Study Chinese with Keats School: 衣yī
The character “衣” is a pictographic character. It looks like an ancient garment. The top part is a collar; the bottom depicts the front of a Chinese jacket; and the two strokes on either side depict the shirt’s sleeves. In ancient China, “衣” meant the upper outer garment. In modern Chinese, the character can refer to any type of clothing.
The ancient Chinese people wore long robes with large and wide sleeves on the upper part of the body, and wore a “skirt” on the lower part of the body, since the Han Chinese were a farming people, this kind of attire brought convenience to their lives and production activities.
A reform of clothing was necessary to adapt to needs of the times. In order to strengthen his national military force, the ancient Chinese monarch King Wuling of the State of Zhao decided to allow his army and all nationals to wear the clothes of northern minorities instead of wearing Han ethnic clothing. He also allowed them to learn horse riding. In ancient China, minorities are called “胡hú”. This story is called “hú fú qí shè”.
The character “衣” can be found in different Chinese words that denote clothing. When written on the left-hand side of a character, it is written as “衤”; when written on the bottom or right-hand side, it is still written as “衣”. Examples include “裙qún (skirt)”, “裤kù(pants)”, “装zhuān?(outfit or clothing)”.