Clothing in the  Jin period (220-420) 
By and large, the dresses and personal adornments of the Wei and Jin period (220-420) maintain the basic forms of the Han Dynasty, but they had their special features in terms of style.

As stipulated, the court robes must be red, and casual garments must be purple in the Wei and Jin period. White was the garment color of common people. The garments of the time mainly included Ru (jacket), Qun (skirt) and Ku (trouser), and Qiu (fur coat) was informal garment. The adornments of women were more exquisite, including Jinhuan (golden loop), Yinyaozhi (silver fingering) and Tiaotuo (bracelet around the wrists), etc.

Clothing in the  Jin period (220-420) 
Costume in the Southern Dynasty (386-589) were mainly short jackets and skirts. Ladies in skirts were especially regarded as orthodox, and those in trousers were regarded as impolite. Women wore white scarves decorated with blue silk ribbons at the time. Their long and narrow sleeves were decorated with gold-wrapped patterns. Dancers wore long gowns and very long ribbons.

Costume in the Southern Dynasty also included robes and sleeveless jackets. Fur coats, especially marten coats, were very rare at that time. Trousers were favored by the youth.

By and large, the dressing style of the Southern Dynasty inherited that of the Wei and Jin periods. Because of chaos caused by war and frequent changes of emperors, the dressing style changed accordingly. The clothing in the south of the Yangtze River was smaller and shorter than that in the north, but the dressing style of a small hat and an overcoat was popular.

The court dress of the Southern Dynasty was still Xuanyi (black garment), whose materials were specified as follows: officials below the third rank were not allowed to wear costume made of motley silk material, those below the sixth rank could only wear costume made of seven-color silk materials, not made of damasks.

As to the dressing style of the Northern Dynasty, eunuchs wore red unlined garments at formal situations. Informal dresses and military uniforms mainly included trousers. Ordinary women always wore short jackets and coats.  Woolen carpets, gunny clothes and silk clothes were popular products during the Northern and Southern Dynasties.

Clothing in the Tang Dynasty (618-907).
The unified and prosperous China was established in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). In China's history, the Tang Dynasty was a period when the polity and economy were highly developed and the culture and art were thriving.

Women's dress and personal adornments of the Tang Dynasty were outstanding in China's history. The clothing materials were exquisite, the structure was natural, graceful and elegant, and adornments were splendid. Though the forms of garments were still the continuation of the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD) and the Sui Dynasty (581-618), they were influenced by cultures and arts of the Western Regions. Especially, the national power of the High Tang was strong. The trades and cultural exchanges with Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Persia and other countries gradually became frequent, and they mutually dispatched emissaries and accepted students of other countries. In this way, a special open and romantic style of dress and personal adornments was formed.

Because of communication with the Western Regions, the influence of dressing culture of other minorities on the Tang court also reflected the change of thoughts and concepts. Chinese women were seriously restricted by the old Confucian or feudal ethical code all through the ages. The social status of ancient women was very low: they often served as Jileren (music performer), Guanji (official performer), Gongji (palace performer) and Jiaji (family performer), and were regarded as the playthings and goods that can be sold and bought by rich people. Some females had rebel spirit in the Tang Dynasty, so they climbed or jumped over the walls and went to the nature to view the beautiful scenes and/or go sightseeing in the spring by riding horses with men. Just as recorded by many historical materials, some girls therefore dressed as boys in order to go out.

It was a fashion for women to wear Hufu (garments of the Tartars or those who lived in the Western Regions). After the High Tang, the influences of Hufu were gradually weakened and women's garments became broad and loose day by day. As to ordinary women's garments, the width of sleeve was always more than 1.3 meters.

After the reign of Tang Emperor Gaozong, purple was used as the garment color for officials above the third grade; light red, officials above the fifth grade; dark green, officials above the sixth grade; light green, officials above the seventh grade; dark cyan, officials above the eighth grade; light cyan, officials above the ninth grade; and yellow, ordinary people and those who did not live in the palace.

The garments in the Tang Dynasty also greatly affected the garments of neighboring countries. For instance, Japanese kimono adopted the elites of the dresses of the Tang Dynasty in terms of colors, and the Hanbok (traditional Korean clothing) also adopted the advantages of the dresses of the Tang Dynasty. The dresses of the Tang Dynasty were mainly made of silk, so dresses were famous for softness and lightness. The dresses of the Tang Dynasty boldly adopted the features of foreign garments in terms of forms and adornments; i.e. they mainly referred to the garments of other countries (such as the Central-Asia countries, India, Iran, Persia, northern countries and the Western Regions) and used them to improve the habilatory culture of the Tang Dynasty.

