ruqun

{{See also|Ru (upper garment)|Garment collars in Hanfu|Qun}}File:Imperial Encyclopaedia - Ceremonial Usages - pic388 - 青衣裙.svg}}, Qing dynasty.|left]]

The generic term {{Transliteration|zh|yichang}} ({{Lang-zh|c=衣裳|p=yīcháng|labels=no}}) can be applied to any style of clothing consisted of a pair of upper and lower garments. The term {{Transliteration|zh|yichang}} is composed of the Chinese characters:《{{Linktext|衣}}》 and 《{{Linktext|裳}}》, where {{Transliteration|zh|yi}} ({{Lang-zh|c=衣|p=}}) refers to the upper garment while the {{Transliteration|zh|chang}} ({{Lang-zh|c=裳|p=cháng|labels=no}}) refers to the lower garment, which can be either the Chinese skirt, {{Transliteration|zh|qun}}, or the Chinese trousers, {{Transliteration|zh|ku}} and {{Transliteration|zh|kun}}.{{Rp|page=|pages=47–50, 54}} The character {{Transliteration|zh|yi}} is also a generic word for "clothing".{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/940958336 |title=Legal practice in the formative stages of the Chinese empire : an annotated translation of the exemplary Qin criminal cases from the Yuelu Academy collection |date=2016 |others=Thies Staack, Ulrich Lau, Yuelu shu yuan |isbn=978-90-04-31565-5 |location=Leiden |pages=219 |oclc=940958336}} Therefore, the {{Transliteration|zh|ruqun}}, {{Transliteration|zh|aoqun}}, {{Transliteration|zh|shanqun}}, as well as the wedding dress called {{Transliteration|zh|qungua}}, all belong to the category of {{Transliteration|zh|yichang}} as a broad term.

The term {{Transliteration|zh|ruqun}} ({{Lang-zh|c=襦裙|p=rúqún|labels=no}}) is composed of two Chinese characters:《{{Linktext|襦}}》and《{{Linktext|裙}}》; when these characters are combined, {{Transliteration|zh|ruqun}} can literally be translated as "jacket skirt". However, the term {{Transliteration|zh|ruqun}} is relatively unstable in both original texts and in secondary sources as different regions may use different terms to describe the same clothing.{{Rp|page=|pages=48–50}} When used as a broad term, {{Transliteration|zh|ruqun}} refers to a set of attire which consists of a separate upper garment and a {{Transliteration|zh|qun}} as a lower garment.

As a specific term, {{Transliteration|zh|ruqun}} refer to a specific style of wearing a short upper garment called {{Transliteration|zh|ru}} ({{Lang-zh|c=襦|p=rú|labels=no}}) under a long skirt called {{Transliteration|zh|qun}} ({{Lang-zh|c=裙|p=qún|labels=no}}). The word {{Transliteration|zh|ru}} has sometimes been used as a synonym for other clothing items such as {{Transliteration|zh|shan}} ({{Lang-zh|c=衫|p=shān|labels=no}}) and {{Transliteration|zh|ao}} ({{Lang-zh|c=|s=袄|t=襖|p=ǎo|labels=no}}).{{Rp|page=|pages=48–50}}{{Cite book |last=Li |first=Shizhen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=opIFEAAAQBAJ&q=shan+%E8%A1%AB+shirt&pg=PA65 |title=Ben cao gang mu : 16th century Chinese encyclopedia of materia medica and natural history : the complete Chinese text |date=2021 |publisher=Univ of California Press, 2021 |others=Paul U. Unschuld |isbn=978-0-520-37989-3 |location=Oakland, California |pages=65 |oclc=1196241770}} The {{Transliteration|zh|ru}} can also be a short jacket with either short or long sleeves. In addition, the term {{Transliteration|zh|changru}} ({{Lang-zh|c=长襦|l=long ru}}) also appear in texts and has been described as the precursor of the long jackets {{Transliteration|zh|chang ao}} ({{Lang-zh|c=|l=long jacket}}) by scholars.{{Rp|page=|pages=48–50}}File:Ruqun.svgThe term {{Transliteration|zh|aoqun}} ({{Lang-zh|s=袄裙|t=襖裙|p=ǎoqún|labels=no}}) typically refers to a specific way of wearing the {{Transliteration|zh|ao}} on over the lower garment, {{Transliteration|zh|qun}}. The Chinese character《{{Linktext|襖}}》appears in a Sui dynasty rime dictionary called {{Transliteration|zh|Qieyun}}, published in 601 AD, and can be translated as "padded coat", but it can also refer to a lined upper garment.{{Cite book |last=Howard |first=Michael C. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/933520702 |title=Textiles and clothing of Viet Nam : a history |date=2016 |isbn=978-1-4766-6332-6 |location=Jefferson, North Carolina |oclc=933520702}}{{Rp|page=52|pages=}} The Xinhua Dictionary defines {{Transliteration|zh|ao}} as a general term referring to an "upper garment with multiple layers". As such, it is a thick piece of clothing worn mostly during cold seasons. Usually, the {{Transliteration|zh|ao}} is worn outside of the lower garment, which is often a skirt, especially the {{Transliteration|zh|mamianqun}}.{{Cite web |last=管理员 |title=袄裙和襦裙的区别，可不只是在于名字！ |url=https://www.youlvte.net/guzhuanghanfu/hanfufushi/51.html |access-date=2021-08-30 |website=优旅特 |publisher=汉服文化知识}}

File:Imperial Encyclopaedia - Ceremonial Usages - pic478 - 衫.png}}, Qing dynasty.|left]]

The term {{Transliteration|zh|shanqun}} ({{Lang-zh|c=衫裙|p=shānqún}}), sometimes literally translated as "unlined upper garment and skirt" in English,{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/19814728 |title=5000 years of Chinese costumes |date=1987 |publisher=China Books & Periodicals |others=Xun Zhou, Chunming Gao, 周汛, Shanghai Shi xi qu xue xiao. Zhongguo fu zhuang shi yan jiu zu |isbn=0-8351-1822-3 |location=San Francisco, CA |pages= |oclc=19814728}}{{Rp|page=62}}{{Cite book |last1=Zhou |first1=Xun |url=http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/973669827 |title=Zhongguo fu shi wu qian nian |last2=Gao |first2=Chunming |last3=Zhou |first3=Zuyi |last4=Jin |first4=Baoyuan |publisher=Shang wu yin shu guan Xianggang fen guan [商務印書館香港分館 學林出版社] |others=上海市戲曲學校中國服裝史硏究組編著 |location=Hongkong |language=zh |script-title=zh:中國服飾五千年 |trans-title=5000 years of Chinese costumes |oclc=973669827}}{{Rp|page=62}} is also type of clothing style where the upper garment called {{Transliteration|zh|shan}} is generally worn over the lower garment, {{Transliteration|zh|qun}}. The Xinhua Dictionary defines {{Transliteration|zh|shan}} as a general term referring to an "upper garment with a single layer". The Jin dynasty book {{Transliteration|zh|Gujinzhu}}《{{Lang-zh|c=古今注|labels=no}}》states that women had been wearing one-piece clothing that has the upper and lower garments connected together since the time of the Yellow Emperor, until the Qin dynasty, when {{Transliteration|zh|shan}} was invented.

