Việt Phục, or Vietnamese clothing, is the traditional style of clothing worn in

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

by the

Vietnamese people The Vietnamese people (, ) or the Kinh people (), also known as the Viet people or the Viets, are a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to modern-day northern Vietnam and Dongxing, Guangxi, southern China who speak Vietnamese language, Viet ...

. The traditional style has both indigenous and foreign elements due to the diverse cultural exchanges during the history of

. This all eventually led to the birth of a distinctive Vietnamese style of clothing, including the birth of the unofficial national dress of Vietnam, the . For daily wear in Vietnam, Vietnamese people just wear normal everyday clothing (đồ Tây; Western clothing), but the common name for everyday clothing is quần áo thường ngày (literally "normal day clothing").

History

The clothing and textile history of Vietnam reflects the culture and tradition that has been developed since the ancient Bronze Age wherein people of diverse cultures were living in Vietnam, the long influence of the Chinese and their associated cultural influence, as well as the short-lived

French colonial rule The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas colonies, protectorates, and mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "First French colonial empire", that ex ...

. The dynamic cultural exchanges which took place with those foreign cultural influences had a significant impact on the history of clothing in Vietnam; this has eventually lead to the birth to a distinctive Vietnamese clothing style, the

áo dài (; , ) is a modernized Vietnamese national garment consisting of a long split tunic worn over silk trousers. It can serve as formalwear for both men and women. translates as shirt' is derived from a Middle Chinese word () meaning "padded ...

is only one of such clothing for example. Moreover, as Vietnam has multiple ethnicities, there are many distinctive styles of clothing which reflect their wearer's ethnicity. Since the ancient times, textiles used and produced in Vietnam have been

silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...

in Northern Vietnam,

barkcloth Barkcloth or bark cloth is a versatile material that was once common in Asia, Africa, and the Pacific. Barkcloth comes primarily from trees of the family Moraceae, including '' Broussonetia papyrifera'', '' Artocarpus altilis'', '' Artocarpus ...

, and banana fiber cloth; kapok and

hemp Hemp, or industrial hemp, is a plant in the botanical class of ''Cannabis sativa'' cultivars grown specifically for industrial and consumable use. It can be used to make a wide range of products. Along with bamboo, hemp is among the fastest ...

were also generally used prior to the introduction of

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

. For at least a thousand years,

was ruled by the Chinese in the north while the south of Vietnam was ruled by the Indian-culture influenced, independent kingdom of

Champa Champa (Cham language, Cham: ꨌꩌꨛꨩ, چمڤا; ; 占城 or 占婆) was a collection of independent Chams, Cham Polity, polities that extended across the coast of what is present-day Central Vietnam, central and southern Vietnam from ...

. During this period, the clothing styles which were developed in Vietnam contained both indigenous and imported foreign elements; the upper classes tended to be more easily influenced by those foreign influences than the common people. The upper classes of Vietnam in Northern Vietnam tended to wear clothing which mirrored and was influenced by the fashions of the Chinese, and this style of clothing persisted even after the end of the Chinese rule in the independent kingdom of

Đại Việt Đại Việt (, ; literally Great Việt), was a Vietnamese monarchy in eastern Mainland Southeast Asia from the 10th century AD to the early 19th century, centered around the region of present-day Hanoi. Its early name, Đại Cồ Việt,(ch ...

and in

. For centuries, peasant women typically wore a halter top (''

yếm A ''yếm'' or ''áo yếm'' (, chữ Nôm: 裺 or 襖裺) is a traditional Vietnamese undergarment that was once worn by Vietnamese women across all classes. It was most usually worn underneath a blouse or mantle to preserve modesty. It is ...

