Not a week later and I'm back again with the details on our even larger, even longer hanfu outing just last weekend on Saturday, August 13th! You can check out our absolutely PHENOMENAL photographer this time at @Ryfucius on Instagram, he was incredibly dedicated and we couldn't have done it without him. Inspired by the fun we had on the East Coast New England outing, Yulan and I decided to plan a second outing for our SF Bay Area friends on the West Coast too. This time with a party of 14 and a whole day's time, our itinerary was expanded to include multiple photo locations and a karaoke session at the end of the day—and hey, I got to participate this time! Our first stop was the Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, a beautiful park with a lot of natural beauties. Our main target location was the Chinese Pavilion, an incredible work of archtiecture gifted to San Francisco by Taiwan. With a pointed roof and some enchanting carvings in the pillars and benches surrounding the pavilion, it was a perfect spot for a group photo as well as a lot of solo shots. We couldn't waste the rest…

Earlier, Liu Yifei's new costume drama "A Dream of Splendor" was aired, and after 16 years Liu Yifei's acting in a costume drama has gained extraordinary popularity and attention. Liu Yifei has always been called the goddess of costume drama, in "A Dream of Splendor", she acted as Zhao Pan'er, seemingly soft and unsupported, but actually intelligent and powerful, with independent and beautiful femininity. Despite Liu Yifei's appearance has not changed, but her temperament is more introspective and tough, beautiful with power, and Zhao Paner's persona also fits better. In addition to Liu Yifei, we will introduce you to several other costume drama goddesses in this article, who are known to the audience for their high-quality costume drama roles.   Liu Yifei (Crystal Liu) Liu Yifei's costume drama masterpieces: A Dream of Splendor (2022) Return of the Condor Heroes (2006) Chinese Paladin (2005) Demi Gods & Semi Devils (2003) Liu Yifei's first costume drama is the Demi Gods & Semi Devils in 19 years ago, she starred in the role of Wang Yuyan. This is undoubtedly a successful role, and even the original author Jin Yong has written a message for her: "Miss Liu, with you as Wang Yuyan, readers will…

Youku's pending fantasy drama "Till The End of The Moon" returns to the online game style and moves towards a new design direction. Not wanting the confusion of costume shapes in period-specific costume dramas, these dramas that pursue traditional Chinese costume forms such as "The Longest Day In Chang'an" and "Royal Feast" were also well received by the audience. In the newly launched drama projects, even the emotional-based ancient costume idol dramas, have begun to try their best to choose a style in line with today's hanfu culture in the design of clothing. Looking back on Chinese ancient costume dramas, in addition to the antique classic stylings in the audience's impression, such as "Journey to the West" and "Dream of the Red Chamber", there are also some pioneering, trendy, and bold ancient costume styles time. The stylings design of ancient costume dramas has great styles and aesthetic differences due to different themes and story backgrounds. This article will review the styling history of Chinese costume dramas from the two types of fairy chivalrous and realistic retro, combined with hairstyle, hair accessories, and clothing.   01 Evolution of Xianxia hairstyle In the early ancient costume dramas, there was no concept of "XianXia (仙侠)". "Xian"…

Hey everyone—a little busy as of late, but rest assured that I am not dead! I just had to pop back to belatedly report on the 2022 Scholar's Garden Hanfu Outing organized by Yulan/Chlobaltblue in our hanfu discord server community! This half-day event consisted of a photoshoot and group dinner on July 30th, 2022 in the New York Chinese Scholar's Garden with a small group of eight people attending. People from all over New England joined us for this outing, from Conneticut residents to Boston students flying all the way up to Staten Island. Unfortunately I was not one of those people, but I'm here to share with you all the pictures and experience that my sister provided! I'll also be doing a brief summary of some of the outfits that everyone is wearing. Some of our members had their own sets, while others borrowed from each other. A majority of our outfits were Wei/Jin Style (魏晉風)  outfits which consisted of a zhequn, cross collar top, and daxiushan. Ani also wore a Ming-style summer set, with a modified zhuyao with pearl buttons in the front to mimic the zimu buttons of a zhuyao and a Ming helingshan, a style that greatly resembles…

