Shanku
| Shanku | |||||||||||||||||||
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A jiaoling youren shanku worn by a civil official, Western Jin | |||||||||||||||||||
Illustration of a woman wearing a pianjin shanku from 1800s | |||||||||||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 衫褲 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 衫褲 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Shirt and trousers | ||||||||||||||||||
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| English name | |||||||||||||||||||
| English | Samfoo (British English) / Samfu / Aoku | ||||||||||||||||||
Shanku (simplified Chinese: 衫裤; traditional Chinese: 衫褲; pinyin: shānkù; lit. 'shirt trousers'; see terminology) is a generic term which refers to a two-piece set of attire in Hanfu, which is typically composed of a youren yi (Chinese: 右衽衣; pinyin: yòurèn yī), a Chinese upper garment which typically overlaps and closes on the right side which could be called shan (衫), ru (襦), ao (袄; 襖), and a pair of long trousers called ku (裤; 褲). As a form of daily attire, the shanku was mainly worn by people from lower social status in China, such as labourers,: 1 shopkeepers, or retainers from wealthy households.: xviii The shanku was originally worn by both genders. Up until the mid-20th century, it was popular in China and outside of China where it was worn by overseas Chinese in countries, such as Singapore, Malaysia, Suriname, etc. It is still worn in present-day China and can be found in rural areas.