Hello, is the 花团 motif originated in the Qing dynasty?
Hi，
I couldn’t find anything specific about “花团”. Perhaps you mean “团花“? That motif was old, and its style and components changed with the passing time. However, 八团/batuan motif (eight circle) only became regulated and included in official court dress (as 吉服/jifu “auspicious clothing”) in Qing dynasty.
Fig. 1 喜相逢/xi xiangfeng “happy meeting” motif with two butterflies was a popular tuanhua motif for jifu in Qing Dynasty.
In Ming dynasty batuan motif could be found in the emperor’s robe, but the placement of the motif was different than the Qing’s.
Fig. 2 Ming dynasty, Wanli Emperor (1572 to 1620).
Fig. 3 Qing dynasty, Shunzhi Emperor (1644 to 1661).
Tuanhua motif has a long history in China. The earliest appearance of circular motif could be traced back to Shang, although it might not look like modern tuanhua. By Tang dynasty, tuanhua had became widely popular.
Fig. 4 A few variant of circular motif in Tang dynasty.
Fig. 5 A couple examples of Song tuanhua motif.
In modern days tuanhua can be found in many hanfu designs
Fig. 6 Tang style. Usually appeared as repetitive motif.
Fig. 7 Song style. Also usually repetitive. A lot of time appearing as 暗纹 (the pattern is the same colour as fabric, often formed during weaving. Not shown in the picture).
Fig. 8. Ming style. Currently these large tuanhua are fashionable as puzi (such as the woman on the right).
I hope this answer your question.
These couple of theses were really helpful for me when answering. Both are hosted on cnki.
“团花”纹样的历史蕴涵与重组在服装设计中的运用The history implication and recomina of “Regiment pattern” in Fashion design by沈明月. This master dissertation outlined the evolution of tuanhua in history.
清代服饰中的团花图案在现代服饰设计中的应用研究 Application research of the embroidery round pattern of the Qing dynasty’s clothing and accessories in the design of modern costume by张燕玲. This one listed out the shape variant of tuanhua in Qing dynasty.
