Mili () is a type of
Chinese veil which originated from
Hufu of the Rong and Yi people cultures.
In the
Sui to
early Tang dynasties, the mili was typically to a body-long veil which was used to conceal the body of women;
it was a form of
burnoose which was
burqua-like.
The full-body mili then evolved into the
weimao
Weimao () is a type of wide-brimmed hat with a shoulder-length veil hanging. The weimao was a popular form of head covering during the Tang dynasty. It was invented during either the Sui or the early Tang dynasty, according to Liu Zhiji and Zha ...
by the end of the Sui dynasty.
The full-body mili continued to be worn in the Tang dynasty,
but started to lose popularity by the middle of the 7th century.
It eventually disappeared completely by 705 AD.
Some
Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...
mili also only covered the women's face and neck areas.
Cultural significance
Despite its foreign origins rooted in the Rong and Yi cultures, the full-body mili was perceived as an expression of highest
propriety
Etiquette () is the set of norms of personal behaviour in polite society, usually occurring in the form of an ethical code of the expected and accepted social behaviours that accord with the conventions and norms observed and practised by a ...
in the
Central plains.
This was also recorded in the
New book of Tang
The ''New Book of Tang'', generally translated as the "New History of the Tang" or "New Tang History", is a work of official history covering the Tang dynasty in ten volumes and 225 chapters. The work was compiled by a team of scholars of the So ...
, which described the mili as "originating from the barbarians" but was ideal to protect women's modesty as it covered and hid the entire body.
History
Origins
The full-body mili originated from the
Rong
Rong or RONG may refer to:
Places China
*Rong County, Guangxi, Yulin, Guangxi, China
*Rong County, Sichuan, Zigong, Sichuan, China
Nepal
*Rong, Ilam, a rural municipality in Ilam District, Nepal
Norway
*Rong, Norway, a village in Øygarden m ...
and
Yi people
The Yi or Nuosu people,; zh, c=彝族, p=Yízú, l=Yi ethnicity historically known as the Lolo,; vi, Lô Lô; th, โล-โล, Lo-Lo are an ethnic group
An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with eac ...
cultures;
it appears to have been adopted from the
Tuyuhun
Tuyuhun (; LHC: *''tʰɑʔ-jok-guənʔ''; Wade-Giles: ''T'u-yühun''), also known as Henan () and Azha (; ), was a dynastic kingdom established by the nomadic peoples related to the Xianbei in the Qilian Mountains and upper Yellow River valley ...
,
an ethnic minority of
Qinghai
Qinghai (; alternately romanized as Tsinghai, Ch'inghai), also known as Kokonor, is a landlocked province in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is the fourth largest province of China by area and has the third smallest po ...
, and was originally worn by both men and women in the late 6th century.
In the Northwest, it was used to protect against dust. However, in the Central plains, it become a fashionable item.
The full-body mili, which was adopted from the Tuyuhun, was a type of burnoose; it was a large piece of fabric which was draped over the women's head.
The mantle of the fabric would fall across the shoulders down to the feet which would then covered most of the body and only allowed the women to see through a small break between the edges.
Sui dynasty
During the
Sui dynasty
The Sui dynasty (, ) was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China that lasted from 581 to 618. The Sui unified the Northern and Southern dynasties, thus ending the long period of division following the fall of the Western Jin dynasty, and layi ...
, it was a body-long veil which was used to conceal the entire body of women from stranger's eyes,
which was a sort of
burnoose.
It was adopted during the Sui dynasty and became popular among Imperial and ducal house ladies who would ride horses in public.
The mili was sometimes covered with jewelries.
By the end of the Sui dynasty, it was no longer required for women to hide entire body and the mili became less conservative and evolved into the weimao, which would only conceal the face.
It however continued to be worn in the subsequent Tang dynasty.
Tang dynasty
The full-body ''mili'' continued to be worn during the
Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...
as it was considered ideal for protecting a women's modesty since it concealed the entire body.
Its purpose was to prevent men on the streets from looking at women.
However, one of the inconveniences of the mili was that it provided a convenient disguise for rebels when they wanted to escape the authorities’ notice.
The full-body mili was still worn during the
Emperor Taizong's time.
But by the mid-7th century, it started to lose popularity.
When the full-body mili fashion started to fell out of favour for the
weimao
Weimao () is a type of wide-brimmed hat with a shoulder-length veil hanging. The weimao was a popular form of head covering during the Tang dynasty. It was invented during either the Sui or the early Tang dynasty, according to Liu Zhiji and Zha ...
,
Emperor Gaozong of Tang
Emperor Gaozong of Tang (21 July 628 – 27 December 683), personal name Li Zhi, was the third emperor of the Tang dynasty in China, ruling from 649 to 683; after January 665, he handed power over the empire to his second wife Empress Wu (the f ...
issued two imperial edicts (one in 663 AD
and one in 671 AD
) to order women to abandon the wear of weimao and return to the full-body mili in order to enforce public decency.
These two edicts went almost completely ignored.
Due to those imperial edicts issued by Emperor Gaozong, women decided to substitute the mili with other forms of fashion.
One of the alternatives was the use of wearing hoods that only allowed the face be shown.
The other alternative to the mili was the wearing of a curtain bonnet, which originated from Tokâra, a hat with a veil which ran around the sides and back and would fall on the shoulders.
The veil was made of gauze-like material and could be adorned with jade and kingfisher feathers.
However, the
Emperor Gaozong was not satisfied with those because these new adopted fashion allowed the exposure of women's face, and he wanted the burnoose to return and cover the face.
His imperial edicts were only effective for a short period of time as women started re-wearing the weimao, which covered their faces but allowed their clothing and bodies to be exposed.
By the time of
Wu Zetian's ascendancy, the weimao was back in fashion and had spread everywhere while the mili had gradually disappeared.
By 705 AD, the mili had completely disappeared.
Derivatives and influences
By the end of the
Sui dynasty
The Sui dynasty (, ) was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China that lasted from 581 to 618. The Sui unified the Northern and Southern dynasties, thus ending the long period of division following the fall of the Western Jin dynasty, and layi ...
, the mili evolved into the
weimao
Weimao () is a type of wide-brimmed hat with a shoulder-length veil hanging. The weimao was a popular form of head covering during the Tang dynasty. It was invented during either the Sui or the early Tang dynasty, according to Liu Zhiji and Zha ...
; the weimao only covered the face instead of the entire body.
This change in fashion happened as it was no more necessary for women to hide their body; they were only required to hide their faces.
Similar looking items
*
Burqua
*
Honggaitou
A (), also shortened to () and referred to as red veil in English, is a traditional red-coloured bridal veil worn by the Han Chinese brides to cover their faces on their wedding ceremony before their wedding night. The is worn along with a ...
(Chinese red
bridal veil)
*
Veil
A veil is an article of clothing or hanging cloth that is intended to cover some part of the head or face, or an object of some significance. Veiling has a long history in European, Asian, and African societies. The practice has been prominent ...
See also
*
Hanfu
''Hanfu'' () is the traditional styles of clothing worn by the Han Chinese. There are several representative styles of ''hanfu'', such as the (an upper-body garment with a long outer skirt), the (an upper-body garment with a long underskirt ...
*
Hufu
*
Humao
Humao () is a type of brim hat which was used in the Tang dynasty by both Chinese men and women when horse-riding. Women of all social ranks (ranging from palace ladies to commoners) wore humao when horse-riding since the beginning of the Kaiyuan ...
*
Hanfu headgear
*
Liangmao
Notes
References
{{Types of Han Chinese clothing
Chinese traditional clothing
Chinese headgear