Skirts of Charm: Endless Elegance
Curious about the timeless allure of Chinese skirts? From the flowing pomegranate skirts of the Tang Dynasty to the intricate MaMian Qun, skirts have defined feminine elegance in China for millennia. Explore their history and charm, as celebrated in poetry and legend.
As Li Yu wrote in Leisure Notes, “What sets women apart from men… lies in those few folds of silk skirts.” The soft, flowing beauty of a skirt mirrors the enchanting gaze of a woman—don’t they share a similar magic? Tang poet Li Qunyu captured this in his line, “Her skirt trails the waters of Xiang River, her hair rises like a wisp of Wushan cloud,” portraying a woman’s grace without mentioning her face or form, yet evoking her captivating allure. The skirt’s charm is clearly a key to feminine elegance.
“Bowing at the pomegranate skirt” is a saying that vividly paints feminine beauty and its subtle power. In ancient times, women crushed pomegranate flowers and peels into red dye for vibrant skirts, as a poem goes: “Pomegranate blooms blaze like fire, their coiled branches burst with clouds; every household buys them up, dyeing daughters’ skirts red.” Legend has it that Tang’s Yang Guifei often wore dazzling pomegranate skirts in the palace. Ministers, resentful of Emperor Xuanzong’s favoritism, refused to bow to her. Hearing this, the emperor decreed that those who didn’t kneel would face treason charges. Reluctantly, officials mocked themselves with “bowing at the pomegranate skirt.” This phrase lives on, symbolizing men’s adoration and devotion to women.
In the Han-era Unofficial Biography of Zhao Feiyan, a tale describes Zhao Feiyan dancing in a cloud-purple skirt atop a 40-foot pavilion, singing Return of the Wind. A sudden gust lifted her, light as a swallow, her sleeves fluttering as if to fly. Emperor Cheng’s guards grabbed her skirt to save her, leaving wrinkles behind. Unexpectedly, the creased skirt had a unique charm, sparking a trend among palace maids called the “Immortal Skirt” (Liuxian Qun).
Skirts are among humanity’s oldest garments. In the late Eastern Han, Liu Xi’s Explanation of Names: Clothing notes: “Skirt (qun) means ‘group,’ joining many strips together.” In primitive times, our ancestors stitched leaves and hides into the earliest skirts.
Skirts have a long history in China. Over 4,000 years ago, Emperor Huangdi established the “upper garment, lower skirt” system, where “skirt” (chang) referred to lower garments. By the Han Dynasty, skirts evolved from two separate panels into a single, wrap-around tube. To distinguish it from the earlier chang, it was renamed qun (skirt). The Han poem Mulberry by the Path sings: “Yellow silk for her skirt, purple silk for her jacket,” documenting women’s skirt-wearing.
Over millennia, skirt styles multiplied, colors grew vibrant, and varieties emerged, like crimson gauze layered skirts, red-green patterned double skirts, and rose-etched silk skirts.
Zaju Chuiyao (Decorated Hem Skirts)
In Wei-Jin, women adorned Chinese skirts with silk strips, swaying like swallows. These decorative hems added dynamic elegance, as noted in Traditional Chinese Clothing.
Jianse Qun (Striped Skirts)
From Wei-Jin, women embraced “striped skirts” made of alternating colored fabric strips. These skirts were split into sections, with colors interplaying vividly. Over time, the strips grew narrower, reaching up to twelve, earning the name “Twelve Breaks.” Legend credits Sui’s Emperor Yang with creating these, dubbed “Fairy Skirts.” Tang’s Liu Cun, in Origins of Things, notes: “Emperor Yang made long skirts with twelve breaks, called ‘Fairy Skirts.’”
Yedi Changqun (Floor-Length Skirts)
Tang skirts were notably longer than earlier eras, often trailing the ground. As Meng Haoran’s Spring Feelings poem says: “Sitting, her sash brushes slender grass; walking, her skirt sweeps fallen plums.” To emphasize length, women tied skirts at the chest or even under the armpits, with hems covering feet and sometimes dragging behind.
Jian Qun (Pleated Skirts)
Pleating skirts began in the Eastern Han and flourished in the Song Dynasty. More panels meant finer pleats, leading to terms like “hundred folds” or “thousand skirts.” Song poet Lü Weilao’s Qiansui writes: “Gold bangles on slender wrists, her skirt’s fine pleats like furrowed brows.” Pleats were practical, widening the skirt for easier sitting or walking.
MaMian Qun (Horse-Face Skirt)
Also called “horse-face pleated skirt,” it features four panels, two overlapping at the front and back, with pleats at the sides and a smooth central “horse face.” Originating in the Ming Dynasty (possibly earlier), it lasted into the Republic era, a cornerstone of traditional skirts. Ming versions were simple, with large, loose pleats. Qing versions were ornate, with embroidered horse faces and dense, fixed pleats, sometimes numbering hundreds.
Gu Kaizhi’s Nymph of the Luo River (Detail)
“Faintly, like a cloud veiling the moon; drifting, like snow whirling in the wind.” The goddess Cao Zhi met by the Luo River surely wore a flowing skirt, embodying nature’s ethereal grace. Since King Xiang of Chu dreamed of the Wushan goddess, meeting divine maidens became a lingering fantasy for Chinese men. Tang’s Yunxi Yuyi recounts Guo Ningsu hearing of a woman claiming to be Xi Shi’s spirit at Zhuluo Mountain’s stream. He frequented the stream, reciting poetry all day and carving verses on Xi Shi’s stone, only to return “silent and dejected” without meeting her. His tale reached the court, making him a laughingstock.
Yet, this goddess complex added “reverence” to affection in Chinese culture’s view of women. This deification peaks in Dream of the Red Chamber: “All the world’s beauty and spirit gather in women; men are but dregs and filth.”
Cultural Reverence for Chinese Skirts
Gu Kaizhi’s Nymph of the Luo River depicts a goddess in a flowing Chinese skirt, “like a cloud veiling the moon” , women embody “all the world’s beauty,” with Chinese skirts amplifying their reverence.
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