appears that shoulder exposure reappeared during the Northern Wei period before being criticized: The (), also known as in Japan and () in Korea, was a short robe. To create the , the monks combined the Saṃkakṣikā, called (), which is the inner inner garment worn by both the monks and nuns under , with the () of the Buddhist nuns. The was a piece of fabric which covers the right shoulder of Buddhist nuns and was only used by the nuns; it started to be used after some Buddhist nuns suffered harassment by men for wearing right shoulder-exposing clothes. Chinesischer Maler von 1238 001

Initially the Buddhist monks wore the as an upper garment along with a Chinese

skirt A skirt is the lower part of a dress or a separate outer garment that covers a person from the waist downwards. At its simplest, a skirt can be a draped garment made out of a single piece of fabric (such as pareos). However, most skirts ar ...

called (), also called in Japan and () in Korea. In accordance to the philosophy of

Confucianism Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a Religious Confucianism, religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, ...

and

Taoism Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Ta ...

, the use of upper and lower garment, , represented the Heaven and Earth which interacts in harmony; this concept appeared early on in ancient China and can be found in the 《》. This style of dress was imitated until the

, when the and were sewn together to form a single long garment. Since the single long garment first appeared when the and were sewn together to form a long robe; this long robe follows the structure of the , and thus follows one of the traditional clothing system in . By the time of the

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fif ...

, this long robe was termed . The term can also be found in a 1336 monastic code called the 《》, compiled by Dongyang Dehui in 1338 during the Yuan dynasty.

Modern-day Buddhist monks and laity refer to the long Buddhist robe as (). The wearing of these long robes by Buddhist monks is a legacy of the

Tang Tang or TANG most often refers to: * Tang dynasty * Tang (drink mix) Tang or TANG may also refer to: Chinese states and dynasties * Jin (Chinese state) (11th century – 376 BC), a state during the Spring and Autumn period, called Tang (唐) ...

and Song period. In ancient times, the was adopted by the

Chan temples Chan may refer to: Places *Chan (commune), Cambodia * Chan Lake, by Chan Lake Territorial Park in Northwest Territories, Canada People *Chan (surname), romanization of various Chinese surnames (including 陳, 曾, 詹, 戰, and 田) *Chan Caldw ...

. The originated from the -style worn in the Han and Tang dynasties. During the Tang and Song period, the Indian-style Kasaya went through major changes until they did not have the same style as the original Kasaya anymore. The however maintains some traces of

traditional Chinese culture Chinese culture () is one of the world's oldest cultures, originating thousands of years ago. The culture prevails across a large geographical region in East Asia and is extremely diverse and varying, with customs and traditions varying grea ...

and shows some glimpse of the dress which had been worn by the elites in ancient China. For example, the closure of the which overlaps and closes to the right, a style referred as called , was passed down from the

Shang dynasty The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty a ...

and at the same time coincides with the Buddhist custom of respecting the right side.

Casual

According to

Shen Congwen Shen Congwen (28 December 1902 – 10 May 1988), formerly romanized as Shen Ts'ung-wen, was a Chinese writer who is considered one of the greatest modern Chinese writers, on par with Lu Xun. Regional culture and identity plays a much bigger rol ...

's 《 – 》, the evolved from the () worn by the ancient monks. Initially the was mostly worn by monks, but in the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the res ...

and in the subsequent dynasties, it became a form of daily clothing for

men. In the Song dynasty, the casual was loose with a central seam at the back; it however lacked slits on its lower part.

Types of

Casual /

The casual was popular among men of the

, Yuan and

Ming The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han pe ...

dynasties, it could be worn by both

scholar-official The scholar-officials, also known as literati, scholar-gentlemen or scholar-bureaucrats (), were government officials and prestigious scholars in Chinese society, forming a distinct social class. Scholar-officials were politicians and governmen ...

and the common people, and has several features: * The bottom of robe reaches below the knee * With overlapping collar * A centre back seam which runs down the robe * With lateral slit on each lower side * Without hem or (), which a decorative narrow panel encircling the robe, usually held in position below the knees File:Banbi+zhiduo+aoqun.jpg, A Ming dynasty portrait illustrating a man wearing ''zhiduo'', woman wearing ''

banbi (), also known as () and sometimes referred as () or half-beizi (i.e. short-sleeved beizi) before the term beizi eventually came to refer to a long-sleeved beizi in the Song dynasty, and referred as in the Yuan dynasty, is an upper garment ite ...