Have you ever watched the Dream of the Red Chamber (1987 TV series)? The costume styling of this drama can be called the pinnacle of classical Chinese costume aesthetics. Compared to the diverse styles of costume dramas in recent years, the classical style aesthetic seems to have gradually suffered from indifference and become rare. However, there are still someone who is trying to spread classical aesthetics, and she is the main character in this article, the Hanfu & Classical Aesthetics content creation blogger, @我是411 (I'm 411). She hopes to bring classical aesthetics back into the public through her own efforts and restoration. "The GREAT SHOKUNINI" recently interviewed this 27-year-old Xi'an girl. Like most girls, 411 loved the classical style when she was a child: comic books with traditional stories, calendar illustrations with classical ladies, ancient frescoes and illustrations of ladies in textbooks, and the Dream of the Red Chamber that she watched over and over again. In her opinion, the classical aesthetic was disseminated in the past through refined literary works that did not deviate from tradition, but now, there are many important things that are dying out. Along with the initial heart and sense of mission, 411 set up…

In the Chinese lunar calendar, the 15th day of the seventh month is the traditional Zhongyuan festival (Ghost festival). There is a folk saying that "At the half of the seventh month, the gate of ghosts will be opened", just like the plot of the movie "Coco". But is this really the case? And why is the Zhongyuan festival commonly considered to be a ghost festival? How did the ancient people spend this festival?   Zhongyuan Festival = Ghost Festival? Zhongyuan festival has a thousand-year history, and is also known as "Qi Yue Ban (七月半)" and "Yulanpen Festival (盂兰盆节)", each name representing a different ideological origin of the Zhongyuan festival. Simply put, it originated as a folk custom of ancestor worship, and later incorporated the ideas of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. When it comes to traditional folklore ancestor worship, we have to mention the "Qiu Chang (秋尝)": an ancient sacrificial ritual held in July. Autumn is the harvest season, and ancient people offer the ripe grains to their ancestors to pray for a good harvest in the coming year. In the beginning, there was no fixed date for "Qiu Chang". As the 15th day of the 7th lunar month is…

Cultural variety shows and historical dramas have opened up a new trend of Chinese celebrities' traditional costume styling. Starting with "National Treasure" in 2017, celebrities frequently time travel to various dynasties to experience the life of ancient people. Yang Zi acted in many Xianxia dramas (such as Ashes of Love, and Immortal Samsara), but in "National Treasure", she had the opportunity to talk with Princess Wencheng across time and space. The appropriate gold ornaments, together with the flower inlay between her eyebrows, highlight her dignified and luxurious side. Zhang Zifeng, transformed into a Qing Dynasty astronomer, Wang Zhen Yi. With her plain attire and calm and quiet temperament, you seem to be able to see the majestic universe in her heart. The 2019 suspense drama "The Longest Day In Chang'an", the thrilling investigation process, with a rich display of Tang Dynasty styling, adds a lot of features to this drama. In the show "Meet the temple of heaven" 2019, has a number of actresses changing into Qing Dynasty attire, which combined with the scenery of the Temple of Heaven, really gives a feeling of history shining into reality. Compared to Xianxia and Wuxia dramas, cultural shows and historical dramas usually…

Unlike the noble and elegant clothes of women in the Tang Dynasty, when it comes to Song Dynasty women costumes, maybe we are thinking of a graceful and restrained and a plain and neat feeling. The Song Dynasty was the dynasty with the most prosperous literati temperament in Chinese history. Women’s clothing in the Song Dynasty not only inherited the women's clothing system in the Tang Dynasty, moreover, combined with the characteristics of the times, created a dressing mode that belongs to the Song Dynasty. Its aesthetic standard is skinny beauty with fresh and elegant. It advocates slenderness and fit, exquisite material processing, soft tone, lightness, softness, elegance, and it has a strong atmosphere of life. So what kind of clothes did the women wear in the Song Dynasty thousands of years ago? In this article, ArtMoment will introduce 11 classic Song Dynasty women costumes to you.   1-Top In the Song Dynasty, women’s clothing was basically still coat and dress shape, divided into different forms. Tops mainly have Moxiong, Shan, Ru & Ao, Pao, Beizi, Banxiu, and so on. Moxiong Moxiong (抹胸, bandeau) is the most close-fitting clothing for women in the Song Dynasty. Its function is like today’s…

Can foreigners wear Hanfu? Which dynasty's Hanfu style is more suitable for non-Chinese people, Tang, Song, or Ming? Wearing Chinese hanfu costumes, tasting traditional Chinese food, and learning traditional handicrafts, three young ladies from different countries immersive experienced Chinese culture, in the recently released Chinese traditional culture creative short film "They Are All From China" by the Sichuan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, China. https://youtu.be/Ufvs8bqcYgA   Traditional Chinese Hanfu Costume Hanfu is the traditional national costume of the Han people and has a history of over 3,700 years, with different costumes and makeup for different dynasties. In this video, Ms. Ting Yue, the Chinese costume enthusiast and promoter, leads three foreign friends in a special Chinese cultural experience. They put on different dynasties Hanfu to achieve a "gorgeous transformation".   Tang Dynasty Hanfu The Tang Dynasty saw an unprecedented flourishing atmosphere of feudal society, with advanced society, cultural prosperity, advanced silk weaving techniques, and a nationwide tea drinking culture, making it a dynasty in which China exported a great deal of culture, art and technology to surrounding countries. At this time, clothing styles, colors, patterns, and so on, all presented a new situation, the gorgeous crowns and clothing are…

