Futou,also known as fu (幞) and toujin (頭巾),was one of the most important forms of Chinese headwear in ancient China with a history of more than one thousand years. The futou first appeared in Northern Zhou under the reign of Emperor Wu where it became prevalent. It was also commonly worn in the Tang and Song dynasties. The futou was typically worn by government officials. The futou was originally turban-like headwear which was tied at the back of its wearer's head,with the two corners going to opposite directions and acting as decorations. From the Sui to the Ming dynasties,the futou evolved and was developed based on the fujin. The futou eventually came to assume a variety of shapes and styles. The shape of the futou worn by the government officials in the Song and Ming dynasties,the latter known as the wushamao (烏紗帽),was based on the futou of the Tang dynasty.
The Qing official headwear or Qingdai guanmao,also referred as the Official hats of the Qing dynasty or Mandarin hat in English,is a generic term which refers to the types of guanmao,a headgear,worn by the officials of the Qing dynasty in China. The Qing official headwear typically forms of part of the qizhuang system as opposed to the hanfu system and were completely different from the types of guanmao used in the previous dynasties. There were various forms of the Qing official headwear,and some were designed to be worn based on the winter or summer seasons;while others used varieties of decorations and adornment,such as the use of peacock feathers which could vary between one and three peacock eyes;these peacock feathers were bestowed by the Emperor to his officials who had accomplished meritorious services and the greatest number of peacock eyes represents the highest honour bestowed.
The hanbok is a traditional clothing of the Korean people. The term hanbok is primarily used by South Koreans;North Koreans refer to the clothes as chosŏn-ot (조선옷).
A queue or cue is a hairstyle worn by the Jurchen and Manchu peoples of Manchuria,and was later required to be worn by male subjects of Qing China. Hair on top of the scalp is grown long and is often braided,while the front portion of the head is shaved. The distinctive hairstyle led to its wearers being targeted during anti-Chinese riots in Australia and the United States.
Vietnamese clothing or Việt phục is the traditional style of clothing worn in Vietnam by the Vietnamese people. The traditional style has both indigenous and foreign elements due to the diverse cultural exchanges during the history of Vietnam. Due to it being part of the East Asian Cultural Sphere,Vietnamese traditional clothing have elements which bear similarities to those of China,Korea,and Japan. This all eventually led to the birth of a distinctive Vietnamese style of clothing,including the birth of the modern national dress of Vietnam,the áo dài.
The mianguan,also called benkan in Japan,myeonlyugwan in Korea,and Miện quan in Vietnam,is a type of crown traditionally worn by the emperors of China,Japan,Korea,and Vietnam,as well as other kings in the East Asia.
Beizi,also known as beizi and chuozi,is an item worn in traditional Chinese attire common to both men and women;it is typically a large loose outer coat with loose and long sleeves. It was most popular during the Song dynasty,Ming dynasty,and from the early Qing to the Mid-Qing dynasty. The beizi originated in the Song dynasty. In the Ming dynasty,the beizi was referred as pifeng. When worn by men,it is sometimes referred as changyi,hechang,or dachang when it features large sleeves and knotted ties at the front as a garment closure.
Manggeon is a kind of traditional Korean headband worn by men to hold their hair in place after the sangtu topknot is done. It is usually made by weaving dyed horsehair (馬尾毛). In Korea,artisans who specialize in making manggeon are called manggeonjang (망건장).
Gwanbok is a Korean term which was borrowed from the Chinese terms guanfu and guanfu. The term gwanbok is a collective term which refers to historical official attire,which was bestowed by the government court,including Chinese courts of various dynasties. The guanfu (冠服) system was a court attire system in China which also formed part of the Hanfu system. This system was them spread to neighbouring countries and was adopted in Korea since ancient times in different periods through the ritual practice of bestowal of clothing. Acknowledgement through bestowed robes and crowns (冠服) from the Emperor of China,who held hegemony over East Asia,would give support to Korean Kings and successors,as being the authentic rulers of their country as well as confirmed the political status of the Korean kingdom in the rest of the Sinosphere. The gwanbok system in Korea was different for each kingdom and changed throughout different periods. For example,initially given by the Chinese court in ritual practice,successive gwanbok were more often than not locally manufactured in Korea with different colours and adopted into hanbok. The gwanbok,which was used as the uniform of court officials,formed part of the gwanbok system and was used like the suit is nowadays.
A yuanlingshan is a type of round-collared upper garment in the traditional Chinese style of clothing known as Hanfu;it is also referred to as a yuanlingpao or a panlingpao when used as a robe. The yuanlingshan and yuanlingpao were both developed under the influence of ancient Chinese clothing,known as Hufu,originating from the Donghu people during the early Han dynasty and later by the Wuhu,including the Xianbei people,during the Six Dynasties period. The yuanlingpao is an article of formal attire primarily worn by men,although in certain dynasties,such as the Tang dynasty,it was also fashionable for women to wear. In the Tang dynasty,the yuanlingpao could be transformed into the fanlingpao using buttons.
