---
node: fashion_han
type: fashion
slug: han_dynasty_fashion
title: "Fashion in the Han dynasty"
lead: "The Han established the classic forms later called hanfu — Han clothing — and opened the Silk Road that carried Chinese silk west; the deep shenyi robe and the jacket-and-skirt were its hallmarks."
published: 2026-07-28
updated: 2026-07-28
image_file: han_dynasty_fashion.jpg
image_source: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chinesischer_Maler_des_3._Jahrhunderts_v._Chr._001.jpg"
image_author: "Anonymous (Eastern Han period)"
image_license: "Public domain"
change: "Published as a fashion sub-page under the history section, with a period image"
requester: internal
reason: "Per the owner's decision, fashion is no longer a standalone section but lives under each history era"
---

## Overview

Men and women wore the shenyi, early with a curved wrapping hem (quju) and later a straight hem (zhiju). Women often wore a short jacket (ru) with a long skirt (qun), and the Mawangdui tomb preserves astonishing silks, including a near-weightless gauze gown.

## Key garments and style

Rank was shown by the man's cap (guan) and the color of his seal-cord. Sericulture and weaving reached great refinement, and Han silk became a prized export along the new trade routes.

## Transition

After the Han fell, three centuries of division brought northern and steppe styles into the mix.