Overview
The northern riding outfit — a jacket with trousers (kuzhe), narrow-sleeved and practical — spread widely, even among Han people. In the late fifth century Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei ordered Han-style dress and manners at court, a landmark act of sinicization.
Key garments and style
The southern courts prized loose, wide-sleeved robes in the elegant Wei-Jin manner. Buddhist dress and motifs, arriving along the trade routes, entered the visual vocabulary.
Transition
The Sui reunified China and rebuilt the court dress system.