Chinese outfit composed of a top and trousers
 (; see terminology) is a generic term which refers to a two-piece set of attire in , which is typically composed of a (), a Chinese upper garment which typically overlaps and closes on the right side which could be called (), (), (), and a pair of long trousers "" (). As a form of daily attire, the was mainly worn by people from lower social status in China, such as labourers,1 shopkeepers, or retainers from wealthy household.xviii The was originally worn by both genders. Up until the mid-20th century, it was popular in China and outside of China where it was worn by overseas Chinese in countries, such as Singapore, Malaysia, Suriname, etc. It is still worn in present-day China and can be found in rural areas.
Terminology.
Shanku is sometimes referred as ' (),87 ' (), and also known as samfu in English or samfoo (pronunciation: "") in British English following its Cantonese spelling.
The term ' (), ' () or () typically refers to the two-piece set of attire composed of an upper garment which is generally above and below the hips and knees and a pair of trousers, which are both made out of coarse cloth and was generally worn by people doing manual labour, such as farm work, and by martial artists.
The generic term ' (), also called referred as ' and uses the same Chinese characters (), is typically used to refer to military or riding style attire which is composed of a jacket or coat and trousers.31945 According to the , the coat, (褶; sometimes referred as ), typically used as part of the , was a (). A () was a with a closure according to the (說文解字). The term () also existed, but they were only long enough to cover the knees, which suggest that the other forms of were shorter than knee-length. Although the attire were oftentimes associated with , some of these garment items and styles were in fact Chinese innovations.319
English definition.
In the English language, ' is commonly written as "samfoo" in British English or "samfu". According to the Collins English Dictionary, the term "samfu" (pronounced: ') originated from the combination of the Chinese (Cantonese) words "sam" (dress) and "fu" (trousers).
The Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary and the Concise Oxford English Dictionary indicate that the term "samfu" originated in the 1950s from the Cantonese term shaam foò, with "shaam" meaning 'coat' and "foò" meaning 'trousers'.1272 Among English dictionaries, there are variations in the definition of "samfu". The "Collins English Dictionary" defines it as being:
 ;templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" / ;"A style of casual dress worn by Chinese women, consisting of a waisted blouse and trousers".
The "Oxford Learner's Advanced Dictionary" defines it as being:
 ;templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" / ;"A light suit consisting of a jacket with a high collar and loose trousers, traditional in China".
The 12th edition of the "Concise Oxford English Dictionary" defines it as being:1272
 ;templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" / ;"A suit consisting of high-necked jacket and loose trousers, worn by Chinese women".
Design and construction.
The ' is a two-piece set of attire, which is composed of a jacket as an upper garment and a pair of trousers as a lower garment. More precisely, the ' is composed of the ' and the trousers generally known as '.
The ' and the ' were typically made of similar fabrics. However, the two garments were sometimes made separately and did not belong to the same set of clothing.
Upper garment.
The ' () or ' () or ' ()50 or ' () all refer to Chinese upper garment, which typically has a side fastening to the right, known as ".
Prior to the Qing dynasty, the shape of the collar and closure of the upper garment were typically ', a collar which crosses or overlaps in the front and closed to the right side similar to the letter "y" in shape, as the ones worn in the Ming dynasty and earlier, instead of the '-style, the curved or slanted overlap closure which appears similar to the letter "s", which was commonly worn in the late Qing dynasty. The "" could have a mandarin collar or a high standing collar.
The "" could be long-sleeved, short-sleeved, or sleeveless depending on the time period. The sleeves could be wide or narrow, and the shape of the cuff could vary depending on styles and time period.
The bodice of the "" varied in length depending on the time period, but it could also be thigh-length.
Lower garment.
The ' (), as a general term, was a pair of long trousers which could be loose or narrow. There are many types of ' with some having closed rises while others have opened rise. Trousers with close rises were typically referred as ' to differentiate from the ' which typically referred to trousers without rises.
Fitting.
The "" is traditionally loose in terms of fitting. However, due to the influence of Western fashion, it became more tight fitting in the 1950s and 1960s.
Colours.
The ' was typically dyed in black, blue or grey. The waistband of the ' was typically made of lighter coloured fabric, such as blue or white. However, the colours of the "" could vary depending on ethnic groups.
History and development.
Pre-history.
In the Neolithic period, the trousers were known as () and were the original form of the without crotches. The form of the Neolithic was different from the trousers worn nowadays as it came in pairs of legs like shoes. They were knee-high trousers which were tied on the calves and only covered the knees and the ankles; thus allowing its wearer's thighs to be exposed; due to this reason, ancient Chinese wore , a set of attire consisting of the and , on top of their to cover their lower body. This form of continued to be worn until the early Han dynasty.
Shang dynasty.
