Hanfu & Hanbok & Kimono: What Are The Differences?

These days, there's one more clothing appearing in Chinese girls` wardrobe...

Waking up in the morning as usual, and girls have to open the closet and face the eternal question again: – what to wear today?

AFu, an ordinary Chinese girl, glances through the various T-shirts, hoodies, shirts, coats, skirts, and trousers in the closet...

  xù

T恤

mào shān

帽衫

chèn shān

衬衫

wài tào

外套

qún zi

裙子

kù zi

裤子

and finally, she takes out a....

what is this? This is called Hanfu, the traditional costume of the Han nationality. When you walk on the streets of China, you may occasionally see some girls wearing such clothes. Have you ever been curious about them? Let`s get closer to this unique costume today.

Hanfu has thousands of years’ history, and has developed a very diverse forms and styles, which has a great influence on the clothing of neighboring countries and nations.

汉服&韩服&和服

Hanfu&Hanbok&Kimono

Common feature: crossed collars with the lapel on the right

hán fú 

韩  服

The overall shape of Hanbok is like a "pyramid". The top is short, the skirt is very long and puffed out by a bustle; and the top is on the outside of the skirt, with a curved hem on the front and a wide tie (bow).

héfú

和  服

Kimonos are T-shaped, straight-lined robes worn so that the hem falls to the ankle, with attached collars and long, wide sleeves. Kimonos are wrapped around the body, and secured by a sash called an obi, which is tied at the back. 

hàn fú

汉  服

There are many types of Hanfu. The common feature is that they are relatively loose, the dresses are naturally drooping, and the lines are smooth.So how many kinds of Hanfu are there? How did they develop? Why are they so different? Let`s get closer to them.Hanfu has a variety of styles with 4 main patterns.

First of all, let's take a look at the "Shenyi", which the top and bottom are sewn together into a whole piece. They are usually used as the formal wear in Hanfu.

As a full dress, which people wear on Chinese holiday or some important ceremonies, the design of the Shenyi is rigorous and meaningful. The ancients believed that the sky was round and the earth was square, so the round sleeves and the square collar symbolized the sky and the earth. The vertical seam on the back symbolizes the integrity of the person. The patterns on the dresses are taken from natural things and have their own symbolic meanings. According to the different women's identities, the patterns and colors of the dresses are strictly regulated. This kind of Shenyi has continued since the Qin and Han Dynasties and has not changed much for thousands of years.

The second and the most common pattern is separated into a top and a bottom（dress） piece of clothing. These are called “Shangyi xiashang”, for female, also called “Ruqun”.

When its collar likes the letter”y”, we can call it Jiaolingruqun. If the collar likes the number “11”, we can call it Duijinruqun. They can also be classified by the height of the skirt, they are called Qiyaoruqun when their waistbands are on the waist; they are called Qixiongruqun when their waistbands are above the chest. Among them, the Qixiongruqun is the most popular in the Tang Dynasty.

jiāo lǐnɡ qí yāo

交 领 齐 腰

duì jīn qí yāo

对 襟 齐 腰

qí xiōnɡ

齐胸

The third pattern is called “Shangyitongcai”, which the top is extended into a long shirt.

ǎo qún

袄  裙

The fourth pattern is “Yiku”, which is really convenient in daily life.

Hanfu has different characteristics in different dynasties.

秦汉：庄重简朴

Qin, Han: dignified simplicity

魏晋南北朝：飘逸雅致

Wei, Jin, North and South Dynasties: elegant chic

隋唐：优雅华贵

Sui,Tang: both dignified and graceful

宋明：各式汉服共存

Song, Ming: different styles of Hanfu co-exsist

旗袍&汉服

Cheongsam vs Han Costume

After the Manchu ruled China, Hanfu was banned for more than three hundred years. The cheongsam evolved from Manchu costumes once became the representative of traditional Chinese costumes.

Cheongsam and Hanfu, which is more representative of China? This question has raised a lot of debates. Some people think that cheongsam is more famous in the world as Chinese costume and is more convenient, and some people think that Hanfu can better reflect China's cultural heritage. What do you think?

Since the beginning of this century, many Chinese young people have begun to study and wear Hanfu, and want to revive Hanfu. Some read the ancient books, reproduce the historical appearance of Hanfu, and some boldly changed the old form of Hanfu, and designed it into a new dress that better meets the needs of modern aesthetics and life while keeping the Chinese element.

Nowadays, we can see more and more Chinese girls wearing Hanfu or these new fashions at their wedding, in Chinese festivals, and in their daily life.

Do you have more questions about Hanfu? Or you want to experience this special Chinese costume? Hanlin is showing some Hanfu now. Welome to our campus!

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The above contents are provided by  Shenzhen Hanlin Language.

Supervisor: Crystal Huang

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