Guide & Tutorial

This section contains Ruqun (襦裙), which can be divided into: Jiao Ling Shang Ru (交领上襦), Dui Jin Shang Ru (对襟上襦), Zhe Qun (褶裙) type A, Zhe Qun type B, Qi Xiong Shang Ru (齐胸上襦). Size range: Jiao Ling Shang Ru, Dui Jin Shang Ru, and Qi Xiong Shang Ru (155/80A to 175/96A),  Zhe Qun (155/64A to 175/80A). Please read the introduction of the topic and how to use this guide in advance. The Ruqun in this section should actually be called "Shan Qun (衫裙)". Ruqun is supposed to refer to the Hanfu style from the Wei and Jin dynasties, with a Yaolan (腰襕).   Introduction Ruqun (襦裙) is one of the earliest and most basic clothing forms in the history of Chinese dress. The Ruqun described here generally has a short upper Ru, reaching only to the waist or flush with the chest, while the Qun (skirt) is long and hangs down to the ground. According to the different styles of the collar, can be divided into: Jiao Ling Ruqun(交领襦裙, cross-collar); Dui Jin Ruqun(对襟襦裙, lapel). According to the height of the skirt waist, can be divided into: Zhong Yao Ruqun(中腰襦裙, mid-waist), the same as the Qi Yao Ruqun(齐腰襦裙); Gao Yao…

Quju is a type of hanfu that belongs to the Shenyi dress system and was common during the Qin and Han dynasties, with characteristics such as "overlapping and hooked edges". In ancient times, the more grand the occasion, the more gorgeous the overall look of the Quju was, giving it a sense of grace and elegance. There is a wide variety of accessories and items that can be matched with Quju, and different types of accessories can create different effects with Quju dress. Let's follow Hanfu Shidai (汉服世代) to learn more about it.   01 Dao Shan Dao Shan (刀扇), also known as Bian Shan (便扇), Bian Mian (便面), is a kind of Chinese traditional fan, used to cover the face, shaped like a door. Book of Han - Zhang Chang's Tale has recorded: "自以便面拊马 (patting a horse with a Bian Mian by himself)". Yan Shigu, the historian of the Tang Dynasty, also explained the function of the Bian Mian in his commentary on the Book of Han: “便面，所以障面，盖扇之类也。不欲见人，以此自障面，则得其便，故曰便面，亦曰屏面。” We can learn that the "Bian Mian" can be classified as a fan, but its focus is different, the main function of is not to fan the wind and cool, but to…

  Vocabulary Velvet Flower - 绒花 (rónghuā) - a realistically made flower made artificially from silk threads and copper wire. Palace Flower - 宫花 (gōng huā) - another way to call ronghua with the rise in popularities of ronghua to females in the palace. Untwisted Silks - 无捻蚕丝 (wú niǎn cánsī) - when it comes to silk threads, depending on the type and material of the threads, one single thread can be made up of thinner threads twisted together. Untwisted silk thread means there are no smaller twisted threads. You can directly skip to the brushing steps in ronghua making process. Hunan Embroidery Thread - 湘绣线 (xiāngxiù xiàn) - another type of thread used in ronghua making. Suzhou Embroidery Thread - 苏绣线 (sūxiù xiàn) - another type of thread used in ronghua making.   History 绒花, rónghuā, an artificial handcraft head accessories made from materials such as silks and coppers. It existed since the Qin Dynasty. There are many known “brands” of ronghuas, such as Nanjing Ronghua. In the Tang era, Wu Zetian listed Nanjing Ronghua as a royal tribute to the Yangzhou area becoming a luxury only princes and princesses can use. Eventually, Nanjing Ronghua became something that represents Nanjing but also…

The construction of the body of most hanfu tops and robes is what usually decides what ’type’ of hanfu it is. We’ll go over a few common types of hanfu and what features they have. There are, however, a few rules that pretty much all hanfu tends to follow: First, there’s always a seam down the middle of the back, meaning that the piece of clothing is made up of one piece of fabric on the left and one on the right, stitched together in the center. There’s also never a seam at the shoulder like we have in modern clothing—instead of the front and back being two different pieces of fabric, the front and back are made up of the same piece, just folded over the shoulder. Another thing to note is that while we often refer to tops and robes in hanfu as the two main categories, that isn’t how hanfu is really categorized, just a way for us to talk about the shape of things in English. Instead, we have the 長/长/chang2/long versions and 短/短/duan3/short versions of clothing, which can be applied to most categories of clothing that we separate by construction—the only difference is length. Short…

Have you ever struggled with tying your hanfu skirts, or gotten used to the old ways of tying them? Look no further for a collection of tutorials on how to tie hanfu skirts in various styles!

