Hi everyone, I’m Ally
I am wearing a unique type of Hanfu called Qu Ju Shen Yi that wraps around the body
It’s a formal outfit with several layers worn mainly for ceremonial purposes
This is a common style during the Qin (221- 206 BCE) and subsequent Han (202 BCE- 220 CE) dynasties
You can find similar styles of Shen Yi in various archaeological discoveries
Now let’s take a look at the individual pieces and how to wear them
The style I’m introducing today is a short version of the wrap around Qu Ju Shen Yi
designed largely based on unearthed clay and wooden figurines
Most of these artifacts were found inside the Mawangdui archaeological site of the Western Han Dynasty
Unfortunately after the Han Dynasty, this style decreased in popularity and was later on completely lost
So it’s almost impossible at this point to replicate it. I can only show you as much as I know in this video
Now, without further ado, let’s get right into it!
The word Quju refers to the curved hem
And Shenyi is one of the most basic forms of Hanfu which is made up of the upper and lower garment, sewed together at the waist
Shenyi is an outer coat, so people usually wear inner garments made of cotton or linen material underneath
This long innerwear pants has a modern elastic waist band instead of ties for convenience
This upper garment is in a style known as Jiaoling Youren, or wrapping the right side before the left
I will talk more about this feature another time
The middle seam on both front and back represents a person’s righteousness
It has narrow straight sleeves
After putting it on, secure the right side first with the tie from the inside
then cover it with the left side and tie it up on the right
This is a waist high pleated skirt to match Qu Ju Shenyi
There are two ways to tie a traditional one piece skirt
one style you insert the belt through a hole in the middle, the other style uses an extra tie
My skirt is the latter style
Wrap the skirt around your waist and find the tie in the middle, secure that first
then wrap the remaining skirt and tie again
This Qu Ju Shenyi also complies with Jiaoling Youren, with the right panel on the inside
We can see a triangular shaped piece of fabric attached to the front of the garment
This could be the recorded 續衽鉤邊 in Liji or The Book of Rites
It basically means extended garment front that wraps around the body
and it can be secured with sash or ties
This garment has large sleeves which is more suitable for ceremonial occasions
When putting it on, first insert your arms into the sleeves, and don’t forget to take your hair out
Then tie the right panel first
and roll the elongated triangular part to the right once, and twice
at the end, find two long ties and secure them on the other side to hold it together
Add a sash belt, in this case just for decoration
and you can tuck the ties under the belt to hide it. And that’s it!
I really like the color scheme of this outfit. You can see a glimpse of the middle layer peeking out
And the rhino pattern makes it look ancient yet exotic
I hope you enjoyed and learned something new from this video
If there’s anything else you’d like me to cover, please let me know in the comments below
See you next time!