'') underneath a blouse or overcoat, alongside a skirt (''váy'' or ''quần không đáy''). It was until the 1920s in Vietnam's north area in isolated hamlets where skirts were worn. Before the

Nguyễn dynasty The Nguyễn dynasty (, chữ Nôm: 茹阮, chữ Hán: 朝阮) was the last List of Vietnamese dynasties, Vietnamese dynasty, preceded by the Nguyễn lords and ruling unified Vietnam independently from 1802 until French protectorate in 1883 ...

, the cross-collared robe ( áo tràng vạt) was worn popularly.

Bách Việt period (1000 BC - 1 BC)

Most of ancient northern Vietnam was referred as the

Lạc Việt The Lạc Việt or Luoyue ( or ; ← Middle Chinese: *''lɑk̚-ɦʉɐt̚'' ← Old Chinese *''râk-wat'') were an ancient conglomeration of peoples inhabiting northern Vietnam, particularly the ancient Red River Delta, from approximately 700 B ...

which was considered to be part of the

Baiyue The Baiyue, Hundred Yue, or simply Yue, were various ethnic groups who inhabited the regions of southern China and northern Vietnam during the 1st millennium BC and 1st millennium AD. They were known for their short hair, body tattoos, fine swo ...

region in ancient Chinese texts. Prior to the Chinese conquest, the Tai nobles first came in Northern Vietnam during the Đông Sơn era, and they started to assimilate the local Mon-Khmer and Kra-dai people in a processed referred as ''Tai-ization'' or ''Tai-ification'' as the Tai people were politically and culturally dominant in

; this led to the adoption of the Tai people's clothing and the formation of dress style influenced by the Tai people. The Han Chinese referred to the various non-Han "barbarian" peoples of North Vietnam and Southern China as "Yue" (Việt) or

, saying they possessed common habits like adapting to water, having their hair cropped short and having tattoos. File:Yue statue.jpg, Statue of a man with Yue-style short hair and tribal body tattoos, from the

state of Yue Yue (), also known as Yuyue ( or ), was a state in ancient China which existed during the first millennium BC the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods of China's Zhou dynasty in the modern provinces of Zhejiang, Shanghai and Jiangsu ...

among the non-Chinese

peoples of southern China and north Vietnam.

Nanyue

Nanyue Nanyue ( zh, c=南越 or 南粵, p=Nányuè, cy=, j=Naam4 Jyut6, l=Southern Yue, , ), was an ancient kingdom founded in 204 BC by the Chinese general Zhao Tuo, whose family (known in Vietnamese as the Triệu dynasty) continued to rule until ...

(204 BC–111 BC) was an independent state which was founded by a Chinese general. However, in the Kingdom of Nanyue, it was the elite who were primarily influenced by

Chinese clothing Chinese clothing, including ethnic minority garments, and modern adaptations of indigenous styles, is a vital aspect of Chinese culture and civilization. For thousands of years, Chinese clothing has evolved with dynastic traditions, foreign infl ...

as the presence of the Chinese was limited. The clothing of the elites of Nanyue was mixed of Tai and

styles. The clothing of the Elites include Chinese fashion from the

Warring States period The Warring States period in history of China, Chinese history (221 BC) comprises the final two and a half centuries of the Zhou dynasty (256 BC), which were characterized by frequent warfare, bureaucratic and military reforms, and ...

and the

Qin dynasty The Qin dynasty ( ) was the first Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China. It is named for its progenitor state of Qin, a fief of the confederal Zhou dynasty (256 BC). Beginning in 230 BC, the Qin under King Ying Zheng enga ...

; the style of clothing was mainly a V-shaped collar gown which was tight fitting that was folded to the right. The clothing was multi-layered; it was common to wear three layers of clothing and tended to have narrow and straight sleeves. The elites women on the other-hand tended to wear a blouse and a skirt.