Clothing in  the Song Dynasty (960-1279)
Costume in the Song Dynasty (960-1279) was simple and natural, reflecting the development tendency of the era.  Costume in the period carried on features of costume in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). Women's costume mainly included blouses, jackets, coats, skirts, robes, short gowns and long coats. Most garments without belt and buckle had an erect collar and were buttoned down the front, and protective collar was sewn on the outer edge at the neckline. Collar edges and sleeve edges of all clothes that have been excavated were decorated with laces or embroidered patterns. Such clothes were decorated with patterns of peony, camellia, plum blossom, and lily, etc.

By and large, the rank system of officials of the Song Dynasty followed that of the Tang Dynasty, so official costumes in the palace during the two dynasties were similar, both falling into the following categories, Chaofu (court costumes), Jifu (ceremonial costumes), Gongfu (formal robes), Rongfu (military uniforms), Sangfu (funeral costumes) and Shifu (seasonal costumes).

A court costume was composed of a red upper garment and a red lower skirt worn over white underwear made of gauze. Officials fastened a big band made of gauze around their court garments, which were adorned with brocade ribbons, jade ornaments and jade bracelets, and wore black leather shoes and socks of damask silk. Such court costumes adopted a uniform style, but the ranks of officials were distinguishable according to different combinations.

Formal robes had an oblique collar, big sleeves, and a leather waistband. As to this dressing type, colors were used to distinguish the ranks of civil officials. For example, cyan was for officials above the ninth grade; green, above the seventh grade; red, above the fifth grade; and purple, above the third grade. The use of colors changed slightly during the Yuanfeng reign of the Song Dynasty, i.e. purple was used for officials above the fourth grade; bright red, above the sixth grade; and green, above the ninth grade.

Seasonal costumes were the clothing granted to eunuchs. Most granted costumes were decorated with bird and beast patterns woven with brocades.

Besides official costumes used at the court, daily casual costumes (referred to as private costumes too) also had distinctive characteristics. The casual costumes in the Song Dynasty included the following types:

Pao (gown) fell into two types: with broad sleeves and with narrow sleeves. The gown for an official was made of brocade, and that for a non-official was made of white cloth.

Ru (jacket) and Ao (coat) were the necessary costumes for common people in their daily life.

Duanhe (coarse cloth jacket) was short clothes made of coarse cloth worn by poor people.

Lanshan (scholar's blouse) was a kind of men's long robes with a lateral ribbon attached to the lower hem.

Shan (lower garment) followed the ancient code of upper garment (jacket and blouse) and lower garment (skirt), and it was the style of Mianfu (mitral garment), Chaofu (court robe) or Sijufu (private garment).

Zhiduo (straight long robe) was a long loose robe without split at the lower part (but there was central seam on the back part).

Hechang (cloak made of cranes' down) was long and loose. It was a kind of precious fur coat made of down of crane and other birds. Its lower hem reached the ground.

Clothing in  the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368) 
The Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368) was the amalgamation age of ethnic groups in China's history, and the dresses and personal adornments of the time also fully represented this feature. The following dress code (Zhisunfu code) was just formulated in 1321 during the reign of Yuan Emperor Yingzong by referring to ancient systems: upper and lower short garments were pieced together; folds were added to the waistline, and big beads were hung on shoulders and the back. Emperors and officials in all ranks wore such garments, and the Han people called them as the Yiseyi garments or Zhisunfu garments. This dress code combined the garment characteristics of the Han people and Mongol ethnic minority.

As to this dress code, whether the clothes were coarse or fine in quality was used to distinguish the ranks of officials. Men's casual garments in the Yuan Dynasty mainly followed those of the Han people, and a jacket with short sleeves was worn over the casual garment. Women also dressed in this way, which was called Ruqun (upper jacket and lower skirt) and Banbi (half sleeves).

Women's garments of the Yuan Dynasty included aristocratic type and common-people type. Aristocrats were often the Mongols. Their national costumes were fur coats and fur caps. The garments made of marten and sheepskin was very common, and most garments were robes with narrow cuffs and loose sleeves.

Ordinary women of the Yuan Dynasty wore Ruqun (upper jacket and lower skirt), and garments of Banbei (half sleeves) were also popular. In addition, influenced by people of Koryo in the neighboring country, the aristocrats, queens and imperial concubines in the capital city imitated the custom of Koryo women's attires.

