Preamble
For your convenience I have listed below other posts in this series on Chinese textiles:
Chinese Textiles: Amy Clague's Brocade Collection (Part I)
Chinese Textiles: Amy Clague's Tapestry Collection (Part I)
Chinese Textiles: Amy Clague’s Tapestry Collection (Part II)
Chinese Textiles: Amy Clague’s Embroidery Collection (Part I)
Chinese Textiles: Amy Clague’s Brocade Collection (Part II)
Chinese Clothing Historical Overview - Part I
Chinese Clothing: Shenyi and Broad Sleeves - Part I
Chinese Clothing: Shenyi and Broad Sleeves - Part II
Chinese Clothing: The Introduction of Ethnic Styles [1]
From as early as the Warring States Period (ca. 475–221 BCE) the sixth emperor of Zhao realized that the long robes worn by generals and warriors were too cumbersome for an army, especially when they had to carry their amors and supplies.
Reign: 1067–1085. His original personal name was Zhao Zhongzhen, but he changed it to "Zhao Xu" after he acceded to the throne.
Low-ranking officers wore leather breast plates with braces and shoulder pads, with no back armor. Middle-ranking officers wore shorter armor covering the torso and waist but in some cases with added decorations like ribbons. Superior officers/generals wore armor with a smooth edge and colorful lacings. The armor had chest plates and waist plates, and often included shoulder protection, but not in every case. The terra cotta soldiers, who were later unearthed, did not have helmets, possibly due to funerary, or perhaps because of later looting practices.
This style, once frowned upon and rejected, became the daily attire of the people in the central plains during Wei, Jin and Northern and Southern Dynasties. One reason for this change, was the frequent movement of people, caused by incessant war. This process also encouraged the culture of clothing exchange.
Kuzhe and liandang are typical Hu wear at that time, both styles being suitable for riding and for life in a cold climate.
A pottery tomb figure wearing Kuzhe.
Photograph: Courtesy of Li Zhanqing.
A man wearing liangdang in the painting - "Along the River During the Qingming Festival".
A classic style of costume emerged during the Southern and Northern Dynasties (420-581). Liangdang consists of front and back pieces, later called the vest. It was convenient for people who work outdoors for long periods of time.
Photograph: Courtesy of The Palace Museum.
The kuzhe is a style with separate top and bottom garments. The top garment looks like a short robe with wide sleeves, a central Chinese adaptation of the original narrow sleeves fit for riding and herding animals. The closure of the robe also changed, moving from left to right. Indeed, people of central China, called the northwestern people, were "...people with left closure." The robes at this time were significantly shorter and more varied in style. Historical materials show a number of styles of these garments from Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties, which had left, right and middle closure, or even swallow tails at the front of them. These garments allowed the wearer to be agile, as is frequently depicted in the clay figurines of the Southern Dynasty.
Kuzhe.
Painted by Zhou Xun, selected from Lady Garments and Adorments of Chinese Past Dynasties by Zhou Xun and Gao Chunming.
Riders of North China wearing fur hats, fur sleeves and carrying fur arrow bags.
Selected from Research on Ancient Chinese Clothes and Adornments by Shen Congwen.
Bronze human figures of the Warring States period (475-221 BC) wearing silk girdles, embroidered short robes and short swords. Excavated in Changzhi, Shanxi Province.
Image: Courtesy of Research on Ancient Chinese Clothes and Adornments by Shen Congwen.
The bottom garment of the kuzhe is a pair of trousers with a closed crotch. Intially, these trousers were close fitting, allowing the wearer to move freely. When this style appeared in central China, especially when some officials wore them in court, traditionalists questioned the propriety of displaying legs in this way, and going against the traditional loose-fitting ceremonial wear. Widening the legs was a compromise, and gave the trousers a similar appearance to the traditional robe. These trousers were more flexible and convenient than robes when walking. To avoid getting the wide trousers caught in thorns or dragged in mud, someone came up with the idea of lifting the trouser legs and tying them up just below knee-level. This style of trousers can be seen in the Southern Dynasty's buriel figurines and brick paintings. In appearance, they are quiet similar to the bell-bottom trousers of the 1960s-1970s, but in reality they are only similar in profile, not in construction.
A structural sketch of men's trousers in the Warring States period.
Selected from research on Ancient Chinese Cloths and Adornments by Shen Congwen.
The liangdang, or double-layered suit, is another style typical of this period, and it came from the northwest into Central China. It was no more than a vest, which can be seen in many burial pieces of that time. Judging from clay figurines and wall paintings in tombs, the vest was in two spearate pieces fastened on the shoulders and under the arms. There were also liangdangs in leather cotton, lined or unlined, close or loose fitting. The name changed over the years, but the style remained the same.
