The basic types of skirts in Chinese Hanfu: βPo Qunη ΄θ£, also known as Jiaoyu QunδΊ€ηͺ¬θ£, was one of the primary skirt styles worn by women in historical China. Its distinctive feature is that it is sewn together from multiple trapezoidal fabric panels, creating a unique patchwork effect. This style dates back to the Warring States period, with the earliest known example being a plain silk skirt unearthed from a Chu tomb at Mashan in Jiangling. It gained popularity starting from the Han Dynasty (202 BCβ220 AD)Β andΒ Jin Dynasty (266β420 AD)Β and continued to be worn into theΒ Tang Dynasty (618β907 AD). "Jiaoyu" refers to a cutting technique that uses right-angled trapezoidal panels. This method is documented in the Qin-era bamboo slip textΒ ZhiyiΒ ("Garment Making"), held by Peking University, which provides details for its reconstruction. Poqun bears some resemblance to a modern A-line skirt, making it easier to integrate into contemporary fashion. Many people now incorporate Poqun into their outfits by mixing it with modern clothing pieces.β
βJianse Qunι΄θ²θ£(Alternating-color Qun) is a type of Po Qun distinguished by its construction, which involves splicing together strips of fabric in two or more alternating colors. Jianse Qun originated in the Wei and Jin Dynasties (220β420 AD) and reached its peak during the Sui and Tang Dynasties (581β907 AD), becoming a popular garment for women at the time. It typically featured two alternating colors, though combinations of three or more were also used. The skirt was characterized by a wide hem, formed by joining multiple panels of fabricβthe more panels (or "breaks,"Β pΓ²), the wider the skirt. During the Tang Dynasty, broad and long skirts were fashionable, with most skirts made from six panels of cloth. When worn, Jianse Qun was wrapped around the body with a certain amount of overlap. Common variations seen today include theΒ Eight-PΓ² Skirt,Β Twelve-PΓ² Skirt, as well as more complex versions like theΒ Thirty-Six-PΓ² SkirtΒ andΒ Forty-Eight-PΓ² Skirt.β
βXuanqunζθ£ (Whirling Skirt)Β was a popular women's skirt style in the Song Dynasty (960β1279 AD), also known as the "Two-Panel Skirt" or "Open-Hip Skirt." It is considered a classic example of Hanfu that balances functionality and aesthetics in historical China.
Structurally, the skirt is made by cutting and sewing four fabric pieces into two main panels. These panels are not sewn together along their length but instead overlap only at the waistband, creating front and back open sections known as the "overlapping hip panels."
Every two pieces are first sewn vertically into a block. Three such blocks are then arranged with the middle one wider than the two on the sides, overlapping vertically in an offset manner. The top edge is sewn together, while the hem remains unstitched, allowing the two skirt layers to move and separate freely. A separate waistband is added at the top, with ties attached at both ends for fastening.β
βSanjian QunδΈθ£₯θ£(Three-Pleat Skirt)Β rose to prominence during the Song Dynasty (960β1279 AD). Its full name, "Four-Panel Three-Pleat Skirt" (εη ΄δΈθ£₯θ£), refers to its construction from four square pieces of fabric skillfully joined togetherβhence the term "four-panel" (si po). The "three-pleat" element describes the three distinct pleats, each arranged in a box-pleat style and positioned at the top section of the skirt. These pleats could either be sewn down or left unstitched for movement.
This design has been verified through artifacts excavated from the tomb of Lady Zhou of the Song Dynasty in De'an, Jiangxi Province. β
βMamianqun马ι’θ£ (Horse-Face Skirt), which evolved from the Whirling Skirt of the Song Dynasty (960β1279 AD), became the dominant style of women's skirts during the Ming Dynasty (1368β1644 AD). The skirt consists of several components: the waistband, skirt panels, decorative borders, and patterned ornaments.
The waistband is typically made of white fabric and fastened with cords or buttons. Decorative motifs are primarily concentrated around the skirt's lower section, frequently depicting flora and fauna that convey auspicious wishes. The most distinctive feature of Mamian Qun is that it appears extremely narrow from the side, while the front and back have rectangular, flat panel sections.β
βManzhe Qunζ»‘θ€Άθ£(Full-pleated skirts) had already appeared in the Tang Dynasty. A one-piece pleated skirt excavated from the Famen Temple existed alongside the Jiaoyu skirt. By Song Dynasty, the one-piece pleated skirt had become very popular, with increasingly diverse styles. Compared to Tang skirts, those of the Song Dynasty used more fabric panels and featured finer, denser pleats. The full-pleated skirt had no front panel and was entirely covered in uniform pleats. In the Ming Dynasty, Manzhe Qun was also highly popular and, like the Mamian Qun, became a basic style for daily wear.
As recorded in the Song textΒ Qingyi Lu: "During the Tongguang era, the emperor ascended the Xingping Pavilion at dusk, admired the charming colors of the sunset, and ordered the dyeing workshop to create gauze in sunset hues, which was then made into thousand-pleated skirts and bestowed upon palace ladies. From then on, the style became popular among the common people."β
βBaidie QunηΎθΏθ£ (Hundred-Fold Skirt)Β was one of the most common skirts in the Song Dynasty, wearable by both men and women. Designed as a one-piece garment, it features pleats in the middle section and flat panels on both sides, with all pleats facing the same direction. It offers versatile stylingβthe flat panel can be worn at the front or the back. In contrast, the Mamian Qun is designed to be worn only with the flat panel positioned at the front and back. (cr η³ε)β
This is a simple demonstration include jiaoyuqun(poqun), manzhequn, jianse poqun, baidiequn, qixiong poqun, qixiong zhequn:
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