Ruqun

Ruqun is the most basic type of Hanfu, it consists of a blouse and a wrap-around skirt. Generally speaking, people divide it into two types based on the height of the skirt: Qixiong Ruqun and Qiyao Ruqun.

Qixiong Ruqun

Qixiong Ruqun is the kind of Ruqun which the waistband of it is above the chest. It is only for women to wear.

Qixiong Ruqun was extremely popular in Tang dynasty. At that time, people believed that the fatter you are, the more beautiful you will be. So, they wore the Qixiong Ruqun to help them look more round. Because the design of Qixiong Ruqun requires to put the waistband above the chest, so others cannot see how thin the person really is inside the dress, the person will look as fat as her breast is.

Here is a picture of Qixiong Ruqun:

Source: Recover Group

Qiyao Ruqun

Qiyao Ruqun is the kind of Ruqun which the waistband of it is on the waist. Both men and women can wear it.

Qiyao Ruqun was common in almost all the dynasties in ancient China. Because the main characteristics of it is convenient to wear, save cloth, and easy to make.

Here are two pictures of Qiyao Ruqun:

 
Source: Flying Bee

Common to Both

As we can see in the pictures above, when people wear Ruqun, they usually put a long cloth around their arms, people call it Brocade Scarf in China. At the beginning, people only used it as a scarf to prevent themselves from wind and cold air. However, as time goes by, it gradually becomes one important part of Han clothing, people used it to make themselves look more charming and mysterious.

Also, the sleeves of Ruqun are either tight or loose. Usually, people wear the Ruqun with tight sleeves for working to prevent their sleeves from getting dirty. And they wear the Ruqun with loose sleeves for relaxing because it the loose sleeves are more beautiful and comfortable to wear.

Here is a picture of Qiyao Ruqun with loose sleeves:

Source: QianLing