Chinese Women’s Traditional Clothing – Hanfu

In this project, I will use painting as the primary form to show the continuous evolution of Chinese women’s traditional clothing with the change of dynasties for thousands of years. I chose this theme because I like the charm in traditional Chinese culture and customs. Whether it is songs, clothing, or accessories, I can always calm down and experience a journey through time and space. With the rise of traditional cultural activities in China, these pasts, gradually covered by time, were again revealed to people. In China’s long history for thousands of years, the division and integration of different dynasties and territories have also promoted the transformation and integration of different cultures. The most intuitive change is clothing, which we call Hanfu. This project focuses on displaying Hanfu and understanding the changes of Hanfu under different historical influences. The project’s paintings appear in the form of figures and show different makeup looks from different dynasties.

The academic resources of this project come from UIC’s library and the Chinese academic website. When I searched for information on Hanfu, I found that people have many different views and concepts about the term “Hanfu”. Some people think that Hanfu is a general term for traditional Chinese clothing, while others think it is just a name that evolved after following the trend of the times or a cultural movement. However, the word “Hanfu” appeared in ancient books very early. Literally, “Hanfu” is the clothing of the Han people. I watched many videos summarizing the evolution of Hanfu in different dynasties and history, and I also watched some photos of clothing disassembly and wearing at the exhibition in the Hanfu Museum. After that, search for the details of various clothing and different ways of wearing them. The styles of clothes have subtle changes in different dynasties; some are similar but have different names. Similar clothing styles are generally the same, but the details are different. However, the same kind of clothing can often evolve into many tiny branches. For example, the same skirt has different names under different wearing methods. When I was not sure, I asked some friends who have researched this. I also watched some tutorials and presentations on makeup.

The main purpose of this project is to give children a simple channel to understand Hanfu so that they can understand the existence of Hanfu and, at the same time, know the evolution history of dynasties. The project is presented in the form of a children’s book for children ages 6+. There are only the most basic dynasties in the book and some distinctive costumes, makeup, and hairstyles. I also show some pictures of portraits and pottery figurines so that they can more clearly feel the change of styles of different dynasties. I also tried to add some expanding knowledge, hoping to arouse the children’s interest.