Shang Dynasty clothing included the yi (tunic) and chang (skirt). Nobles wore silk with 30–40 threads/cm², costing a farmer’s yearly income, while commoners used durable hemp, lasting 3–5 years. Layers added warmth; fur-lined robes increased insulation by 40%, showcasing class distinctions in materials and craftsmanship.
Yi and Chang
During the
Shang Dynasty, the main clothes were the
yi and
chang. They combined to form a two-piece outfit that reflected a balanced combination of practicality and symbolism. The
yi consisted of a knee-length tunic with narrow cuffs, while the
chang was a long skirt that reached down to the ankles and mirrored both practicality and cultural values. These garments could adapt easily to various social classes, climates, and occasions with obvious differences in
materials,
craftsmanship, and
design.
For the
nobility, the
yi and
chang were made of
silk, an expensive fabric that only the nobility could afford. Garments of
silk from the
Shang Dynasty had an average thread density of
30–40 threads per square centimeter, making the fabric smooth and light. The labor involved in
silk production was very intensive, as one robe often needed about
25–30 silkworm cocoons to make the required threads. A complete set of
silk yi and chang for a nobleman could take several months to produce, with an estimated value equivalent to the annual income of a common
farmer. In contrast,
commoners wore garments made of
hemp, which had a lower thread density of
10–15 threads per square centimeter.
Hemp cloth was coarser but durable and cost less than
10% of the price of
silk, hence becoming an economical choice for ordinary
laborers.
Designs and
decorations of both
yi and
chang also varied significantly between
classes. For example, the
nobles usually wore garments with heavy
embroidery, depicting
dragons or
phoenixes as motifs, symbolizing authority and prestige. The number of stitches in these
designs sometimes could amount to up to
20,000 stitches, requiring
artisan stitches to work for weeks over their finishing.
Dyestuffs for such apparel also came from rare sources of
madder root or
indigo, where every kilogram of
dye needed processing some
100 kilograms of raw plant material. The expensive nature of this process in
manufacture made vibrant clothing an asset reserved for the
rich; as their status implied, ordinary
persons attired themselves in earth-tone-colored, plain, undyed clothing. A
farmer's yi and
chang usually lasted
3-5 years, but a
noble's silk garments could last for
10-15 years if well taken care of due to their quality.
Climate and
seasons also played a critical role in the choice of
materials and
styles for the
yi and
chang. Lightweight
silk garments weighing about
50-70 grams per square meter were used during summer to keep the
elite cool during high temperatures. By comparison,
commoners made use of thinner
hemp or
linen for similar purposes. Winter clothing included additional layers of
fur or
animal hide for added insulation. A
noble's outfit in winter might feature
fur-lined silk - reducing heat loss by as much as
40 percent compared to single-layer garments. Such additions greatly increased
production costs: a
fur-lined silk robe could cost as much as
15 times more than a basic
hemp set. This
seasonal adaptability ensured comfort while maintaining the distinct
social hierarchy.
Silk and Hemp Materials
In the
Shang Dynasty, clothing
materials such as
silk and
hemp were of vital importance in defining
class status and
practicality. Because of its very complicated
production process,
silk was mainly reserved for the
nobility. A single
garment of
silk required some
30 silkworm cocoons to produce the threads for
weaving, and several weeks of
weaving by a skilled
artisan. An average
price for one
silk robe during the
Shang was well over an average
annual income of a middle-class
merchant. This places the
material out of the
economic reach of most
commoners, whereas
hemp—a resilient and much cheaper
fabric—constitutes the staple
fabric for lower
classes and costs less than
5% of the
silk's price per meter of
fabric.
The
physical properties of
silk and
hemp further differentiate the purposes to which these
materials were put.
Silk garments had a thread density of about
30 to 40 threads per square centimeter. As a result, it had a very
smooth, light
texture, very well-suited for
formal garments and also those used in the
ceremony. This fine
texture allowed the application of very brilliant
dyes; in fact, every kilogram of
dye required up to
100 kilograms of plant
material to be produced.
Hemp was coarser, with only
10 to 15 threads per square centimeter, making for a coarser
fabric, one better suited to the rigors of
agricultural and
manual labor. A
hemp garment might last daily wear for
three to five years, but
silk clothing, if properly cared for, could last
10 to 15 years, making
silk a long-term
investment for the well-to-do.