Chinese Conquest Period of Vietnam

The Kingdom of Nanyue (204 BC–111 BC) was conquered and ruled by the

Han Chinese The Han Chinese, alternatively the Han people, are an East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Greater China. With a global population of over 1.4 billion, the Han Chinese are the list of contemporary ethnic groups, world's la ...

under the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

in 111 BC. The Chinese ruled over Northern Vietnam for 1000 years until c. 900 AD. This time, it was the Chinese which lead to acculturation process referred as

Sinicization Sinicization, sinofication, sinification, or sinonization (from the prefix , 'Chinese, relating to China') is the process by which non-Chinese societies or groups are acculturated or assimilated into Chinese culture, particularly the language, ...

. The clothing of officials in Northern Vietnam followed the regulations of the Chinese dress. However, even during the

(202 BC – 220 AD), there was still very little Chinese migration into Northern Vietnam. It was in the subsequent centuries after the fall of the

that there was a large influx of Chinese in the region of

Annan Annan may refer to: People * Annan (surname) Places Australia * Annan River, Queensland, a river just south of Cooktown Canada * Annan, Ontario, a community within the municipality of Meaford China * Annan (Tang protectorate), the so ...

. From 43 AD to 939 AD, the direct rule of the Chinese in Northern Vietnam led to the Chinese clothing influence on the local clothing styles, especially the local elites; this also included the leaders who rebelled against the rule of the Chinese who typically wore Chinese-style clothing. The Elites wore clothing made of silk which were colourful and decorated while commoners wore plain hemp-based clothing. According to the

Book of the Later Han The ''Book of the Later Han'', also known as the ''History of the Later Han'' and by its Chinese name ''Hou Hanshu'' (), is one of the Twenty-Four Histories and covers the history of the Han dynasty from 6 to 189 CE, a period known as the Lat ...

by Fan Ye, the civilization of

Lingnan Lingnan (; ) is a geographic area referring to the lands in the south of the Nanling Mountains. The region covers the modern China, Chinese subdivisions of Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Hong Kong & Macau and Northern Vietnam. Background The ar ...

started with Ren Yan and Xi Guang (both Han Officials in

Jiaozhi Jiaozhi (standard Chinese, pinyin: ''Jiāozhǐ''), or , was a historical region ruled by various Chinese dynasties, corresponding to present-day northern Vietnam. The kingdom of Nanyue (204–111 BC) set up the Jiaozhi Commandery (; , ch� ...

and

Jiuzhen Jiuzhen (Vietnamese: Cửu Chân, Chinese: 九真) was a Chinese commandery within Jiaozhou. It is located in present-day Thanh Hóa Province, Vietnam. Michel Ferlus (2012) and Frédéric Pain (2020) propose that 九真 Old Chinese *''kuˀ-ci ...

respectively) who were credited for introducing hats and sandals to the people of Lingnan along with many other aspects, such as agriculture. Non-Chinese immigrants were attracted to the Tang dynasty-ruled

, and non-Chinese migrants started settling in the neighbouring areas; the blending of Chinese culture, Mon-Khmer, and Tai-Kradai in northern Vietnam led to the development of the national majority, the

. The elites followed the Chinese clothing system more closely once the regions had been incorporated into the Chinese imperial system. During the thousand years of imperial domination, the Vietnamese adopted

, but local customs and styles yet were not assimilated and lost.

Lý dynasty to Trần dynasty (1009–1400)

After Northern Vietnam became independent from China, the Vietnamese elites both followed the Chinese fashions and created distinctive, but still heavily Chinese-influenced local Vietnamese styles. The Chinese style dress gradually spread to Vietnamese commoners and among the people who were living in the surrounding regions which was being formally ruled by the Vietnamese; however, the form of the commoner clothing were distinct from those worn by the elite class. Almost all male commoners of the Việt ethnic and ethnic minorities started to wear Chinese style trousers and shirts. Vietnamese wore a round neck costume, which was made from 4 parts of cloth called áo tứ điên. Both men and women wore it. There are also other types such as: áo tràng vạt (long-flap robe). The garments "áo" (áo is for the upper part of body) are below knee length, and round neck garments have buttons when the long-flap robe is tied to the right. TrucLamDaiSyXuatSonDo

