Ru (upper garment)

Ru (Chinese: 襦; pinyin: rú), sometimes referred to as shan (Chinese: 衫; pinyin: shān), ao (simplified Chinese: 袄; traditional Chinese: 襖; pinyin: ǎo), and yi (Chinese: 衣; pinyin: yī), is a form of traditional Chinese upper garment, or coat, or jacket, which typically has a right closure; however, they may also have a front central opening. It is traditional everyday wear for women of the Han Chinese ethnic group. It can be worn in combination with a skirt in a style called ruqun, or a pair of trousers in a style called shanku.

The shape and structure of Chinese upper garments, generally referred as yi (衣), varied depending on the time period. Garments that overlap and close to the right originated in China and are called yòurèn (右衽; 'right lapel'). The style of yi which overlaps at the front and closes on the right in a y-shape is known as jiāolǐngyòurèn (交領右衽; 'intersecting collar right lapel') and first appeared in the Shang dynasty. Since then the jiaolingyouren yi has been one of the major symbols of the Sino Kingdom and eventually spread throughout Asia. The structure of the jackets worn in the late Qing shared some features of those worn by the ethnic Han during the Ming dynasty. They continued to evolve and be worn in some form during the Republic of China. Since the 1930s, the popularity of traditional Han fashion declined in favor of the qipao and Western dress. It has regained prominence in the 21st century following the Hanfu movement.

The term yi (衣) generally refers to clothing. In ancient times, the term yi referred to an upper outer garment. The term yi appeared in ancient texts to refer to upper garments, such as in the Luyi, in the Mao Commentary, in the Analects, and in the I Ching.

The term ru (襦) has sometimes been used as a synonym word for the clothing items shan (衫) and ao (袄; 襖).

The ru can refer to both a long or short jacket. The ru also had different names depending on its characteristics, such as its length and the presence or absence of lining.

The ru (襦), when referring to a short jacket, can be found with either short or long sleeves. A short ru is also known as duanru (Chinese: 短襦; lit. 'short jacket'; a type of duanru is the yaoru (腰襦; 'waist jacket') which is waist-length. In the Mawangdui Silk Manuscripts, the character ru《襦》refers to a 'short coat'. The Shuowen also described the ru as being a form of duanyi (短衣; 'short clothing'). It is also described as a common form of duanyi in the Guangyun.

In the Han dynasty, the ru could be unlined, lined or padded. According to the Shiming, a ru is a padded jacket, which is soft and warm; a danru (襌(单)襦; 襌(單)襦; 'unlined jacket') is described as being similar to a ru which does not have cotton wadding.

There is also the term chángrú (长襦; 長襦; 'long jacket') which appear in texts and has been described as the precursor of the chang ao by scholars. According to the Guangyun, however, the changru can also be a form of paofu. In the Zhou dynasty, a long ru was referred as the gua while the furu referred to ru with lining and which was similar to the paofu in terms of form. According to the Guangyun, a gua (袿) is also a form of changru. Other forms of changru included the shuhe (裋褐; 'coarse clothing') which jiaolingyouren and could reach the knee- or the hip-level.