Historically, the {{Transliteration|zh|shan}} comes in as varying styles, shapes and lengths, and is usually worn outside of the lower garment. However, there are also cases where the {{Transliteration|zh|shan}} is worn under the lower garment, as during the Jin dynasty. A form of {{Transliteration|zh|shan}} which appeared in the Han and Wei period was a new type of gown which had equal front pieces which were straight, called {{Transliteration|zh|duijin}}, instead of {{Transliteration|zh|jiaoling}} collar and was fastened with a string; it was also a form of unlined upper garment with straight sleeves and wide cuffs.{{Cite book |last=The University of California |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4EyGAAAAIAAJ&q=shan |title=中國文學 Issues 379-382 |publisher=Foreign Languages Press |year=1997 |pages=177}} This {{Transliteration|zh|shan}} was worn by men and women and became popular as it was more convenient for wearing.

In addition, the term {{Transliteration|zh|shanqun}} is sometimes used interchangeably with {{Transliteration|zh|ruqun}} to refer to short upper garment worn on skirt. The term {{Transliteration|zh|shan}} can also refer to long garments.

Of note of importance, the term {{Transliteration|zh|yichang}} is not only used to describe the specific types of {{Transliteration|zh|Hanfu}}, but also modern western clothing styles consisting of separate top and bottom garments as well.

In traditional Chinese culture, the symbolism of two-pieces garments hold great importance as it symbolizes the greater order of Heaven and Earth.{{Rp|page=12}} In the {{Transliteration|zh|Yi Jing}}《{{Lang-zh|c=易經|labels=no}}》, upper garment represents Heaven ({{Transliteration|zh|Qian}}) while the lower garment represents the Earth ({{Transliteration|zh|Kun}}).{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/725228353|title=The complete I ching : the definitive translation|date=2010|publisher=Inner Traditions|others=Alfred Huang|isbn=978-1-59477-886-5|edition=10th|location=Rochester, Vt.|oclc=725228353}} It is also why the {{Transliteration|zh|mianfu}} (and the {{Transliteration|zh|yichang}} in the {{Transliteration|zh|Yi Jing}}) has a black upper garment and typically a red (or yellow{{Cite book |last=Feng |first=Ge |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/935642485 |title=Traditional Chinese rites and rituals |date=2015 |publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing |others=Zhengming Du |isbn=978-1-4438-8783-0 |location=Newcastle upon Tyne |oclc=935642485}}{{Rp|page=15}}{{Cite book|last=Min|first=Jianshu|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/646952654|title=Chinese leadership wisdom from the Book of Change|date=2006|publisher=The Chinese University Press|isbn=978-988-237-791-2|location=Hong Kong|pages=97–98|oclc=646952654}}) lower garment which symbolized the order between Heaven and earth and should never be confused.{{Cite web |date=2012 |title=Ancient Chinese Royal Ceremonial Wear |url=http://english.visitbeijing.com.cn/a1/a-X9YI0G23E1606134A28FD0 |access-date=2022-02-13 |website=english.visitbeijing.com.cn}} According to the {{Transliteration|zh|Wuxing}} ({{Lang-zh|c=五行|labels=no}}), the colour black symbolized the colour of the sky, which was dark before dawn,{{Rp|page=15}} while the colour yellow represented the earth.

The order between Heaven and Earth can also translate into clothing length differences between men and women. For example, in 1537, in an attempt to reverse the trend in the late Ming when women clothing was gradually getting longer, Huo Tao, a Ming dynasty Minister of Rites, expressed:{{Rp|page=51|pages=}}

{{Blockquote|text=Men's and women's styles differ in length. A woman's upper garment is level with her waist, her lower garment meets with the top: earth supports heaven. A man's upper garment covers his lower garments: heaven embraces earth. When a woman's [upper] garment covers her lower garments, there is confusion between male and female.}}

The silhouette of {{Transliteration|zh|yichang}} can also be made into {{Transliteration|zh|shangjian xiafeng}} ({{Lang-zh|c=上俭下丰|l=top is frugal, bottom is rich|p=shàngjiǎn xiàfēng}}),{{Cite journal|last1=崔晓旋|last2=玲|first2=张|date=2021|title=金明两代"裙撑"文化考议|url=http://qk.fsdk.net.cn/ch/reader/view_abstract.aspx?file_no=20210403|journal=服饰导刊|language=zh|volume=10|issue=4|pages=10–16}} which looks like an A-line silhouette. The {{Transliteration|zh|shangjian xiafeng}} was a trend in the Wei, Jin, Northern, Southern dynasties.{{Cite book|last=Yu|first=Xianrong|title=Proceedings of the 2018 International Conference on Sports, Arts, Education and Management Engineering (SAEME 2018)|date=2018|chapter=An Overview of the Development of Chinese Embroidered Clothing in the Past Dynasties|chapter-url=https://www.atlantis-press.com/proceedings/saeme-18/25899351|language=en|publisher=Atlantis Press|pages=175–180|doi=10.2991/saeme-18.2018.32|isbn=978-94-6252-539-9}}{{Cite web|title=搜神记 : 第七卷 - Chinese Text Project|url=https://ctext.org/wiki.pl?if=en&chapter=749239&searchu=%E4%B8%8A%E4%BF%AD%E4%B8%8B%E4%B8%B0&remap=gb|access-date=2022-02-13|website=ctext.org|language=en}} However, during the Ming dynasty, {{Transliteration|zh|shangjian xiafeng}} silhouette created with the use of {{Transliteration|zh|maweiqun}} reflected an inversion of Heaven and Earth as this form of clothing silhouette contradicts the traditional Chinese principle of Heaven and Earth order. The {{Transliteration|zh|Shuyuan zaji}}《{{Lang-zh|c=椒园杂记|labels=no}}》refers to the {{Transliteration|zh|maweiqun}} as being {{Transliteration|zh|fuyao}} ({{Lang-zh|c=服妖|labels=yes}}); the {{Transliteration|zh|maweiqun}} was eventually banned in the early Hongzhi era (1487–1505) according to Lu Rong.{{Cite web|title=菽园杂记 - 中国哲学书电子化计划|url=https://ctext.org/wiki.pl?if=gb&res=685220&searchu=%E6%9C%8D%E5%A6%96&remap=gb|access-date=2022-02-12|website=ctext.org|language=zh-CN}}

{{Transliteration|zh|Fuyao}} is a general term with negative connotation which is employed for what is considered as being strange clothing style,{{Cite book|last=Yuan.|first=Zujie|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/491286822|title=Dressing the state, dressing the society : ritual, morality, and conspicuous consumption in Ming Dynasty China|date=2004|publisher=UMI Dissertation services|pages=174–175, 187|oclc=491286822}} or for deviant dressing styles,{{Cite book|last=Tian|first=Xiaofei|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/956317841|title=Visionary journeys : travel writings from early medieval and nineteenth-century China|date=2011|isbn=978-1-68417-062-3|location=Cambridge, Mass.|pages=185|oclc=956317841}} or for aberrance in clothing. Clothing which were considered as {{Transliteration|zh|fuyao}} typically (i) violates ritual norms and clothing regulations, (ii) are extravagant and luxurious form of clothing, (iii) violates the yin and yang principle, and (iv) are strange and inauspicious form of clothing.

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As a set of attired consisting of an upper garment and a skirt; the {{Transliteration|zh|ruqun}} is the eldest type of {{Transliteration|zh|hanfu}}. According to the chapter {{Transliteration|zh|Xi Ci Xia}}《{{Linktext|系辞下}}》of the {{Transliteration|zh|Yi Jing}}, the {{Transliteration|zh|ruqun}} was worn in Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors period by the legendary Yellow Emperor, Emperor Shun, and Emperor Yao who wore it in the form of the {{Transliteration|zh|yichang}} ({{Lang-zh|c=衣裳|p=|labels=no}}):{{Cite web|title=Book of Changes: Xi Ci II - Chinese Text Project|url=https://ctext.org/book-of-changes/xi-ci-xia/ens|access-date=2021-03-12|website=ctext.org|language=en}}

{{Blockquote|text=Hence it was that these (sovereigns) were helped by Heaven; they had good fortune, and their every movement was advantageous. Huang Di, Yao, and Shun (simply) wore their [yichang (衣裳)] (as patterns to the people), and good order was secured all under heaven.}}

File:Statuette of a Standing Dignitary, China, Shang dynasty, 12th-11th century BC, nephrite - Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Harvard University - DSC00742.jpg}}, Shang dynasty.]]

In Shang dynasty, the basic form of {{Transliteration|zh|hanfu}} was established as the combination of a separate upper and lower garment worn together;{{Cite book|last=Zhao|first=Yin|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vwdaAgAAQBAJ&dq=shang%20dynasty%20skirt&pg=PT158|title=Snapshots of Chinese culture|date=2014|publisher=Bridge21 Publications|others=Xinzhi Cai|isbn=978-1-62643-003-7|location=Los Angeles|oclc=912499249}}{{Rp|page=15}} which was known as {{Transliteration|zh|yichang}} ({{Lang-zh|c=衣裳|p=|labels=no}}).{{Rp|page=|pages=47–50, 54}} In this period, the {{Transliteration|zh|yichang}} was a unisex set of attire.{{Cite book |last=Lüsted |first=Marcia Amidon |url=http://rosenlearningcenter.com/article/964/login?username=sorfacjcpl&password=sorfacjcpl |title=Ancient Chinese daily life |publisher=New York : Rosen Publishing |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-4777-8889-9 |edition=1 |location=New York |pages=22 |oclc=957525459}}{{Rp|page=|pages=14–22}} The {{Transliteration|zh|yichang}} consisted of a narrow, ankle length skirt called {{Transliteration|zh|chang}} ({{Lang-zh|c=裳|p=|labels=no}}) and the upper garment called {{Transliteration|zh|yi}} ({{Lang-zh|c=衣|p=|labels=no}}), in shape of a knee-length tunic with narrow cuffs; the {{Transliteration|zh|yi}} was tied with a sash{{Cite book |last=Sullivan |first=Lawrence R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kIoTEAAAQBAJ&q=%22skirt%22+shang+dynasty&pg=PA173 |title=Historical dictionary of Chinese culture |date=2021 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |others=Nancy Liu-Sullivan |isbn=978-1-5381-4604-0 |location=Lanham, Maryland |pages=173 |oclc=1233321993}}{{Rp|page=|pages=14–22}} and could be {{Transliteration|zh|jiaoling youren}}. The {{Transliteration|zh|yichang}} as a set of attire featured the wearing of {{Transliteration|zh|yi}} over the {{Transliteration|zh|chang}}.{{Rp|page=22|pages=}}

The Zhou dynasty, people continued to wear the {{Transliteration|zh|yichang}} as a set of attire. The {{Transliteration|zh|yichang}} was similar to the one worn in the Shang dynasty period; however the Zhou-dynasty style {{Transliteration|zh|yichang}} was slightly looser and the sleeves could either be broad or narrow. The {{Transliteration|zh|yi}} was {{Transliteration|zh|jiaoling youren}} and a sash was used around the waist to tie it closed. The length of the {{Transliteration|zh|chang}}, could also vary from knee to ground length. In the Western Zhou dynasty, it was popular to wear {{Transliteration|zh|ruqun}} as a set of attire consisting of a jacket and skirt.{{Cite book |last=Wang |first=Ningning |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1285973778 |title=A history of ancient Chinese music and dance |date=2019 |others=Zhengshuan Li, Xin Wang, Yundi Gao |isbn=978-1-63181-634-5 |location=Salt Lake City. UT |oclc=1285973778}}{{Rp|page=139|pages=}}{{cite journal |last1=Lullo |first1=Sheri A. |date=September 2019 |title=Trailing Locks and Flowing Robes: Dimensions of Beauty during China's Han dynasty (206 bc – ad 220) |url=https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/full/10.3366/cost.2019.0122 |journal=Costume |volume=53 |issue=2 |pages=231–255 |doi=10.3366/cost.2019.0122 |access-date=3 February 2021 |s2cid=204710548|url-access=subscription }}

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| image1 = Two Tone Set-bells of Marquis Yi of Zeng (10166484333).jpg

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| caption1 = Man wearing shanqun (or ruqun) featured in the bronze armed warrior holding up chime bells.

| caption2 = Pair of shamans or attendants, Chu culture, Warring States period, 4th-3rd century BC, Portland Art Museum, Oregon.

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The {{Transliteration|zh|ruqun}} as a set of attire was also worn by men and women during the Warring States period.{{Cite book |last=Yang |first=Shaorong |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nx5JDiacrH4C&q=skirt%20liao%20dynasty&pg=PA5 |title=Traditional Chinese clothing : costumes, adornments & culture |date=2004 |publisher=Long River Press |isbn=1-59265-019-8 |edition=1 |location=San Francisco |pages= |oclc=52775158}}{{Rp|page=4|pages=}} Elites women in the Warring States period also wore a blouse or a jacket, which was fastened to the right to form a V-shaped collar and was waist-length, along with a long full skirt.{{Rp|page=51|pages=}} The women's blouse tended to have relatively straight and narrow sleeves.{{Rp|page=51|pages=}} During the Warring States period and the Spring and Autumn period, the clothing known as {{Transliteration|zh|shenyi}}, which combined the upper and lower garment into a one-piece robe was also developed.

