Nezha 2 has taken the world by storm. After all, it’s a story adapted from ancient Chinese mythology, and there are so many Hanfu elements in the movie that it’s truly worth delving into. First of all, it should be noted that Nezha 2 is an animated film, and the costumes are designed to serve the characters and the plot, not for historical restoration. Mixing and re – creating Hanfu elements to fit the needs of the characters is completely acceptable. Now, let’s list the costumes of various characters one by one.

Ⅰ. Nezha

The costume design for the child Nezha is quite classic yet with innovative touches. His hairstyle features bangs and double – looped buns (双丫髻). He wears an open – fronted, button – less vest. This kind of vest was a common choice for ancient laborers and children. To give the character a more straightforward and agile look, the vest is sleeveless.

As can be seen from the painting Children at Play in the Courtyard (《庭院童戏图》) below, the children are wearing sleeveless, front – closing vests with ties, and the vests are slit on both sides.

The historical prototype of Nezha’s trousers is likely the crossed – crotch trousers (交裆裤) unearthed from the Dingling Mausoleum (定陵). However, there’s a small slit on the back of the vest. From a practical perspective in ancient times, vests didn’t usually have such slits. This is probably a design choice in the animation, purely for artistic styling.

The crotch of Nezha’s trousers is quite low. The elements of the trousers are somewhat similar to the crotch – joined trousers (合裆袴) unearthed from the Dingling Mausoleum, and the cuffed part resembles the striped trousers of the Tang Dynasty. The eye – catching yellow trouser belt well demonstrates the characteristic of Hanfu trousers being tied and fastened with a sash.

In addition, the crossed – crotch trousers (交裆裤) in Hanfu are often misrepresented. In fact, they are a crystallization of the wisdom of the working people. They are both convenient and warm, and there is no issue of exposure at all. The way to wear crossed – crotch trousers is shown as follows:

Throughout history, Hanfu trousers have had diverse and well – developed forms. Regardless of age or gender, people wore trousers under their clothes. Since ancient times like the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, for thousands of years, whether it was the “crotch – joined trousers” or “crossed – crotch trousers” worn inside clothes for warmth and modesty, or the “calf – nose trousers (犊鼻裈)” and “kù – xí” outfits (袴褶服) worn by the working people outside, trousers have always been an important part of the Hanfu system, being both practical and aesthetically pleasing.

Ⅱ. Ao Bing

Now, let’s take a look at the gentle and lovely Ao Bing (敖丙). Based on overall traditional Hanfu elements, a large number of Western – style fashion elements have been added. First, let’s talk about the hairstyle. On the basis of the traditional hair – tying and wearing a crown, elements from fairy elements in TV dramas and movies are incorporated. With half of the hair tied up and half hanging down, it showcases the ethereal and unrestrained charm of a celestial being, highlighting Ao Bing’s good looks.

The clothing is a mix – match. Over a traditional cross – collared, right – lapel, large – sleeved upper garment, a sleeveless stand – collar outer coat is added. Firstly, in the Hanfu system, the cross – collared, right – lapel style with a “y” – shaped appearance is a highly recognizable collar and lapel style, almost becoming a representative feature of Hanfu.

The stand – collar of Ao Bing’s windbreaker, which nearly surrounds both sides of his face, is quite similar to those in Western fashion. For animated characters, especially those with fairy modelling, this isn’t an archaeological restoration. The focus is on character portrayal. Such a mix – match is completely acceptable.

Judging from the full – body pictures publicly available online, the character’s clothing design only references Hanfu elements. It extensively applies Hanfu elements such as cross – collars, large sleeves, edgings, sashes for belts, inner trousers, and ancient – style boots. However, it doesn’t fully adhere to Hanfu styles, or rather, it doesn’t consider the principles of clothing tailoring. For example, the sleeveless windbreaker on the outside has no side slits, while the cross – collared, large – sleeved long garment inside has side slits. Moreover, in terms of the edging pattern, the hem of the inner cross – collared, large – sleeved long garment is divided into two separate front and back panels, and the front seems to turn into a protector of the knees (蔽膝). This is inconsistent in the clothing structure.

It seems that the production team lacked the funds to conduct in – depth research on costumes.

However, we can’t really blame the production team for this. The study of Hanfu has lagged far behind, lacking sufficient reliable modeling data and materials. The same issue of clothing structure can be seen in Black Myth: Wukong. The Tang – style Hanfu worn by the spider – spirit characters looks a bit off. The main problem is that the focus was mainly on external features, while the internal structure didn’t match. As the characters move and talk, the clothing appears stiff and unnatural.

Ⅲ. Taiyi Zhenren (太乙真人)

This is the image of Taiyi Zhenren in Nezha 2. He’s a kind – hearted, humorous, laid – back, and down – to – earth character. He’s easy – going, with a potbelly, and speaks with a Sichuan dialect, shouldering the comedic part of the whole film.

The clothing worn by Taiyi Zhenren likely takes inspiration from a front – opening, large – sleeved hechang (a kind of cloak) or cape, which corresponds to the image of Taoism.

Summary

In fact, it’s easy to notice that these Hanfu – inspired looks effectively contribute to character building. Moreover, there are significant considerations in aspects such as style selection, modified patterns, and color coordination. These looks not only showcase the charm of traditional culture but also provide the audience with a visual treat.

In this post, we’ve mainly discussed the Hanfu styles of male characters in the movie. In the next blog entry, we’ll explore the looks of female characters and those of adorable monsters.