Hi! I see in your posts that there are names for the different types of hanfu...but i cannot tell the difference...would you be able to make a post on what the different types of hanfu are? If its too complicated thats ok!

Hi, thanks for the question! I covered the basic types of men’s hanfu here and here, so in this post I’ll describe the basic types of women’s hanfu. Resources on identifying different types of hanfu can be found in my reference tag.

- Ruqun/襦裙 - the most basic type of hanfu consisting of a top and a wrap-around skirt. The top is called “ru/襦” and the skirt is called “qun/ 裙”, hence “ruqun”. Sleeves can be narrow or wide. Generally speaking, people divide ruqun into two types based on the height of the skirt: “Qiyao Ruqun/ 齐腰襦裙” (waist-high ruqun) and “Qixiong Ruqun/ 齐胸襦裙” (chest-high ruqun).

“Qiyao Ruqun” is the kind of ruqun in which the waistband is on the waist. Both men and women can wear it. For women, the top’s collar can be parallel (left), crossed (middle), or u-shaped (right). Men’s ruqun are cross-collared only.

“Qixiong Ruqun”, on the other hand, has its waistband above the chest. The top’s collar can be parallel (left) or crossed (right). It’s only worn by women.

As seen in the photos above, ruqun is often accessorized with a long scarf called Pibo/披帛. Originally used to protect against wind and cold air, pibo gradually became an important feature of hanfu.

- Aoqun/袄裙 - a type of ruqun that became fashionable during the Ming Dynasty. It consists of a double-layered top called “ao/袄“ and a waist-high skirt (”qun”), hence “aoqun”. Unlike the “standard” ruqun that has the top tucked inside the skirt, the aoqun’s top is worn untucked, above the skirt. There are two types of “ao” - “short ao” and “long ao”. The “short ao” (left, right) reaches the waist, while the “long ao” (middle) covers the knees. Ao collars can be crossed (left, middle) or upright (right). Only worn by women.

- Unlike ruqun and aoqun which are made of separate top and bottom pieces, the Shenyi/深衣 style of hanfu consists of one-piece robes that wrap around the body once or several times. Quju/曲裾 (curved-hem robe) and Zhiju/直裾(straight-hem robe) are two types of shenyi. The quju (left, middle) is a robe in which the bottom hem of the left lapel spirals its way up to the waist of the wearer. Modern quju can come in a shortened version (middle) that reveals the skirt worn underneath. In contrast to the quju, the bottom hem of the zhiju (right) circles around levelly, creating a straight line. Quju and Zhiju are worn by both men and women.

- Beizi/褙子 - a parallel-collar “jacket” with side slits beginning at the armpit or at the waist. It can be secured at the front either with ties or a metal button. Extremely versatile, it can be long or short, have narrow or wide sleeves, and is worn by both men and women. During the Song Dynasty, it was popular to wear narrow-sleeved beizi over a chest undergarment and skirt/pants (middle). Another name for Ming Dynasty-style beizi is Pifeng/披风 (right). Pifeng collars can also be upright (not shown).

- Banbi/半臂 - a half-sleeve jacket worn by both men and women. It comes in various lengths and is usually worn over ruqun. Its collar can be parallel (left), crossed (middle), or u-shaped (right). When paired with ruqun, it can be worn tucked inside the skirt as well as over the skirt (untucked).

- Bijia/比甲 - a sleeveless jacket, usually worn over aoqun, that comes in various lengths and styles.

- Daxiushan/大袖衫 - large-sleeve robe commonly paired with ruqun. As its name indicates, its main feature is its broad sleeves. The length is at least 78 inches, and the width exceeds 40 inches. The material is generally thin and light, because it was originally created for wear in the summer.

Of course this doesn’t cover everything, but it describes the basic hanfu styles that appear most often on this blog. Hope this helps!

I LOVE this fashion, but do you know of any ways this style can be incorporated into a more modern way...?

Great question! First of all, I’d like to point out that wearing hanfu does not require fancy hair, makeup, or accessories - it can be worn casually as you would any other clothing.

That said, there are many ways to incorporate hanfu styles in a more “modern” flavor. You can always mix-and-match hanfu separates into your usual wardrobe. There’s also an entire offshoot of hanfu called “hanyuansu/汉元素”, which refers to designs that utilize elements from traditional hanfu. Here are some of my suggestions/inspiration for incorporating hanfu style:

1) Shortening sleeves and/or hemlines can produce a more “modern” look.

2) Layer on a Beizi/褙子 (jacket) - Beizi are extremely versatile, and come in all lengths and materials, for all seasons. (note: the pics below are “hanyuansu”; real hanfu doesn’t have modern pockets)

3) Put on a Banbi/半臂 (half-sleeve jacket) or Bijia/比甲 (sleeveless jacket) - Similar to Beizi, but with shorter/no sleeves, these can be worn like cardigans/t-shirts/vests. 1st row: banbi, 2nd row: bijia.

4) Hanfu skirts - Try wearing a hanfu skirt with your outfit. Left: Ming Dynasty-style, Right: Tang Dynasty-style.