Even though the clothing of the Warring states period were old, they continued to be worn in Qin and Han dynasties, this included the wearing of cross-collared blouse and skirts.{{Rp|page=51|pages=}}

The {{Transliteration|zh|ruqun}} as a set of attire was worn during by elite women and ordinary women.{{Rp|page=51|pages=}} Ordinary women during the Han dynasty wore the {{Transliteration|zh|ruqun}} with the jacket being covered by the {{Transliteration|zh|qun}}, which came in various colours throughout the year.{{Rp|page=4|pages=}} Ordinary women wore plainer form of {{Transliteration|zh|ruqun}}; the skirts were typically plain but the sash which was worn around the waist was decorated.{{Rp|page=51|pages=}}

During the Qin and Han dynasties, women wore skirts which was composed of four pieces cloth sewn together; a belt was often attached to the skirt, but the use of a separate belt was sometimes used by women.{{Cite book|last1=Zang|first1=Yingchun|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m7Qf-bjLfA4C&q=unlined%2520+skirt%2520han%2520+dynasty&pg=PA36|title=Zhongguo chuan tong fu shi|last2=臧迎春.|date=2003|publisher=Wu zhou chuan bo chu ban she|others=李竹润., 王德华., 顾映晨.|isbn=7-5085-0279-5|edition=Di 1 ban|location=Beijing|oclc=55895164}} The popularity of the jacket and skirt combination briefly declined after the fall of the Eastern Han dynasty, but returned into fashion in the Jin and Northern Wei dynasties and continued to be worn until the Qing dynasty.{{Rp|page=51|pages=}}

File:Funerary Sculpture of a Noble Lady LACMA M.73.48.122.jpg|A noble lady figure, Western Han dynasty, 206 B.C.-A.D. 25.

File:Ruqun han.jpg|A Han dynasty painting illustrates women wearing {{Transliteration|zh|ruqun}}, with blouses tucked into skirts

File:Dahuting Eastern Han Tombs Mural - 8.jpg|A woman in ruqun, i.e. a black cross-collar upper garment tucked inside a red skirt, Dahuting Eastern Han Tombs Mural.

{{See also|Qixiong ruqun}}

During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern dynasties, both the {{Transliteration|zh|ruqun}} and the {{Transliteration|zh|shanqun}} co-existed. The {{Transliteration|zh|ruqun}} was popular among women during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern dynasties.{{Cite journal|last1=周方|last2=服装·艺术设计学院|first2=东华大学|last3=周方|last4=卞向阳|last5=服装·艺术设计学院,上海200051|first5=东华大学|date=2018-07-02|title=罗袿徐转红袖扬 ——关于古代袿衣的几个问题|url=https://www.airitilibrary.com/Publication/alDetailedMesh?docid=sichou201806016|journal=丝绸|issue=2018年 06|issn=1001-7003}}{{Cite book |last=Dien |first=Albert E. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/72868060 |title=Six dynasties civilization |date=2007 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-07404-8 |location=New Haven, Conn. |oclc=72868060}}{{Rp|pages=312–313}} In the early Six dynasties period, women wore a style of {{Transliteration|zh|ruqun}} composed of a {{Transliteration|zh|jiaoling youren}} {{Transliteration|zh|ru}} and a long {{Transliteration|zh|qun}}. The jacket worn by commoner women was longer than commoner's men.{{Rp|pages=312–313}}

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Elite women in the Wei and Jin dynasty wore the combination of wide-cuffed, V-shaped, unlined blouse which was made of pattern fabric and was lined at the neck with a decorative strip of cloth, a long skirt which came in different styles, and apron.{{Rp|page=52|pages=}} However, in the early Six dynasties, most ordinary men did not wear {{Transliteration|zh|ruqun}} anymore; men, instead wore a set of attire referred as shanku consisting of ku, trousers, under their cross-collared jacket (i.e. ).{{Rp|pages=321–323}} The men's jacket were either hip-length or knee-length.{{Rp|pages=321–323}} The jackets can be tied with a belt or with other forms of closure.{{Rp|pages=321–323}}

The {{Transliteration|zh|shangjian xiafeng}} ({{Lang-zh|c=上俭下丰|l=top is frugal, bottom is rich}}; similar to A-line silhouette) style was also a trend in the Wei, Jin, Northern, Southern dynasties, where skirts large and loose giving an elegant and unrestrained effect.

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During the Wei and Jin dynasties, women also wore the {{Transliteration|zh|shanqun}}, which consisted of a long {{Transliteration|zh|qun}} and a {{Transliteration|zh|shan}}, an unlined upper garment.{{Rp|page=62}}{{Rp|page=62}} The {{Transliteration|zh|shanqun}} found in this period were typically large and loose; the {{Transliteration|zh|shan}} had a {{Transliteration|zh|duijin}} front and was tied at the waist.{{Rp|page=62}}{{Rp|page=62}} A {{Transliteration|zh|weichang}} ({{Lang-zh|s=围裳|t=圍裳|p=wéicháng}}), which looked similar to an apron, was tied between the {{Transliteration|zh|shan}} and {{Transliteration|zh|qun}} in order to fasten the waist.{{Rp|page=62}}{{Rp|page=62}} Styles of {{Transliteration|zh|shanqun}} can be found in the Dunhuang murals where they are worn by the benefactors, in the pottery figurines unearthed in Luoyang, and in the paintings of Gu Kaizhi.{{Rp|page=62}}

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| footer = Different styles of ruqun in the Northern and Southern dynasty period a) Qixiong ruqun-style of the Northern dynasties; b) ruqun, Northern dynasties; c) jiaolingruqun with ru under skirt, Northern Qi; d) Ruqun with ru over skirt, Northern Qi

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At Luoyang during the Northern Wei dynasty, several variety of clothing styles found on female tomb figures were largely derived from the traditional {{Transliteration|zh|ruqun}}-style set of attire.{{Rp|pages=321–323}} One style of {{Transliteration|zh|ruqun}} was the combination of short jacket (usually belted and tied at the front of the jacket) with wide sleeves which falls to the knee or below knee level with a very high waist, pleated and multicoloured long skirt.{{Rp|pages=321–323}} Based on a female tomb figure dating from the Eastern Wei, this form of {{Transliteration|zh|ruqun}} is jacket worn over skirt.{{Rp|pages=321–323}}

A popular form of {{Transliteration|zh|ruqun}} was the jacket worn under skirt.{{Rp|pages=321–323}} The {{Transliteration|zh|qixiong ruqun}}-style also first appeared in the Northern and Southern dynasties.{{Cite web |title=An Analysis of Women's Ruqun in Eastern Jin and Southern Dynasties--《Art & Design Research》2017年01期 |url=https://en.cnki.com.cn/Article_en/CJFDTotal-SHIZ201701008.htm |access-date=2021-05-15 |website=en.cnki.com.cn}}