Introduction Yunjian (云肩), is considered to be one of hanfu's accessories. It is often matched with Ming Dynasty clothing, such as long tops (长袄) and folded skirts, known as mǎ miàn qún (马面裙). Those interested in hanfus might be interested in making their own, including yunjian. But, when it comes to making yunjian, there have been little videos that give the full process of making it from scratch. There are, however, kits that can be bought and you just have to attach the pieces. Or, you can just buy the finished product from stores that sell it to match your hanfu set. The reason that there haven’t been many tutorials for yunjian making could be because of the complicated embroidery techniques that are used. Despite yunjian being something small, the intricate designs can require long hours just on sewing itself. If you have a sewing machine, it’ll fasten your pace on the designs, making it much easier for you to do the DIY process. I’ve looked through videos and articles showing steps of yunjian making and I’ll group them here for anyone interested. The steps may be rough, but you’ll get the overall idea of what’s occurring to get the…

With the popularity of "A Dream of Splendor", the Chinese traditional folk life of the Song Dynasty shown in the drama has set off a retro craze in reality. The audience's focus on ancient costume dramas is no longer limited to makeup and costumes, but seeks to examine and explore deeper content. In recent years, it is common that ancient costume dramas based on historical research and restoration of ancient life, but most of them are still embodied in costumes and etiquette, do not fully restore the life of ancient China. So, what is traditional Chinese folk life like? STUDIO SHENLOUZHI (蜃楼志), as if they had traveled from ancient China, recreates the traditional Chinese folk life for the audience with their almost perfect short films. On June 10, 2019, their first work, "VAGUELY DREAM IN HOKCHEW - Short Film of Traditional Life in Late Ming Dynasty" suddenly becomes popular on the Internet, with more than 700,000 views. The creative team members are all post-90s traditional culture enthusiasts, who had no experience in film production or acting in any drama before. The short film shows the folk life in Hokchew City (Fuzhou) during the Chongzhen period of the late Ming Dynasty…

Daxiushan (大袖衫, big sleeves shirt) were originally men's clothing in the Wei and Jin dynasties, but in the Tang dynasty it referred to women's extra wide big sleeves outfits. The shape of the Daxiushan is straight collar, symmetrical lapels, long sleeves, large cuffs, mostly long clothing body and with splitting and lacing.   Daxiushan in Tang Dynasty During the Tang Dynasty, the society was open and Hu clothing was prevalent. Women were free-spirited and often wore men's or Hu clothing. After the flourishing Tang period, the style of women's clothing became wider and wider, and this feature became more obvious in the middle and late Tang period, with general women's clothing, the sleeve width was often more than four feet. Wide sleeve shirts, long skirts and Pibo were worn as the noble dresses at that time, and usually worn on important occasions, such as court meetings, ceremonial, and marriages. The Daxiushan costume is recorded in Zhou Fang's painting "Court Ladies Adorning Their Hair With Flowers" records the Daxiushan costume. The beauty in the painting wears a long dress with a large-sleeved sarong shirt draped directly. The artist's realistic approach not only portrays the delicate clothing materials of the Tang Dynasty,…

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:

The latest immortal drama "Immortal Samsara (沉香如屑)" is on air on July 20. Yang Zi, Cheng Yi, Zhang Rui and Meng Ziyi are leading the cast. Unlike previous immortal dramas, Immortal Samsara tells the story of Ying Yuan, the emperor of the six realms who guards the boundaries and protects the world, and Yan Dan, the fairy who is kind-hearted and loves righteousness, as they fight against the forces of evil and guard the righteousness of the world together. The drama strives to break away from the creative shackles of romance and build a more ambitious and meticulous story structure behind the fantastical and magnificent imagery.   World structure of Immortal Samsara Main characters of Immortal Samsara Immortal Samsara constructs a vast group of immortal characters, the main characters include: Yan Dan (played by Yang Zi), the four-leaf lotus fairy. Intelligent and has a powerful gift for learning. However, she is naughty and lively, resting on her laurels, and is happy with her status as a fairy attendant. She is kind, sincere, and truly devoted to everyone. Ying Yuan (played by Cheng Yi), the leader of the four emperors in the heavenly realm and the first model of the heavenly.…

