Hanfu  汉服

Hanfu is the traditional dress of the Han Chinese people. It is now worn during some festivals or coming of age ceremonies, by hobbyists, Taoist, Confucian or Buddhist monks and priests during religious ceremonies, or as a cultural exercise. It is often seen in Chinese television serials, films and other forms of media entertainment. There is also a movement in China and some overseas Chinese communities to revive Han Chinese clothing in daily life and incorporate it into Chinese festivals or celebrations.

Hanfu has a history of more than three millennia, and is said to have been worn by the legendary Yellow Emperor. From the beginning of its history, Hanfu was inseparable from silk, supposedly discovered by the Yellow Emperor’s wife, Leizu. The Shang Dynasty developed the basics of Hanfu; it consisted of a yi(衣), a narrow-cuffed, knee-length tunic tied with a sash, and a narrow, ankle-length skirt, called chang（裳），worn with a bixi（蔽膝）, a length of fabric that reached the knees. Vivid primary colors and green were used, due to the degree of technology at the time.

12th-century Chinese painting of The Night Revels of Han Xizai (韩熙载夜宴图) showing musicians dressed in Hanfu.

The dynasty to follow the Shang, the Western Zhou Dynasty, established a strict hierarchical society that used clothing as a status marker, and inevitably, the height of one’s rank influenced the ornateness(华美程度) of a costume. Such markers included the length of a skirt, the wideness of a sleeve and the degree of ornamentation. In addition to these class-oriented developments, the Hanfu became looser, with the introduction of wide sleeves and jade decorations hung from the sash which served to keep the yi closed.

 In the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, the “deep robe” (深衣) appeared a combination of tunic and skirt. The upper and lower halves were cut separately but sewn as a single unit. An additional change was the shaping of the left side of the costume into a corner, fastened on the chest. Perhaps because of Confucian influence, disapproving of a hierarchical society in favor of social mobility based on personal merit, the shenyi was swiftly adopted. There still existed an elite however, and they monopolized the more ornate fabrics and grandiose(堂皇的) details.                                                        

Abridged and revised from                                                   

                                  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanfu