For more visual examples & references, please check out my wedding hanfu tag. Opt for vibrant colors and rich materials to stand out. The Northern Expedition entered Beijing in 1928 and held disdain towards the city; their soldiers treated people who worked in the old government as captives and wanted to “wipe out everything”: they banned Manchu women’s hairstyles and the wearing of magua; they also prohibited temple fairs to follow the Chinese calendar. When the priests opened his arms, the square silhouette of the jiangyi becomes fully visible and the motifs which typically the heaves became visible; therefore, by wearing the jiangyi, the daoshi embodies the conjunction of heaven and earth. The beizi has a straight silhouette with vents and seams at the sides. The beizi also came in variety of length, i.e. above knees, below knees, and ankle length, and the sleeves could vary in size (i.e. either narrow or broad). Some sleeves had matixiu cuffs. Changfu pao (常服袍) Imperial women Changfupao looked similar to the longpao jifu, with matixiu cuffs, they were made of plain silk (some had with embroidered dragons at the neck opening and sleeves). It is worn over the changfu robes (常服袍).

Changfu gua (常服褂) Men A form of outerjacket with front opening which closes with button; it can be found in azurite blue colour (石青色) or black. It becomes a medium through which they can celebrate and share their heritage with the wider world. The huling can be of white or any other dark colours. Prior to the 1759 sumptuary regulations, the jifu followed the Manchu-style cut and had to comply to the laws regarding colours and the dragon-claws number; however, the distribution of dragon patterns on the jifu were not regulated and the early Qing dynasty’s robe followed the Ming tradition of having large curling dragons over the chest and back regions. It is typically bright yellow (the colour reserved for the emperor), but the emperor was allowed to wear other colours; other colours of chaofu is also used if the ceremonial occasions requires it. The first to fourth degrees princes and imperial dukes had to wear blue, brown or any other colour unless the Emperor bestowed them with a golden yellow robe.

The twelve ornaments were also reintroduced in 1759 and reappeared on the Qing dynasty court robes, first on the chaofu and later on the jifu. Longgua, also known as jifu gua (吉服褂), white cheongsam was the woman’s surcoat worn over a semi-formal dragon robe (jifu; i.e. the festive robe). Jifu (Chinese: 吉服; lit. Fu (Chinese: 符) Hufu Chinese: 虎符; lit. 147 The new dress code was found in the Huangchao liqi tushi (lit. After the standardization of dress code in the mid 18th century, longgua with 8 dragon roundels became reserved for the empress dowager, empress, imperials concubines (first, second, and third ranks) and for the consort of the crown prince. Between third degree prince and fourth degree official The mid-18th century sumptuary laws stipulated that only the emperor and heir apparent could wear robes with five-clawed dragons, but in the 19th century, these regulations were often not observed. Phoenix robes Empress/Empress dowager The phoenix robe is worn by the Qing dynasty empress/ empress dowager. The use of buzi on clothing is a continuation of the Ming dynasty court clothing tradition.

Dragon or python would be worn on the buzi of the imperial dukes and noblemen. Lower-ranking noblemen who were not allowed to wear clawed dragons would wear buzi with hoofed dragon near the end of the 19th century. The bufu was the man’s surcoat with a square-shape court insignia, winter hanfu called buzi. There is one rank insignia on the front and one on the back of the bufu. 42 Women also wore bufu which would often be the mirror image found on the insignia used on her husband’s bufu; therefore, when they sat together, the animals would face towards each other symbolizing marital harmony. 218-219 Within one year after entering China proper, the Qing rulers demanded that men among their newly defeated subjects adopt the Manchu hairstyle or face execution. It was worn by the imperial family; people from the higher ranks would wear five-clawed dragons which face to the front while those from the lower ranks would wear five-clawed dragons in profile.