Even their choice of
silk and
hemp was influenced by
seasonal differences.
Noble families preferred their finest
silk garments weighing about
50 grams per square meter as a comfortable and breathable
garb during the
hot summer season. During
winter, though,
silk garments were filled with
animal fur for improved
insulation, a combination capable of costing up to a whopping
15 times higher than a standard
hemp garment of the time. For ordinary
people, light
hemp or
linen was worn in
summer, supplemented in colder months by extra layers of
hemp.
Hemp was a thoroughly
practical choice: it drew
moisture away from the
body and dried quickly, and thus was well-suited to hard
labor both during
planting and
harvest seasons.
The
manufacturing processes for
silk and
hemp also reflect the two
fibers' relative economic and
cultural values.
Silk needed the
cultivation of
mulberry trees for feeding
silkworms, which were kept in
controlled environments with much
care. This makes
silk not only
expensive but also
scarce; only the wealthiest
families could afford such an
item. On the other hand,
hemp was widely grown in
fields and required little
maintenance, while its
output was very high. A single
acre of
hemp could produce
fibers for about
200 garments, while
silk production on the same
area would produce
material for less than
20 garments. This
difference ensured that
hemp remained the dominant
fabric of the
majority, while
silk became a mark of
status and
refinement.
Ornate Robes for Elites
Ornate
robes worn by the
elites during the
Shang Dynasty were works of
art that reflected
power,
wealth, and
religious significance. These
robes, made of
silk, required an extensive
production process. Creating one full-length
silk robe could take a team of skilled
artisans up to
three months, with the
silk threads spun from approximately
30,000 silkworm cocoons. Such
robes, accordingly, cost as much as a
craftsman's earnings for a whole
year or the
price of several heads of
livestock, showing just how exclusive they were to the
nobility.
These
robes were elaborately designed with various
patterns, such as
dragons,
phoenixes, and other
mythological animals that signified
divinity and
power. As many as
20,000 stitches could be used to
embroider one
robe, with each
stitch having been made by
hand. Sometimes
gold and silver threads would be incorporated; just one gram of
gold thread might cost as much as a
commoner earned in a
month. Equally expensive were the
dyes, with the vibrant
red coming from
safflower and
purple from
mollusk shells—both rare substances and complicated to treat. For instance, the production of
purple dye required to color one
robe may have entailed processing more than
10,000 mollusks, which therefore made such
colors an unequivocal sign of
elite status.
Seasonal variation and
ceremonial purposes influenced the types of
ornate robes.
Nobles wore
silk garments for
summer that were light in weight—less than
50 grams per square meter—yet sumptuously
decorated. In
winter, the
lining of
silk robes would be made with
animal furs like
fox or
mink, adding both to the
warmth and
grandeur. A
fur-lined ceremonial robe could weigh up to
five kilograms and cost as much as
15 standard silk robes due to the rarity of high-quality
furs. These
robes were often worn during
rituals and
royal ceremonies, emphasizing the wearer's connection to
divine power and
societal leadership.
The
durability of
ornate robes also separated them from
common attire. While the average
life of a plain
silk robe was about
10–15 years,
elite garments were preserved for
generations.
Archaeological discoveries have found
robes in
burial sites that retained much of their original
color and
stitching despite being over
3,000 years old. This was achieved through fastidious
craftsmanship and storage in
climate-controlled palaces. In some cases,
robes were embellished with
jade or
bronze ornaments, further increasing their
value and serving as both
clothing and portable
wealth.
Minimalistic Designs for Commoners
Clothing for the
ordinary people in the
Shang Dynasty was meant for
utility, with
minimalistic design in order to achieve maximum
functionality. The
commoners were normally dressed in attire prepared with mostly
hemp, cheap and strong
fabric, costing less than
5% of
silk, it being a good
raw material to make such
clothing. Two square meters of
hemp fabric used as a
farmer's or
laborer's outfit could be prepared with less than
500 grams of
hemp fibers. From the
harvest of
hemp to
weaving the
fabric, the whole
process took about a
week. Because of this, the
commoners were able to have a large supply of these
fabrics.
Commoners' cloth designs were plain, usually without
embroidery or any other
ornaments.
