Áo giao lĩnh

The (; ), often known as () or , or simply , was a traditional robe worn by Vietnamese before the 19th century. It was influenced from Han Chinese clothing and was typically worn by the royalty, the aristocracy, the nobility, and the commoners. During the Nguyễn dynasty, the was commonly worn and the áo giao lĩnh was only worn in formal occasions.

Construction and design

The was influenced from Han Chinese clothing. It is a robe with a wrap collar closing on the right side. The wrap collar closing on the right side is known as () in China; garments with this form of wrap collar originated in China and started to be worn at least since the Shang dynasty (c. 1600 BC– c. 1045 BC) before spreading to other countries. Although the design of the was heavily influenced by China, it was less constrained in style compared to its Chinese counterpart; and thus, facilitated ease of movements to its wearer.

In the 17th and 18th century, the worn by men was an ankle-level gown which could be used as part of a formal attire; it was composed of four-panel of fabric and was loose-fitting and featured a collar, loose sleeves, and side slits. It was typically not decorated and black in colour. The women's were also a non-decorated, four panel of fabric, loose fitting gown, similar to those worn by men. Women usually tied a sash around their waist when wearing the ; the came in blue, black, brown colours while the sash was either white in colour or found in the same colour as the .

History Prior to 18th century Prior to the 18th century, nobles wore the , which was adopted from Han Chinese clothing. During the Lê dynasty (1428–1789 AD), aristocrats wore the .

18th century In the 18th century, the áo ngũ thân (the precursor of the áo dài) replaced the in order to meet the clothing requirement decreed by the Nguyen dynasty court during the rule of Lord Nguyễn Phúc Khoát in 1744 in order to distinguish the clothing worn between the people under his rule from the people ruled by the Trinh Lords. The precursor of the áo dài then became the official clothing for both men and women in the South of Vietnam.

19th century

In the 19th century, under the rule of Emperor Minh Mang (r. 1820–1841), the clothing in Vietnam was finally standardized throughout the entire country when Emperor Minh Mang decreed that the áo ngũ thân had to become the national dress for all the regions in 1830. The áo dài thus became the daily clothing of the Vietnamese.

21st century In the 21st century, worn in the 15th century was depicted in a book titled Weaving a Realm published by the Vietnam Centre (a non-profit organization which aims to promote the culture and image of Vietnam). The authors of the book mostly consisted of dress makers, artists, stylists, photographers, proof readers and editors (but lacked the presence of historians and archeologists) attempted to reconstruct the ancient clothing worn by Vietnamese through extensive historical research. However, due to the lack of funds, the reconstructed clothing were not made with original materials or techniques.

Gallery

Áo giao lĩnh

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