Daxiushan

After the golden age of the Tang Dynasty ended, the influence of Hufu (胡服), or clothing styles from Central and Western Asia, gradually weakened and Tang royal women's clothing styles began to make their transformation becoming more and more broader and looser.[4][7][1]

It was not until the Mid-Late Tang period (中晚唐时期) that the distinctions between Royal women's clothing and other styles became increasingly obvious.[2]

• 
  Paintings of women wearing Daxiushan during the Tang Dynasty
• 
  Paintings of women wearing Daxiushan during the Tang Dynasty
• 
  A late Tang dynasty Buddhist donatress.
• 
  Buddhist donatress Chang, Mo-kao Caves, Five dynasties and Ten Kingdoms.
• 
  Red daxiushan, Late Tang or Five dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period

Broad sleeved garment was originally worn by empresses and imperials concubines as their ordinary clothing.[1] However, it was later adopted by the aristocratic women who used it as part of their ceremonial attire.[1] Commoners were not allowed to wear the broad sleeved garment and had to wear the beizi instead.[1]

• 
  Buddhist donors, Guiyi era, 983 AD
• 
  Unearthed artefact of a broad-sleeved garment of the Southern Song dynasty.[8]
• 
  Yellow dashan and xiapei worn by Empress Du.

In the Ming dynasty, daxiushan was known as dashan (Chinese: 大衫; pinyin: Dàshān; lit. 'Large shirt'). A yellow coloured dashan was worn by the Ming dynasty empresses (皇后, huanghou), while a red dashan was worn by the women of the imperial clan (e.g. huangfei (皇妃), huangtaizifei (皇太子妃), qingwangfei (亲王妃), junwangfei (郡王妃)).[9] The red dashan was also worn by the mingfu,[9] titled court women of first rank.[6] The Ming dynasty also bestowed dashan to the Joseon queens, where it was known as daesam (Korean: 대삼; Hanja: 大衫; RR: daesam).[6]

• 
  Ming dynasty empress wearing a yellow dashan with xiapei over her shoulders.
• 

The width of the coat increased to more than four feet and its sleeves were often wider than 1.3 metres.[2][10][1] It features a distinctive gown that covers the body from the ground to just above the chest with a knot wrapped around the waist, a light and sometimes sheer outer coat that ties together at the bottom, near the knees, and often goes along with a long scarf draped around the arms. The clothing often only covers half of women's breast and so it is restricted to women of a certain status, such as princesses or gējī.[2]

During the Joseon period, the daesam (Korean: 대삼; Hanja: 大衫; RR: daesam) was a red, undecorated robe with wides sleeves worn by the queens in early Joseon from the reign of King Munjong to the reign of King Seonjo for important state ceremonies; the daesam was amongst the clothing items and accessories (including dansam, overcoats, skirts, jeogwan, hair accessories with floral decorations, hapi, a jade scepter) bestowed by the Ming dynasty during the reign of King Munjong until 1603 under the reign of King Seonjo. According to Hong Nayong, the daesam is believed to be in the form of the Ming dynasty's daxiushan, which was worn by the titled court women of first rank. The Ming dynasty bestowed official clothing to the Joseon's queens but not the wife of the Crown prince, as such the clothing sent by the Ming dynasty to the Joseon queens in early Joseon became the prototypes for the robes of crown princess of Joseon. After the fall of the Ming dynasty, daesam continued to be worn in Joseon by the queens and crown princesses for special occasions, such as the weddings, and ceremonial occasions. Since the reign of King Yeonjo, the jeogui became the Joseon's queen royal ceremonial clothing instead and the daesam appears to have ceased being worn. However, the basic style of jeogui worn during the latter Joseon period during wedding appears to have been influenced by the daesam of the early Joseon period.[6]