Qixiong ruqun
', which can also be referred as ', also known as "chest-high ruqun", is a type of clothing in, the traditional Chinese clothing worn by Han Chinese people. The is a unique style of ), which is characterized with a high waistline, Chinese skirt. The used in the is generally tied above the bust level. It was worn by women during the Southern dynasties, Sui dynasty, Tang dynasty and Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. The style was also revived in the early and middle Ming dynasty.
Since the Han dynasty and Jin (Chinese state), the waist of the skirt has typically been tied on the waist, while in the Sui dynasty, Tang dynasty and Five Dynasties, the waistband of the dress was much higher, many of which were usually above the chest or under the armpit. Some records of clothing history refer to it as the high-waist ruqun. Later, it was renamed to, according to the current inspection and certification by people. The was a typical form of women's hanfu in the Tang dynasty.
The of the Tang dynasty was also introduced in Korea during the Silla period, and was also introduced in Balhae. This form of high-waist skirt which ties to the chest can still be seen in the chima worn in present-day Korean women's hanbok; it is also likely that the current women's hanbok has been derived from the Tang dynasty's high-waisted skirt with a short ru or from a later revival of the Tang dynasty fashion. Qixiong ruqun was also adopted by the Khitan women and continued to be worn in Liao dynasty even after the fall of the Tang dynasty.
Terminology
The was named after its location on the wearer's body. It is distinguished from the, which is attached below the chest and above the waist. is tied at the waist while qixiong ruqun is tied under the armpit. In ancient times, ruqun dresses for women were not very high waisted, but ruqun dresses with very high waists appeared from the Northern and Southern dynasties to the Sui dynasty, Tang dynasty and Five Dynasties. Some clothing history records call it the high-waisted ruqun, and it was later changed to qixiong ruqun according to the current people's examination and certification of it.History
The first appeared in the Northern and Southern dynasties. The qixiong ruqun was worn during the Sui dynasty, Tang dynasty, and Five dynasties, until the Song dynasty, when, upon Neo-Confucianism's rise, the fashion of the Tang dynasty faded.Northern and Southern dynasties
Prior to the Putong period (520–527 AD) of the Liang dynasty, the waistline of the women's ruqun was located at the waist. During the Southern dynasties, the women's ruqun evolved and was tied higher. Their ruqun belt line became higher and the skirt was attached at the chest level. Their had open necklines. The ru with open neckline started during the Datong period (527–529 AD); prior to that, the collars of the women's ru were designed to be tight-fitting from the Southern Qi dynasty (479–502 AD) to the Liang dynasty.Sui and Tang dynasties
During the Sui dynasty and Tang dynasty, blouses were generally worn as short ; and pibo both constituted an integral part of ruqun.Sui dynasty
During the Sui dynasty, the dress code of the Han dynasty was revised and a clothing system with the characteristic of the Han Chinese was established. In this period, the ru with short sleeves became a popular trend for the time.Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty was the heyday of economic, cultural, artistic and diplomatic history in Chinese history. It also created the characteristics of this dynasty's freedom, gracefulness, and colourful clothing.Tang dynasty people wore short sleeved and a floor-length skirt, but after the heyday of the Tang dynasty, the aristocratic costumes became larger and more complex. Qixiong ruqun is a representative costume of the Tang dynasty and was very popular among Tang dynasty ladies. In the Tang dynasty, qixiong ruqun was typically worn with a wide-sleeved blouse, long-full skirt, and long silk scarves with painted motifs as part of the set of attire. It was typically worn by noble ladies or female attendants who served in high status households, such as in important families and even the royal family. During the High Tang period, women were less constrained by feudal ideas and wore clothing which allowed the exposure of cleavage. The traditional form of ruqun worn in the previous dynasties was maintained in the Tang dynasty, but the "V" collar of the ru was deepened to the point that the cleavage was exposed. The skirt waistband being tied at the chest or at the armpits allowed the neck and chest regions to be exposed.
When the skirt,, and are paired together, the woman's grace and temperament in the Tang dynasty was fully presented, showing a poetic beauty and rhythm. The styles of qixiong ruqun with shoulder straps are often found in pottery figurines or paintings unearthed before the Tang dynasty. The qixiong ruqun with shoulder straps appeared to have been rarely used in China until the development of the period of the Tang dynasty, when the style became fixed under the armpit. The neckline varied, and the most popular one was, which was full of the spirit of the people's ideological emancipation during the Tang dynasty.
There were variety of skirts during the Tang dynasty. At the beginning of the Tang dynasty, the skirts were narrow but became looser in the High Tang period. The style of the skirt is stitched with four fabrics, the upper part is narrow, the lower part is loose, and the hem hangs down to the ground. Silk is used at the waist of the skirt, and laces are sewn at both ends. Skirt fabrics were mainly silk fabrics. The more expensive the materials, the better. The design of the waist of the skirt was much improved. The dresses of this period are brightly coloured, the most popular of which were dark red, purple, moon green, grass green, etc. For example:
- Striped skirt : High-waisted striped skirts became mainstream during the Northern dynasties and lasted until the Sui-Tang dynasties.
