Hufuqishe policy

During the Warring States period, King Wuling of Zhao (r. 326–298 BC) instituted the Hufuqishe (Chinese: 胡服騎射; lit. 'Hu clothing and mounted archery') policies which involved the adoption of Hufu to facilitate horse riding.^[1][10] During this period, the term 'Hufu' was coined after the 'Hu' people, who were northern nomadic people.^[1]

In the Shiji《史記》, Zhao Shijia (lit. 'Hereditary Family of Zhao'), it is said that King Wuling undertook those sartorial reforms in the 19th year of his reign in 307 BCE.^[1] However, according to the Bamboo Annals, an annalistic history of Wei unearthed from a Wei King tomb in 279 BC, the Zhao court had ordered commanders, officers, and their families, and garrison guards to adopt Hefu (Chinese: 貉服) in 302 BC.^[1] The term 'He' used in the Bamboo Annals is a synonym of the term 'Hu' which refers to the northern nomadic people.^[1]

Under this sartorial and military reform, all the soldiers of King Wuling had to wear the uniforms of Donghu, Linhu, and Loufan in battles.^[28]: 257 The choice to adopt cavalry and the departure from the chariot warfare from the 8th to 5th century BC showed the influence of the Xiongnu, who were the northern neighbour of the Zhao state.^[1] The reality or the extent of King Wuling's reforms is a disputed subject among historians.^[1]

The Hufu adopted by King Wuling can be described as shangxi xiaku (Chinese: 上褶下袴; pinyin: shangxi xiaku; lit. 'short coat on upper body', 'trousers on lower body');^[29] this form of attire is described as being composed of trousers, a (short^{[10][30][28]: 257}) shirt or jacket with tighter (tubular-shaped^[30]) sleeves,^[1][2] xue (Chinese: 靴; lit. 'boots'),^{[10][28]: 257} belt,^{[28]: 257 [30]} and belt buckle.^[28]: 257

However, the Hufu-style trousers introduced by King Wuling were characterized with loose rises and differed from the indigenous ku (Chinese: 袴) of the Chinese; the Hufu-style trousers could be described as form of kun (Chinese: 裈); the kun were trousers which had rise to cover the crotch areas.^[31] A conical cap which resembles Scythian hats was also adopted as part of the Hufuqishe.^[29] Of note of importance, although the Hufu-style attire adopted by King Wuling appears to be similar to Scythian clothing, the Hufu which appears in classical Chinese text were actually different from the historical Scythian clothing.^[29] For example, the hat adopted by King Wuling was less pointy that the Scythian hat and were decorated with a marten tail.^[29]

In the Warring States period, the wearing of short upper garment worn by the Chinese which is belted with a woven silk band and had a right-opening also influenced the Hufu; this form of attire was worn together with trousers allowing greater ease of movement.^[32] This form of clothing attire was most likely worn by peasants and labourers.^[32]

Influence of Hufu-style kun on the development of Chinese trousers, ku

Prior to the introduction of Hufu by King Wuling, Chinese people wore the traditional Chinese clothing system which consisted of the combination of yi (Chinese: 衣) or ru (Chinese: 襦), both of which were upper garment which typically closed to the right in a style known as jiaoling youren (Chinese: 交領右衽),^[33] the indigenous Chinese trousers referred as ku (Chinese: 袴), also known as jingyi (Chinese: 胫衣), which were in the form of knee-high trousers which were tied to the calves of the wearer allowing the thighs to be exposed and appeared as early as the Neolithic period and was the original form of ku trousers) in early time, and chang (裳, a lower skirt) which is the predecessor of qun (裙), to hide the lower body.^[29][31] People could also wear yichang (衣裳) without wearing ku.^[31]

The type of trousers introduced by King Wuling in Central China was referred as kun (裈) instead of ku; the kun were trousers with loose rise (i.e. which cover the crotch areas) which was first used among the military troops.^[31] As the kun-trousers did not conform to the traditional culture of the Han, the kun was mainly worn by warriors and servants, but kun were not used by the general population as people found it hard to adjust the use of kun in their daily activities.^[31] The kun however influenced the development of jingyi by transforming the jingyi into becoming longer, stretched up to the thighs regions, and the waist become enclosed however the rise and rear of those trousers were open which allowed for the purpose of urinating and defecting; this then became the pattern of ku-rousers.^[31] This form of ku-trousers was more accepted in the Han tradition than the kun, and evolved into other forms of ku trousers of the later dynasties, such as qiongku (trousers with hip and rise area closed in the front and tied at the back with multiple strings) which was designed in the Western Han dynasty.^[31]

Kun trousers introduced by King Wuling later developed into other forms of trousers in the later period, such as dashao (trousers with extremely wide legs) which appeared in the Han dynasty and dakouku (trousers which were tied under the knees).^[31] These forms of trousers were Chinese innovations.^[31]

