Confucian Clothing and Hair

By Katie Simon

Potrait of Confucius wearing Hanfu

I couldn’t find clothing that is specified particularly for Confucianism, but it seems that
traditional Chinese clothing came from Confucian ideas, “Clothing traditions also have
roots in Confucian ideals, as Confucius taught the importance of how people present
themselves both for the individual and society” (HowStuffWorks).

Hanfu was the traditional Chinese dress during the Han Dynasty, which was the time
when Confucianism was up-and-coming and popular. It consists of multiple garment
items arranged in specific, sometimes meaningful ways.

Hanfu consists of:

 Yi (衣): Any open cross-collar garment, and worn by both sexes

 Pao (袍): Any closed full-body garment, worn only by men in Hanfu
 Ru (襦): Open cross-collar shirt
 Shan (衫): Open cross-collar shirt or jacket that is worn over the yi
 Qun (裙) or chang (裳): Skirt for women and men
 Ku (褲): Trousers or pants
 Something specifically influenced by Confucius’ teaching was the way people
wore and cut their hair. “Confucius’ teaching “身體髮膚，受諸父母，不敢毀傷，
孝之始也” – which can be roughly translated as ‘My body, hair and skin are given
by my father and mother, I dare not damage any of them, as this is the least I can
 do to honor my parents'” (Wikipedia). Influenced by this teaching, males and
females would stop cutting their hair once they reached adulthood in order to
symbolize and show their coming of age ceremony, usually between age 15 to 20.
They grew their hair out, including facial hair, until they died, since it was also
considered a crime to cut your hair. There was a legal punishment, ‘髡’, to
humiliate criminals who did so. This hair tradition was in place throughout the
Han Dynasty up until the end of the Mind Dynasty in 1644 CE.
 Tattoos were treated the same and were under the same guidelines of the
Confucius teaching;regular people wouldn’t have tattoos for the same reasons and
would be punished if they got one.
 Works Cited
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanfu. “Hanfu.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia
Foundation, n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2016.
 http://www.howstuffworks.com/about-author.htm. “How Chinese Traditions
Work.” HowStuffWorks. N.p., 2011. Web. 21 Nov. 2016

The Hanfu and Confucianism

The traditional garment worn in ancient China since the Shang Dynasty, which flourished from
approximately 1600 to 1000 B.C., was the hanfu, named after the Han people. Although styles
varied over time, the hanfu consisted of a tunic with sleeves and a sash. Depending on the style
the tunic could be worn by itself or with trousers or a skirt. A defining characteristic of the hanfu
was that the tunic's left panel was draped over the right. The hanfu's central place in ancient
Chinese style was solidified by its association with Confucianism, which integrated the hanfu
into its rituals.

https://classroom.synonym.com/clothes-ancient-china-10586.html