- Pomegranate skirt : the colour pomegranate red was famous for the longest time.
- Bainiao skirt: Emperor Zhongzong of Tang’s daughter, Princess Anle, had a skirt made up of the feathers of many types of birds, called bainiao skirt, which is a famous work in the history of Chinese weaving. The colour of the skirt changed shifted in sunlight.
- Zhou dynasty's bell skirt: A skirt which was decorated with twelve bells at the four corners of the dress. When the wearer walked, they made a "jingle" noise, which was seen as very graceful and beautiful.
Five dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period to Song dynasty
Qixiong ruqun continued to be worn in the Five dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.During the Song dynasty, the fashion was different from that of the Tang dynasty. With the rise of Neo-Confucianism, Song dynasty women were encouraged to reject the extravagant fashion of the Tang dynasty. The clothing of the Tang dynasty, which emphasized body curves and low-cut garments which exposed cleavage, was perceived as sensual and obscene by the Song dynasty women. The qixiong ruqun however continued to be depicted in the paintings of the Song dynasty.
Ming dynasty
The Tang dynasty-style high-waisted skirt which tied to the chest area and was worn with a short and very tight sleeved jacket was revived in the early and middle Ming dynasty when it was especially worn by young women. This strongly influenced the development of the Korean hanbok.Modern Wear
In modern times with the increasing popularity of hanfu and driven by the hanfu movement, the qixiong ruqun gained popularity among young women. The modern qixiong ruqun is controversial due to the rarity of unearthed historical clothing.The modern qixiong ruqun which is found on the current market comes into two forms:
- one-piece style, and
- two-piece style with a slit under the waist.
How to wear the modern qixiong ruqun
The qixiong ruqun can be found into a one-piece and two-pieces skirts.The one-piece style qixiong ruqun is a traditional Chinese one-piece skirt which is tied like a wrap-skirt.
The two-piece style qixiong ruqun consists of two pieces of fabric. It is presented as two pieces of fabric incompletely sewn together on the side to form a rear and a front section and with two sets of ties. The method to tie the two-piece qixiong ruqun is different from the traditional one-piece skirt: first, the rear section is tied, and then the front section is tied.
Influences and derivatives
Khitan Liao dynasty
From at least the Han dynasty until the Mongol period, Non-Han Chinese women who lived in Han dynasty territories wore Han Chinese clothing. During the Tang dynasty, Central Asian women also were depicted wearing Han Chinese style clothing. After the fall of the Tang dynasty, the Tang-style Han Chinese clothing continued to be worn in the Liao. The Khitans inherited the Hanfu from the Later Jin dynasty; the clothing of the Later Jin were actually clothing from the Tang dynasty.[Khotan]
In Dunhuang, the clothing fashion of the 8th and 9th century AD closely followed the Tang dynasty's fashion. This trend later changed in the 10th century AD when the Uyghur clothing and Sino-Uygur headdress became more prominent.Korea
In Silla, the clothing of Korean women was influenced by the fashion of the Tang dynasty due to cultural interactions. Chinese-style clothing and Chinese fashion was introduced in the Unified Silla period. Some clay figures found in that period show the high-waist line skirt worn over the jacket and appear to have shoulder straps attached. The skirts worn over the jackets were a distinctive clothing style of the Tang dynasty's women. Under the Tang dynasty influence, the skirts in Silla were similarly worn at chest-level and were tied with long ribbons. The qixiong ruqun with shoulder straps was also worn in China, but they appeared to have been rarely used in China during the Tang dynasty.When Balhae established peaceful diplomatic relations with the Tang dynasty, Chinese culture was vigorously introduced by the Balhae court. Balhae also adopted the women's clothing of the Tang dynasty. Some excavated Balhae relics show that women in Balhae wore a narrow sleeved blouse with low cut neckline under a long skirt which was tied above the bust, which is a typical form of clothing style of Tang dynasty. Other relics also show the ornamental differences between the Balhae and Tang dynasty women in the use of different types of shawl.
This form of high-waisted skirt which ties to the chest can still be seen in the chima worn in the modern days Korean women's hanbok. It is also likely that the current women's hanbok has been derived from the Tang dynasty's high-waisted skirt with a short or from a later revival of the Tang dynasty fashion. Although there were influences from the previous dynasties, the clothing worn in Silla period was gradually altered during the Joseon dynasty until its forms became what is now known as hanbok. Nowadays women's hanbok is modelled after the Joseon aristocratic women's hanbok.
Design and construction
Tang dynasty was a dynasty with a prosperous economy and relatively open social fashion. Its costumes tended to be bright, colourful, and diverse.Qixiong ruqun is divided into two kinds:
- Duijin qixiong ruqun - Duijin qixiong ruqun was and is generally more widely used.
- Jiaoling Qixiong ruqun.