Daopao,also known as xuezi when used as a Xifu during Chinese opera performances,and deluo when it is blue in colour,is a traditional form of paofu in Hanfu and is also one of the most distinctive form of traditional clothing for the Han Chinese. The daopao was one of the most common traditional form of outer robe worn by men. Daopao literally means "Taoist robe";however,despite its name,the daopao were and is worn by men,and did not imply that its wearer had some affiliation to taoism. The daopao can be dated back to at least the Ming dynasty but had actually been worn since the Song dynasty. Initially the daopao was a form of casual clothing which was worn by the middle or lower class in the Ming dynasty. In the middle and late Ming,it was one of the most common form of robes worn by men as casual clothing. The daopao was also a popular formal wear by the Ming dynasty scholars in their daily lives. It was also the daily clothing for the literati scholars in the Ming dynasty. In the late Ming,it was also a popular form of clothing among the external officials and eunuchs sometimes wore it. The daopao was also introduced in Korea during the Joseon period,where it became known as dopo and was eventually localized in its current form.
Dragon robes,also known as gunlongpao or longpao for short,is a form of everyday clothing which had a Chinese dragon,called long (龍),as the main decoration;it was worn by the emperors of China. Dragon robes were also adopted by the rulers of neighbouring countries,such as Korea,Vietnam,and the Ryukyu Kingdom.
Hanfu are the traditional styles of clothing worn by the Han Chinese. There are several representative styles of hanfu,such as the ruqun,the aoqun,the beizi and the shenyi,and the shanku.
The fashion in the Yuan dynasty of Mongol (1271–1368) showed cultural diversity with the coexistence of various ethnic clothing,such as Mongol clothing,Han clothing and Korean clothing. The Mongol dress was the clothing of elite for both genders. Mongol attire worn in the 13th-14th century was different from the Han clothing from the Tang and Song dynasties. The Yuan dynasty court clothing also allowed the mixed of Mongol and Han style,and the official dress code of the Yuan dynasty also became a mixture of Han and Mongol clothing styles. After the founding of the Yuan dynasty,the Mongols strongly influenced the lifestyle and customs of the Han people.
After the fall of the Tang dynasty,the Khitans,a branch of the Eastern Xianbei tribes,established Liao dynasty in northern China. The Liao dynasty comprised two regions:the Northern and Southern Divisions. The Northern divisions of Liao was mainly composed of tribal Khitan people while the Southern regions was composed of the Han and other sedentary groups. The rulers of the Liao dynasty adopted a clothing system which allowed the coexistence of Han and Khitan clothing.
Xiapei,also known as hapi in Korea,is a type of Chinese clothing accessory in either the form of a long scarf,a neckband,or in the shape of waistcoat depending on the time period. It was also referred as xiapeizhui when it was ornamented with a peizhui at its front end;the peizhui ornament could be made of diverse materials,such as silver,jade,and gold.
Ucinaasugai,also known as Ryusou and referred as ushinchi in Okinawan,is the traditional dress of the Ryukyuan people. Ryusou is a form of formal attire;it is customary to wear it on occasions such as wedding ceremony and the coming-of-age ceremony. The ryusou became popular during the Ryukyu Kingdom period. It was originally worn by the members of the royal family and by the nobles of Ryukyu Kingdom. The Ryukyu Kingdom was originally an independent nation which established trade relationship with many countries in Southeast Asia and East Asia;they held their relationship with China as especially important. The development of the ryusou was influenced by both the hanfu and the kimono,demonstrating a combination of Chinese and Japanese influences along with local originality.
Tifayifu is an edict policy which took place in the Qing dynasty in 1645 when Han Chinese people were forced to follow Manchu hairstyle and Manchu clothing. In 1644,on the first day when the Manchu penetrated the Great Wall of China through the Shanhai pass,the Manchu rulers ordered the surrendering Han Chinese population to shave their heads;however,this policy came to a halt just a month later due to the intense resistance from the Han Chinese near Beijing. It is only after the Manchu recaptured Nanjing,the southern capital,in 1645 that the policy resumed and was enforced severely. Within one year after entering China proper,the Qing rulers demanded that men among their defeated subjects had to adopt Manchu hairstyle or face execution. Qing Manchu prince Dorgon initially canceled the order for all men in Ming territories south of the Great wall to shave. It was a Han official from Shandong,Sun Zhixie and Li Ruolin who voluntarily shaved their foreheads and demanded Qing Prince Dorgon impose the queue hairstyle on the entire population which led to the queue order.
Qizhuang,also known as Manfu and commonly inappropriately referred as Manchu clothing in English,is the traditional clothing of the Manchu people. Qizhuang in the broad sense refers to the clothing system of the Manchu people,which includes their whole system of attire used for different occasions with varying degrees of formality. The term qizhuang can also be used to refer to a type of informal dress worn by Manchu women known as chenyi,which is a one-piece long robe with no slits on either sides. In the Manchu tradition,the outerwear of both men and women includes a full-length robe with a jacket or a vest while short coats and trousers are worn as inner garments.
Daojiao fushi,also known as Taoist clothing,are religious clothing and adornment worn by devotees and practitioners of Taoism,an indigenous religion and life philosophy in China. Chinese culture attaches great importance to "cap and gown" are seen as important signs of levels of etiquettes;it is also a visible marker of the Taoist identity. Taoist ritual garments (sometimes referred as daoyi are forms of ritual clothing. These clothing worn by the Taoist priests are inherited from the Han Chinese traditional clothing and holds clear Taoist cultural meaning. When performing rituals and important rituals,Taoist priests wear ceremonial attires which appear to be aligned with elements of Chinese cosmology;these ceremonial attires are therefore strong spiritual intermediaries acting on the part of the Taoist devotees community. Different forms of clothing will be worn by Taoist priests in accordance to ritual types and obvious distinctions are found in the attire of Taoist priests based on their different positions to the altar. There were also codes which would stipulate the appropriate Taoist attire to be worn during both ritual performance and when being off duty.
