Hey guys! So sorry I have not been posting recently, my week has been so hectic and this homework took me an extremely long time to do.. time I didn’t think I even had!
This week we learnt about korean fashion and I was soo excited because I finally got to see what Hanbok is and I even got to try on an offical’s outfit with the hat… I was so happy!
Here is a picture 😀
I’m the one in the hat 😀
Anyways onto the homework, I decided to share fashion of China, Japan and Korea, so I hope you enjoy reading this!
Hanbok
The hanbok provides an effective expression of Korean identity. This has resulted in the alterations in hanbok design from history to modern day parallel to the nation’s historical development. Hanbok (South Korea) or Chosŏn-ot (North Korea) is the traditional Korean dress. The style of the hanbok dates back to the Three Kingdom’s Period which was around 57 B.C – 668 A.D). The style of dress is weaved cloth with hemp and arrowroot and raised silkworms to produce the silk texture. However only those who could afford it wore silk and commoners wore cotton. The different types can be worn to suit either everyday wear or for special occasions. There are two different types for men and women and also different types for age and occupation.
Basic hanbok for male adults are Baji (trousers) and Jeogori (jacket). After wearing Baji for bottom and Jeogori for top, they wore Jokki, Magoja, Durumagi (overcoat) and Gat.
Basic hanbok for female is a jeogori with two long ribbons tied to form a otgoreum (knot), a full length, high waisted wrap around skirt which is called a chima with white socks and boat-like shoes.
The vivid colours of the hanbok are based on the theory of ying and yang. These are what the colours represent;
White – modest and pure spirit
Red – good fortune and wealth
Indigo – used for court ladies and official coats of court officials
Yellow – centre of the universe, this was mainly worn by royal families to show their status
Despite being created decades ago, hanbok is still worn in modern day for special ceremonies, has undergone little change and remains well-known in the fashion industry.
Kimono
The kimono is a Japanese traditional garment. The word “kimono”, which actually means a “thing to wear” (ki “wear” and mono “thing”) Kimono are T-shaped, straight-lined robes worn so that the hem falls to the ankle, with connected collars and long, wide sleeves. Kimono are wrapped around the body, always with the left side over the right and secured by a sash called an obi, which is tied at the back. Kimono are generally worn with traditional footwear (zōri) and split-toe socks, which are called tabi.
As the kimono has another name, gofuku, the earliest kimonos were heavily influenced by traditional Han Chinese clothing, known today as hanfu (kanfuku in Japanese), through Japanese embassies to China which lead to many Chinese culture adoptions by Japan, as early as the 5th century AD. It was during the 8th century, however, that Chinese fashions came into style among the Japanese, and the overlapping collar became particularly women’s fashion. During Japan’s Heian period (794–1192 AD), the kimono became highly stylized, though one still wore a half-apron, called a mo, over it. There are also kimonos that distinguish between married and unmarried women.
Hanfu
Hanfu is traditional Chinese clothing. It is said that Hanfu has a history of more than three millennia, and to have been worn by the legendary Yellow Emperor. At the start of it’s creation, Hanfu (especially for those who had high status) was inseparable from silk, supposedly founded by the Yellow Emperor’s consort, Leizu. The Shang Dynasty (c.1600 BC-1000 BC), developed the essentials of Hanfu; it consisted of a yi, a narrow-cuffed, knee-length tunic tied with a sash, and a narrow, ankle-length skirt, called chang, worn with a bixi, a length of fabric that reached the knees. Vivid primary colours and green were used as the technology at that period was not advanced enough to be able to develop different shades and complicated colours.
As you can see there are two parts overlapping on the front of the dress. This is called ‘Jiao Ling’ (Crossing Collar) is a main feature, not only is Chinese dress but nearly all of Asian costumes. From the wearer’s point of view, the crossing is always on his/her right side, which is called ‘You Ren’ (Right Front) and this makes the order of the two parts is quite vital when dressing. This results in an easy way to recognize Hanfu as the collar forms a ‘y’ shape, looking from the front of the dress.
Hanfu usually has a waistband, on which various little decorations are hung, including Yu (jade) and Chinese knots. These hung decorations, together with the long ribbons and relatively wide sleeves, can sway as one walks. Its main concept is to secrete imperfections and to accentuate the physical beauty of an East Asian woman.
Unlike Hanbok, Hanfu is extremely rare and is not worn by the Chinese population a lot. It commonly worn on special occasions when needed.
In conclusion, it is apparent that unlike western culture, eastern culture uses it’s history to move forward into modern day and that the culture, teachings and heritage is vital in a nation to not only be aware of who they are, but what has been created and what can be created.
Sorry if that made no sense at all! Here I leave you with a picture of Mulan in Hanfu and I frantically rush try to finish my other work. Why is education so hard?!
S x
Girl and Korea 