Influences of the Xianbei and ban of Xianbei clothing

During the Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern dynasties, northern nomadic peoples introduced other styles of round collar (Chinese: 盤領; pinyin: panling)^[35] robe in China.^[7] The round collar robe introduced by the Xianbei had tight sleeves which allowed for greater ease of riding when horse riding.^[7] Since the Northern Wei dynasty, the shapes of the Han Chinese robes started to be influenced by the round collar robes.^[36] The Xianbei were originally a branch of the Donghu which were defeated by the Xiongnu but they later claimed to be descendant of the Yellow Emperor as the Chinese.^[37] The Northern Wei period was a period of cultural integration between the Xianbei and the Han Chinese; the Xianbei ruling elites adopted Chinese clothing and Chinese customs while the Han Chinese started to integrate some of the Xianbei's nomadic style clothing which included high boots and round-collar robes with narrow sleeves into Han clothing.^{[38]: 183, 185–186} In the murals of Lou Rui tomb of Northern Qi (dated to 570), a procession of riders appear to be clothed in quekua and wearing boots and headgear.^[7]: 317 However, the other figures found in the tomb of Lou Rui are dressed in styles closer to the traditional Hanfu style, showing wide sleeves and lapels closing to the right side.^[38]: 187

• Xianbei clothing
• Xianbei women typically wore a long robe under a jacket instead of trousers and boots.^[39] Xianbei clothing had zuoren opening (i.e. closed on the left side).
• The cape and hood was another nomad outfit which was distinctively Xianbei.^[39]
• The cape and hood was another nomad outfit which was distinctively Xianbei.^[39]
• A form of kuxi. The cross collar closing to the left showing foreign influence or style instead of the right closing. The trousers are however Chinese trousers.
• Riders from the murals from the Tomb of Lou Rui appear to be wearing quekua.

The Xianbei rulers continued to wear own distinctive Xianbei clothing in order to maintain their ethnic identity and avoid merging with the Chinese majority population.^{[7]: 284, 319} However, under the sinicization policies under Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei, Hufu (Northern barbarian clothing) was banned.^[40][41] This ban of Hufu also included the ban on Xianbei clothing.^[42] The ban also included non-Han language at Northern Wei court, and the changing of the royal family surname Tuoba to Yuan.^[42] Many members of the Tuoba Xianbei adopted Han Chinese clothing, language, surnames and customs.^{[42][28]: 131} However, this sinicization policies were also met with opposition by other ethnic minority groups.^[28]: 131 After the fall of the Northern Wei, male figures started to reappear wearing Xianbei-style clothing on Buddhist monuments and tomb murals; however, the Xianbei-style clothing worn by women are no longer seen in the art of China after the year 500 AD.^[2] These re-emerging Xianbei clothing following the fall of the Northern Wei also showed minor changes.^{[18]: 407–409} After the year 500 AD, women would appear in Chinese-style clothing while men could be found dressed in either Xianbei-style or Chinese-style clothing.^[2] In the tomb of Xu Xianxiu (d. 571 AD), Xu Xianxiu, a Northern Qi aristocrat, is depicted wearing Xianbei-style tunic, trousers, and boots and what appears to be a cloak of Central Asian fashion while his wife is wear a Chinese-style robe.^[2][43] Some female servants depicted on the tomb mural of Xu Xianxiu appear to be dressed in clothing which looks closer to the Xianbei style garment than the Chinese-style clothing due to the use of narrow sleeves; however, this form of clothing is not representative of the Xianbei style clothing worn before the year 500 AD.^[2]

Influences of Sogdians

The Sogdians were also called Hu (Chinese: 胡) in Chinese.^[7]: 284 The Sogdians and their descendants (mostly from the merchants class) living in China during this period also wore a form of knee-length yuanlingpao-like kaftan that retained their own ethnic characteristics but with some East Asian influences (i.e. Chinese and early Turks).^[44] Under the influence and the demands of the Chinese population, most Sogdian attire in China had to be closed to the right.^[44] Their robes would often be buttoned up the neck forming the round collar but occasionally the collar (or lower button) would be undone to form lapel robes (Chinese: 翻领胡服; pinyin: Fānlǐng húfú; lit. 'Non-Chinese lapel robes').^[44][36] Lapels robes were popular in Central regions (in the Sogdian regions), Qiuci and Gaochang but originated in Western Asia but spread eastwards through the Sogdians in Central Asia.^[36] The Sogdians living in Central Asia and China wore turned-down lapel robes which was popular the Sogdian region of Central Asia in the Western Asia.^[44] The Sogdians in China and Sogdia had both lapels down following the Iranian tradition or the tradition of the Saka people living in the Khotan Oasis.^[44] It was also not rare for Chinese Sogdians to wear their robes with only the left lapel which was a distinguishing feature as the only left lapel robe was rarely found in Sogdia.^[44] These lapels robes appeared as early as in Northern Wei depictions and are (for now) the earliest depictions of Xianbei or Han Chinese people wearing lapels robes; these lapels robes became a popular form of fashion in Northern Qi in the Han regions for both men and women.^[36] This dressing customs of wearing lapel robe was later inherited and developed in the subsequent dynasties, in the Tang and Sui dynasties.^[36]

