Paofu (Chinese: 袍服; pinyin: páofú; lit. Chinese: 袍; pinyin: páo; lit. The term is often used to refer to the jiaolingpao and the yuanlingpao. 90 for short, is a form of a long, one-piece robe in Hanfu, which is characterized by the natural integration of the upper and lower part of the robe which is cut from a single fabric. 12 It initially looked similar to the ancient shenyi; however, these two robes are structurally different from each other. 10-13 With time, the ancient shenyi disappeared while the paofu evolved gaining different features in each succeeding dynasties; the paofu continues to be worn even in present day. Chinese robes of various origins and cuts, including Changshan, Qipao, Shenyi, Tieli, Zhisun, Yesa. The term paofu (袍服) is composed of the Chinese characters pao《袍》, which literally means “robe”, and fu《服》which literally means “clothing”. 234 while it was worn mainly by men, women could also wear it. The character pao《袍》is the same character which is used as an abbreviated synonym of paofu. According to the Guangyun, the character《袍》can also refer to the changru (simplified Chinese: 长襦; traditional Chinese: 長襦; pinyin: chángrú; lit. The term changru which appear in the ancient texts has been described as the precursor of the chang ao by scholars. There are different types of paofu, which can be referred by different names and terms based on its style, cut, length, and specific features. The Chinese character《袍》can be found in ancient texts dating prior to the Qin and Han dynasties, such as in the Lun Yu《論語》. 12 yunpao (Chinese: 縕袍; lit. Baoyi bodai – a simple, loose-fitting robes with long, open sleeves, a style worn by men which provided a carefree look to its wearer. Jiaolingpao – long robe with a cross-collar closing which closes to the right; worn since the Zhou dynasty. Longpao (龙袍) – dragon robe. Xi (襲) – an ancient term used to refer to the paofu which closed on the left side in a style called zuoren (左衽袍) as defined by the Shuowen jiezi. The term changpao is a generic term which refers to robes which are long in length and can include different forms of long robes, such as the ancient shenyi, the yuanlingpao. It was typically worn by a deceased person. 14 However, the difference between those two is the cut and construction of the garment. The paofu and the shenyi are both one-piece robes as an result. 10 and therefore, there is the presence of a middle seam where the two parts were connected together. The paofu, on the other hand, has its upper and lower part made out of a single fabric leading to the absence of middle seam between the upper and lower part. Typically the paofu closes on the right side in a style called youren and was a very important symbol of cultural identity for the Han Chinese. It was also a possible for some living Han Chinese to adopt paofu with a zuoren closure in geographical areas which were ruled by foreign nationalities. In the Zhou dynasty, paofu was one of the basic clothing worn by the Han Chinese people, along with the Chinese trousers, called ku. The style of paofu which was widely worn in this period is the jiaolingpao, which was a long robe with an overlapping front closing on the right side, a style called jiaoling youren. To form the sleeves, 2 additional pieces of fabrics were sewed together at the shoulder regions of the garment. The paofu could also be found closing on the left style called zuoren. It was left open in the front, and it could be closed at the waist with a tie or with a belt. Other pieces of fabric could be added to make the width at the sides bigger or to create the overlapping front of the robe. The jiaolingpao became a prominent form of attire in the Han dynasty; it was mainly worn by men, although it was sometimes worn by women. 12 In the Han dynasty, jiaolingpao was typically worn by the members of royalty and by the aristocrats as an outerwear. Even with the rising popularity of jiaolingpao, women continued to wear shenyi. Around the 206 BC, the jiaolingpao worn by elders had large sweeping sleeves which would be tied tightly to the wrist. 529 The jiaolingpao could be found in different length; the jiaolingpao, which could reach down to the ankles, were usually worn by scholars or elderlies whereas knee-length jiaolingpao were worn by warriors and heavy labourers. 217 Elderlies started to wear the ankle-length jiaolingpao after 206 BC. The jiaolingpao in the Han dynasty had linings; and it could be called jiapao or mianpao based on whether it was padded. 234 It was padded or quilted for warmth. It was also the uniform of government officials. 217 The sleeves were typically very wide and would become cinched at the wrists. 12-13 The collar was jiaoling youren, and it was cut lower than the shenyi, and it was also low enough to expose the undergarments of its wearer. By the Wei, Jin and Northern and Southern dynasties, the jiaolingpao of the Han dynasty evolved into the baoyi bodai (simplified Chinese: 褒衣博带; traditional Chinese: 褒衣博帶; pinyin: bāoyībódài; lit. 234 It was also typically decorated with an embroidered dark-coloured band at the collar, front hem, and at the wrists. 