So the Mamianqun, or 馬面裙, or horse-faced skirt, has been blowing up lately especially because of the Dior controversy—here's an in-depth dive into the history, construction, and features of the famous horse-face skirt.   A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE MAMIANQUN The mamianqun or horse-faced skirt is a skirt that first originated somewhere close to the Song dynasty worn by high-class courtesans (who were like celebrities and fashion icons tbh) in the form of colorful pleated silk. It’s named this way because of its resemblance to the mamian fortress, which has stairs on either side (like the pleats) and a door in the front and back (like the skirt doors). The ‘doors’ sides of the fortress were known as the *horse faces* or mamian/馬面 because these were the faces of the fortress where the horses would pass through. It became extremely popular in the following Ming dynasty and stayed popular through the Qing dynasty through Manchurian rule—it’s been around for a long, long time! Mamianqun are more convenient for movement and offer a regal, classy aesthetic as well as a very recognizable and unique silhouette. Even Princess Diana wore one once! BASIC CONSTRUCTION OF A MAMIANQUN The Skirt Doors From the…

First installment of the Hanfu in Components series is up! As a reminder, if you haven’t already, check out the introductory article to best find out how to use this guide, otherwise some things might not make sense to you. If you’ve done that already, charge on forward! To kick off the series, this is a brief article explaining how exactly we’re going to break down hanfu into its basic components. We’re still in the introductory stages here, but bear with me and we’ll get to the fun stuff soon.   WHAT MAKES HANFU, HANFU? What defines 漢服/汉服/han4 fu2/hanfu? What sets it apart from everyone else? How do we know when something is truly hanfu, as opposed to hanfu-inspired? These questions can be kind of scary when you first look at them, scared of making a mistake—don’t worry, it’s actually pretty simple! First, we should understand that hanfu isn’t just something that we derived off of paintings and imperial dramas. Every type of hanfu that we have today was recovered as a rotting piece of cloth that we dug up from the ground, studied by historians and made into clothing patterns (‘pattern’ refers the shape of the fabric pieces and…

Brief history on Chinese tool panbo and how it is different in the past when compared to Japanese tasuki.

Hey everyone, long time no see! It's been a while and I promise I'm still working on the Song Dynasty sections of Hanfu Unearthed—in the meantime, enjoy this not-so-short cheat sheet to all of the most commonly used fibers and weaves in hanfu, whether historically or in the industry today. Fibers Fibers are the material from which threads are spun to be made into fabric. These include synthetic fibers made in labs or factories by humans, as well as animal fibers that are grown as fur or silk by animals, or plant-based fibers that we harvest from various fibrous plants. Tencel Rising in popularity, especially last summer, tencel is a kind of semi-synthetic fiber made from cellulose, also called lyocell, originally made to imitate silk. Made by dissolving cellulose into pulp and using dry jet-et spinning to reconstitute the fibers, it’s a clean process that creates a kind of synthetic fiber using natural materials: easier to dye than cotton, more breathable than polyester, moisture-wicking, and softer than linen. The one downside of tencel is that it’s easily wrinkled, but its smooth draping quality and breathability make it a first choice for hanfu manufacturers today. Other rayons are also used, but…

Songku (宋裤) is a kind of traditional Chinese clothing, popular during the Song Dynasty, from year 960 to 1279. Let’s look at the different pieces and how to wear Hanfu - Songku.   1: Wear the undershirt for Songku This is a modern version of a Chinese women’s undershirt with beautiful lotus embroidery, it looks and functions just like a camisole, the adjustable straps make it more comfortable and easier to put on.   2: Wear the Songku This is called Songku, literally meaning Song Dynasty trousers, women generally wore a full-length skirt in ancient China, but during the Song Dynasty, these trousers were very popular. The original version consists of two separate pieces and is more complicated to put on and off, so there's an improved modern version.Original version Songku: The two layers are sewed together and have a zipper on the side, but there was no zipper in ancient China, and also adding this belt as an accessory. And to tie it, make a knot in the center, and then wrap it around each side several more times, then pull it through again while making a small loop and make it tight. Do the same for the other…

