The Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) was established by the Mongol leader, Kublai Khan, who was the grandson of Genghis Khan—founder of the largest and most contiguous empire in recorded history.Kublai Khan rose to legendary fame in Europe, since he was the emperor who entertained Marco Polo (photo above)!
The clothing of the Mongols was simple, owing to a less-developed culture and economy. Instead of influencing the Han, therefore, the Mongols benefited greatly from their lifestyle.
The predominant garment during this period for Han men was the robe, which was a bit looser than the previous dynasty.
Besides the prominence of the dragon and phoenix on clothing, colors expanded into numerous shades. Brown totaled 20 in all with descriptive names like “onion white brown.” At times, a gold thread was woven through the colors.
The Mongols wore long robes with tight sleeves and a pleated, flared section from the waist down. They donned a very wide, corrugated belt at the waist, which was sown to the garment.As for headgear, the Han men wore the fu tou, which, fashioned out of lacquered gauze, contained two tails that fell behind the head.
The Mongols parted their hair into the form of a cross, shaving the head in the back and trimming the front into various shapes. They wore rattan hats, which were either round or square.
Photo Public Domain at Wikipedia.
Photo by smartneddy, GNU Free Documentation License at Wiki Commons.
