Yuánlǐngpáo (圆领袍)
The yuanlingpao is a long round-collared outer robe worn layered on top of other garments, such as the zhiduo or tieli. The yuanlingpao evolved from the Hufu fanlingpao of Central Asia which features curved overturned lapels. Although the exact origin of the fanlingpao is unknown, it is generally believed to have been influenced by Sogdian culture—an Iranian people who lived in today’s Uzbekistan and Tajikistan—who wore a similar robe featuring a central closure. After arriving in China via the silk road, the fanlingpao would be altered so that the front of the robe would overlap across the right side of the chest in the traditional Han fashion. This would subsequently inspire the yuanlingpao, a similar round-collared Hanfu robe worn with the lapels fastened close around the neck. Fastening the closures on the collar of the fanlingpao could convert it into the round-collared yuanlingpao. By the Sui Dynasty, the yuanlingpao had been fully adopted as a form of Chinese men’s formal dress, and would continue to be worn through the Ming Dynasty. In the Tang Dynasty, the yuanlingpao also became popular amongst women.
Yuanlingpao were first made with straight and narrow sleeves in the Sui Dynasty, but sleeve styles would curve and lengthen to up to three chi (a chi is approximately 1 ft or 33 cm) deep by the Ming Dynasty. The hem length of the yuanlingpao typically falls between the knee and the ankle, and side slits run from the waist to the hem. Yuanlingpao were sometimes constructed with stiff panels of fabric, known as bai, covering the side slits of the garment. Bai were not included in yuanlingpao construction in all dynasties. For instance, Song Dynasty yuanlingpao did not include bai, whereas Ming Dynasty yuanlingpao commonly did include bai.
In the Song and Ming Dynasties, a variant of the yuanlingpao, called the panling lanshan, was developed. The panling lanshan was a light-colored round-collared robe with deeper sleeves and black trim around the hems, side slits, and sleeves. The panling lanshan was mostly worn by scholars.
Yuanlingpao could be made from fine silk, silk gauze, silk tabby, cotton gauze, linen, or satin. Starting in the Tang Dynasty, it became popular to decorate the sleeves, collar, and front of the yuanlingpao with brocade and embroidery. However, for officials who wore the yuanlingpao as a uniform, decorations were symbolic and strictly regulated.
For officials who wore the yuanlingpao as their uniform, the color of the robe indicated rank. For instance, during the first part of the Song Dynasty, rank 3 and 4 officials wore purple, rank 5 and 6 officials wore red, rank 7 and 8 officials wore green, and rank 9 officials wore blue. However, in the latter part of the Song Dynasty the regulations were revised so that rank 4 and 5 officials wore purple, rank 6 through 8 officials wore red, and rank 9 and above officials wore green. Color regulations changed yet again in the Ming Dynasty, when rank 1 through 4 officials wore red, rank 5 through 7 officials wore blue, and rank 8 and 9 officials wore green.
Court officials also wore a black turban called a futou. In the Song Dynasty, the futou had long wings extending out from the sides to prevent officials from bringing their heads near enough to whisper in each other’s ears.
Official’s Rank Badge (Buzi 补子)
Illustrations of Ming Dynasty civil official’s buzi to right, by Hua Mei from “Chinese Clothing”.
Yuanlingpao were commonly worn as official’s uniforms during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. A decorative square called a buzi would be displayed on the front of the garment. The motif on the buzi indicated the official’s department and rank. For instance, in the Ming Dynasty civil officials would wear birds, military officers would wear beasts, and judges would wear the xie zhi (a mythical creature of justice). The type of creature could be even further broken down into rank, for instance 1st rank civil officials wore a crane, 2nd rank wore a golden pheasant, 3rd rank wore a peacock, 4th rank wore a goose, 5th rank wore a pheasant, 6th rank wore an egret, 7th rank wore a mandarin duck, 8th rank wore an oriole, 9th rank wore a quail, and officials doing odd jobs wore a magpie. For Ming Dynasty military officials, 1st & 2nd rank wore a lion, 3rd rank wore a tiger, 4th rank wore a leopard, 5th rank wore a brown bear, 6th & 7th rank wore a young tiger, 8th rank wore a rhinoceros, and 9th rank wore a sea horse.
Belt Styles
A variety of different types of belts could be worn with the yuanlingpao, with leather belts known as gedai (革带) and die xie dai (蹀躞带) being the most common. The gedai is a two-piece leather belt decorated with precious metals, jade, and animal horns, with more ornaments indicating a higher rank. Officials would hang an authority token indicating their position from the gedai. The die xie dai is a long leather belt with many short leather straps hanging from it, used to attach useful items to. The die xie dai was favored by civil and military officials.
Fabric belts, such as a gong tao (宫绦) or dadai (大带), could also be worn with the yuanlingpao. The gong tao is a long cord with tassels at each end that is wrapped around the waist and knotted at the side or in the middle. It was very popular to also affix a pendant, commonly made from jade, to the cord above one of the tassels. If the wearer’s movements were graceful, then the tassels and pendant would accentuate the wearer’s elegance. The dadai is a simple silk sash knotted at the front of the waist.
Sew Your Own
Interested in making your own yuanlingpao? Use my men’s hanfu sewing pattern (includes zhiduo and yuanlingpao patterns).
Looking for a Hanfu sewing pattern? Making a wuxia or xianxia cosplay or Chinese historical reenactment costume based between the Tang Dynasty and Ming Dynasty? Want a pattern that provides info on how to properly wear Hanfu and historical considerations like sleeve length and fabric choices? I have made just the pattern for you!
This pattern includes 2 outfits—a zhiduo and yuanlingpao—which can be worn layered together or separately. These garments were most commonly worn by men historically, but became popular amongst women in the Tang Dynasty.
This digital download includes:
Printable sewing pattern & sewing instructions for 2 garments: Zhiduo & Yuanlingpao
Printable patterns are compatible with US Letter, A4 paper, and A0 paper
Yuanlingpao pattern includes optional bai and buzi pieces for historical makers
4 unisex sizes S/M/L/XL covering approximately US men’s XS-L or women’s XS-XXL and instructions on how to resize your pattern
See size chart image for detailed measurements
Instructions on how to wear hanfu in a historically accurate way
Historical considerations for fabrics, colors, motifs, and fit
Estimated yardage and sample cutting layouts
Note that I pattern in metric, so the standard seam allowance is 1cm (3/8in). Information to alter the seam allowance is provided
When you purchase this pattern, a checkout page will open containing a link to the digital download that will last for 24 hours. You will also receive an email with the same link. The download is a zip file which you will need to unzip to access the PDFs of the printable patterns and instructions. Please make sure to provide your correct email address so that the digital download is delivered to you successfully and remember to download it within 24 hours of delivery. To use the digital pattern, print out the pattern PDFs, tape together the numbered grid of pages, and then cut out the pattern pieces.
Note that this pattern is to be used for your personal use only. Commercial use and redistribution are not permitted.
Sources Consulted:
Chinese Clothing by Hua Mei
5000 Years of Chinese Costume by Xun Zhou
Hanfu: A Visual Primer of Historical Han Chinese Attire by the Northern California Hanfu Association
Western Cultural Factors in Robes of Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties as Well as Sui and Tang Dynasties by Qiwang Zhao & Qianyun Lyu
Sogdian Costume in Chinese and Sogdian Art of the 6th-8th Centuries by Sergey Yatsenko
