If its too complicated thats ok! Hi, thanks for the question! I covered the basic types of men’s hanfu here and here, so in this post I’ll describe the basic types of women’s hanfu. Resources on identifying different types of hanfu can be found in my reference tag. The top is called “ru/襦” and the skirt is called “qun/ 裙”, hence “ruqun”. Sleeves can be narrow or wide. Ruqun/襦裙 – the most basic type of hanfu consisting of a top and a wrap-around skirt. Generally speaking, modern wedding qipao people divide ruqun into two types based on the height of the skirt: “Qiyao Ruqun/ 齐腰襦裙” (waist-high ruqun) and “Qixiong Ruqun/ 齐胸襦裙” (chest-high ruqun). “Qiyao Ruqun” is the kind of ruqun in which the waistband is on the waist. For women, the top’s collar can be parallel (left), crossed (middle), or u-shaped (right). Both men and women can wear it. “Qixiong Ruqun”, on the other hand, has its waistband above the chest. Men’s ruqun are cross-collared only. It’s only worn by women. As seen in the photos above, ruqun is often accessorized with a long scarf called Pibo/披帛. The top’s collar can be parallel (left) or crossed (right). Aoqun/袄裙 – a type of ruqun that became fashionable during the Ming Dynasty. Originally used to protect against wind and cold air, hanfu chinese traditional costume pibo gradually became an important feature of hanfu. Unlike the “standard” ruqun that has the top tucked inside the skirt, the aoqun’s top is worn untucked, above the skirt. It consists of a double-layered top called “ao/袄“ and a waist-high skirt (”qun”), hence “aoqun”. There are two types of “ao” – “short ao” and “long ao”. Ao collars can be crossed (left, middle), upright (right), or square (not shown). The “short ao” (left, right) reaches the waist, while the “long ao” (middle) covers the knees. Only worn by women. Quju/曲裾 (curved-hem robe) and Zhiju/直裾(straight-hem robe) are two types of shenyi. Unlike ruqun and aoqun which are made of separate top and bottom pieces, the Shenyi/深衣 style of hanfu consists of one-piece robes that wrap around the body once or several times. The quju (left, middle) is a robe in which the bottom hem of the left lapel spirals its way up to the waist of the wearer. Modern quju can come in a shortened version (middle) that reveals the skirt worn underneath. In contrast to the quju, the bottom hem of the zhiju (right) circles around levelly, creating a straight line. Quju and Zhiju are worn by both men and women. It can be secured at the front either with ties or a metal button. Beizi/褙子 – a parallel-collar “jacket” with side slits beginning at the armpit or at the waist. Extremely versatile, it can be long or short, have narrow or wide sleeves, and is worn by both men and women. Another name for Ming Dynasty-style beizi is Pifeng/披风 (right). Pifeng collars can also be upright (not shown). During the Song Dynasty, it was popular to wear narrow-sleeved beizi over a chest undergarment and skirt/pants (middle). Banbi/半臂 – a half-sleeve jacket worn by both men and women. It comes in various lengths and is usually worn over ruqun. Its collar can be parallel (left), crossed (middle), or u-shaped (right). Bijia/比甲 – a sleeveless jacket, usually worn over aoqun, that comes in various lengths and styles. When paired with ruqun, it can be worn tucked inside the skirt as well as over the skirt (untucked). As its name indicates, its main feature is its broad sleeves. Daxiushan/大袖衫 – large-sleeve robe commonly paired with ruqun. The length is at least 78 inches, and the width exceeds 40 inches. The material is generally thin and light, because it was originally created for wear in the summer. Of course this doesn’t cover everything, but it describes the basic hanfu styles that appear most often on this blog.