As one of the main composition elements of hanfu tops and robes, sleeves can have a lot of variation. They mostly fall into a couple categories that we have recovered historical artifacts from, though a lot of manufacturers end up with some variation in their patterns. Today we’ll go over a whole ten sleeve types, a bit of historical context, and some of the variations they can go through. Before we get into that, though, let’s go over a little basic information that applies to (almost) all hanfu sleeves. One of the defining characteristics of the hanfu is the 接袖/接袖/jie1 xiu4/sleeve connection. What this means is that the sleeve is not connected to the body of the top or robe at the shoulder, but at a point partway down the upper arm, with the body of the clothing and part of the arm being made up of one piece of fabric, and the rest of the sleeve of another. These are stitched together to create the whole sleeve. The rest of the sleeve is also made of one piece of fabric both front and back, folded over the top and stitched together at the bottom. Some exceptions to this are…

A brief history of waist fan (yaoshan) and steps to DIY one for anyone interested. Vocab Tuan Shan: moon-shaped fan, 团扇, tuánshàn; Zhe Shan: folding fan, 折扇, zhéshàn; Yao Shan: waist fan, 腰扇, yāo shàn; Ping Feng: screen, 屏风, píngfēng.   Introduction When it comes to hanfu, one accessory that it is paired with is a fan. Well-known types of fans are moon-shaped fan and folding fan. But there is another type of fan known as Yao Shan, which translates as "waist fan." The reason why it is called a waist fan is that it can easily be secured at the waist when not used. When the fan is needed, you can just slip it out of the belt and open it up by twisting. It's unlike others where you will either have to constantly hold or unable to close it to take up less space. Waist fans contain characteristics from both moon-shaped fans and folding fans. It took the common round surface of a moon-shaped fan and the ability to close and open when needed from a folding fan. But the round shape is just a common shape everyone goes by. Moon-shaped fans have expanded from simply using a circle…

A detailed descriptions of hanfu skirt's hem. There are different hem lengths to a hanfu skirt, you can follow these descriptions to choose the one suitable for you.

This section contains Zhiduo (直裰), Zhishen (直身), Daopao (道袍). Size range: 165/88A to 185/104A. Please read the introduction of the topic and how to use this guide in advance.   Introduction Zhiduo is a kind of costume from the Song Dynasty, the initial is mostly worn by monks, a few literati also wear, Song Zhiduo is generally not slit. By the Ming Dynasty, Zhiduo had become widely popular among literati and scholars, and the basic features of Ming Zhiduo were the cross collar, knee-length garment, slit on both sides without Bai (摆), generally with a collar guard on the collar, and mostly with pipa sleeves. The cutting and sewing patterns in this chapter are based on Ming Zhiduo. Zhishen was also an important costume of the Ming Dynasty, as well as Zhiduo and Daopao, the basic features of Zhishen are the same as Zhiduo, with a cross collar, more collar protection, pipa sleeves, and knee-length, but the difference is that there is outside Bai on both sides in Zhishen. Daopao is one of the traditional costumes of Taoism, but it was also the main style of casual wear and dress for scholars in the Ming Dynasty, so Daopao was not…

This section contains Shenyi (深衣). Size range: 165/88A to 185/104A. Please read the introduction of the topic and how to use this guide in advance. Introduction Shenyi is a long, straight Changshan with a separate upper Yi (衣) and lower Chang (裳), and joined together to cover the body. There are many different ways to cutting and sewing a Shenyi, but this section is only one of the simpler ones. To make a Shenyi, 12 pieces of equal-sized trapezoidal fabric are prepared and sewn together as a lower Chang, then the upper Yi garment and lower Chang are sewn together. It is also necessary to use another color of fabric as the edge, which eventually the completed Shenyi. The fabric of Shenyi is mostly white cloth, and the edge needs to be made of darker color fabric. In ancient times, if both parents and grandparents are alive, the edge is made of patterned fabric; if the parents are alive, the edge are made of cyan fabric; if orphans, edges are made of plain fabric. Shenyi gives people a graceful and elegant feeling. The basic features are cross collar, wide sleeve roots, slightly closed cuffs, and a Dadai (大带) as a…

I made my first real Hanfu based on patterns from this website. First outing at the beach, with dragons and all. Here is an article with much details on my sewing journey.