Short hair or a shaven head was popular in Vietnam since the ancient period. Vietnamese men had shaven head or short hair during Trần dynasty. This can be seen in the painting ''"The Mahasattva Trúc Lâm Coming Out of the Mountains"'' which portrayed Emperor

Trần Nhân Tông Trần Nhân Tông (7 December 1258–16 December 1308), Vietnamese name, personal name Trần Khâm, temple name Nhân Tông, was the third emperor of the Trần dynasty, reigning over Đại Việt from 1278 to 1293. After ceding the thron ...

and his men during the Trần dynasty as well as the Chinese encyclopedia "

Sancai Tuhui ''Sancai Tuhui'' (, ), compiled by Wang Qi () and his son Wang Siyi (), is a Chinese '' leishu'' encyclopedia, completed in 1607 and published in 1609 during the late Ming dynasty, featuring illustrations of subjects in the three worlds of heave ...

" from 17th century. The convention was popular until the

Fourth Chinese domination of Vietnam The Fourth Era of Northern Domination () was a period of Vietnamese history, from 1407 to 1428, during which Ming-dynasty China ruled Vietnam as the province of Jiaozhi (Giao Chỉ). The Ming established their rule in Vietnam following their ...

. File:Người Giao Chỉ - Tam tài đồ hội.png, Vietnamese in

: short hair, wearing áo tứ điên (left) and

loincloth A loincloth is a one-piece garment, either wrapped around itself or kept in place by a belt. It covers the genitals and sometimes the buttocks. Loincloths which are held up by belts or strings are specifically known as breechcloth or breechclo ...

(right) File:Trần Nhân Tông TLĐSXSCĐ.png, Trần dynasty clothing as depicted in ''"The Mahasattva Trúc Lâm Coming Out of the Mountains".''

Hồ dynasty (1400–1407)

In 1400s, Emperor Lê Quý Ly wrote a poem to describe his country and his government to the Ming dynasty envoys, explaining shared cultural status between Đại Ngu and Ming by referring to the Han and Tang dynasties during a time when Đại Việt was a part of China, ''"You inquire about the state of affairs in Annan. Annan’s customs are simple and pure. Moreover, official clothing is according to the Tang system. The rites and music that control intercourse between the ruler and the officials are those of the Han'' ..'".''

Fourth Chinese domination of Vietnam (1407–1427)

When the Han Chinese ruled the Vietnamese in the

, due to the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

's conquest during the Ming–Hồ War they imposed the Han Chinese style of men wearing long hair on short-haired Vietnamese men. The Vietnamese were ordered to stop cutting their hair and instead to grow their hair long and switch to Han Chinese clothing within a month by a Ming official. Ming administrators said their mission was to civilize the unorthodox Vietnamese barbarians. Women had to wear Chinese style clothing. The Ming dynasty only wanted the Vietnamese to wear long hair and to stop

teeth blackening Teeth blackening or teeth lacquering is a custom of dyeing one's teeth black. It was most predominantly practiced in Southeast Asian and Oceanic cultures, particularly among Austronesian, Austroasiatic, and Kra–Dai-speaking peoples. It was als ...

so they could have white teeth and long hair like Chinese. File:Vietnamese old woman with black teeth.jpg, An old

Kinh The Vietnamese people (, ) or the Kinh people (), also known as the Viet people or the Viets, are a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to modern-day northern Vietnam and southern China who speak Vietnamese, the most widely spoken Austroa ...

lady with blackened teeth (nhuộm răng đen). File:Nhuomrang.jpg, A picture from the book, Technique du peuple Annamite (Vietnamese: Kỹ thuật của người An Nam), depicting the Vietnamese custom of teeth blackening. It has chữ Nôm, 染𦝄 and Vietnamese alphabet, Nhuộm răng.

