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Traditional Chinese wedding dress is a collective term which refers to all the different forms and styles of traditional wedding attire worn by the Han Chinese when performing their marriage ceremony, including the traditional Chinese marriage.^[1] There are various forms of traditional Chinese wedding dress in the history of China.^[2] Since the Zhou dynasty, there have national laws and rules which regulated the different categories of clothing and personal accessories; these regulations have created various categories of clothing attire, including the traditional wedding attire of the Chinese people.^[3]^: 3

Types of attire

Attire for brides

Cheongsam

The cheongsam (Chinese: 旗袍), or zansae also known as qipao, sometimes referred to as the mandarin gown, traces its origins to the Qing dynasty.^[4] Cheongsam was the dress for Manchu women which become popular in Hong Kong and Shanghai after the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1912.^[5] Nowadays, the cheongsam can also be worn as a wedding dress.^[2]

Fengguan xiapei

Ming dynasty noblewomen wearing a blue embroidered xiapei over her red robe

The fengguan xiapei (Chinese: 凤冠霞帔) is a type of wedding set of attire categorized under Hanfu. It was worn in Ming and Qing dynasties.^[6] The fengguan xiapei attire was composed an upper and lower garment following the traditional yichang system.^[7]

In the Qing dynasty, it was composed of an ao, a type of upper garment, called mang ao (Chinese: 蟒袄; lit. 'python jacket') and a qun, lower skirt, called mangchu (lit. 'python skirt').^[8]

The mangao was a type of yuanlingshan fashioned in the style of the Ming dynasty which was red in colour; it used to be worn by the Han Chinese women as a court robe.^[8]

The mangchu was a qun which could either be red or green in colour; it was embroidered with dragons and phoenixes on the front and back lapel of the skirt.^[8] The two accessories items from which the set of attire of gained its name was the fengguan, which was a type of guan, and the xiapei (Chinese: 霞帔).^[8]

The appearance of the xiapei appearance and construction differed depending on the time period: in the Ming dynasty, the xiapei was similar to a long scarf or stole in appearance; however, it became a type of waistcoat in the Qing dynasty.^[8] The fengguan xiapei was sometimes adorned with the yunjian.^[8] Following the wedding ceremony, married women were expected to wear the fengguan xiapei on formal occasions, however, Chinese trousers or leggings were worn beneath instead of the skirt.^[8]

Qungua

The qungua, also commonly known as longfenggua, guaqun or longfeng qungua is a set of attire which follows the traditional yichang system. It is a composed of a jacket called gua (Chinese:褂) and a long qun (Chinese:裙) which could be straight in cut^[9] or have pleated sides.^[10]

The tradition of wearing the qungua as a wedding dress originated in the Qing dynasty during the 18th century.^[11] Initially, the qungua was sewn by the mother of the bride as soon as the bride was born due to the time-consuming process of the handcraft; it would then be given later on as the part of the bride's dowry from her family when she would get married. There are 5 different types of qungua (Guahuang, Guahou, Dawufu, Zhongwufu, Xiaowufu) which are based on the amount of embroideries which were crafted on the dress.^[12] Nowadays, the qungua has been commercialized and remains a popular form of wedding dress.^[12]

Xiuhefu

Xiuhefu (front and backview)

The Xiuhefu (simplified Chinese: 秀禾服; traditional Chinese: 繡和服) is a set of attire which follows the traditional yichang system; it is a composed of a waist-length liling dajin ao and a long A-line qun, which looks similar to a mamianqun.^[9] The Xiuhefu is typically embroidered with flowers and birds to symbolize love for whole seasons.^[6]

The precursor of the Xiuhefu can be traced back to the Qing dynasty where a Qing dynasty-style aoqun, consisted of liling dajin changao and a mamianqun, was worn as a form of wedding dress during this period.^[6] What is currently known as the Xiuhefu became popular in 2001 when Zhou Xun, the actress who played the role of Xiu He, wore a modern recreation version of the Qing dynasty wedding aoqun in the Chinese television drama Orange turned red (Chinese: 橘子紅了) thus gaining its contemporary name from name of the character, Xiu He.^[6]^[13]