Is it appropriate to wear hanfu in summer? Hanfu makers are more concerned with this question. Light fabrics, half-sleeve designs, and fresh colors have become their solution to allow hanfu lovers to wear beautiful hanfu even in the hot summer. Redsugarx in the community has already shared how to choose hanfu in summer. And in this post, I've brought together 10 green hanfu dress styles, I hope will helpful in your next hanfu shopping. They all have one thing in common, give you a touch of freshness in the summer heat. So, let's get started. 1 Modified hanfu top + Bai Die Qun   2 Ming dynasty: square collar Shan + sarong skirt   3 Song dynasty: Moxiong + Shan + San Jian Qun   4 Song Dynasty: Hanfu camisole + Beizi + Bai Die Qun   5 Song Dynasty: Hanfu camisole + Beizi + Zhe Qun   6 Ming dynasty: round-necked Shan + Moxiong + Ma Mian Qun   7 Wei and Jin dynasties: Ruqun   8 Ming Dynasty: sarong Shan + Ma Mian Qun   9 Qixiong Shanqun   10 Song Dynasty: Shanqun + Beizi More about summer hanfu:

What is a Hezi?Before the Tang dynasty, undergarments had straps on the shoulders, but in the Tang dynasty, there appeared a kind of undergarment without straps, called "Hezi". This was also determined by the shape of the outer garment: women in the Tang dynasty would tie the skirt high up at the bust, and then tie a wide belt at the lower part of the bust. The shoulders, upper chest and back are bare, and the undergarments are covered with a transparent veil, which makes the undergarments look like they are made of delicate and colorful fabrics. In order to accommodate such wearing habits, the underwear should be strapless.According to the legend, the "Hezi" was invented by Yang Yuhuan when a general accidentally scratched her chest, and Yang Yuhuan feared the Emperor would find out. Then, Yang covered chests with a piece of embroidered cloth. Later, slowly, the Hezi also became popular among the people.Step 1Put the Qixiong dress on first.Step 2Take the front of Hezi and put it in the back.Step 3Pull out the inside lacing first and tie it to the other side of the edge.Step 4Then tie the remaining edge lacing to the other outer lacing.Step 5Take…

Today, we're sharing how to make a Hanfu clothing: Song Dynasty shirt. Let's DIY your own Hanfu. A Video explanation is available at the bottom of the article Sketch The characteristics of the Song-shirt are long sleeves and front opening. When wearing, the front can be folded. The length from the back center to the shoulder is 1/4 of the full length. For overlapping, 1/4BL(bustline)=25CM, armhole depth 23cm. Sleeves can be straight or narrow. Neckline width is 9cm, draw a vertical line in the direction of the hem at the shoulder neck points, i.e. the front. The front is almost straight. There's only a little radian around the corner of the neckline, you can make your front part bigger if you have enough fabric. Cut Prepare a piece of fabric firs. First, fold out the length of a garment along the direction of the weft line. Draw on the fabric at 1:1 size according to the layout you just drew. Cut the neckline, Be careful that the collar is a single layer, so don't cut the bottom layer off. Half of the body will be ready. Cut off the other half of the body symmetrically. Cut out two parts with…

So now that you’ve learned about all these pieces separately, we arrive at the question: how do we put all of these pieces together? Let’s go over some ways these are usually put together, how to refer to them, and other details that might not have been covered in previous articles. Body, sleeves, collar: these are the main three things that we use to distinguish types of hanfu. In naming conventions, we usually refer to a piece in the order of collar-sleeve-body. Take a look at this image: What body type, sleeve type, and collar type is it? Well, I’ll tell you first that this is a Shan, meaning that it’s a single-layered top or robe shorter than the knees with no yao lan. Take a look at the sleeves—do they curve or change in diameter at all? Yes, they seem to narrow in a striaght line from the root of the sleeve to the cuff, meaning this is a feijixiu design, or airplane sleeve. The collar’s shape is pretty obviously parallel, or duijin, since the two sides come straight down and don’t touch. Well then, we can refer to this as a duijin feijixiu shan: a parallel collar, airplane…