Later Lê dynasty (1428–1789)

In 1435,

Nguyễn Trãi Nguyễn Trãi (阮廌), pen name Ức Trai (抑齋); (1380–1442) was an illustrious Vietnamese Confucian scholar, a noted poet, a skilled politician and a master strategist. He was at times attributed with being capable of almost miraculous or ...

, a scholar official, and his colleagues compiled the ''Geography'' (Dư địa chí) based on the lessons he had taught to the prince, who then became Emperor

Lê Thái Tông Lê Thái Tông (黎太宗 22 December 1423 – 28 August 1442), birth name Lê Nguyên Long (黎元龍), was the second king of the Later Lê dynasty from 1433 until his early death nine years later. __TOC__ Biography Lê Thái Tông was ...

; his teachings also included how Vietnamese were different from their neighbours in terms of language and clothing customs: ''"The people of our land should not adopt the languages or the clothing of the lands of the Wu

ing Ing, ING or ing may refer to: Art and media * '' ...ing'', a 2003 Korean film * i.n.g, a Taiwanese girl group * The Ing, a race of dark creatures in the 2004 video game '' Metroid Prime 2: Echoes'' * "Ing", the first song on The Roches' 199 ...

Champa, the Lao, Siam, or Zhenla ambodia since doing so will bring chaos to the customs of our land''". They viewed the Ming as having been affected by Mongolian customs in terms of clothing customs (e.g. with their hair hanging down the back, white teeth, short clothing, long sleeves, and bright and lustrous robes and caps) despite returning to the ways of Han and Tang and the people of Lao as wearing Indian-style clothing like the robes of Buddhist monks "like the irrigated fields of dysfunctional families". Therefore, they considered that all those styles, including those of Champa and Khmer, should not be worn as they disregarded the customs of the Vietnamese, who continued to follow the rites of Zhou and Song dynasties: in the ''Dư địa chí,'' it is written that according to the scholar Lý Tử Tấn, during the reign of

Trần Dụ Tông Trần Dụ Tông ( vi-hantu, 陳裕宗, 22 November 1336 – 25 May 1369), given name Trần Hạo (陳暭), was the seventh emperor of the Trần dynasty, and reigned over Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietna ...

, Emperor Taizu of Ming bestowed a poem saying, "''An Nan �ại Việthas the Trần clan, and its customs are not those of the Yuan ongols Its clothing and caps are in the classic pattern of the

Zhou dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ) was a royal dynasty of China that existed for 789 years from until 256 BC, the longest span of any dynasty in Chinese history. During the Western Zhou period (771 BC), the royal house, surnamed Ji, had military ...

. Its rites and music follow the relationship between ruler and minister, as in the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...

''” and therefore Emperor Taizu promoted the ambassador of Đại Việt (Đoàn Thuận Thân) by 3 ranks to be equal that of

Joseon Joseon ( ; ; also romanized as ''Chosun''), officially Great Joseon (), was a dynastic kingdom of Korea that existed for 505 years. It was founded by Taejo of Joseon in July 1392 and replaced by the Korean Empire in October 1897. The kingdom w ...

. The Lê dynasty encouraged the civilians to return to traditional customs:

as well as short hair or shaved heads. A royal edict was issued by Vietnam in 1474 forbidding Vietnamese from adopting foreign languages, hairstyles and clothes like that of the Lao, Champa or the "Northerners" which referred to the Ming. The edict was recorded in the 1479 Complete Chronicle of Đại Việt of

Ngô Sĩ Liên Ngô Sĩ Liên (吳士連) was a Vietnamese historian of the Lê dynasty. Biography Ngô Sĩ Liên was the main compiler of the '' Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư'', a chronicle of the history of Vietnam and a historical record of an Annamese ...