5) Song-style pants/宋裤 - These pants were popular with women during the Song Dynasty. Try adding them to your outfit. (note: the right pic is a modified, “shorts” version)

6) Doupeng/斗篷 (cloaks/capes) make a nice accessory during the colder months, and come in various lengths and designs.

These are only just a few ways to incorporate hanfu elements; there are a lot more ideas and designs out there. I hope this helps in providing inspiration :)

(edit: links to clothing are in this post)

Which hanfu style is your favorite?

Hi, thanks for the question!

My favorite hanfu style is waist-high ruqun - especially those with parallel collars:

It’s my favorite for the following reasons:

a) Cinches at waist & follows body’s natural form. The waist-high ruqun is tied at the waist, accentuating the natural feminine lines of the body. Since I have a relatively small waist, I appreciate any clothing that accentuates it :P

Which brings me to my next reason…

b) Balanced silhouette. The waist-high ruqun has relatively balanced proportions (vertically & horizontally), centered on the middle/waist, which I find aesthetically pleasing. Parallel collars, running straight down the chest, further enhance this sense of balance.

c) Ease & beauty of movement. Compared to most other hanfu styles, waist-high ruqun is relatively easy to move around in. Its flowing lines move gracefully to reflect the wearer’s actions.

d) Versatility. Waist-high ruqun can be customized using many different methods: “jackets” (banbi, beizi, daxiushan, etc), short outer skirts (weichang), long scarves (pibo), waist ornaments, etc. Below - worn with blue beizi (left) & green daxiushan (right).

Parallel collars render the chest undergarment (moxiong) visible, providing an extra piece with which to accessorize the ruqun. Below - the color of the moxiong matches that of the pink banbi (left) & green pibo (right).

e) Beautiful from the back. All hanfu styles are pretty from behind (see chest-high ruqun, quju, aoqun below), but waist-high ruqun (top left) is especially so.

After waist-high ruqun with parallel collars, my next favorite hanfu styles are, in descending order: waist-high ruqun with crossed-collars, heziqun, zaju, quju, beizi, chest-high ruqun, & aoqun (see this post for definitions).

1) Waist-high ruqun with crossed collars: This would be my favorite style, if not for the fact that I prefer parallel collars slightly more than crossed collars.

2) Heziqun (left): The hezi acts as a gorgeous centerpiece for the dress. 3) Zaju (right): The additional triangular strips add delicate movement to the outfit.

4) Quju: Curved lines wrap elegantly around the body for a pleasing form. However, it’s more restrictive around the legs & not as easy to move in.

5) Beizi (Song-style): Arguably the most convenient style, and can be worn with trousers. Multiple parallel lines create a charmingly straight & simple silhouette.

6) Chest-high ruqun: The high-waisted silhouette & long, flowing lines of the skirt produce an ethereal effect, especially when worn with daxiushan.

7) Aoqun: Exquisite designs and crisply pleated skirts on a triangular silhouette give the wearer an air of grandeur.

Note: the above is not a complete list of hanfu styles. There are more, like zhiju, u-collar ruqun, yuanlingpao, etc (not to mention men’s styles).

Now that I’ve waxed poetic on my preferences, I have a question for everyone: Which hanfu style is your favorite? I’m curious! :D

Hi ^^ What kind of traditional hanfu could I find for guys?

Hi, thanks for the question! Please see my mens hanfu tag for all posts related to hanfu for guys ^^

Men’s hanfu come in many forms and styles. Here are some basic styles (all photos from 重回汉唐):

1. Yishang/衣裳 - men’s cross-collar top + wrap-around skirt (aka ruqun/襦裙).

2. Banbi/半臂 - half-sleeve jacket & Beizi/褙子 - jacket.

3. Dachang/大氅 - open-fronted robe.

4. Zhiju/直裾 - straight-hem robe.

5. Yuanlingpao/圆领袍 - round-collar robe & Zhiduo/直裰 - straight robe.

6. Shuhe/裋褐 - top + trousers (aka duanda/短打) & Doupeng/斗篷 - cloak.

…And a lot more! Hope this helps ^^

Hello! If you don't mind, can you describe what hairstyles for men would've looked like in the past? I tried searching on Google images, but I keep getting modern hairstyles. Thank you in advance!

Hi, thanks for the question! I assume you’re referring to pre-Qing dynasty hairstyles for men. 

I recommend reading Politics of Men’s Hair in Chinese History for historical context on Chinese men’s hairstyles. I gave a summary of the various types of men’s hair accessories in this post, and went into more detail on the “Guan” (formal headdress) in this post. I also have a men’s headwear tag you can check out.

