Baidiequn(Chinese:百迭裙), also known asHundred-change skirt, refers to an ancient style ofqun (Chinese:裙;lit. 'skirt') worn byHan Chinese women in ancient China and is currently worn as a lower garment item inHanfu.[1][2] Thebaidiequn is typically a long,wrap-around denselypleatedskirt with two flat surfaces at each end of the skirt.[3] It started to be worn at least since theSong dynasty, where unearthed artifacts of what is now referred asbaidiequn were found in the Tomb of Huang Sheng (黄升墓) of the Southern Song dynasty,Fuzhou,Fujian Province.[3]: 144 It is also one of the two early Song dynasty prototypes of themamianqun.[3]: 144 [4]
Thebaidiequn is made of a single panel of fabric. Its pleats tend to be very narrow and/or dense and almost covers the entire circumference of the skirt, except for the two edges of the skirts which are left non-pleated.[3]: 144 Due to the non-pleated edges of the skirt, the skirt form two rectangular flat panels, which are referred asguangmian (光面); when worn, the twoguangmian of thebaidiequn overlaps each other appearing to be a single flat panel.[1] It has a wide waist band and long ribbons which are used as ties.[4]
The modern variation of thebaidiequn features narrow pleats, which are about one to two centimetres in term of pleat width.[1] There is typically no rule on where theguangmian need to be located on its wearer's body, as such theguangmian can be found at the sides, back, or front depending on its wearer's desire.[1]
The length of thebaidiequn can also vary depending if it worn alone or is combined with other garments: the classicbaidiequn is a long-length skirt which is about ankle or floor-length and can be worn as a stand-alone lower garment; it also the most commonly seen variation of thebaidiequn; thehewei baidiequn (合圍 百迭裙), also called encirclingbaidiequn, usually reaches the mid-calf and is used as an over-skirt which can be worn over anotherqun orku; the last type is theqianduan houzhuang (前短 後長), which has a shorterguangmian compared to its pleated regions are floor-length; due to its special construction, theqianduan houzhuang is the only form ofbaidiequn which requires having itsguangmian located at the front of the body.[1]
