The Han nationality in China is the world's largest ethnic group. It is well-known not only for its long history but also for its brilliant culture. And the clothes of Han Nationality is critical in the development of Chinese traditional dress.
Throughout the history of thousands of years, the clothing of Han nationality, there are mainly two kinds of basic forms of clothing in the fashions of dress and coat. And the right Lapel of the dress is always reserved as distinct features. What is more, because of different times and different historical stages, each has different characteristics.
In the color of clothing, the five colors of green, red, soap, white, and yellow are considered “pure colors”. Different dynasties have their advocates as well, generally that black in Xia and Qin
Dynasty, white in Shang Dynasty, and red in Zhou and Han Dynasty. There is mainly the color of yellow in Tang suits. To the Ming Dynasty, red is considered to be an appropriate color. However, since the Tang Dynasty, the color of yellow has long been regarded as the noble color, usually only the dignitaries are allowed to wear.
There are many kinds of clothing materials in Han nationality, including linen, silk, cotton, wool, leather and so on. With its long history, advanced technology and exquisite, the dyeing process of Han nationality becomes an independent school and enjoys a high reputation in the world. And Chinese traditional dress became more and more popular. Ancient textiles, especially silk, is unique in the world during a fairly long period of time. The ancient dyeing technology is also very excellent and advanced, not only the color variety, but also the fastness of dyeing. It is not easy to fade, and it is considered to be the “mystery in china” by Westerners. The method can be divided into four categories including broche, printing, embroidery dyeing, and book.
In the decorative patterns of traditional Chinese dress in Han nationality, the use of animal, plant and geometric patterns are easily to be found. The expression of the patterns roughly experiences several stages including the abstraction, specification and reality. The previous patterns before Shang and Zhou Dynasty, like the original Chinese characters, are more concise, general, and abstract. From the Zhou Dynasty to the Tang and Song Dynasties, the pattern became neat, symmetrical and balanced in upper and lower. And the layouts are strictly patterned. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, people has focused on realism, and all kinds of animals, plants are often depicted so delicate, lifelike, and true to life ,as if they are just direct picks in real life without any processing. Moreover, it fully demonstrates the wisdom and hard work of people in Han Dynasty.