| Chunom: | 襖交領 |
| Vie: | Áo giao lĩnh |
| Lqn: | Shirt intersecting collar |
The Vietnamese: áo giao lĩnh (;), referred to as the Vietnamese: giao lãnh y in Literary Chinese texts. Folk often call it Vietnamese: áo tràng vạt or Vietnamese: áo tràng xiên, referred to as Vietnamese: áo tràng, was a traditional cross-collared 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.[1] During the Nguyễn dynasty, the Vietnamese: áo ngũ thân was commonly worn and the áo giao lĩnh was only worn in formal occasions.
The Vietnamese: áo giao lĩnh 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)[2] [3] before spreading to other countries.[4] Although the design of the Vietnamese: áo giao lĩnh 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 Vietnamese: áo giao lĩnh 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.[5] It was typically not decorated and black in colour. The women's Vietnamese: áo giao lĩnh 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 Vietnamese: áo giao lĩnh; the Vietnamese: áo giao lĩnh came in blue, black, brown colours while the sash was either white in colour or found in the same colour as the Vietnamese: áo giao lĩnh.
Prior to the 18th century, nobles wore the Vietnamese: áo giao lĩnh, which were adopted from Han Chinese clothing.[6] During the Lê dynasty (1428 – 1789 AD), aristocrats wore the Vietnamese: áo giao lĩnh.[7]
In the 18th century, the áo ngũ thân (the precursor of the áo dài) replaced the Vietnamese: áo giao lĩnh 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.[8] The precursor of the áo dài then became the official clothing for both men and women in the South of Vietnam.[9]
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 dài had to become the national dress for all the regions under his rule.[10] [11] The áo dài thus became the daily clothing of the Vietnamese.
In the 21st century, Vietnamese: áo giao lĩnh 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).[12] [13] [14] 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.[15] However, due to the lack of funds, the reconstructed clothing were not made with original materials or techniques.