Doupeng (Chinese: 斗篷 ; pinyin: dǒu péng) is usually with a standing collar or a central front collar, sleeveless, and usually has a slit in the back. Doupeng is usually paired with a hat.
Doupeng covers the whole body so as not to catch a cold.
However, doupeng’s design makes the wearer uncomfortable because the hands are difficult to move, but the doupeng keeps people warm.
Doupeng, originally from coir raincoats, was originally made of hemp to withstand rain and snow.
In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, silk fabrics were widely used for doupeng, not limited to rainy and snowy days.
Doupeng is a type of clothing to prevent cold, with long and short styles, high collars, and low collars.
When out in winter, both men and women, officials, and people like to wear doupeng. But there is a rule that you should not salute while wearing a doupeng as this is considered rude.
After the middle of the Qing Dynasty, women’s doupeng were very common, and their production was increasingly sophisticated. Generally made of silk and bright satin, embroidered with patterns and lined with fur.
History
Doupeng is often called the sleeveless pifeng (Chinese: 披风 ; pinyin: pī fēng).
In the Neolithic Age, about 10,000 years ago, China already had clothes such as guan tou yi, pi dan fu, and pifeng.
Figures with pifeng are found in ancient Egyptian reliefs that are 5,000 years old. Pifeng has long been popular in the Mediterranean region and Europe since the 11th century.
In the Qing Dynasty in China, pifeng was often used as a coat for women of the upper class or nobility and had names such as yi kou zhong 一口钟, luo han yi 罗汉衣, dan peng peng yi 篷篷衣.
Doupeng is available in red, purple, blue, green, bronze, black, and more. Bright yellow and apricot yellow were special colors for the emperor.
Then, what is the difference between doupeng and pifeng?
In hanfu, doupeng and pifeng often confuse people.
There doesn’t seem to be a big difference between them.
But in reality, they are completely different things.
The most significant is that doupeng has no sleeves whereas pifeng has sleeves.
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