{{Main|Qixiong ruqun|Tanling ruqun}}

In the Sui dynasty, ordinary men did not wear skirts anymore.{{Cite book|last=Ma|first=Boying|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1147841857|title=History Of Medicine In Chinese Culture, A (In 2 Volumes)|date=2020|isbn=978-981-323-799-5|location=Singapore|pages=40|oclc=1147841857}} In the late sixth century, women's skirts in the Sui dynasty were characterized with high waistline; this kind of high waistline skirt created a silhouette which looked similar to the Empire dresses of Napoleonic France; however, the construction of the assemble differed from the ones worn in Western countries as Han Chinese women assemble consisted of a separate skirt and upper garment which show low décolletage.{{Cite book |last=Steele |first=Valerie |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/40135301 |title=China chic : East meets West |date=1999 |publisher=Yale University Press |others=John S. Major |isbn=0-300-07930-3 |location=New Haven |oclc=40135301}} This trend continued in the early decades of the Tang dynasty when women continued the tend of the Sui and would also wear long, high-waist skirts, low-cut upper garment.

During the Sui and Tang dynasty, women wore the traditional {{Transliteration|zh|ruqun}} in the {{Transliteration|zh|qixiong ruqun}}-style; a style where the skirts were tied higher and higher up the waist until they were eventually tied above the breasts and where short upper garment was worn.{{Rp|page=1|pages=}}{{Rp|page=5|pages=}}

In addition to the classical {{Transliteration|zh|jiaoling}} {{Transliteration|zh|ru}} or {{Transliteration|zh|shan}} (crossed collar upper garments), {{Transliteration|zh|duijin}} {{Transliteration|zh|shan}} (parallel/straight collar upper garments) were also worn in this period, thus exposing the cleavage of the breasts. Some Tang dynasty women skirts had accordion pleats.{{Cite book|last1=Hua|first1=Mei|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/60568032|title=Zhongguo fu shi|last2=华梅|date=2004|publisher=Wu zhou chuan bo chu ban she|isbn=7-5085-0540-9|edition=Di 1 ban|location=Beijing|oclc=60568032}} Red coloured skirts were popular.{{Rp|page=5|pages=}} There was also a skirt called "Pomegranate skirt" for its red colour, and another skirt called "Turmeric skirt" for its yellow colour.

By the Mid-Tang period (around the 8th century), the low cleavage upper garment fell out of fashion; the female beauty ideology changed favouring plump and voluptuous beauty.

File:Sui Painted Pottery Attendant 04.jpg|Woman in qixiong ruqun, Sui dynasty.

File:Xian May 2007 115.jpg

File:Court ladies pounding silk from a painting (捣练图) by Emperor Huizong.jpg|A Tang dynasty painting illustrates women wearing {{Transliteration|zh|ruqun}}, with skirts tied above the breasts and short parallel-collar blouses

File:Tanghanfu.jpg|Another Tang dynasty painting illustrating {{Transliteration|zh|ruqun}}

File:A palace concert.jpg|A Tang dynasty palace concert wearing {{Transliteration|zh|ruqun}}

File:Gu Hongzhong's Night Revels, Detail 2.jpg

File:Zhou Fang. Court Ladies Wearing Flowered Headdresses. (46x180) Liaoning Provincial Museum, Shenyang..jpg

File:Zhou Fang. Court Ladies Playing Double-sixes. Freer. Detail.jpg

File:韋貴妃墓壁畫1.jpg

Women continued to wear the Tang dynasty's fashion of wearing the upper garment and skirts tied around their breasts until the Song dynasty.{{Cite journal|last=Yuan|first=Zujie|date=2007|title=Dressing for power: Rite, costume, and state authority in Ming Dynasty China|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11462-007-0012-x|journal=Frontiers of History in China|volume=2|issue=2|pages=181–212|doi=10.1007/s11462-007-0012-x|s2cid=195069294|issn=1673-3401|url-access=subscription}} In the Song dynasty, the women's skirts were also lowered from the breast level back to the normal waistline. Pleated skirts were introduced and became the main feature of the upper-class women.{{Rp|page=5|pages=}} Song-style {{Transliteration|zh|ruqun}} for women consisted of long narrow skirts and jackets which closes to the right.{{Cite journal|last=SHEA|first=Eiren L.|date=2021-12-15|title=Intentional Identities: Liao Women's Dress and Cultural and Political Power|url=https://doi.org/10.22679/AVS.2021.6.2.003|journal=Acta Via Serica|volume=6|issue=2|pages=37–60|doi=10.22679/AVS.2021.6.2.003 }} These jackets could be worn over the narrow skirts; this form of {{Transliteration|zh|ruqun}} existed in both the Liao dynasty and Song. Cross-collared jackets with narrow sleeves could also be worn under a waist-length skirt or under high-waist skirt.{{Cite book |last=Sun |first=Ming-ju |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/55693573 |title=Chinese fashions |date=2002 |publisher=Dover Publications |isbn=0-486-42053-1 |location=Mineola, N.Y. |oclc=55693573}}{{Rp|pages=9,11, 14–16}}

File:Song dynasty women.jpg|Commoner women wearing ruqun, Song dynasty.

File:Song dynasty sculpture of maids.JPG|Sculpture of maids wearing ruqun, Song dynasty.

{{Main|Fashion in the Yuan dynasty}}

In Liao dynasty, the Song-style and the Tang-style clothing (including the {{Transliteration|zh|qixiong ruqun}}) coexisted together; both Khitan women and Han Chinese women in the Liao wore the Han Chinese style Tang-Song dress.{{Cite book |last=Shea |first=Eiren L. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1139920835 |title=Mongol court dress, identity formation, and global exchange |date=2020 |isbn=978-0-429-34065-9 |location=New York, NY |oclc=1139920835}}{{Rp|pages=74–75}} Tang-Song style clothing women clothing in Liao also included a long-sleeved, outer jacket with ample sleeves which could cropped or waist-length, was tied with sash in a bow below the breasts to create an empire silhouette.{{Rp|pages=74–75}} The outer jacket could also be worn over floor-length dress which was worn a {{Transliteration|zh|yaoqun}}, a short over-skirt which looked like an apron, on top.{{Rp|pages=74–75}} In Northern Liao mural tomb depictions, women who are dressed in Han style clothing are depicted in Tang dynasty fashion whereas in the Southern Liao murals, women dressed in Han style clothing are wearing Song-style clothing.

File:Mural in liao tomb.jpg|Women possibly wearing shanqun (upper garment over skirt) and beizi (Song-style clothing), inner chamber of the Tomb of Zhang Kuangzheng, Liao dynasty.

