The weaving and geometric cutting tradition was the basic method for clothing production of the Han people in China. Weaving began as early as the second millennium bc as evidenced by the findings of silk and hemp fragments dated to that era. Early weaving techniques using a narrow backstrap loom did not produce fabric wide enough to cover the body.

The width of the cloth therefore determined the nature of the assembly of the garments. From the Zhou dynasty (1100–221 bc) the basic Han form of dress consisted of a robe (pao) and trousers (kuzi) made from this narrow cloth. Han garments throughout the dynasties either met at the center front or overlapped to the right. Two techniques were used to provide the extra width in the front to create the overlap, adding fabric symmetrically to each side, or adding different width pieces to each front panel. The lap was generally a diagonal straight line from the shoulder across the body towards the opposite underarm, with a slight curve on the lower edge to fit around the body. The neck and lap opening was finished with a wide collar band. Another version met at the center front in a V-neck, and then the lap was squared off to the right and dropped straight to the hem. Loom widths increased from only 20 inches in the Han dynasty (206 bc–220 ad) to 27 inches in the Ming dynasty.

Though the fabric width had increased, the construction techniques were unaffected, and similar robes continued to be worn by the Han through the Qing dynasty. Cloth was a precious commodity, as it took time to process and produce. Silk was admired not only for clothing, but also as a reward for service to the emperor. Owning cloth symbolized wealth and one’s position in society, so it was essential that the garments made from cloth continue to minimize waste and maximize the effect of cloth on the body. With this fundamental approach to textiles, Han garments did grow in both volume and in number of layers. Though initially the fabric was not to be wasted by being cut and left out of the garment, large measures of fabric were used to make each of the robes, and the Han garments eventually did develop into a trapezoidal shape.