The can be traced back at least to the Shang dynasty.121 Prior to the introduction of foreigners' clothing, known as , during the Warring States period, a set of attire known as () was already worn by the ancient Chinese people. However, the lower garment called remained in use to cover the -style as the trousers in this period still lacked a rise.121 In the Shang dynasty, the slaveholders wore a with and/or .15 The , which was worn, was similar to a knee-length tunic.121
Zhou dynasty, Spring and Autumn period, and Warring States period.
In the " ( – lit. 'Rites of Zhou'), it is recorded that exorcists wore black trousers and red jackets.
Adoption of Hufu.
During the Warring States period, King Wuling of Zhao (r. 326–298 BC) instituted the () policies which involved the adoption of to facilitate horse riding.
The nomadic clothes adopted by King Wuling consisted of belts, short upper garment, and trousers.16 The introduced by King Wuling can be designated as (). However, the style of trousers, which was introduced in Central China by King Wuling of Zhao, had a loose, close rise and differed from the indigenous Chinese ; it is thus a style referred as () instead of .
The short garment was a coat was called (), which appears to have been the outermost coat of all garment, resembling a robe with short body and loose sleeves. King Wuling was also known for wearing -style long trousers and upper garments with narrow sleeves.
Influence of Hufu.
Under the influence of the , the -style evolved until the thighs were lengthened to cover the thighs forming a newly improved -trousers; it also had a waist enclosure which was added; however, as the improved -trousers still had an open rise and rear, which would allowed for excretion purposes, the still continued to be worn on top of the . Compared to the nomadic which did not fit in the traditional norms of the Chinese people, the was well-accepted by the Chinese as it was more aligned with the Han Chinese tradition.
The trousers with loose rise, , which was adopted from the policy was mainly worn by the military troops and servants while the general population typically continued to wear the -style and the newly improved . Thus, the nomadic-style never fully replaced the and was only worn by military and by the lower class. The nomadic-style loose rise later influenced the formation of other forms of trousers, such as (i.e. trousers with extremely wide legs) which appeared in the Han dynasty and (i.e. trousers with tied strings under the knees). These forms of -trousers were Chinese innovations.
Qin dynasty.
In Qin dynasty, short clothing became more common and trousers were generally worn from what can be observed from the unearthed Qin dynasty tomb figures.
As a general term for trousers, the was worn with jackets (), also known as shangru () along with (). The trousers were often wide at the top and narrower at the bottom and could be find with rise.
Terracotta warriors, for example, wears a type of long robe which is worn on top of skirt and trousers. The Qin artisans valued contrasting colours; for example, the upper garments which were green in colour were often decorated with red or purple border; this upper garment would often be worn together with blue, or purple, or red trousers.
Han dynasty.
Starting since the Eastern Han dynasty, trousers with rise, , gradually started to be worn, the of the Han dynasty gradually replaced the .43 While the long robe known as was mainly worn for formal occasions in the Han dynasty, men wore a waist-length "ru" and trousers in their ordinary days while women wore ruqun.16 Manual labourers tended to be wear even shorter upper garment and lower garment as due to their convenient use for work.
In the Han dynasty, the trousers came in variety of styles, such as and , while a derivative of the -trousers known as was developed.
The was worn with a loose robe (either or ) in the Han dynasty by both military and civil officials. The were trousers which were tied with strings under the knees.
The is a type of which covered the hips and legs and its rise and hips regions were closed at the front and multiple strings were used to tie it at the back of its wearer; it was made for palace maids. The continued to be worn for a long period of time, and was even worn in the Ming dynasty.
Wei, Jin, Northern, and Southern dynasties.
In the early medieval period of China (220–589 AD), male and female commoners, including servants and field labourers, wore a full-sleeved, long jacket (which were either waist or knee length) which was tied with a belt. Common women could either wear skirts or trousers under their jackets. Full trousers with slightly tempered cuffs or trousers which were tied just below the knees were worn under the jacket. In tombs inventories dating to the early 600s, cases of (), (), and () can be found.325
The or consisted of the ' and a , a tight-fitting upper garment, ' ", which reached the knee level. The was a popular form of clothing attire and was worn by both genders; it was worn by both military and civil officials in the Northern and Southern dynasties.
The which appeared in the late Northern dynasty, was created by assimilating non-Han cultures in order to create a new design which reflected the Han Chinese culture. The , the style of -trousers were bounded at knees and dates back to the Han dynasty, allowed for greater ease of movement; they were also worn in the Western Jin to increase ease of movements when horseback riding or when on military duty.319 In the Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern dynasties, the ", especially the ones with a wide bottom, became popular among aristocrats and commoners alike. While this style of was associated with the worn by foreigners and non-Chinese minority ethnicities due to the use of felt chords, a textile associated with foreigners; it was actually not a stylistic invention from the Northern people and were not a form of nomad clothing.319 During this period, the nomadic tribes, which also wore their own -styles of , also ended up being influenced by the Han Chinese style due to the multiculturalism aspect of this period. The which was in the form of the with tight sleeves originated from the Northern minorities was also adopted by the Chinese before being