File:Pao-Shan Tomb Wall-Painting of Liao Dynasty (寳山遼墓壁畫：寄錦圗).jpg|Khitan women wearing Tang-style clothing; Baoshan tomb No.2 wall-painting of Liao dynasty.

File:KhitanMural.jpg|alt=|Khitan women wearing Song style ruqun.

{{Main|Fashion in the Yuan dynasty}}

In the Yuan dynasty, the Mongols never imposed Mongol customs on the ethnic Han,{{Citation|last=Bulag|first=Uradyn E.|title=East Asia |chapter=Wearing Ethnic Identity: Power of Dress|chapter-url=https://www.bloomsburyfashioncentral.com/products/berg-fashion-library/encyclopedia/berg-encyclopedia-of-world-dress-and-fashion-east-asia/wearing-ethnic-identity-power-of-dress|volume=6|pages=75–80|year=2010|publisher=Oxford: Berg Publishers|doi=10.2752/bewdf/edch6014|isbn=9781847888556|access-date=2021-02-28}} and they did not force the Han Chinese to wear Mongol clothing.{{Rp|pages=84–86}} Many Han Chinese and other ethnicity readily adopted Mongol clothing in Northern China to show their allegiance to the Yuan rulers; however, in Southern China, Mongol clothing was rarely seen as both men and women continued to dress in Song-style garments.{{Cite book |last=Watt |first=James C. Y. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/606786260 |title=The world of Khubilai Khan : Chinese art in the Yuan Dynasty |date=2010 |publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art |others=Maxwell K. Hearn, Metropolitan Museum of Art |isbn=978-1-58839-402-6 |location=New York |oclc=606786260}}{{Rp|pages=82–83}}{{Rp|pages=84–86}} Tang-Song style clothing also continued to be worn in multiple layers by families who showed that they were resisting the rule of the Mongols.{{Rp|pages=84–86}} The Song style dress also continued to persist among the southern elites of the Yuan dynasty and evidence of Song-style clothing was also found in the unearthed tombs in southern China.{{Rp|pages=84–86}}

The casual clothing for men mainly followed the dress code of the Han people and they wore {{Transliteration|zh|banbi}} as a casual clothing item while ordinary women clothing consisted of {{Transliteration|zh|banbi}} and {{Transliteration|zh|ruqun}}.{{Cite web|title=Costume in the Yuan Dynasty---ASEAN---China Center|url=http://www.asean-china-center.org/english/2010-05/26/c_13316039.htm|access-date=2021-07-18|website=www.asean-china-center.org}}

Chinese women also wore cross-collar upper garment which had elbow length sleeves (i.e. cross-collar {{Transliteration|zh|banbi}}) over a long-sleeved blouse under a skirt; the abbreviated wrap skirts were also popular in Yuan.{{Rp|pages=19–20}} Women jackets closing to the right and closing to the left coexisted in the Yuan dynasty. It was also common for Chinese women in the Yuan dynasty to close their clothing to the left side (instead of the right side).{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rUvrAAAAMAAJ&q=damao&pg=PA208 |title=The Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities Bulletin No.70 |publisher=Östasiatiska museet |year=1998 |pages=208}}

The way of wearing short-length cross-collar upper garment over long narrow skirt was also a Song-style fashion. Long cross-collar upper garment (about the knee-length) over a long skirt could also be worn by Chinese elite women.{{Rp|pages=19–20}} The {{Transliteration|zh|aoqun}} consisting of {{Transliteration|zh|jia ao}} ({{Lang-zh|c=夹袄}}), a lined jacket, and a long-length {{Transliteration|zh|qun}} was worn by the Han Chinese women as winter clothing; typically the {{Transliteration|zh|jia ao}} would be worn over the skirt.{{Cite web |date=2021 |title=Luozhi Jia ao |script-title=zh:罗质夹袄 |url=http://www.gansumuseum.com/dc/show-439.html |access-date=2022-08-13 |website=www.gansumuseum.com}}

File:Figure of a Woman Jin-Yuan dynasty China 13th-14th century stoneware (1349972905).jpg|Figure of a Woman Jin-Yuan dynasty China 13th-14th century.

File:Figurines, China, Cizhou ware, Yuan dynasty, 1280-1368 AD, stoneware - Östasiatiska museet, Stockholm - DSC09466.JPG|Ruqun and banbi, Yuan dynasty. The jacket is closing to the left which is a common style for Chinese women in the Yuan dynasty.

File:太平風會圖08.jpg|Woman wearing shanqun, Yuan dynasty.

File:Fresco in the Hall of King Ming-ying, Hung-t'ung County.jpg|Women depicted in the Fresco in the Hall of King Mingying. Han women wore elbow-length sleeves, cross-collar upper garment over a long-sleeved blouse; the abbreviated skirts were popular in Yuan.{{Cite book|last=Sun|first=Ming-ju|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/55693573|title=Chinese fashions|date=2002|publisher=Dover Publications|isbn=0-486-42053-1|location=Mineola, N.Y.|pages=19|oclc=55693573}}

File:太平風會圖05.jpg|Women wearing Song-style ruqun (jacket over skirt) in the Yuan dynasty, from the painting Street Scenes in Times of Peace ({{Lang-zh|c=太平風會圖}}), Yuan dynasty 14th century.

File:人像 (wearing zuoren jacket).jpg

In terms of appearance, the Ming dynasty {{Transliteration|zh|ruqun}} (i.e. the short jacket and skirt) was similar to the Song dynasty's {{Transliteration|zh|ruqun}}. Compared to the {{Transliteration|zh|ruqun}} worn in the Tang dynasty, the Ming dynasty {{Transliteration|zh|ruqun}} was more gentle and elegant in style; it was also less lavish and yet less rigid and strict as the {{Transliteration|zh|ruqun}} worn in the Song dynasty.{{Rp|pages=|page=42}} One difference from the Song dynasty {{Transliteration|zh|ruqun}} is the addition of a small short waist skirt which was worn by young maidservants; it is assumed that it was worn as an apron to protect the long skirt under it.{{Rp|pages=|page=42}} The short overskirt was called {{Transliteration|zh|yaoqun}}.{{Rp|page=|pages=48–50}} Moreover, following the Yuan dynasty, the style of closing the jacket to the left in women's clothing persisted in some geographical areas of the Ming dynasty, or for at least Chinese women who lived in the province of Shanxi. Ming dynasty portrait paintings showing Chinese women dressing in left lapel jackets appeared to be characteristic of ancestral portraits from the province of Shanxi and most likely in the areas neighbouring the province.