Garments were often dyed in
natural, subdued
colors like
beige or
brown, as
dyes made from materials such as
madder or
indigo were too
expensive for widespread use. A
kilogram of
indigo dye, for instance, needed more than
100 kilograms of processing
plant material and could cost as many days'
wages for a
laborer. Because of these
factors, most
commoners settled for
undyed garments since this also cut down
time and
production costs. These
simple designs made
clothes not only easy to make, but also to
repair or
maintain for everyday
labors.
Practicality was perhaps one of the most significant themes in
minimalist attire. A
yi was a short
tunic, while the
chang, a long
skirt, had the added purpose of covering against the
elements. A
set was requisite for
agricultural labor. Worn together, one
set of
hemp yi and
chang lasted a
farmer three to five years, an affordable option for everyday
wear. Compared to
silk garments, which could last up to
15 years but were prohibitively
expensive,
hemp clothing was accessible to the majority of the
population. During the
colder months, additional layers of
hemp fabric were added, sometimes padded with
straw for
insulation, offering an affordable way to withstand harsh
weather conditions.
Clothing for
commoners also adapted to the
labor-intensive nature of their lives. Although not as comfortable as
silk, the coarse
texture of the
fabric was highly resistant to
tearing and
abrasion; it was perfect for
farming,
construction, and
transportation. The daily
attire of a
laborer weighed about
1.5 kilograms, not including additional
tools or
accessories such as
belts made from woven
plant fibers used for carrying small
items. These
utilitarian features enhanced the
efficiency and
practicality of the
garment, reinforcing its role as a
tool for daily
survival rather than a marker of
status or
wealth.
Color Symbolism
Color use in the
Shang Dynasty has
symbolic depth that indicates
social hierarchy,
cultural belief, and
spiritual importance. Due to their
expensive production and
time-consuming work of making
dyes, vivid
colors such as
red,
yellow, and
purple could only be used by
nobility. For instance, to produce
red dye for one
silk robe, about
20 kilograms of
safflower petals needed to be extracted for their
pigments alone, a
process that could take several
days by a team of
workers. These
colors were often associated with
power and
divine favor since
red symbolized
prosperity and
good fortune, while
yellow represented the
Earth and
imperial authority.
The
commoners, however, wore
clothes in subdued
shades of
beige,
gray, and
brown. These came from readily available
materials such as
clay,
bark, and
vegetable residues, which required the least amount of
processing. For example, natural
brown dye from
walnut husks could be prepared in a
day without much
effort. These
muted colors reflected the
practical and
frugal lifestyle of the
lower classes. Such
tones of a
farmer's outfit not only symbolized their
lower status but also served
practical purposes:
earth-toned clothes could mask
dirt and
stains from
agricultural work.
Yellow was the
color most deeply imbued with the
ruling elite.
Production of
yellow dye often included processing
turmeric or
saffron, both rare and
expensive. A
kilogram of
saffron could require harvesting over
150,000 crocus flowers, making it one of the most
valuable dyes.
Yellow robes were worn by
royalty and
high-ranking officials during
religious ceremonies or important
state events as a sign of their connection with
divine power. These
garments, often decorated with
gold threads, gave even more
status and
exclusiveness to already exclusive
garments; one
robe could cost as much as the
produce of a whole
village in a
year.
Blue and
green, though less common among the
elite, carried specific
connotations in
ceremonial attire.
Blue, the
color of the
heavens and
spiritual purity, was often worn during
ancestral rituals.
Indigo plants required
fermentation processes, which took almost a
week, to produce
blue dye; thus, even though it was
cheaper than
red or
yellow, it still was not affordable for
ordinary people.
Green, as a
color of
growth and
renewal, was used occasionally in
ritual garments to symbolize
fertility and
prosperity. Yet,
blue and
green were easier to obtain than the
dyes for
red and
yellow and so
mid-ranking officials and even
wealthy merchants could wear
garments dyed with these
colors.
Accessories and Headgear
Accessories and
headwear in the
Shang Dynasty were important indicators of
social class,
wealth, and
cultural identity, respectively. Different
classes wore different
headgear and other personal
adornments in distinctive forms and
materials.