Clothing in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)
There were many new changes in costume of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The outstanding feature was that the buttons on the forepart replaced the band knots in use for several thousand years. However, it was not in the Ming Dynasty that buttons first came into being. Some buttons were sewn on the waistline of the braid coat of the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). The use of buttons was also an invention that embodied the advancement of that era. In addition, the popularization of Confucian school of idealist philosophy also affected the dressing style to a certain degree.

Compared with the costume of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), the proportion of the upper outer garment to lower skirt in the Ming Dynasty was significantly inverted. Since the upper outer garment was shorter and the lower garment was longer, the jacket gradually became longer to shorten the length of the exposed skirt, and the collar changed from the symmetrical type of the Song Dynasty (960-1279) to the main circular type.

Skirt color was inclined to be light. Skirt pleats, including dense pleats and big pleats, became very popular.

In addition, short embroidered capes worn over a woman's shoulder were popular in the Ming Dynasty. Because these capes looked like beautiful rosy cloud, they were also called Rosy Cloud Cape. Such capes first appeared in the Northern and Southern Dynasties. They were in the shape of a very long colored band, could encircle the neck and reach the chest with gold or bowlder pendants at the lower end, looking very elegant.

There was also a sort of waistcoats with buttons down the front, which first appeared in the Yuan Dynasty and was originally special costume for the queen. Gradually, they were introduced into the life of ordinary people. Young ladies in the mid Ming Dynasty usually preferred to dress in these waistcoats. The waistcoats in the Qing Dynasty were transformed from those of the Yuan Dynasty.

Another feature of costume in the Ming Dynasty was that the garment front was decorated with various striking adornments made of gold, jade and pearl, etc. A special adornment was a golden chain hung with nipper, toothpick, ear pick and small knife, articles that were often used by women in their daily life.

Men's costume in the Ming Dynasty typically adopted the form of chuddar and circular collar. They featured broad sleeves, inlaid black brims and cyan circular collar. Men wore black silk ribbon, soft chuddar and drooping strap.

Paddy-field costumes were dresses for ordinary women in the Ming Dynasty. They were sewn with bits and pieces of brocades in various colors and looked like the cassocks of shamans. Colors of the materials of the whole dress were mutually interlaced and the form was just like the paddy field, hence the name "paddy-field costumes".

Clothing in the  Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)
The organization of political power mainly consisted of the rulers of the Manchu ethnic minority in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), so the customs of Manchu bannermen affected those of the Central Plains. The traditional dress code that had been handed down for several thousand years was damaged because of the invasion of the Eight Banners soldiers. It might be said that this innovation was another improvement of China's traditional dress code. It was the third obvious revolution after the Mongol Costumes for Arrow Shooting on Horseback and the Open Dresses of the Tang Dynasty in the history.

Since Qizhuang (costumes of bannermen) were convenient for dressing and cost fewer materials, they replaced the complicated ancient blouses and skirts. This was the main reason that later generations easily accepted the dressing style of Qizhuang.

The Qizhuang of Manchu ethnic minority looked rectangular, and the saddle-shaped collar could cover the cheek and protect the face. The costume had no waistline, and their U-shaped sleeves with semicircle cuffs could cover the hands. The clothes were decorated with laces and a sleeveless jacket or a mandarin jacket could be worn over a gown. The solemn, respectful and morally lofty appearance of Qizhuang broke away from tower-shaped clothes and hats. The Qizhuang costume still has certain impacts on modern costume. Especially, along with the development of China, a cheongsam that demonstrates women's curvaceous beauty has become the representative garment of the Han people, as it can show the femininity and temperament of oriental ladies.

A cheongsam or a short coat had a lute-shaped front, a front with buttons on the right or a front of Chinese-style jacket with buttons down, etc. A skirt or a pair of trousers used to match a cheongsam was decorated with printing, embroidering, oblique seaming and other techniques. Women of Manchu ethnic minority neither bound their feet nor wore skirts. The sleeveless jacket (padded or lined) over the coat was of the same length as the coat, and within it there was a small underwear, which was equivalent to the bellyband worn by women of the Han people.

Combined Costumes in Different Periods:

During the reign of Emperor Kangxi, it was very popular for aristocratic women to wear a brown robe with a black collar, and golden round patterns or sheet golden patterns. They also wore adornments in front of their garments, a big wispy bun and a piece of headcloth on their head.

During the Qianlong reign, women wore a big black waistcoat over a buff coat inlaid with pink trims.

During the reigns of Jiaqing and Daoguang, women often wore a purple skirt and a blue upper garment with a low collar.