Yuanlingshan, lapel robes, and foreign-influences on headwear

In the Tang dynasty, the descendants of the Xianbei and the other non-Chinese people who ruled northern China from 304 to 581 AD lost their ethnic identity and became Chinese; the term Han was used to refer to all people of the Tang dynasty instead of describing the population ruled by the Xianbei elites during the Northern dynasties.^[49] The round-collar jacket and gown, tied with a belt at the waist, became a typical form of fashion for both Tang dynasty men and women as it was fashionable for women to dress like men in the Tang dynasty.^{[50]: 34–36 [51]}

The Hufu, which was popular in this period was the clothing worn by the Tartars and the people who lived in the Western regions,^[52]: 2 was brought from the Silk Road.^[52]: 1 In the early Tang dynasty, the influence of hufu was described as a pastiche of Turkic, Uyghur, Sogdian and Sasanid Persian clothing.^[4] Hufu-style in this period included jacket with open-front with narrow-fitting sleeves, striped, tapered trousers, woven boots, and weimao (i.e. wide-brimmed hat with an attached gauze veil).^[4] Other forms of Hufu included: mili (羃䍦), a burqua-like headwear, veil-less hat called humao.

Almost all figurines and mural paintings depicting female court attendants dressed in men's clothing are wearing Hufu.^[53] During this period, the yuanlingpao could be turned into a lapel robe (influenced by those worn by the Sogdians) by unbuttoning the robes and the lapel robes could be turned into the yuanlingpao when buttoned.^[36] In some unearthed pottery figures wearing lapel robes dating from the Tang dynasty, it found that the yuanlingpao had three buttons on the collar.^[36] The double overturned lapels with tight-fitting sleeves were known as kuapao (Chinese: 袴袍; a robe which originated from Central Asia^[54]), and similarly to the yuanlingshan, the kuapao could be ornate with trims decorated with patterns at the front, sleeve-cuffs and along the lapels.^[53] The kuapao^[55] was worn by men, but it could be used as a main garment for cross-dressing female attendant or they could be draped on the shoulders of both men and women like a cloak.^[53][54] The lapel robes worn during the Tang dynasty was categorized as Hufu instead of Hanfu; the use of these styles of robes showed the popularity of Hufu during the Tang dynasty, especially during the Wuzetian period (684–704 AD).^[50]: 27 The Yuanlingpao however was categorized as Han clothing.^[51]

It also popular for people to use fabrics (such as brocade) to decorate the collars, sleeves and front and their gowns; this clothing decoration customs is known as 'partial decorations of gowns' and was influenced by the Sogdians of Central Asia who had entered China since the Northern and Southern dynasties period.^[56] Influenced by foreign cultures,^[56] some yuanlingshan^[57] could also be decorated with Central Asian roundels (i.e. a form of partial decoration) which would run down at the centre of the robe.^[53]

Huihuzhuang/Uyghur clothing

It was also fashionable for noble women to wear Huihuzhuang (回鶻装; Uyghur dress, which is sometimes referred as Huihu-style), a turned-down lapel voluminous robes with tight sleeves which were slim-fitting, after the An Lushan Rebellion (755–763 AD).^{[58][59][60][61]} In 840 AD, the Uyghur empire collapsed, the Uyghur refugees fled to Xinjiang and to the Southeast of Tang frontier to seek refuge, and in 843 AD, all the Uighur living in China had to wear Chinese-style clothing.^[62]

Fading of Hufu in Tang

After the High Tang dynasty period, the influences of Hufu progressively started to fade and the clothing started to become more and more loose.^[52]: 2 and more traditional Han style clothing was restored.^[63]

Mongol clothing

The Mongol of the Yuan dynasty impacted the clothing worn by the Chinese.^[68] According to Song Lian (1310–1381),

"When the Song dynasty collapsed and the Yuan dynasty was founded, people's clothing changed to square and conical straw hats and clothes with narrow sleeves".^[68]

Different styles of Mongol clothing were shared and used among different social classes.^[68] However, Han Chinese clothing continued to co-exist along with Mongol clothing.^[69] During this period, men's casual clothing follows those of the Han Chinese; aristocrats women mainly worn Mongol clothing while common women wore ruqun and banbi.^[69] Example of Mongol clothing and hats which influenced the Han Chinese were the boli hat (Chinese: 钹笠帽), terlig, jisün, Mongol-style dahu.^[68]

Goryeoyang/Goryeo-style

The customs of Goryeo clothing became popular at the end of the Yuan dynasty among Mongol rulers, aristocrats, queens and imperial concubines in the capital city.^[69][70] The fashion trend was dubbed goryeoyang (高麗樣) and was described by being a banryeong banbi (方領半臂),^[71] the suggested modern interpretation of the physical appearance of such garment (square collar short-sleeved upper garment^[72]) was based on the same poem and was drawn in a 2005 study by senior researcher Choi.^[73]