{{Clear}}

By the Ming dynasty, the {{Transliteration|zh|ruqun}} became the most common form of attire for women. The sleeves of the blouse were mostly curved with a narrow sleeve cuff in a style known as {{Transliteration|zh|pipaxiu}} ({{Lang-zh|c=琵琶袖|l=pipa sleeve|links=no}}). The collar was of the same colour as the clothing. Often, there was an optional detachable protective {{Transliteration|zh|huling}} ({{Lang-zh|c=護領|l=protect collar|links=no}}) sewn to the collar. The {{Transliteration|zh|huling}} can be white or any dark colour, and is used to protect the collar from being rotten by sweat, therefore to extend the life of the clothing. Towards the start of the Qing dynasty, the skirt was mostly {{Transliteration|zh|baizhequn}} ({{Lang-zh|c=百摺裙|l=hundred pleat skirt|links=no}}) or mamianqun.{{Dubious|date=May 2009}}

{{Clear}}

By the late Ming dynasty, the {{Transliteration|zh|aoqun}} (jacket over skirt) became more prevalent than the {{Transliteration|zh|ruqun}} (short jacket under skirt); and the ao became longer in length.{{Rp|page=|pages=48–50}} By the late Ming dynasty, jackets with high collars started to appear.{{Rp|page=|pages=93–94}} The stand-up collar were closed with interlocking buttons made of gold and silver,{{Cite book|last1=Hao|first1=Xiao’ang|last2=Yin|first2=Zhihong|title=Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Art Studies: Science, Experience, Education (ICASSEE 2020) |chapter=Research on Design Aesthetics and Cultural Connotation of Gold and Silver Interlocking Buckle in the Ming Dynasty |date=2020|chapter-url=https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.200907.030|location=Paris, France|publisher=Atlantis Press|doi=10.2991/assehr.k.200907.030|isbn=978-94-6239-051-5|s2cid=221756137}} called zimukou ({{Lang-zh|s=子母扣}}).{{Cite web|title=Zimu Kou - Exquisite Ming Style Hanfu Button - 2021|url=https://www.newhanfu.com/15961.html|access-date=2021-12-12|website=www.newhanfu.com|date=25 May 2021|language=en-US}} The appearance of interlocking buckle promoted the emergence and the popularity of the stand-up collar and the Chinese jacket with buttons at the front, and laid the foundation of the use of Chinese knot buckles. In women garments of the Ming dynasty, the stand-up collar with gold and silver interlocking buckles became one of the most distinctive and popular form of clothing structure; it became commonly used in women's clothing reflecting the conservative concept of Ming women's chastity by keeping their bodies covered and due to the climate changes during the Ming dynasty (i.e. the average temperature was low in China).

File:Mingrenwu63.jpg|A painting by Ming dynasty painter Tang Yin illustrating women in {{Transliteration|zh|ruqun}}

File:Tangyin7big.jpg|A painting by Ming dynasty painter Tang Yin illustrating women in {{Transliteration|zh|ruqun}}

File:Mingrenwu65b.jpg|A painting by Ming dynasty painter Tang Yin illustrating women in {{Transliteration|zh|ruqun}}

File:Chujutu.jpg|Illustration of Ming dynasty {{Transliteration|zh|ruqun}}

File:Hanfu ming.jpg|A woman (left) wearing an aoqun (i.e. top over skirt), Ming dynasty.

File:Minggirl.jpg|Aoqun, Ming dynasty.

File:明憲宗元宵行樂圖4.jpg|Group of women wearing aoqun, Ming dynasty

File:Ming noble woman.jpg|A ming dynasty woman wearing a chang ao over a skirt (possibly a mamian skirt). A blue pifeng is worn over the outfit. The ao jacket is long and has a high stand-up collar.

{{See also|Qizhuang}}

During the Qing dynasty, the aoqun was the most prominent clothing of Han Chinese women.{{Rp|page=|pages=48–50}}{{Cite book|last=Bonds|first=Alexandra B.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GY4BEAAAQBAJ&dq=aoqun&pg=PA168|title=Beijing opera costumes : the visual communication of character and culture|date=2008|publisher=University of Hawaiʻi Press|isbn=978-1-4356-6584-2|location=Honolulu|pages=168|oclc=256864936}} The ruqun (i.e. short jacket under skirt) continued to be worn in early Qing dynasty, but the later Qing dynasty depictions of ruqun in arts were mostly based on earlier paintings rather than the lived clothing worn by women in this period.{{Rp|page=|pages=48–50}}

In the late Qing, women wore the long jacket ao with the skirt.{{Cite book|last=Baghdiantz McCabe|first=Ina|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/889676602|title=A history of global consumption : 1500-1800|date=2015|isbn=978-1-317-65265-6|location=New York|pages=178|oclc=889676602}} It was fashionable to wear the ao (袄) with the baizhequn (百摺裙) and the mamianqun. The ao in the Qing dynasty has a front centre closure and then curves crossover to the right before secured with frog buttons.{{Rp|page=|pages=48–50}} The front closing, collar, hem, and sleeves cuff have edging of contrasting pipings and side slits.{{Rp|page=|pages=48–50}} The skirts have a flat front and back panels with knife-pleated sides.{{Rp|page=|pages=48–50}} In Qing, the high collar continued to be used but it was not a common feature in clothing before the 20th century.{{Rp|page=|pages=93–94}} In the late Qing, the high collar become more popular and was integrated to the jacket and robe of the Chinese and the Manchu becoming a regular garment feature instead of an occasional feature.{{Rp|page=|pages=93–94}} The high collar remained a defining feature of their jacket even in the first few years of the republic.{{Rp|page=|pages=93–94}}

For the Han Chinese women, the stand-up collar became a defining feature of their long jacket; this long jacket with high collar could be worn over their trousers (shanku) but also over their skirts.{{Rp|page=|pages=93–94}} In The Chinese and Japanese repository published in 1863 by James Summers, Summers described Chinese women wearing a knee-length upper garment which fits closely at the neck; they wore it together with loose trousers with border around the ankles under a skirt, which opens at the front and has large plaits over the hips. Summers also observed that the sleeves of the women's garment are generally long enough to conceal the hands in cold weather; the sleeves were sometimes very wide and were decorated beautifully with embroidered satin lining which would be turned back to form a border.{{Cite book |last=Summers |first=James |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VZlJAAAAYAAJ&dq=wrap%20skirt%20chinese&pg=PA40 |title=The Chinese and Japanese repository of Facts and Ebents in Science, History, and Art, relating to Easter Asia |publisher=Princeton University |year=1863 |volume=I}}{{Rp|page=40}} In Mesny's Chinese Miscellany written in 1897 by William Mesny, it was observed that skirts were worn by Chinese women over their trousers in some regions of China, but that in most areas, skirts were only used when women would go out for paying visits.{{Cite book |last=Mesny |first=William |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AjdBAQAAMAAJ&dq=skirt%20chinese&pg=PA371 |title=Mesny's Chinese Miscellany. |date=1897 |publisher=China Gazette Office |oclc=810192986}}{{Rp|page=371}} He also observed that the wearing of trousers was a national custom for Chinese women and that trousers were worn in their homes when they would do house chores.{{Rp|page=371}} Mesny also observed that men (especially farmers, working men and soldiers) around Shanghai also wore skirts in winter.{{Rp|page=371}}

Another form of ruqun worn in that period is called qungua ({{Lang-zh|c=裙褂}}), which is composed of gua (褂; a jacket with central closure which closes with buttons) worn with a qun (裙) skirt.{{Cite journal|last1=Qiao|first1=Nan|last2=Tan|first2=Yan-rong|date=2017|title=Talk About the Chinese Wedding Dress of Modern Women|url=https://www.dpi-proceedings.com/index.php/dtssehs/article/view/18048/17554|journal=2017 3rd International Conference on Social, Education and Management Engineering (SEME 2017)|issue=seme|pages=299–301}} The gua jacket was a popular form of jacket in Qing and was worn as a summer jacket instead of the ao which was usually worn in winter. The qungua also referred to one style of Qing dynasty wedding dress.

