Mawangdui

It is actually a vague concept, roughly divided into stage costumes and film and television costumes. Stage costumes are the costumes worn in various operatic performances since the Ming and Qing Dynasties. They evolved from Ming Dynasty clothing but were modified for performance effects, so they are generally not considered orthodox Hanfu. Film and television costumes, on the other hand, are the costumes worn in ancient stories portrayed in films and TV series. Unlike the "similar to ancient" nature of stage costumes, film and television costumes are "imitations of ancient." Aesthetically pleasing to modern audiences is the primary consideration. To achieve this, costume designers do not hesitate to violate the dress codes of different dynasties, even mixing styles, with the sole purpose of creating visual spectacles. This is also the mission of film and television works, especially commercial productions. Ancient costumes are not "clothes from ancient times"; they are a collection of concepts, a product of consumer culture. The popular studio costumes, pseudo-Hanfu, and modified Hanfu in today's Hanfu community all fall under the category of "ancient costumes." This concept has always been vague, and many people equate them with studio costumes. In fact, ancient costumes can be interpreted in…

It is difficult to ascertain the nature of "rú" from ancient texts. The information recorded in the literature about rú is varied, with at least four different styles. The only thing that can be determined is that rú is a short garment, and its length is above the knee. Rú, a short garment. —— Shuowen Jiezi A short garment is called rú, extending from the knee upwards. —— (Tang Dynasty • Yan Shigu) Jijiu Pian Zhu There are many records about "rú." Its last appearance in documentary literature is related to Xie Shang of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. After that, it can only be found in poetry and drama. Xie Zhenxi wore a purple silk rú, sat on a Hu bed playing the lute, and performed "The Great Road Ode." —— (Eastern Jin • Pei Qi) Yulin No matter which type of "rú," understanding it from the literature is very challenging. Since this approach does not work, the most straightforward method is to find archaeological artifacts to see what they are like. Since the documentary records of "rú" end in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the search for archaeological artifacts should be limited to short upper garments before the Eastern Jin…

Ramie cloth is a living fossil in textiles, the oldest fabric. According to historical records: "In ancient times, hemp was used first, and cotton did not enter China until later. The fabrics of that time were all made from hemp, used by people from the highest ranks of society to the lowest." Ramie cloth, also known as linen, is said to have originated in the Xia Dynasty, hence its name. However, a more precise definition is that it is a plain weave fabric made from ramie, which has been an important textile fiber crop since ancient times. Because it is commonly used for summer clothing, being cool and comfortable, it is also commonly known as "summer cloth" or "summer material." The weaving level of ramie reached a very high standard during the Western Han Dynasty, with its fineness comparable to the famous plain silk cicada robe excavated from the Mawangdui tomb. Ramie harvested in spring and autumn must go through multiple manual processes such as soaking, peeling, washing, spinning, threading, twisting, combing, sizing, and weaving before a bolt of ramie cloth can be produced. It is precisely because of this that ramie cloth is even more precious. This traditional handicraft…

Quju Deep Clothing Note One on Quju Making: The Origin of the Fish-Tail Skirt Effect This is the Quju unearthed from Mawangdui. It should be considered standard... Correctly speaking, it is "three wraps around the knee." Although it is called a Quju, it actually has one side with a straight hem (right angle) and the other side with a curved hem (triangular). When worn, hold the corner of the curved hem and wrap it around the leg twice, then secure it with a waistband. Usually, a wide skirt is worn underneath. When the deep clothing is tightened by wrapping around the legs, the skirt below appears wider, spreading out like a fish tail. This is the feeling we see in the court women's costumes in "Emperor Wu of Han." In this way, the legs are tightened, and the hem spreads out, emphasizing the soft curves of the female figure. More importantly, half of it is a straight hem, while the other half is triangular, which is worth noting! Note Two on Quju Making: How to Keep the Collar Edge Smooth? Why is such a large opening made at the green line in the image above? The issue of the green…

We all know the saying “the old lady's foot wraps are both smelly and long,” leading many to believe that ancient people wore foot wraps, and some even claim that there were no socks in ancient China. In fact, to protect against the severe cold of winter, ancient people invented "foot clothing" for warmth and foot protection very early on. What is referred to as "foot clothing" is essentially what we call socks and shoes today. The cotton socks worn by ancient people in winter included "lined socks," "thousand-layer socks," "douluo socks," and "velvet socks." The earliest pair of socks that still exist today is a leather felt sock from the 9th century BC, unearthed from the Zhahongluk Ancient Tomb in the southern edge of the Tarim Basin in Xinjiang. The earliest leather felt socks from the 9th century BC (unearthed from the Zhahongluk Ancient Tomb in the Tarim Basin, Xinjiang) Women's lined socks from the Western Han Dynasty (unearthed from the Mawangdui Han Tomb in Changsha) Women's brocade socks from the Tang Dynasty (unearthed from the Tang Tombs in Turpan, Xinjiang) Brocade socks, also known as cloud socks, water socks, Luohan socks, or monk socks, are used for foot…

The shoe curl design is not unique to China, but it is a representative feature of ancient Chinese shoes. Both men's and women's shoes in ancient times had curled toes, with the distinction being "men's square and women's round." The shoe curl design appeared as early as ancient times, and by the Han Dynasty, there was a revolutionary design for the split toe of shoes, known as the "split-toe shoe." The No. 1 Mawangdui Han Tomb in Changsha, Hunan, and the No. 68 Phoenix Mountain Han Tomb in Jiangling, Hubei, both unearthed split-toe shoes with pointed curled toes. Since then, even shoes made of grass and hemp were designed with high curled toes. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the main changes in women's shoes were in the toe design, which could be round, square, or pointed, divided into several petals, or layered, but all maintained the high curled toe design. Embroidered shoes are part of our Han nationality's attire and are very distinctive. Generally, embroidered shoes are worn with Hanfu, as people in ancient times wore these embroidered shoes when wearing this type of clothing, creating a harmonious look. Regarding boots, they are also commonly found in Hanfu shops.…

The 馬王堆漢墓/马王堆汉墓/ma3 wang2 dui1/Mawangdui Han tomb is one of the most famous Han dynasty archaeological sites in China. Located in Mawangdui, Changsha, this elaborate tomb was found in 1968 and excavated in 1972 to reveal the remains of an incredibly well-preserved noblewoman that we now know was the wife to the Marquis of Dai in the Han Dynasty Kingdom of Changsha, Li Dai. A multilayered burial site containing furniture, food, art, accessories, and other belongings, the tomb contained her personal seal, which was found with the name 辛追/辛追/xin1 zhui1/Xin Zhui engraved in it; thus we know her as 辛追夫人/新追夫人/xin1 zhui1 fu1 ren2/Lady Xinzhui.  wax reconstruction of what Lady Xinzhui would've looked like in her youth (A quick disclaimer—this series of articles is a result of my own research. I’m not a trained historian or archaeologist, I’m an inexperienced student with an interest in hanfu and chinese history. I don’t have a works cited page for these (though I can point you towards some of the resources I used off the top of my head if you really want them), and I didn’t spend a long time verifying my sources beyond checking with multiple sources to make sure the information was…