The Han Dynasty (206 BCE to 220 CE) brought forth some of the most crucial technology and fashion statements in early Chinese culture.
The term ‘hanfu’ was devised recently, and refers to a wide range of traditional, or traditionally inspired, Chinese clothing. There were four main styles worn during this time period: mianfu robes, shenyi hanfu, ruqun hanfu, and duanda hanfu.(1) ‘Dark Style’ was the top colour trend in clothing and predominantly exhibited in mianfu robes, which were exclusively worn by princes and nobles.
Hues such as black, brown, and red would be integrated into this “coronation costume” (direct English translation of mianfu). The general public had less access to Dark Style, and so their clothing was generally dyed with pigments such as khaki or green. Everyone was able to express their culture with prints that featured important creatures like tigers, dragons, phoenixes, and astrological symbols, such as stars, the moon and auspicious clouds.
Shenyi hanfu means “wrapping the body deep within the clothes,“(2) and it was a primary article for both men and women. There were two styles of shenyi: curving and straight front. You are most likely unknowingly familiar with the next form of hanfu, ruqun, through watching Disney’s ‘Mulan’. It is one of the earliest and most basic designs of hanfu.
Composed of a shirt and skirt combo, females generally had highly decorated pieces, whereas males wore simpler versions. The final clothing style of the Han period was duanda hanfu. This was composed of a shirt and pair of trousers. It was daily clothing for common people, made of cheap cloth for farmwork.
As stated earlier in the post, the Han Dynasty brought incredible inventions that changed the course of life in China. Agriculture, cartography, medicine, and many other areas of practice and industry were improved. Some notable inventions were waterwheel powered bellows, the mechanical chain pump, a pendulum seismometer, new herbal remedies, and much more. Even with all of this new technology at play, the Han Dynasty is most arguably known for discovering the paramount process of papermaking. An excerpt from Wikipedia explains how the Han would make their paper: “…mulberry tree bark, hemp, old linens, and fishnets were boiled together to make a pulp that was pounded, stirred in water, and then dunked with a wooden sieve containing a reed mat that was shaken, dried, and bleached into sheets of paper.” (3) Li Ziqi is a Chinese blogger who creates content that conveys intimacy and tranquillity and connects viewers to ancient traditional processes on serene countryside property. Watch the video embedded below to understand more about the ancient Han papermaking process.
References for information:
(1)https://www.newhanfu.com/what-is-the-han-dynasty-clothing.html
(2)https://medium.com/@learnchinese/chinese-shenyi-clothing-8b27655af393
(3)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_and_technology_of_the_Han_dynast
Media Citations:
a)https://www.laviezine.com/1860/top-10-most-famous-chinese-paintings/
b)https://i.pinimg.com/originals/43/6b/eb/436bebb6a79a1c2a54910357bd879ce3.jpg
c)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Shenyi.svg
d)https://i.pinimg.com/originals/f7/c7/94/f7c7942555b2809a2dc71d05eba04d76.jpg
e)https://www.newhanfu.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/What-did-ancient-Chinese-peasants-wear-3.jpg
f)https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2018/01/a-relaxing-video-demonstrates-the-detailed-steps-of-making-paper-by-hand/