File:Jiao Bingzhen - Paintings of Ladies - Leaf 2.jpg|Illustration of {{Transliteration|zh|ruqun}} and {{Transliteration|zh|pifeng}} during Qing dynasty

File:庄顺皇贵妃.png|A woman wearing aoqun under a pifeng (aka beizi).

File:Dinastia qing, stampa del nuovo anno con una donna e un bambino in un giardino, xix sec.JPG|Qing dynasty aoqun, the blue ao (jacket) has a slanted/curved opening.

File:Han women during the Manchu Qing dynasty.jpg|Qing dynasty Han Chinese women wearing Manchu-influenced aoqun and qungua.

File:Cantonese Han noble lady with her servants in 1900s.png|Cantonese Han noble lady with her servants in 1900s wears Manchu-influenced aoqun.

File:Woman's wedding costume from China, Honolulu Museum of Art 10128.1.JPG|Woman's wedding costume from China, an aoqun. c. 1900.

File:A BRIDE.jpg|A bride wearing aoqun,

In the early 1910s and 1920s, young women wore aoqun called [https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201006/22/P201006220160_photo_1017999.htm Wenming xinzhuang (文明新裝)], also known as the "civilized costume" or "civilized attire".{{Rp|page=|pages=47–50, 54}}{{Cite web|title=Bloomsbury Collections - Styling Shanghai|url=https://www.bloomsburycollections.com/book/styling-shanghai/ch3-wenming-xinzhuang-civilized-costume|access-date=2021-04-05|website=www.bloomsburycollections.com|language=en}}{{Cite web|title="Qipao" of different eras on display at Museum of History (with photos)|url=https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201006/22/P201006220160_photo_1017999.htm|access-date=2021-04-05|website=www.info.gov.hk}} It originated from the traditional yishang (衣裳) and the basic style of this clothing is clearly inherited from ancient Han Chinese clothing although the details have changed over time.{{Rp|page=|pages=47–50, 54}} The Wenming xinzhuang continued the unbroken tradition of Han Chinese women's matching a jacket with a skirt which has been established for thousand of years.{{Rp|page=|pages=47–50, 54}}

The ao of the Wenming xinzhuang was typically cyan and blue in colour while the long skirt was dark in colour, mostly in black; the ao had no complex ornaments as bindings and embroidery was rejected in this period.{{Rp|page=|pages=47–50, 54}} There was a narrow trim which would bind the hem and the side vents were rectangular in shape.{{Rp|page=|pages=47–50, 54}} The ao typically had a standing collar and long in shape with its hemline typically reaching below hip height and sometimes even at knee-height.{{Rp|page=|pages=47–50, 54}} The sleeves were short and left the wrist exposed.{{Rp|page=|pages=47–50, 54}} The skirt was derived from the baizhequn (百摺裙) and became a dark long skirt with larger pleats.{{Rp|page=|pages=47–50, 54}} With time, the skirt length eventually shortened to the point where the calves of the wearer was exposed, and the ao had a lower collar and an arc shaped vents started to appear on both sides.{{Rp|page=|pages=47–50, 54}} This style of clothing eventually faded in the early 1930s.{{Rp|page=|pages=47–50, 54}}

File:Wei shiyi.jpg|Aoqun, 1920.

File:Woman in Hakka shirt in Toen 1930s.jpg|Aoqun, 1930s

In the 21st century, several forms of ruqun, whose design are often based on the previous dynasties traditional ruqun but with modern aesthetics, gained popularity following the Hanfu movement.{{Cite web|last=Zhang|first=Tianwei|date=2020-11-25|title=Putting China's Traditional Hanfu on the World Stage|url=https://wwd.com/fashion-news/fashion-features/china-traditional-hanfu-style-fashion-1234638369/|access-date=2021-06-09|website=WWD|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last=YEEN|first=OH ING|title=Laudable aim to revive tradition|url=https://www.thestar.com.my/metro/metro-news/2019/01/26/laudable-aim-to-revive-tradition|access-date=2021-06-09|website=The Star|language=en}}

File:People wearing Hanfu at IDO32 (20200118144419).jpg|Men and women wearing different style of modern ruqun.

File:HANFU in Clothing store 2018.jpg|Ruqun sold in clothing store, 2018.

File:Woman wearing modern qixiong ruqun (a type of Hanfu) at IDO32 (20200118144012).jpg|Modern qixiong ruqun.

As a set of garments, the ruqun consists of an upper and lower garment.

The ruqun can be categorized into types based on the waist height of the skirt:

• Mid-rise ({{Lang-zh|c=齊腰|p=qíyāo|labels=no}}),
• High-rise ({{Lang-zh|c=高腰|p=gāoyāo|labels=no}}) and
• Qixiong ruqun (齐胸襦裙; qíxiōngrúqún).

The ruqun can also be categorized based on the collar style. The collar style of the upper garment can be divided into:

• crossed collar ({{Lang-zh|c=交領|p=jiāolǐng|labels=no}}),
• parallel collar ({{Lang-zh|c=對襟|p=duìjīn|labels=no}}), also known as straight collar (直领; Zhiling).

{{See also|List of Hanfu}}Throughout history, Han Chinese women wore many kind of skirts which came in variety of styles; some of which had their own specific names.

• Mianfu
• Qixiong ruqun
• Qungua (裙褂): a type of ruqun worn as a traditional Chinese wedding dress in Qing and in modern era.
• Tanling ruqun: a type of ruqun with a U-shaped upper garment
• Xiuhefu (秀禾服): a type of aoqun worn as a traditional Chinese wedding dress in Qing and in modern era.
• Xuanduan (玄端): a very formal dark {{Transliteration|zh|ruqun}} with accessories; equivalent to the Western white tie.

• Hanfu
• List of Hanfu
• Shanku

{{Reflist}}

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{{Types of Han Chinese clothing}}

{{Folk costume}}

Category:Chinese traditional clothing

Category:Jackets

Category:Skirts