''. File:Zhiduo3.jpg, Ming dynasty portrait of men wearing ''zhiduo'' File:Zhiduo4.jpg, Ming dynasty portrait of men wearing ''zhiduo''

Priests’

The priests’ was generally worn by a

Mahāyāna ''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing br ...

Taoist Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Tao ...

priest, it had been popular since the

, and has another several features: * With loose cuffs * With black borders around the edges of robe * With a ''lan'' on the waistline of robe

Chinese Buddhist Monk Yellow Robe Shanghai

The is a style worn by Buddhist monastic and laity who pay homage to the Buddha. It is characterized with wide and loose sleeves, along with wide loose waist and lower hem; these features made them comfortable to wear. Taiwanese Buddhist Nun Black Robes

Nowadays, the is typically found into the following colours: black which is the colour worn by most followers of Buddhism when they homage to the Buddha, and yellow which is the colour worn by abbot of a temple or by a monastic who is officiating during a

Dharma Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for '' ...

service. It can also be found in dark blue.

Derivatives and influences

Japan

In Japan, the is known as . It is also known as . The is worn by Japanese Buddhist monks or priests; the robe is typically black or blue. A kesa is worn on top of the . File:Portrait of a monk-MGR Lyon-IMG 9876.jpg, Portrait of a monk, Japan, 16th century. File:旧山宗英像-Portrait of Kyūzan Sōei (1605–1656) MET DP231171.jpg, Portrait of Zen master Kyūzan Sōei (1605–1656).

Korea

In Korea, the was known as (), and was also referred as the () of the Buddhist monks. During the

Three Kingdoms period The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and was followed by the We ...

, Buddhism was introduced to Korea through China, and the Korean Buddhist monks wore Chinese style Buddhist robes, which is the Chinese-style . The worn by the Korean Buddhist monks was worn as early as the

Goryeo period Goryeo (; ) was a Korean kingdom founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korean Peninsula until 1392. Goryeo achieved what has been called a "true national unificati ...

. Up until the early period of

Joseon Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...

, the which was worn under the kasaya was in the form of the . There are two types of Buddhist which is worn as monastic robe in present days, the of the

Jogye Order The Jogye Order, officially the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism (대한불교조계종, 大韓佛敎曹溪宗), is the representative order of traditional Korean Buddhism with roots that date back 1200 years to the Later Silla National Master Do ...

and the Taego Order of Buddhism. The of the Jogye Order has structural similarities with the from China whereas the one from the Taego Order is more structurally similar to the traditional , which was a

coat A coat typically is an outer garment for the upper body as worn by either gender for warmth or fashion. Coats typically have long sleeves and are open down the front and closing by means of buttons, zippers, hook-and-loop fasteners, toggles, ...

without vents, also known as (). The developed in one of the current Korean, long-sleeved Buddhist . A form of present days Buddhist was developed through the combination of the wide sleeves of the with the form of the . The Buddhist was also adopted as the shaman robe in .

Similar items

Daopao (), also known as () when used as a during Chinese opera performances, and () when it is blue in colour, is a traditional form of in and is also one of the most distinctive form of traditional clothing for the Han Chinese. The was one of ...

Paofu (), also known as () for short, is a form of a long, one-piece robe in , which is characterized by the natural integration of the upper and lower part of the robe which is cut from a single fabric. The term is often used to refer to the and the ...

Shenyi (; ; yr: ''sim.ui''), also called Deep garment in English, means "wrapping the body deep within the clothes" or "to wrap the body deep within cloth". The is an iconic form of robe in , which was recorded in and advocated in Zhu Xi's 《朱� ...

References

{{Types of Han Chinese clothing Chinese traditional clothing