***What did ladies wear during Wu Zetian’s era?***
Hi everyone I’m Ally
So recently I wanted to take a look at hanfu costumes in films and TV to see how accurate they are compared to real hanfu from history
In this video, I’ll be focusing on actress Fan Bingbing’s costumes in The Empress of China, one of the most popular Chinese dramas in recent years
In this drama, Fan Bingbing portrayed Wu Zetian, the only female emperor in Chinese history
This drama series was a huge commercial success but almost no part of the plotline was based on historical facts
But what about her extravagant costumes? Well, unfortunately those are also far from historically accurate
This is NOT what Tang Dynasty ladies looked like
Let me show you some real paintings of the Tang Dynasty, and explain my outfit in detail
The Tang Dynasty lasted 289 years. It can be divided into four stages:
Early Tang, Golden Age of Tang, Middle Tang, and Late Tang
When most people think of Tang Dynasty costumes, they have the middle and late Tang Dynasty in mind
But just like how our clothings today are dramatically different from 100 years ago. Fashion changed quite a lot during those 289 years
Wu Zetian lived in the Early Tang stage
Women’s clothing styles during this time were mostly carried over from the previous Sui Dynasty
They wore narrow sleeved tops with long striped skirts. There were usually shoulder straps on the skirts
This was the trend until Wu was in her 30s
By the year 660, when Wu turned 37, she started gaining power in court
Over the next 30 years, fashion trends remained mostly the same
The shoulder straps on skirts disappeared. But striped skirts were still popular
In the year 690, at age 67, Wu Zetian took the throne. During her 14 years reign, a new trend emerged
Women started wearing short sleeved cropped garments on top of their long sleeved shirts, and paired with long skirts
We can find many examples of this style on unearthed figurines from the Early Tang stage
This trend lasted until a few years past Wu’s death
Starting from the year 713, the Tang Dynasty entered the Golden Age. The clothing style gradually became more loose and fancy
This drama The Empress of China mostly borrowed clothing elements from the middle and late Tang Dynasty
However, keep in mind that squeezing and pushing up the chest was not the case in any time during Chinese history
Now let’s take a closer look at a typical outfit from Wu Zetian’s era
This is a scoop neck shirt with a connecting waist piece called Yao Lan, which is a common feature during this time
The fabric is a combination of silk and linen
It has extra long sleeves to replicate the Early Tang style
The sleeves are supposed to be narrow and form fitting
unfortunately I didn’t communicate that well with my tailor so my sleeves ended up a bit too wide
This is a flare skirt made from connecting orange and chestnut colored fabrics together 66 times
Each strip of fabric is narrow on top and wider at the bottom
I’ll talk about this style of skirt in detail some other time
Wrap it around the waist, pull the inside end up and fold it down
I’m securing the skirt with a shorter belt, and then adding another one for decoration purposes
This short sleeved garment is a replica based on this Tang Dynasty relic
I added embroidered ribbon inspired by the fashion trends of this period
There are a set of ties on the front. The middle seam on the back represents a person’s righteousness
Last but not least, I added a long scarf Pi Bo to finish the look. It’s also known as Pi Zi or Li Jin
I’m wearing a pair of traditional Tang Dynasty style shoes, as well as a Tang Dynasty hair updo
So this is what court ladies actually wore in the palace during Wu Zetian’s reign
If you find this video helpful, please like and share. Let me know what you would like to learn in the comments below
I’ll be making more videos on traditional Chinese culture, beauty, and fashion. See you next time!