Hédāngkù (合裆裤)
Ilia Li Ilia Li

Hédāngkù (合裆裤)

The hedangku are a type of unisex loose trousers with an oversized waistband folded and cinched around the waist with a tie. Hedangku are often worn as an undergarment beneath robes or skirts, or paired with a loose top.

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Shēnyī (深衣)
Ilia Li Ilia Li

Shēnyī (深衣)

The ancient Chinese placed great symbolic importance between the division of an upper garment, called a yi, and a lower garment, called a chang. The separation of the garments was meant to represent the greater order of the heavens and the earth. In the Warring States Period, the two-piece yichang evolved into a long crossed-collar one-piece garment called the shenyi. The shenyi still had a seam at the waist, to represent the symbolic divide between the heavens and the earth.

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Yīcháng (衣裳)
Ilia Li Ilia Li

Yīcháng (衣裳)

Yichang is a generic term for a style of clothing consisting of an upper garment, the yi, and a lower garment, the chang. Most commonly, the upper garment would be a cross-collared top and the lower garment would be a skirt (qun) or trousers (ku/kun).

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