14 The baoyi bodai gave its wearer a casual and simple appearance. The baoyi bodai was a type of loose paofu with long ribbons for men. 14 Loose type of clothing was often worn during leisure times as found in the depictions of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo groove where men had their upper clothing open, allowed their inner garment to be exposed, a knotted belt or sash which would tied to the upper garment at the chest level, and their skirts and lower garment would be held by a belt made of clothing which would be knotted at the front of the lower garment. 315 The baoyi bodai-style eventually became fashionable in the South. The baoyi bodai-style appears to have been a Northern Chinese style instead of a Southern Chinese style. Loose jiaolingpao with flowing, loose sleeves was a popular style among men from diverse social strata in the Eastern Jin and in the Southern dynasties period; a bixi was sometimes attached to the waist of the paofu. 315 The baoyi bodai style appears to have been a direct consequence of Emperor Xiaowen’s Sinicization reforms in 486 AD. The baoyi bodai style also appeared on the images of Buddha which dates from the late 5th century AD. The popularity of the baoyi bodai style was very high, and it eventually replaced the Indian-style clothing (i.e. sanghati) which used to be depicted on the Buddha. This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. 14 referred as yuanlingpao or panling lanshan. However, Tang dynasty women also continued to wear long and loose jiaolingpao which was tied and knotted with a large sash at the hipline. You can help by adding to it. This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. This section is empty. This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. In Ming dynasty, the jiaolingpao continued to be worn by commoner men; it was worn with an undershirt, loose trousers (ku), and a sash around the waist. This section needs expansion. The kimono was based on a type of Chinese pao which was popular in the 8th century AD Japanese court. You can help by adding to it. Chinese-style po (Korean: 포; Hanja: 袍; RR: po; MR: p’o) influenced by the Han dynasty coexisted together with the native Korean po during the Three Kingdom period. During the Goguryeo period, a form of paofu, which was the precursor of the durumagi, was adopted and worn by the upper class of Goguryeo in various forms for ceremonies and rituals. Chinese’s yuanlingpao; it was introduced from the Tang dynasty was introduced during the Silla period. Bonds, Alexandra B. (2008). Beijing opera costumes : the visual communication of character and culture. The po influenced by the Han dynasty either had a straight collar crossing at the front, which is referred as jingnyeong gyoim (Korean: 직령교임; Hanja: 直領交衽; RR: Jiknyeonggyoim), or had a straight collar which does not overlap at the front, which is referred as jingnyeong daeim (Korean: 직령대임; RR: jingnyeongdaeim); the sleeves of the Chinese-style po were also long enough to cover the back of the hands; the robe could reach the ankle-level or longer, and could even trail on the ground. Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press. Yuan, active Liu. Cambridge, Mass. Burkus, Anne Gail (2010). Through a forest of chancellors : fugitive histories in Liu Yuan’s Lingyan ge, an illustrated book from seventeenth-century Suzhou. Hua, Mei; 华梅 (2004). Chinese clothing. 于红. Beijing: China International Press. Australia: The University of Adelaide. Heather, Langford (2009). The textiles of the Han Dynasty & their relationship with society (Thesis). Zhou, Fang (2019). “On the Differences between the “Paofu” and “Ruqun” Types of Men’s Costumes in the Cave Murals of Dunhuang–《Dunhuang Research》”. Snodgrass, Mary Ellen (2015). World Clothing and Fashion An Encyclopedia of History, Culture, and Social Influence. Finnane, Antonia (2008). Changing clothes in China : fashion, history, nation. New York: Columbia University Press. Ma, Xiaofang (2018). “Study on the Aesthetics of Han Chinese Clothing Culture in the TV Play q Nirvana in Fireq”. Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Contemporary Education, traditional chinese clothes Social Sciences and Humanities (ICCESSH 2018). Atlantis Press. The Museum of Far East Antique Bulletin 70. Östasiatiska museet. Encyclopedia of Korean Folk Culture. Snodgrass, Mary Ellen (2015). World Clothing and Fashion : an Encyclopedia of History, Culture, and Social Influence. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis. Dien, Albert E. (2007). Six dynasties civilization. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press. Xun Zhou, Chunming Gao, 周汛, Shanghai Shi xi qu xue xiao. 5000 years of Chinese costumes. San Francisco, CA: China Books & Periodicals. Zhongguo fu zhuang shi yan jiu zu. The Art Bulletin. 84 (2): 222-245. doi:10.2307/3177267. Tsiang, Katherine R. (2002). “Changing Patterns of Divinity and Reform in the Late Northern Wei”. Early medieval China : a sourcebook. Wendy Swartz, Robert Ford Campany, Yang Lu, Jessey Jiun-Chyi Choo. Mineola, N.Y.: Dover Publications. Sun, Ming-ju (2002). Chinese fashions. Lee, Samuel Songhoon (2013). Hanbok: Timeless Fashion Tradition. This page was last edited on 10 September 2024, at 13:06 (UTC). Sun, Ming-Ju (2007). Japanese kimono paper designs : coloring book. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License; additional terms may apply. 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