#in one year they still did the old school quju

[fouryearsofshades]

regional hanfu styles?

i've always wondered if hanfu ever varied from region to region? what i've seen so far on hanfu makes it look like everyone wore the same styles across china but that seems so strange since most of chinese culture is very regional. so are there region specific hanfu styles or is hanfu really that general?

Hi!

It totally did historically. The further away a region from the centre of fashion (e.g. the capital) was, the more behind the fashion the region was. Usually the distinctions could be found in embroidery style, cut, length etc. I read that sometimes it could be a couple decades behind, especially in times of unrest and wars. A more recent example could be seen in Chinese diaspora in the late Qing, e.g. a Vancouver Chinese tend to dress in an older style then like say, Shanghai. Also last year a local hanfu tailor shop was submitted to a weibo tea account because it is too pricey for its old-school out-of-fashion products. (They do occasionally have some more "up-to-date" hanfu.) On the other hand, sometimes the royals would want to keep a look of "plain and simple", like in Ming dynasty, the fashion inside the Imperial Palace was lagging behind. When the clothing length and sleeves sizes increased in the South (Jiangnan area), the clothing inside the palace was kept shorter and fitter.

Modernly, since a lot of hanfu community is online, the distinction isn't as obvious, especially when most people buy hanfu online. There are distinction in materials and layering mostly due to the local climate, e.g. Guangzhou residents (in the south of China) might still be wearing a thin ao, while people in Beijing will have worn layers of wool, fur or dawn. Sometimes local communities of hanfu-ers would have a certain styles (either because there is a popular fashion icon in the group or they tend to bulk purchase from the same shop), but I usually can't tell them apart unless I am familiar with said group.

[fouryearsofshades]

Hanfu movement is about MODERN ethnic clothing. What is the authentic “han” clothing? Who is going to decide for everyone? There are millions of Chinese around the world. Who could say something and everyone would follow? You? Me? The China government? Come on the moment China government said something it will be on the news that a totalitarian regime is mandating how people should dress.

Korean, Japan, Vietnam and England did not have such a tragic discontinuation of wearing their style when they all have their “modernization” period of pain. Also, have you considered the amount of Chinese involved in the situation? Also the geographical differences, the culture background and the resulted fashion preference of those people? Having only one (1) style of clothing actually is not the norm. Like the Dai people could have very different clothing depending on their villages. And the related Thai women in Thailand have at least... 7 different blouses? And those are modern invention too. Less than 100 years.

I live in a country where wearing traditional clothing, at least for women (pretty sure this is a relic from the colonialism period - men wore the European clothes while the women wore the ethnic clothes to show “fusion”, “respect” etc.), is very normal, even for work. For example, Indians. What is the traditional clothing of an Indian woman? A sari, you may say. But in my experience, most people don’t wear sari to work. I asked my teacher why. She said she did not like showing the waist. I only had one colleague who regularly wears Sari to work. But she is also a priest. Also I am quite sure that she only wears Sari when she is going to the temple on that day. What does the other wear usually?  Usually they wear a tunic plus a trousers. There are many many many different types of tunic and I did not follow them. Each type of tunic are most likely came from different region (so the bottom to match is actually slightly different, but again, I did not follow). I remember back in high school, once they showed about 20 different types of Indian clothing, each from different regions, or different kingdoms historically. And that was put together by one (1) schoolmate. I am sure there is much more variants in Indian traditional clothing.

In addition, clothing from each dynasty reflected their characteristics. And modern Chinese needs something that reflect them. So why stick to a dynasty when you have so many to chose from? Looking back at different periods of time was also what people did back in the days (Ming dynasty), but they did not have the technology nor the archeological discoveries that we can access nowadays. Also people from different regions have different needs. Certain styles would be more prominent in certain regions.  And those not suitable for people will fall into disuse.  Like, quju was rather popular a decade ago, but only a handful of people are into it now, because the construction of the clothing does not match modern needs.

So forming a modern Han clothing is still an ongoing process. It has only been, like, 20 years? It takes time to come to a conscious. Many people just started to wear hanfu recently. It takes time to build up their taste and wardrobe. Historically, it took a few decades for Ming dynasty to settle into their own style. Chill. People will come to a conclusion. Give them time. Give yourself time.

If one don’t want to sit it up one could always wear the cheongsam. Even then there are so many different cuts to choose from. XP   There is also non-cheongsam Chinese traditional clothing but people probably don’t recognize them and only really old grannies wear them nowadays. And most of them switched to buttons, at least in my region.

On the other hand, please consider cultivating your own social experience. And only hang out with friends or circles that decided on the style you also liked. I know there are people who are firmly focus on late late Ming style. There are also a lot of events and gatherings that are style-limited. YOU CAN MAKE YOUR OWN CALL. Don’t let the others decide for you. If you wear hanfu, you are one of the movement. Development your own circle if you like certain style. Consider becoming an influencer if you want people to follow your way. (Also, some people are only in for the money and know no shit about hanfu. So beware.)

Lastly, the online filter bubble is actually very strong if one picks the right people to follow. Like, a couple months ago I asked my friend what did she think about the fashion trend this year because I couldn’t see one. She said, definitely heziqun, especially for the newbies. For me, I have seen nearly zero news and updates on heziqun since Qinghuige time because I only followed a selection of people and bots on weibo. Since anyone wearing hanfu as daily wear for a few years knew heziqun is a recent invention (less than 3 years) as the whole structure is ridiculous and tedious to wear, so heziqun isn’t something those people would consider. Therefore I don’t see them on my dash. There were a couple of beidaiqun. Meh. Tang style is a wild place. Don’t go into Tang style if you want 100% historical accurate style. Or don’t even go into general hanfu fashion but only follow that handful of research and reconstruction blogs.

TLDR: There is no one that has the authenticity in Hanfu Movement to decide what specific style people should stick to. Make your own decision and hang out with people of like mind if you don’t want to see a variation of styles appearing in one place.