These items of clothing were extremely popular at that time for both women and men. The two-piece style has always been favored by the Chinese people, but it has changed over time, because of the fusion of different clothing cultures.
Reference:
[1] Chinese Clothing, H. Mei, Cambridge University Press (2011).
For your convenience I have listed below other posts in this series on Chinese textiles:
Chinese Textiles: Amy Clague's Brocade Collection (Part I)
Chinese Textiles: Amy Clague's Tapestry Collection (Part I)
Chinese Textiles: Amy Clague’s Tapestry Collection (Part II)
Chinese Textiles: Amy Clague’s Embroidery Collection (Part I)
Chinese Textiles: Amy Clague’s Brocade Collection (Part II)
Chinese Clothing Historical Overview - Part I
Chinese Clothing: Shenyi and Broad Sleeves - Part I
Chinese Clothing: Shenyi and Broad Sleeves - Part II
Chinese Clothing: The Introduction of Ethnic Styles [1]
From as early as the Warring States Period (ca. 475–221 BCE) the sixth emperor of Zhao realized that the long robes worn by generals and warriors were too cumbersome for an army, especially when they had to carry their amors and supplies.
Low-ranking officers wore leather breast plates with braces and shoulder pads, with no back armor. Middle-ranking officers wore shorter armor covering the torso and waist but in some cases with added decorations like ribbons. Superior officers/generals wore armor with a smooth edge and colorful lacings. The armor had chest plates and waist plates, and often included shoulder protection, but not in every case. The terra cotta soldiers, who were later unearthed, did not have helmets, possibly due to funerary, or perhaps because of later looting practices.
This style, once frowned upon and rejected, became the daily attire of the people in the central plains during Wei, Jin and Northern and Southern Dynasties. One reason for this change, was the frequent movement of people, caused by incessant war. This process also encouraged the culture of clothing exchange.
Kuzhe and liandang are typical Hu wear at that time, both styles being suitable for riding and for life in a cold climate.
Photograph: Courtesy of Li Zhanqing.
A classic style of costume emerged during the Southern and Northern Dynasties (420-581). Liangdang consists of front and back pieces, later called the vest. It was convenient for people who work outdoors for long periods of time.
Photograph: Courtesy of The Palace Museum.
The kuzhe is a style with separate top and bottom garments. The top garment looks like a short robe with wide sleeves, a central Chinese adaptation of the original narrow sleeves fit for riding and herding animals. The closure of the robe also changed, moving from left to right. Indeed, people of central China, called the northwestern people, were "...people with left closure." The robes at this time were significantly shorter and more varied in style. Historical materials show a number of styles of these garments from Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties, which had left, right and middle closure, or even swallow tails at the front of them. These garments allowed the wearer to be agile, as is frequently depicted in the clay figurines of the Southern Dynasty.
Painted by Zhou Xun, selected from Lady Garments and Adorments of Chinese Past Dynasties by Zhou Xun and Gao Chunming.
Selected from Research on Ancient Chinese Clothes and Adornments by Shen Congwen.
Image: Courtesy of Research on Ancient Chinese Clothes and Adornments by Shen Congwen.
The bottom garment of the kuzhe is a pair of trousers with a closed crotch. Intially, these trousers were close fitting, allowing the wearer to move freely. When this style appeared in central China, especially when some officials wore them in court, traditionalists questioned the propriety of displaying legs in this way, and going against the traditional loose-fitting ceremonial wear. Widening the legs was a compromise, and gave the trousers a similar appearance to the traditional robe. These trousers were more flexible and convenient than robes when walking. To avoid getting the wide trousers caught in thorns or dragged in mud, someone came up with the idea of lifting the trouser legs and tying them up just below knee-level. This style of trousers can be seen in the Southern Dynasty's buriel figurines and brick paintings. In appearance, they are quiet similar to the bell-bottom trousers of the 1960s-1970s, but in reality they are only similar in profile, not in construction.
Selected from research on Ancient Chinese Cloths and Adornments by Shen Congwen.
The liangdang, or double-layered suit, is another style typical of this period, and it came from the northwest into Central China. It was no more than a vest, which can be seen in many burial pieces of that time. Judging from clay figurines and wall paintings in tombs, the vest was in two spearate pieces fastened on the shoulders and under the arms. There were also liangdangs in leather cotton, lined or unlined, close or loose fitting. The name changed over the years, but the style remained the same.
These items of clothing were extremely popular at that time for both women and men. The two-piece style has always been favored by the Chinese people, but it has changed over time, because of the fusion of different clothing cultures.
Reference:
[1] Chinese Clothing, H. Mei, Cambridge University Press (2011).