Guan symbolized
authority and
rank; formal
headgear, often of
silk or
leather, was worn by the
elite classes. A
guan had varying
costs depending on what
materials and
embellishments were used. For instance, a
guan adorned with
jade pieces could cost the equivalent of several
months of a
laborer’s wages, as
jade was highly valued and required skilled
craftsmanship. These
headpieces were often worn during
ceremonies or
official functions, reinforcing their wearer's
elevated status.
Jewelry and other
accessories were crafted from
materials like
jade,
bronze, and even
gold. The
carving and
polishing of a
noblewoman's jade bracelet could take
weeks, with the
artisans using their rudimentary
tools to achieve intricate
designs. These
bracelets weighed upwards of
50–100 grams and could be worth as much as a
small herd of livestock.
Bronze belts with decorative
clasps were also worn by people of
high rank; each
clasp often had engraved
patterns of
dragons or other
mythical creatures. Such
items required advanced
technology in
bronze casting and were, therefore, not only
serviceable items but also symbols of
technological achievement.
For
ordinary people,
accessories and
headgear were very
simple.
Wooden or
bone hairpins were practical and
inexpensive, usually costing less than
1 percent of the
price of a
jade ornament. Such
hairpins served both
practical and
decorative purposes, helping to keep
hair styled during daily
labor.
Commoners would also wear simple
leather or
hemp belts to hold up their
tunics, and these were usually
unadorned. Unlike the decorative
belts of the
elite, these
items were prized for their
strength and
functionality, not for their
aesthetic qualities.
Seasonal and
ceremonial reasons determined the type of
accessory and
headwear worn.
Fur-lined hats were worn in
winter by all
classes, although the
materials differed greatly. A
nobleman's might be lined with
fox fur for added
warmth and as a display of
status—the
fur was as
expensive as a small piece of
jade. The
commoners used
rabbit or
goat fur, cheaper and more easily found. During
ceremonial occasions, members of the
nobility added other
ornaments, like
pendants or
earrings, in the form of
precious metals. Each
piece was carefully crafted to complement their
attire with the intent of emphasizing
social standing.
Layering for Formal Attire
In the
Shang Dynasty,
layering in
formal attire had both
functional and
symbolic implications, reflecting the
social hierarchy and the
cultural emphasis on
ritual propriety. The
nobles and
officials often wore more than one
layer, with each
layer representing something different in their
status or
ceremonial role. A
formal outfit for a
nobleman would usually consist of
three to five layers of
garments, starting with a simple
undergarment made of
silk, followed by a more elaborately
decorated inner robe, and an
outer ceremonial robe with intricate
embroidery. This would bring the total
weight of such an
outfit easily over
5 kilograms, showcasing the wearer's
wealth in his ability to afford
heavy,
high-quality fabrics.
The
materials used in these
outfits of
layers varied by
social class.
Nobles used light
silk for the
inner layer, with
30–40 threads per square centimeter to guarantee
smoothness and
breathability. For
outerwear, heavier
silks or
brocades, weighing up to
100 grams per square meter, were in order. These
outer layers, particularly when embroidered with
gold or
silver threads, could cost as much as a
commoner's yearly income.
Commoners used
hemp or
linen for
layering, and the
outermost garments were sometimes padded with
straw or
wool to keep them
warm during colder
months.
Layering was also important on
ceremonial occasions. During
ancestral worship or at
royal court rituals, the
nobles wore certain combinations of
colors and
patterns in their
layers as a sign of
respect and to follow the
cultural tradition. For example, an
official may wear a
red inner robe representing
prosperity with an
outer black robe that symbolizes
solemnity. The
embroidery on these
garments often included
motifs like
dragons or
clouds, which required
thousands of stitches and several
weeks to complete. Such
ceremonial clothes had
costs exceeding the
wages that ten
artisans could earn from a
month's work and could only be afforded by a very few
people in
high society.
The
practicality of
layering extended into
seasonal consideration. In the
winter, additional
layers are added for
warmth without betraying the
ceremonial function of the
attire. A
noble's winter ceremonial outfit might feature
fur linings in the
outermost robe, employing
fox or
mink fur that could be as
expensive as
15 standard silk garments. The
lining increased
insulation by
40% compared to unlined
silk and thus was able to provide
comfort in cold
weather conditions. For
commoners, the
layering consisted of multiple
layers of
hemp or
wool garments, which, while
heavier and not as
elegant, provided enough
protection against the
cold for their
outdoor tasks.