As requested by user @Wei on my Mamianqun article, here’s a little summary of all the most popular hanfu skirt (qun or 裙) types and what the difference between them is! I’m not going to go into as much detail as the previous article since my goal is to go through them all quickly and teach you the differences between them, but I’ll be including some brief details on their name, history, construction, and features so that you can better understand the huge variety of skirts in hanfu. Let’s start off with some basics rules hanfu skirts tend to follow. Skirts are made up of one or two pieces of fabric, usually, and they take the shape of a flat piece of pleated or non pleated cloth that gets wrapped around the body and tied in place by ribbons/ties. There are very few exceptions to this, except in hanyuansu, which is modified hanfu for convenience and style. The waistband of the skirt is usually 6-8cm wide and made with a different piece of fabric than the body of the skirt, which the body of the skirt is then attached to—this is referred to as the skirt head (裙頭). But even…

Brief history describing the purpose of yunjian, history, and changes overtime between modern period and past.

Hey everyone! I’m so sorry about how late this is since I promised this like… three weeks ago, but here’s a little outfit analysis of the rainbow pride outfit that I designed and posted a few pictures of last month! Disclaimer: While I design the shapes, fabrics, and combinations of my hanfu designs, I do not sew any of my hanfu designs! This is due to the fact that I could not sew a straight line to sew my life. Instead I work with various small independent tailors, seamstresses and hanfu workshops.   THE BASIC STATS I chose to make this set a Song Dynasty hanyuansu. Song style hanfu has long been known to be the most popular in the summer with its flowy and light layers, and me being in Taiwan for pretty much all of pride month meant that I needed to be able to stay cool in 37+ degrees while hanging around outside for pictures. The main modifications in this set are to the top piece, which is a 吊帶, or camisole, with straps. This is a very simple three-piece set that gives all of its attention to the rainbow skirt. The three pieces include the camisole…

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…

The mythical creature from "Classic of Mountains and Seas" are brought to life again! These ancient records from 2,000 years ago come to vivid reality in this girl's restoration. Xiang Liu (相柳): 《山海经·海外北经》：“共工之臣曰相柳氏，九首，以食于九山。相柳之所抵，厥为泽溪。……相柳者，九首人面，蛇身而青……” Shan Hai Jing - Hai Wai Bei Jing: "Gong Gong had a minister named Xiang Liu, who had nine heads and fetched food on each of the nine mountains. Everywhere the Xiang Liu touched, it would turn into swamps and streams. ....... Xiang Liu, with nine heads, had a human-like face, a snake-like body, and a greenish body." Ling Yu (陵鱼): 《山海经·海内北经》：“陵鱼人面、手足、鱼身，在海中。” Shan Hai Jing - Hai Nei Bei Jing: "There is a kind of Ling Yu, with a human-like face, arms and legs, and a fish-like body, living in the sea." Qiong Qi (穷奇) & Luo Yu (蠃鱼): 《山海经·西山经》：“又西二百六十里，曰邽山，其上有兽焉，其状如牛，猬毛，名曰穷奇，音如獆狗，是食人。濛水出焉，南流注于洋水，其中多黄贝、蠃鱼，鱼身而鸟翼，音如鸳鸯，见则其邑大水。” Shan Hai Jing - Xi Shan Jing: "Two hundred and sixty miles to the west, there is a mountain called Gui Shan. A beast on the mountain, shaped like a cow, with hair like the thorns of a hedgehog, is called the Qiong Qi, which makes a sound like a barking dog and can eat humans. Meng River originates from this mountain and flows southward into the…

From the details of dramatized family daily life to the emotional struggle of characters growing up and the emotions of family and country, Love Like the Galaxy contains many highlights worth watching. The ancient legendary cdrama Love Like the Galaxy was launched on July 5, adapted from the novel work "Xing Han Can Lan, Xing Shen Zhi Zai (星汉灿烂, 幸甚至哉)" by novel author Guan Xin Ze Luan, starring Wu Lei, Zhao Lusi, Guo Tao and Zeng Li in the lead roles. In addition to being broadcast exclusively on Tencent Video, the series is also available on Viu, YouTube, Viki, and iTalk, which cover multiple regions. In the future, the series will also be broadcast on AsiaN in Korea and mainstream TV in Japan. Love Like the Galaxy portrays the ancient family group, with a huge and complicated family construction that holds up the vast and long story. The drama tells the story of Ling Bu Yi, who is burdened with a blood feud, and Cheng Shao Shang, who has lacked love since childhood, growing up together through life and death together. The drama in the structure of the narrative, to grow the main male and female to drive the audience…