In the context of the Chinese language, "Ling Luo Chou Duan" usually refers to various exquisite silk fabrics. However, there are many types of ancient Chinese fabrics, and "Ling Luo Chou Duan" cannot cover them all. This article will briefly introduce how to identify various Chinese ancient hanfu fabrics such as "yarn, silk, brocade, velvet", and so on. However, it should be noted that the names of each textile organization in different dynasties are not exactly the same. They have also developed over time, so this is just a general explanation to give everyone a simple impression.   Structure of Ancient Chinese Fabrics The common structures in Chinese fabrics are needed to determine the relationship between each yarn, which is the pattern of overlapping warp and weft yarns in the fabric. There are five common types of structures, which are also known as San Yuan structures. Ping Wen Structure Ping Wen structure (plain weave) is woven with the warp and weft threads alternating over and under each other. Plain weave fabrics are durable and resistant to wear, but have less elasticity and a lower sheen. If you touch it, you will find that the feel is hard, but relatively thin.…

The Tang dynasty makeup style can almost be said to be the most versatile in the entire ancient history of China, because both in terms of national power and politics, the Tang dynasty almost reached the pinnacle of history, and because of this prosperity, the makeup of the women's makeup in the people's peace of environment constantly changing refinement. With the transformation of the early Tang Dynasty, the flourishing Tang Dynasty, and the middle and late Tang Dynasty, the makeup was also making different changes, and for this reason, some special makeups were created, as we can see from the many ancient wall paintings and drawings.   Early Tang Dynasty makeup style: the beauty of simplicity In the early Tang Dynasty, influenced by the short-lived Sui Dynasty (581-617), the royal family did not pursue luxury and advocated simplicity. Therefore, the overall makeup of the women's more subtle and graceful, to lightly coated with lead white makeup and lightly coated with rouge red makeup mainly.  | White Makeup | Since ancient times, people have advocated the beauty of white, so women have the custom of powder, only to the Tang Dynasty, women's powder and style more diverse and prevalent. During the…

Holliday season is upon us! Many of you may already be shopping for gifts. If you have hanfu lovers amongst your friends and relatives, or if you need to come up with a list of your own to give ideas to your relatives, here are a few inspirations. My choices went to objects that are: versatile, so you can have a few of the item and use them interchangeably hard to make for yourself, so even if the person makes hanfu for themselves, they would be happy to have one ready-made hard to find in stores but available online useful, no matter how many you have   "Mother-child" metal buttons "Mother-child" metal buttons, also know as Zimukou (子母扣). They are so beautiful, there are so many shapes and sizes, and so hard to find in sewing supply stores, especially in Western countries. It adds greatly to the beauty of a Ming dinasty shan or ao, but can also be used on daily wear. Trimmings Especially enbroidered, ancient looking trimmings. They are no longer fashionable for modern sewing supply shops, you can almost only find them online. It adds style to your garment right away, and unless you weave, you cannot…

Hey everyone, thanks for waiting! Our next topic is gonna be pretty exciting for most of you who love the classic ruqun aesthetic: we’re going to be going over the historical relics for the Wei/Jin and Northern/Southern Dynasty! Since there are so few of these relics, this article is going to focus on the Wei/Jin Dynasty as a whole, including restored relics, art references, and misconceptions about the Wei/Jin Dynasty. It might be a bit of a shorter article due to little material, but I know that people are really interested in this period of time, so let’s get to it! 魏晉南北朝/魏晋南北朝/wei4 jin4 nan2 bei3 chao2/Wei/Jin and Northern/Southern Dynasties refers to the period of time between 220 and 589CE. Also known as 六朝/六朝/liu4 chao2/Six Dynasties, this set of dynasties are compressed into one general block of time by historians because of the rapid exchange of power. Following the Eastern Han dynasty, the Three Kingdoms period had the Cao Wei kingdom at its forefront, with the Western Jin Dynasty coming right after ruled by Sima Yan. This was followed by the Northern Dynasties, when the Northern Wei, Western Wei, Easter Wei, and Northern Zhou and Qi Dynasties followed each other rapidly,…