“Hanfu" as a technical term refers to traditional clothing worn by the Han ethnic group in China (Han = Han ethnic group, Fu = clothing).
The last Dynasty of China, Qing, saw a ruling class of the Manchu ethnic group who had attacked the Ming Dynasty from the North and ultimately achieved victory. This resulted in a forceful change of attire from "Han" clothing to "Man" clothing and fashion:
This included men being forced to shave the front half of their heads, leaving a long braid in the back (those who refused were beheaded)(四爷,借用一下您的盛世美颜😂) :
Therefore, technically, "Hanfu" had not been worn in China since the end of the Ming Dynasty (1616 AD).
Following the establishment of the current People's Republic of China (1949 AD) the country busied itself with development and economic growth. By the early 2000's China had undergone 2 rounds of economic reform and saw an economy that was flourishing. This left people with more time and money to revisit the country's vast history and rich culture (it's difficult to think about culture or history when you're trying to put food on the table).
On November 22, 2003, an electric engineer by the name of Wang Letian (王乐天) strode through the streets of Deng Zhou wearing a Quju robe . This was the first time someone wore Hanfu for a casual outing since almost 400 years ago. Although, looking back, the design wasn't historically accurate, and the clothing seemed ill-fitting, this robe had been hand-sewn by Wang Letian and his friends, all of whom had a passion for Hanfu.
At the time, people laughed when they saw him in the streets, it looked so odd and strange among the sweaters and jeans that had become the norm, but Wang Letian had started a snowball of Hanfu revival. The internet spread photos of him wearing Hanfu through the streets and by chance, a Singaporean reporter, Zhang Congxing (张从兴), came across the photos. He wrote an article in the newspaper Lianhe Morning Report (联合早报) which became the first news article recorded of the current movement to revive Hanfu.
Following that, interest in Hanfu grew. People (especially young people) dug through history books, visited museums, and broke out the sewing kits. Today, Hanfu can often be seen around sightseeing locations and in historic cities like Xi'an. Although most people still aren't wearing it out and about daily, it's not uncommon to see someone wearing a Mamian Skirt (from Ming dynasty) with a blouse heading to work.
There are still some who think it's odd and strange (including my dad 😑), but the revival in Hanfu indicates a confidence and pride many young people have in China's own history and culture, something that had been often neglected over the past 100 years due to continuous wars and political chaos.
As a kid, I loved period dramas and would drape a bed sheet around my shoulders pretending it's a cape. I'd admire the beautiful hair styles on TV, wondering how it was done. Never did I dream one day I'd be able to purchase my own Hanfu and have a suitcase of hair buns and accessories 🤣🤣
Charlos iceberg lore rated by how insane it makes me
(fengqing 🏹⚔️)
i always had this thought that since they yell in the communication array while forgetting to disconnect, they would definitely forget about the silencing talisman...
also qing-er would be soooooooooooo annoyed and grumpy if they get interrupted in the middle of... meetings...
nan yang deputy #57 is working for employee of the month!! pls cheer for him
(uncensored and japanese ver. on poipiku)
A fairly good general reference video about historical/traditional fashion of various cultures and peoples (including hanfu, but not just hanfu) that have been part of Chinese history:
The video is arranged in chronological order, below are the timestamps:
0:24 - Warring States period/战国 hanfu (for those who don't know: hanfu/汉服 is the historical and traditional outfits of Han people/汉族)
1:16 - Western Han dynasty/西汉 hanfu
2:11 - Jingjue Kingdom/精绝 and Loulan Kingdom/楼兰 historical outfits
2:45 - Eastern Han dynasty/东汉 to Three Kingdoms period/三国 hanfu
3:51 - Northern Dynasties/北朝 Xianbei/鲜卑 historical outfits
4:46 - Southern Dynasties/南朝 hanfu
5:25 - Sui dynasty/隋 hanfu
5:56 - Tang dynasty/唐 hanfu
6:38 - Sogdian/粟特 historical outfits
6:59 - Tubo Empire/吐蕃 Tibetan/藏族 historical outfits
7:38 - Huihu/回鹘 historical outfits (Qocho Huihu Kingdom/高昌回鹘 and Ganzhou Huihu Kingdom/甘州回鹘; note: Huihu people are the ancestors of the modern Uyghur people/维吾尔族)
8:21 - Nanzhao Kingdom/南诏 historical outfits (of the ancestors of the modern Yi people/彝族 and Bai people/白族)
9:07 - Five Dynasties/五代 hanfu
9:57 - Northern Song dynasty/北宋 hanfu
10:38 - Liao dynasty/辽 Khitan/契丹 historical outfits
11:21 - Jin dynasty/金 Jurchen/女真 historical outfits
12:07 - Western Xia/西夏 Tangut/党项 historical outfits
12:37 - Dali Kingdom/大理 historical outfits (of the ancestors of the modern Bai people/白族)
13:20 - Southern Song dynasty/南宋 hanfu
14:00 - Yuan dynasty/元 Mongolian/蒙古族 historical outfits
14:58 - Yuan dynasty women's hanfu
15:24 - Ming dynasty/明 hanfu
16:24 - Qing dynasty/清 Manchu/满族 traditional outfits
16:59 - Qing dynasty Han women's outfit
**Note: as mentioned by the OP, due to the lack of suriviving physical artifacts for some time periods/cultures/kingdoms/dynasties, there is a certain amount of speculation in this video based on other artifacts/records like wall murals, paintings, figurines, and historical records.
