The Story
Hanfu (simplified Chinese: 汉服; traditional Chinese: 漢服; pinyin: Hànfú, lit. "Han Chinese clothing"), also known as Hanzhuang (simplified Chinese: 汉装; traditional Chinese: 漢裝; pinyin: Hànzhuāng) or traditional Chinese clothing, are the historical styles of Han Chinese clothing worn from the 2nd millennium BCE to 17th century AD.
There are several representative styles of hanfu, such as the ruqun (an upper-body garment with a long outer skirt), the aoqun (an upper-body garment with a long underskirt), the beizi and the shenyi, and the shanku (an upper-body garment with ku trousers). Historically, hanfu consists of a robe named paofu, or the pair of an upper garment named ru (jacket) and a lower garment named qun (skirt). In addition to clothing, hanfu also includes several forms of accessories, such as headwear, footwear, belts, jewellery, yupei and Hand fans.
Executed in Pen and brown ink; retouched with brush and brown wash, lead white (partially oxidized), measuring Sheet: 12.9 x 12.8 cm (5 1/16 x 5 1/16 in.), the surface rewards close looking. Anonymous builds the composition through layered glazes and a tightly controlled palette, letting cool shadows recede so that the warm, lit passages step forward. The brushwork shifts from the precise to the almost dissolved — a hallmark of mature Baroque practice.
“A silence so complete it becomes its own witness.”