. File:世界人物圖卷越南人.jpg, Two women and a child in

Tonkin Tonkin, also spelled Tongkin, Tonquin or Tongking, is an exonym referring to the northern region of Vietnam. During the 17th and 18th centuries, this term referred to the domain '' Đàng Ngoài'' under Trịnh lords' control, including both the ...

around the 1700s. File:Viet3.jpg, Vietnamese nobleman and wife from Quảng Nam (

Đàng Trong Đàng Trong ( chữ Nôm: 唐冲, lit. "Inner Circuit"), also known as Nam Hà (, "South of the River"), was the South region of Vietnam, under the lordship of the Nguyễn clan, later enlarged by the Vietnamese southward expansion. The word '' ...

) in 1595, Boxer Codex. File:Viet4.jpg, Vietnamese nobleman and wife from Hải Môn harbor (

Đàng Ngoài Đàng Ngoài ( vi-hantu, 唐外, lit. "Outer Land"), also known as Tonkin, Bắc Hà (北河, "North of the River") or '' Kingdom of Annam'' (安南國) by foreigners, was an area in northern Đại Việt (now Vietnam) during the 17th and 18t ...

) in 1595, Boxer Codex.

Revival Lê dynasty

The dragon robe (áo Long Bào) was worn in Vietnam since the Restored Late-Lê period, Phan Huy Chú wrote in the ''Categorized Records of the Institutions of Successive Dynasties'' (Lịch triều hiến chương loại chí): Through many portraits and images of rulers during the

Ming The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of China ruled by the Han people, t ...

, and more recently, during the

, one could see that this standard (the wearing of Long Bào) existed for a long period of time within a very large region.

Đàng Trong and Đàng Ngoài

Before 1744, people of both

(

) and

(

Cochinchina Cochinchina or Cochin-China (, ; ; ; ; ) is a historical exonym and endonym, exonym for part of Vietnam, depending on the contexts, usually for Southern Vietnam. Sometimes it referred to the whole of Vietnam, but it was commonly used to refer t ...

) wore áo tràng vạt with a ''thường'' (a kind of long skirt; 裳). The tràng vạt dress appeared very early on in Vietnamese history, possibly during the first Chinese domination by Eastern Han, after

Ma Yuan Ma Yuan may refer to: * Ma Yuan (Han dynasty) (馬援; 14 BC – 49 AD), general of the Han dynasty * Ma Yuan (painter) (馬遠; 1160–1225), painter of the Song dynasty * Ma Yuan (judge) (:zh:馬原 (政治人物), 馬原; born 1930), a former V ...

was able to finally defeat the Trưng Sisters’ rebellion. Those of the lower classes would prefer sleeves with reasonable widths or tight sleeves, and of simple colors. This stemmed from its flexibility in work, allowing people to move around with ease. Both male and female had loose long hair. File:安南國夷官.jpg, A servant woman and a mandarin of the

Lê dynasty The Lê dynasty, also known in historiography as the Later Lê dynasty (, chữ Hán: 朝後黎, chữ Nôm: 茹後黎), officially Đại Việt (; Chữ Hán: 大越), was the longest-ruling List of Vietnamese dynasties, Vietnamese dynasty, h ...

. File:Trang phục người Đàng Trong 1675 - Clothing of people of Đàng Trong, 1675.jpg, Clothing of people of

, 1675. File:萬國人物之圖越南人.jpg, Clothing of people of

, 1645. File:Nguyễn Quý Đức.jpg, Portrait of Nguyễn Quý Đức in

. He was wearing a cross-collared robe ('' áo tràng vạt'') and had loose long hair. File:Lord Nguyen Phuc Thuan.jpg, Portrait of Prince Tôn Thất Hiệp (Nguyễn Phúc Thuần) of

from the 17th century. He wears a cross-collared robe ('' áo tràng vạt''). File:Portrait of Mrs. Minh Nhan, Quynh Phu district, Thai Binh province, 1804 AD, gouache on paper - Vietnam National Museum of Fine Arts - Hanoi, Vietnam - DSC05104.JPG, Portrait of Lady Minh Nhẫn Mrs. Bùi Thị Giác (1738-1805), Thai Binh province of

Revival Lê dynasty The Revival Lê dynasty ( 茹黎中興; Hán-Việt: 黎中興朝 ''Lê trung hưng triều''), also called the Later Lê Restoration in historiography, officially Đại Việt (Chữ Hán: 大越), was a Vietnamese dynasty that existed between ...

