People have always had many misunderstandings about Hanfu. The biggest misunderstanding is that Hanfu is the clothing of the [Han Dynasty]. They blindly pursue retro style and abandon clothing after the Han Dynasty, treating them as "alien". Or they think that the modern improved Tang suit is also Hanfu. In fact, these two views are extremely wrong. Hanfu does not specifically refer to the clothes of the "Han Dynasty", and the current men's casual Tang suit is by no means Hanfu in the true sense.
Hanfu in a broad sense is [the traditional costume of the Han nationality], also known as Han attire, Han costume, and Chinese costume. Generally speaking, it refers to the clothing culture that the Han people continuously evolved and formed based on Chinese culture from the time when the Yellow Emperor came to the throne to the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. It includes the clothing styles of the Han Dynasty in the Central Plains throughout the dynasties, from clothing, hats, shoes and socks to clothing and accessories.
To put it simply, the clothes of the Han Dynasty are Hanfu, and the clothes of the Sui and Tang Dynasties are also Hanfu, but Hanfu is not limited to the Han Dynasty and the Sui and Tang Dynasties.
The reason why Hanfu has become an important inheritance of Chinese Han culture and is different from other ethnic costume systems is that the word "Huaxia" runs through it from beginning to end. "Shang Shu Zhengyi" says, "The crown prince is called Hua Zhang, and the great country is called Xia." The ancients regarded the beauty of their costumes as Hua; they regarded the vast territory and elegant etiquette as Xia. Hanfu pays attention to the elegance of clothing and heraldry. It is "a country with clothes", "a land of etiquette" and "splendid China". A piece of clothing not only carries people's basic needs to cover their shame and protect themselves from the cold, but also inherits Han culture's cognitive appreciation of beauty, and A grand humanistic spirit.
Real Hanfu is quite complicated to wear. The necessary items include head clothing (crown or hairpin), foot clothing (cloth shoes, embroidered shoes, boots, clogs, etc.), and a jade pendant can be worn around the waist. As for clothes, first of all, they are undergarments, underpants (equivalent to underwear), midi coats, midi trousers, and midi skirts (similar to shirts). The outer layer is a robe, a coat or a single garment.
Taking the Tang Dynasty as an example, men first wore undershirts, singlets, socks, and hair tied on their heads. Then they wore mid-layer clothes, pants, half-arms (or long sleeves, or jackets), a scarf on their heads, and then outerwear. , 襕robe shirt or shirt without crotch, boots, then wrap the head with a futou, and finally wear a leather belt, and wear a number of accessories depending on the status and occasion, such as jade pendants, gold turtles, etc.
Wearing Hanfu is not easy if you have to pay attention to everything from underwear to outerwear.
Standard Hanfu has the following characteristics:
No buttons
One of the characteristics of Hanfu is the laces, which require almost no buttons and are all worn with laces and tassels. Even if there are buttons, they are hidden buttons and are generally not used in conspicuous places. It was not until the Ming Dynasty that certain styles of clothing used limited buttons. It is said that this is based on the characteristics of ethnic minority clothing. However, compared to buttons and zippers, tying is also very convenient. It is both a button and a belt. The fabric has friction, and you don’t have to worry about knots, looseness, or even “leakage”.
Right lapel collar
衽, the original meaning is the lapel of clothes. The left front lapel covers the right axillary frenulum, and the right lapel is covered inside, which is called the right lapel. The right fold is a characteristic that has always been retained in Hanfu. On the contrary, the clothing of some ethnic minorities in ancient my country mostly had their fronts turned to the left. Therefore, Zuo Ren refers to being under the rule of foreigners. Confucius once said: "Guan Zhong served as Duke Huan, dominated the princes, and ruled the world. The people are now receiving his blessings. If Guan Zhong is insignificant, I will be sent to the left." This means that without Guan Zhong, we would have become slaves of foreign races. , wearing left-hand clothes and with her hair disheveled.
In addition to referring to being ruled by ethnic minorities, the left fold is also a unique practice of the deceased to show the difference between yin and yang.
formal dress
The styles of Hanfu have changed throughout the ages, such as the round-neck shirt that appeared in the Tang Dynasty. But the only style that remains unchanged is the gown, also known as the "deep gown." Deep clothing is a unisex garment. It is a straight-style gown, with the clothes sewn together to cover the body and hide the body deeply, making it look graceful and elegant. In addition, the rectangular fabric embedded under the armpits makes it easy to move around.
The deep garment most completely embodies the characteristics of Chinese culture: the cuffs are wide, symbolizing the harmony of heaven; the neckline intersecting at right angles, symbolizing the integrity of the people; a straight seam on the back running from top to bottom, symbolizing the integrity of humanity; the waist is tied with a large belt, symbolizing balance; the upper and lower garments are divided into The two parts symbolize the two rituals; the upper garment uses four pieces of cloth, symbolizing the four seasons of the year; the lower garment uses twelve pieces of cloth, symbolizing the twelve months of the year.
Hanfu has always been regarded as one of the representative cultures of China. It is exquisite, elegant and noble, and carries the outstanding craftsmanship and aesthetics of the Han people such as dyeing, weaving and embroidery. Since ancient times, Hanfu has always been one of the costumes that ancestors regarded as "the face of the country". For thousands of years, Hanfu has carried not only a kind of life aesthetics, but also the continuation of the lifestyle of countless Chinese people.