During the Tongzhi reign, laced ribbons made of blue satin were popular. Such ribbons were more than 3.3 meters long and were decorated with embroidered patterns at both ends. It was a common practice to wear all skirts and trousers with ribbons.

During the mid-term of the Guangxu reign, upper garments and skirts for women gradually became shorter and their sleeves, wider. The ribbons reached beyond the knees for more than a third of one meter. Most clothes were lake blue or pink, and some were aquamarine, bright red and so on.

Upper outer garments of women reached beyond the knees at the end of Guangxu reign. Some skirts were attached with 16 to 20 ribbons, with small silver bells tied at the end of every ribbon. Some gold or silver ornaments such as earpicks, toothpicks and small nippers were hung on the front part of garments.

It was popular to tailor false cuffs, generally 1-2 cuffs or 2-3 cuffs, inside sleeves at the end of the Qing Dynasty. This dressing style not only showed dignity and richness, but also strengthened the close style of Qizhuang costume.

From the Xuantong reign to the early Republic of China, women's blouses and trousers became smaller and narrower than those at the end of the Guangxu reign, but the saddle-shaped collar became even higher as to cover the whole cheek.

Women's Costume in the Qing Dynasty

Women's dresses included court, ceremonial and casual costumes. The code of court costume was prescribed as specific dresses for women from the queen to wives or mothers of the seven-rank officials. Ceremonial costume referred to auspicious dresses and mourning apparels. Women's dress for wedding, funeral and birthday were prescribed according to their ranks. Casual costume had various styles.

There was strict stipulation governing women's daily costume and the dressing styles were bound by laws. It was stipulated that servants, actors and laborers were forbidden to wear clothes made of high-grade materials, such as thread, thin silk, yarn, damask silk, satin, fabric, fine fur, fine wool, cyan materials. What's more, they were untitled to freely use pearl, jade, gold, silver, precious stones and other valuable materials as adornments. Materials of their clothes were limited to ko-hemp cloth, tatting cloth, hirsute, tussah silk, and fur of racoon dog, sheepskin and other low-grade materials.

Emperess' Court Robes in the Qing Dynasty

Winter court hats of empress dowagers and empresses were made of fumed marten and sewn with red wefts. Their hats adorned with pearl, gold pheasant patterns, gems and jade ornaments had protective collar behind the neck with drooping bright yellow ribbons. Summer court hats were made of cyan velvet.

Empress dowagers, queens and high-ranked imperial concubines used cyan sheets with gold-wrapped metal trims to decorate their court costumes; images of dragons and Chinese characters Fu (blessing) and Shou (longevity) were embroidered on the clothes. The winter court robes of empress dowagers, queens and high-ranked imperial concubines were bright yellow, and also decorated with images of dragon patterns. Necklines of dresses of empress dowagers and queens were made of golden filament and decorated with pearls, turquoises and jade ornaments. Three sets of necklaces were hung on the chest when empress dowagers and queens wore court robes. When an empress dowager or queen was in auspicious clothing, she always wore one set of necklace made of pearls, jade and other top-grade materials. Court necklaces of imperial concubines were decorated with ambers, each having 108 beads in four parts divided by three big ones.

Men's Costume in the Qing Dynasty

Men's costume mainly included long gowns and mandarin jackets, and the sleeve ends employed the horse-hoof shape for the first time. The structure of a long gown was simple, with erect collar and straight main body. Most long gowns had bigger inner piece on the right side. Both back and front parts had seams, and the lower hem might have two splits, four splits or no split.

Costume of imperial nobles included long gowns with splits on four sides, facilitating shooting arrow on horseback. Long gowns of common people just had two splits on the left and right sides or had no split. The latter was clothes that people wore during entertainment. Mandarin jackets worn over long gowns did not reach the knees, and sleeves were wider and shorter. It was fashionable to wear ornaments in the Qing Dynasty.

Jackets were the most popular dress among men's costumes, and mandarin jackets were one of the four costumes of Manchu men, namely ceremonial robes, casual gowns, rain jackets and Mandarin jackets fell into several types: unlined single-layer, interlining and cotton. They were usually azurite, dark purple or black. Top-grade mandarin jackets in the Qing Dynasty was the Yellow Mandarin Jacket, which was the highest reward from the emperor and only four types of people were entitled to get it: trusted subordinates of the emperor, ministers who presented rare birds or beasts to the emperor, senior officials with great contribution to war, and court envoys.

Mandarin jackets had either long or short sleeves, which were both loose.