Tight-fitting clothing with narrow sleeves existed in the Han dynasty, and the robe was already a form of formal wear at that time. The short mandarin vest was all the rage for a time as early as the reigns of the Qing emperors Kangxi (1662-1723) and Yongzheng (1723-1736).
狹身窄袖的衣式，早在漢朝就有了，當時袍已是一種禮服，褂更是早在康熙、雍正年間就曾風行一時。