The term 'form' in Hanfu is similar to what people today call 'style,' but when discussing Hanfu, we use 'form' rather than 'style' because 'form' also contains the meaning of institutional regulations. Ancient society regarded clothing as a clothing and crown system. Based on collected materials, Hanfu's numerous forms can be divided into four basic categories.
1. Garment-Skirt Form (Upper Garment Lower Skirt Separate Cutting)
The upper garment lower skirt system separates the upper garment and lower skirt for cutting, wearing clothes on top and skirts below. The 'skirt' in lower skirt refers to skirts. This is the oldest form in the Hanfu system. The Chinese term 'yishang' (clothes) originates from this. If Hanfu has 4,000 years of history, then the upper garment lower skirt system has such a long history.
The 'Book of Changes' states that this system was created during the Yellow Emperor, Yao, and Shun periods, taking from the forms and colors of heaven and earth. Heaven is above, earth is below, so clothes are above and skirts below. 'Clothes in正色, skirts in间色' (upper garment colors are pure and uniform, lower skirt colors are interwoven), like 'heaven is black, earth is yellow.' Therefore, the highest level 'garment-skirt' is mostly black, dark red, or Xuan-Xun colors.
Upper garment lower skirt is the most basic clothing form in ancient China and the highest form of men's ceremonial dress throughout dynasties, until the Ming Dynasty. For example, Mianfu and Xuan Duan. The main era of upper garment lower skirt's popularity was pre-Qin, the source and basic form of Hanfu. Later introduced deep garment forms and robe forms all evolved from upper garment lower skirt.
2. Deep Garment Form (Upper and Lower Connected Sewing)
The deep garment system formed in the Zhou Dynasty. The Zhou Dynasty was divided into Western Zhou and Eastern Zhou (Spring and Autumn and Warring States), when society was undergoing profound transformation, and the deep garment system was born against this historical background.
The deep garment system separates the upper garment and lower skirt for cutting, connected at the waist to form a whole. That is, upper and lower connected skirt. In cutting, the upper garment and lower skirt are cut separately and then sewn together, but the final garment is still one piece. Deep garments can be worn by both men and women, used as ceremonial dress or daily wear.
Deep garments have two major categories: straight lapel and curved lapel. They are mainly used as formal occasion ceremonial dress, worn by both men and women, with大气儒雅, 中正平和, and full of charm.
Straight lapel: The large left lapel goes from the chest around to the right rear and then hangs vertically, hence called straight lapel. It is简洁干练, 中正肃穆, and the universal dress for men's ceremonial dress throughout dynasties, with extremely far-reaching influence.
Curved lapel: 'Lapel' means skirt. Curved lapel is a curved and coiled skirt. Compared with straight lapel, its lapel wraps around the lower body layer by layer and finally ties at the waist, with graceful and smooth curves that are pleasing to the eye. When mentioning curved lapel, Hanfu enthusiasts immediately think of the powerful Han Dynasty, because curved lapel was extremely prevalent at that time.
3. Robe Form
The robe form is a one-piece cut upper and lower connected clothing, popular in the Song and Ming Dynasties. Such as round collar robe (Tang Dynasty official常服), Dao robe (Ming Dynasty men's casual wear). The round collar robe was the main clothing for Tang Dynasty officials, later becoming the basis for official uniforms in subsequent dynasties.
4. Ruqun Form
Ruqun is the general term for women's clothing, consisting of upper ru (short garment) and lower skirt. It is one of the most basic and common forms of Hanfu. According to the height of the skirt waist, it can be divided into waist-high ruqun, chest-high ruqun, and齐腰 ruqun. Among them, chest-high ruqun was a爆款 in the Tang Dynasty, and mamian skirt was a标志性下装 for Ming Dynasty women.