Flourished Peony is a period drama produced by Huace Film and TV. Adapted from the novel of the same name by Yi Qianchong, it is set in the Tang Dynasty. The story follows He Weifang (何惟芳), the daughter of a merchant. With the help of Jiang Changyang (蒋长扬), she starts from cultivating peonies and eventually realizes her ideal of helping the world and serving the country. It is a wonderful drama integrating history, culture, and emotions.

From the magnificent palace costumes to the simple folk attires, the clothing in Flourished Peony skillfully incorporates Hanfu elements. These costumes carry rich historical information and profound cultural connotations. While enjoying the plot, the audience can also experience the unique charm of traditional Chinese clothing, presenting a dual feast of vision and culture.

Today, Silk Divas will take you on an in – depth analysis of the Hanfu elements in this drama, allowing us to appreciate the beauty of ancient clothing together!

Ⅰ. High – Waisted Skirt

In Flourished Peony, most female characters appear in costumes with high – waisted skirt elements.

This is a three – piece set. The basic style consists of a shirt, a skirt, and a pei (帔, a long silk scarf – like accessory). The upper garment is mostly a thin, narrow – sleeved front – closing shirt. The skirt waist is pulled up very high, reaching the high – waist or even chest – high position. Since the skirt covers most of the upper garment, only a small part of the shirt is visible. Usually, it is considered a front – closing shirt, but there are also styles like the crossed – front and shallow – crossed – collar shirts.

The front – closing short shirts generally come in two types: parallel – lapel and closed – lapel.

The parallel – lapel front – closing shirt, when worn, can present a V – shaped look. This is achieved through the “crossed – front” wearing method, where the left and right sides overlap.

The closed – lapel front – closing short shirt has symmetrical lapels. After closing, it is fixed with a sash, and the collar forms a Y – shape. When wearing a high – waisted long skirt, it looks like a V – neck. In terms of wearing layers, the front – closing short shirt is usually worn as the innermost or middle layer.

The shallow – crossed – collar short shirt has a collar that overlaps slightly, which is between the crossed – collar and the front – closing styles. It also has a structure where the inner and outer lapels overlap and the left and right sides cross to bear the force.

This style is very versatile. In terms of wearing, it is more casual and suitable for daily use. It can be tucked into the skirt as a front – closing shirt or worn outside the skirt as a crossed – collar shirt.

The high – waisted skirt is a typical style of women’s skirts in the Tang Dynasty. The characteristic of wearing it is to raise the skirt waist to the armpit, moving the waistline upwards. This allows women to more easily achieve an excellent head – to – body ratio. It is a classic and enduring style in Hanfu women’s clothing.

For the specific shape and style, you can refer to the mural Ladies – in – Waiting on the south side of the east wall of the front chamber of the tomb of Princess Yongtai (永泰公主), Li Xianhui (李仙蕙), in Qianxian County, Shaanxi Province. In the mural, the ladies – in – waiting have their hair in high buns, with silk scarves on their shoulders. Their costumes mainly consist of ruqun (襦裙). They wear“ru”on top and a skirt below, with the skirt covering the“ru”. The upper part is short and the lower part is long. The skirt waist is tied high, raising the waistline, and the long skirt reaches the ground.

Ⅱ. Bei Zi Elements

Bei Zi (褙子) is a short upper garment that can be either sleeveless or short – sleeved. It is usually worn as the outermost layer and comes in various collar styles, such as crossed – collar and front – closing collar.

Simply put, Bei Zi is a short – length upper garment in women’s clothing. It is worn on the outermost layer, without additional sleeves and without a waistband. It is often tucked into the skirt. The cuffs of the half – sleeves are above the elbow, around the middle of the arm. The sleeves of Bei Zi are even shorter, with the cuffs almost at the shoulder position. In terms of the wearing effect, Bei Zi is more compact and shorter than half – sleeves, making it more suitable for wearing in spring and autumn. It’s convenient to add or remove according to the temperature.

Structurally, Bei Zi doesn’t have additional sleeves. The the root of the sleeve is level with the armpit. The inner and outer lapels intersect slightly, forming a V – shaped collar, which is between the crossed – collar and front – closing collar styles. Moreover, its variation forms are extremely diverse.

The painted wooden figurine in silk clothing unearthed from Astana in Turpan is wearing a “Bei Zi” on the upper body.

Ⅲ. Round – Collar Cross – Lapel Robe

In Flourished Peony, quite a few male characters often wear costumes featuring the round – collar cross – lapel robe, such as the male lead Jiang Changyang and the supporting character Liu Chang.

The round – collar cross – lapel robe is a new style created by absorbing foreign elements based on the crossed – lapel robe and the open – collar garment. It was a common basic style in the Sui and Tang dynasties, and it can be divided into two main categories: the split – hem robe/shirt  with side slits and the hem – banded robe/shirt without side slits. This style is both convenient and stylish, suitable for both daily and formal occasions.

From a tailoring perspective, split – hem robe means that the front and back body pieces near the hem are not sewn together. This increases the range of motion of the lower limbs, and when walking, the inner layer of clothing will be exposed. Depending on different styles and scenarios, the slits can be high or low, and some even have decorative patterns at the edges of the slits.

The hem – banded robe/shirt is a round – collar robe without side slits, with a hem – band added at the bottom.

In the Tang Dynasty, generally, a “pao (robe)” refers to a double – layer, relatively thick long outer garment, while a “shan (shirt)” refers to a single – layer, relatively thin garment. That is to say, the main difference between the hem – banded robe (lan pao,襕袍) and the hem – banded shirt (lan shan,襕衫) lies in their thickness, but their basic structures are the same.

For the specific form, you can refer to the mural Banquet Scene in the tomb of the Wei family (韦氏) in Nanliwang Village (南里王村), Weiqu (韦曲), Xi’an, Shaanxi Province: