Hanfu Through the Ages, Part 2: The Zhou, Qin, and Han Dynasties

Previously on Hanfu Through the Ages, I gave a brief introduction to hanfu and some of its associated accessories. (If you’d like a refresher, click here!) Here, I’ll be introducing some clothing styles that developed during the Zhou, Qin, and Han Dynasties:

Zhou Dynasty

A new type of garment, the shenyi (深衣), was invented during the Zhou Dynasty. It was a one-piece garment, unlike the earlier yichang, and consisted of a top and bottom sewn together. By the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (771 – 256 BC), the shenyi had developed into the marker of a strict feudal hierarchy. Not unlike sumptuary laws in medieval Europe, the style of the shenyi was used to denote its wearer’s age and social status. It would continue to be a popular article of clothing during the succeeding Qin and Han Dynasties.

A man wearing shenyi.

Qin/Han Dynasties

By the Qin (221 – 206 BC) and Han (202 – 220 AD) Dynasties, a new style of hanfu known as paofu (袍服) had developed. Though it appeared similar to shenyi—also a single-piece garment wrapped entirely around the body—the two styles could be differentiated by their methods of construction. Whereas shenyi was created by cutting the top and bottom pieces from different bolts of fabric and sewing them together, paofu was made from a single section of fabric.

Ming Dynasty-style paofu.

During this period, the shenyi further developed into two types of clothing—the quju (曲裾) and the zhiju (直裾). The former consisted of a hemline that circled around levelly until reaching the bottom of the garment, creating a spiral shape, while the latter retained many features of earlier shenyi, such as a straight hemline. Both garments were originally gender-neutral, although after the Han Dynasty, the quju gradually came to be seen as a more feminine-coded style.

A diagram comparing quju and zhiju.

Next up will be the Three Kingdoms period and the Jin and Tang Dynasties!