I condensed the following information from Wikipedia: 

In the past, both males and females would stop cutting their hair once they reached adulthood. As children they could cut and wear their hair however they wanted. However, once they reached the age of adulthood (20 for men and 15 for women), they underwent the Chinese coming-of-age ceremony (called Guan Li/冠礼 for men and Ji Li/笄礼 for women). They allowed their hair to grow long naturally until death, including facial hair. This was due to Confucius’ teaching that “our bodies - to every hair and bit of skin - are received by us from our parents, and we must not…injure or wound them. This is the beginning of filial piety”. Below - cartoons depicting typical hairstyles of different ages:

Below - depiction of Guan Li (male coming-of-age ceremony). During the Guan Li, the man’s hair was combed into a bun and capped with a special headpiece:

When a man entered adulthood, he had to tie his long hair into a bun called Ji/髻 either on or behind his head and cover the bun up with different kinds of headdresses. Below - tutorial of how to create the bun:

A hair stick called Zan/簪 goes across the bun to stabilize the hair, like so:

From looking at the Terracotta Warriors, you can see that (at least during the Qin Dynasty) there were variations in the bun’s placement and shape, as well as different ways of braiding the hair:

The Chinese TV series Nirvana in Fire does a good job of portraying these distinctive braids:

Men would wear hats and headdresses over their hair, which often signified the wearer’s profession or social rank. Below - some of the many, many head-wear options for men:

Thus the ‘disheveled hair’, a common but erring depiction of ancient Chinese male figures seen in most modern Chinese period dramas or movies with hair hanging down from both sides and/or in the back, is historically inaccurate. 

However, I won’t deny that this hairstyle can look very good - there’s a reason why it’s such a popular depiction nowadays :P

Now some might wonder (as I did) why Jia Baoyu, the principal male character in the classic Chinese novel Dream of the Red Chamber, is always depicted with ‘disheveled hair’, even in paintings and operas, if it’s historically inaccurate:

However, it makes sense if you consider that Jia Baoyu is an adolescent during the story. His hairstyle is used to indicate his status as a not-yet adult man.

While the Chinese male bun hairstyle, worn from the earliest times of Chinese history up to the end of the Ming dynasty, has all but disappeared from modern society, it is still worn as a regular hairstyle by one group of people: Taoist priests and practitioners. Below - modern-day Taoists: 

Hope this helps!

How to tell the difference between the kinds of undergarments?

Hi, thanks for the question!

There are two categories of undergarments for hanfu: Zhong Yi/中衣 (middle clothes) and Nei Yi/内衣 (inner clothes). As you can guess, the hanfu that is worn as the outermost layer is called Wai Yi/外衣 (outer clothes).

1) Zhong Yi are worn by both males and females. Appearance-wise they look like regular hanfu, but they can only be worn inside of other clothes. They are usually white, but can be other colors as well. Going outside with only Zhong Yi on is regarded as impolite, but they can be worn as lounge-wear and/or pajamas at home. Zhong Yi is required when dressing in formal attire for important events.

For females (note - the top can be tucked into the skirt):

For males:

Here’s a photo of Zhong Yi:

2) Nei Yi commonly refers to the chest undergarments that women wear with hanfu. They play the same role as a brassiere does, but they are longer, covering the belly as well. Their appearance has changed throughout history, as can be seen in picture below:

For the sake of simplicity, I will just introduce the type of Nei Yi that is currently the most commonly worn with hanfu: Mo Xiong/抹胸. The Mo Xiong is the square/rectangular undergarment that is exposed when paired with parallel-collar ruqun (left - pink Mo Xiong) and beizi (right - blue Mo Xiong):

The Mo Xiong can come with or without straps. Here is how to wear the strapless version:

And here are some Mo Xiong with straps:

For further info/pics, I have an underwear tag you can take a look at.

Hope this helps!

Hello! I was wondering if I could ask you a question about something I noticed in post 136427994491 (and in tradition Chinese photography in general). I've noticed that there are sometimes a red marking on a women's forehead. Do these markings mean anything? I'm particularly curious about the one that looks like a flower and the ones that are a dot

Hi, of course I’m happy to answer your question!

The forehead markings are called “huadian/花鈿", and they are a purely ornamental type of accessory that was most popular during the Tang Dynasty. Huadian came in a variety of colors (red, green, yellow - but mostly red), shapes (flowers/petals, animals - birds/fish, etc.), and materials (paint, paper, gold, pearls, petals, fish bones, seashells, feathers, etc.). Nowadays it is usually painted on/a temporary tattoo. Fouryearsofshades has a write-up on huadian here. Below - historical huadian:

Huadian can be worn on the cheeks, as seen in the two left pictures in the 2nd row above - these are called mianye/面靥 or xiaoye/笑靥. They usually took the form of a dimple about one centimeter from each side of the lips, and came in a variety of shapes, including coins, peaches, birds, and flowers.

There is a legend about the origin of huadian, recounted by Hua Mei in the book Chinese Clothing (pdf):

“The Huadian or forehead decoration was said to have originated in the South Dynasty, when the Shouyang Princess was taking a walk in the palace in early spring and a light breeze brought a plum blossom onto her forehead. The plum blossom for some reason could not be washed off or removed in any way. Fortunately, it looked beautiful on her, and all of a sudden became all the rage among the girls of the commoners. It is therefore called the “Shouyang makeup” or the “plum blossom makeup.” This makeup was popular among the women for a long time in the Tang and Song Dynasties.”

The flower/petal shapes typically represent the plum blossom. I’m not sure if the dot represents anything significant, besides being a common shape.

Below - actresses wearing huadian and mianye in film/tv:

Hope this helps! :)