(Re: This post)
My lacquer allergy is getting better, the blisters have calmed down but some of the popped ones have left me with areas where the skin has peeled. They've scabbed over now, and I think it's in the heeling phase so once the new skin grows I'll be OK (this time, lol).
Unfortunately, since it's all around my wrists the scabs are making it difficult for my to rotate my wrists in any direction. I can barely hold chopsticks, use my toothbrush, pull my clothes on, etc. Luckily I can still practice playing the Guqin so my teacher is having me take it easy on the making side, and focusing more on the playing.
In the meantime, a few Hanfu books I ordered arrived, so I'll post some recommendations until I can hold my stylus pen again :D
This book covers the Tang, Song, and Ming dynasties, it also includes a chapter on Peking Opera costumes and a section on clothing for different holidays/seasonal days like winter solstice.
It includes clothing for casual occasions, special events, for men and women. Each outfit is drawn out, with each garment name labelled. It also details information on hairstyles, hair accessories, makeup, traditional colour palettes, fabric patterns, etc.
This book isn't text-heavy, relying mostly on pictures to relay information. The layout is fairly simple, so if you're just starting to dig into Hanfu history I think this is a good book to use.
An extra little perk is the side of the book is printed with 2 famous historical paintings, a very lovely touch :)
some soulmates have the red string tied around their wrists or fingers, a long thread that no matter where they are keeps them connected...
fengqing have it super short and tied around their ankles which makes their relationship a fucking three legged race
Xiao XiChen and Song Lan’s entire relationship was basically just the wanting to live together and start a family and Xiao XiChen would give up his own eyes to Song Lan and Song Lan wondered around for YEARS trying to find him and apologize. Likes it’s so domestically gay?
OKAY SO LEMME SHARE HOW FCKN CANON SONGXIAO IS IN THE NOVEL:
“””most intimate friend””” SUUUUUURE so that’s how we call engaged gays there, huh AND HELL YES TO A HAPPY FIXIT FOR THE YI CITY CREW
Xianle Quartet is a top tier polyship not only because of the metric ton of emotional baggage (and the sheer volume of sexual tension and awakening possible between 3 virgins and an effectively celibate fertility god), but also simply because they're all from a country renowned for beauty and pretentiousness, therefore treating impossible beauty standards as the norm.
Xie Lian's canon internal thoughts consist of not infrequently calling people ugly. Can we blame him? He was raised constantly surrounded by and continues to surround himself with devastatingly attractive people. Feng Xin, canonically olive-skinned and handsome, archer's figure. Mu Qing, canonically delicate-appearing and pretty. Hua Cheng, growing up to be tall and savagely beautiful.
Meanwhile, Hua Cheng is a literal fashionista, decked out in every possible silver accessory at any given moment, jingling like a Christmas elf and fabulous while doing it. He throws money around on luxury items just because he can, and his taste is impeccable. Mu Qing straight up destroys his own statues if they're ugly, literally described as wearing luxurious robes that he probably made himself because no one could do it better. They're the divas of this operation. They're judging you, hard, and they want you to know it, so you will.
Xie Lian is the equivalent of the naturally beautiful friend who doesn't wash their face with anything but a bar of soap and comes out looking flawless. He needs absolutely zero fashion sense because he could wear a trash bag and people would think it looks high fashion. Feng Xin is the himbo friend who washes with 10-in-1, yet his skin glistens in the sun like an oiled up ancient greek olympian. He does a normal amount of working out and comes out shaped like Captain America. They're simply God's Favorite, so they don't need to try.
Basically, I picture them as the blindingly hot polycule walking around like the Cullens entering their high-school cafeteria. Hair blowing in an invisible wind. Throwing incredible amounts of shade in the communication array.
They're hot. They're judgmental. They're literally the Mean Girls.
okay listen I do in fact hate jun wu with my whole heart but respect to him for making his divorce with mei nianqing literally everyone's problem
«Thank you for giving me a family»
They are canonically over 800 years old.