#bookrecs

Hi! Thanks for the question, and sorry for taking ages to reply! (hanfu photo via 明镜华服)

For information and sources about Ming dynasty women's clothing, I recommend first checking out Wikipedia's article on hanfu and its in-depth section on Ming dynasty hanfu.

Next, I've compiled below lists of Ming dynasty women's hanfu-related posts from my blog and other hanfu-focused blogs. Also, all of my Ming dynasty-related posts can be found in my Ming dynasty tag.

From my Q&A Masterpost (Part 1/Part 2):

Guide to the different types of Hanfu

Hanfu names

Comparison/charts of Hanfu from different dynasties

Books & magazines on Hanfu - Pt 2, Pt 3

Ming dynasty skirts

Ming dynasty summer Hanfu

Bijia (sleeveless jacket)

Difference between Bijia & Banbi

Difference b/w Tang & Ming Yuanlingpao

Aoqun & Pipa Xiu (pipa sleeves)

Can Pibo & Pifeng be worn together?

Winter Hanfu - Part 1

What are the colors of wedding Hanfu?

Wedding Hanfu recs

Ming dynasty hairstyles

Dior mamianqun controversy

From @fouryearsofshades' Masterpost:

Resources, blog and book rec for Chinese historical clothing (2021a, 2021b, 2021c, 2023a, 2023b)

book review 《明鉴：明代服装形制研究 》(2023)

book review 《我在明朝穿什么》(2022)

Ru, Shan and Ao (2014 - a bit outdated)

Distinction between daxiushan, beizi, pifeng, dachang (2020a, 2020b, 2021a, 2021b) 

Mamianqun (2021)

Bijia (2015)

Beiji, banbi, bijia (2021)

Tang vs Ming style circular robes (2015)

Ming style hanfu with buttons (2020)

Piaodai (2020)

“shu ling/竖领” and “li ling/立领” (2020)

A couple comments on the origin of shuling (2021)

Buzi and Chinese symbolism (2021) 

Hanyang Zhezhong (2020)

Early Ming-style dui-chuan-jiao (Winter/Spring 2023/24)

Examples of summer hanfu (2020)

Weimao (2021)

The difference between a diguan and a fengguan (2021)

Yunjian (2021, 2024)

How did people carry their things without pockets? (2021)

Why Ming-style cross-collars are the hardest to make (2020)

How to make a Ming-style yuanlingpao / yuanlingshan (2024)

Mamianqun rec (2020)

Confucius family and bird mamianqun (2023)

Buying and adjusting mamianqun (2024a, 2024b)

The Sword and the Brocade (2021a, 2021b, 2021c)

From @audreydoeskaren's Masterpost (Part 1/Part 2):

Late Ming & Shunzhi era

Cloud collars

Difference between late Ming & early Qing

History of Chinese standing collars: Ming & Qing

Average duration of fashion trends in Chinese history plus why “ancient China” bugs me

Resources to start learning Chinese fashion history

How would wedding outfits differ depending on social class

Ming women and puffed skirts

Dressmaking in the Ming and Qing

Relationship between Korean and Chinese fashion in the Ming

Late Ming long aoqun

Would xiapei be used on formal occasions

Jiajing era-Ming Dynasty, via 锦心似玉 The Sword and the Brocade/Brocade Heart Like Jade (2021)

What are my favorite books on Chinese fashion history

Period dramas and films with accurate costuming, my personal recommendations

@chinesehanfu doesn't have a Masterpost, but their many informative posts on Ming dynasty hanfu can be found in their Ming dynasty tag.

From @peekofhistory's Masterpost:

Iconic hanfu of each dynasty

Maid outfits

Cloud collars (云肩/yunjian)

Hanfu book recommendation 2: 华夏衣橱 (Huaxia Wardrobe)

In addition, I recommend checking out Xiaohongshu/RedNote, as it has a wealth of information on hanfu, including Ming dynasty women's hanfu. The app has a translation feature that instantly translates Chinese text to English (including text on images), so you can easily understand the posts. Below are a few examples of Xiaohongshu posts about Ming dynasty women's hanfu:

Understand Ming dynasty women's hanfu in one minute

What the ancients wore - Ming dynasty women's hanfu

Understand hanfu in seconds - be a Ming dynasty girl for a day

Finally, please check out my book recommendations and book review tags for more sources. On that note, a new English-language book called "HANFU - A Visual Primer of Historical Han Chinese Attire" will be published later this month (Sept 18). It's the world's first illustrated English-language book dedicated to hanfu (!!), and is available for preorder on Amazon here. Description and previews below:

The first illustrated English-language book dedicated entirely to Hanfu, the traditional clothing of the Han people of China, this publication was conceived of and created by the Northern California Hanfu Association to offer a comprehensive presentation of Hanfu's historical evolution. Richly illustrated throughout, the book features faithfully reconstructed and photographed outfits spanning 2,000 years from the Zhou Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty, representing people from all levels of society-emperors and empresses, scholars and nobles, gentlewomen, commoners, children, and soldiers.

If any others have more recommendations for information on Ming dynasty women's hanfu, please share!

Saturn's 2026 READING LIST

January + February

Murderbot is on a mission to retrieve some of Mensah's humans — and some bonus human juveniles (that was NOT part of the plan!) — from a planetary torus controlled by corporates. And there are a higher-than-usual number of rogue Sec Units running around complicating things.

Probably my new favourite of the series! My only complaint is there was not enough ART, but it's a small complaint considering there is so much other good stuff in here!

American History RECS