. The

Nguyễn lords The Nguyễn lords (, 主阮; 1558–1777, 1780–1802), also known as the Nguyễn clan (; ), were Nguyễn dynasty's forerunner and a feudal noble clan ruling southern Đại Việt in the Revival Lê dynasty. The Nguyễn lords were membe ...

were key players in promoting Chinese-influenced clothing in Central and Southern Vietnam where they expanded their territories and extended control over all the territories which used to be ruled by Champa and the

Khmer Empire The Khmer Empire was an empire in Southeast Asia, centered on Hydraulic empire, hydraulic cities in what is now northern Cambodia. Known as Kambuja (; ) by its inhabitants, it grew out of the former civilization of Chenla and lasted from 802 t ...

. While expanding their territories, Vietnamese people immigrated to the south and the Nguyễn lords allowed Ming dynasty Chinese refugees to settle in those areas, thus creating a mixed society which was composed of Vietnamese, Chinese, and Cham peoples. Both Vietnamese and the Chinese brought their own clothing style in

(

Huế Huế (formerly Thừa Thiên Huế province) is the southernmost coastal Municipalities of Vietnam, city in the North Central Coast region, the Central Vietnam, Central of Vietnam, approximately in the center of the country. It borders Quảng ...

) and continued to wear their clothing until a proclamation by Lord

Nguyễn Phúc Khoát Nguyễn Phúc Khoát (26 September 1714 – 7 July 1765) was one of the Nguyễn lords who ruled over the southern portion of Vietnam from the 16th-18th centuries. Also known as Chúa Võ (主武) or Võ vương (武王) (roughly ''Martial King'' ...

who decreed that all the people under his rule had to changed their clothing into

-influenced Chinese clothing in order to make his people dressed differently from those under the rule of the Trịnh lords. As a result, the gown and skirt which was worn by the Vietnamese and which was common in the north was replaced by trousers and gown with Chinese-influenced fasteners; this new form of clothing was described by

Lê Quý Đôn (chữ Hán: (; 2 August 1726 – 11 June 1784), , on his pen name is Doãn Hậu , and Quế Đường was an 18th-century Vietnamese poet, encyclopedist, and government official. His pseudonym was Quế - Đường. He was a native of Duye ...

as the predessor to the

, the áo ngũ thân which was composed of a 5-piece gown. In 1744, Lord

(

) both men and women at his court wear trousers and a gown with buttons down the front. The members of the

court (southern court) were thus distinguished from the courtiers of the

Trịnh Lords Trịnh is a Vietnamese family name In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full na ...

(

Hanoi Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...

), who wore ''áo tràng vạt'' with long skirts.Đàng Ngoài Đàng Ngoài ( vi-hantu, 唐外, lit. "Outer Land"), also known as Tonkin, Bắc Hà (北河, "North of the River") or '' Kingdom of Annam'' (安南國) by foreigners, was an area in northern Đại Việt (now Vietnam) during the 17th and 18t ...

History

Bách Việt period (1000 BC - 1 BC)

Nanyue

Chinese Conquest Period of Vietnam

Lý dynasty to Trần dynasty (1009–1400)

Hồ dynasty (1400–1407)

Fourth Chinese domination of Vietnam (1407–1427)

Later Lê dynasty (1428–1789)

Revival Lê dynasty

Đàng Trong and Đàng Ngoài

Nguyễn dynasty (1802–1945)

Twentieth century

Twenty-first century

Types of clothing

Áo dài

Parts of the outfit

Khăn vấn

Áo tứ thân

Gallery

Examples of garments

Notes

See also

References

Sources

External links