Dopo | |
Korean name | |
---|---|
Hangul | 도포 |
Hanja | |
Revised Romanization | dopo |
McCune–Reischauer | top'o |
Dopo ( Korean: 도포; lit. Taoist robe) is a variety of po, or overcoat in hanbok, which was first worn in the middle of the Joseon since the 16th century. [1] [2] [3] [4] The dopo was mostly worn by male Confucian scholars called seonbi during the Joseon period. [5] [6] It was also worn by Kings and princes and government officers. [7] The dopo held a strong Confucianism value. [7] It was worn as an everyday outer garment by Neo-Confucian scholars, [8] who wore it as an official form of clothing or as a ritual clothing. [1] It was also an ordinary robe worn by the court officials. [1] Since the 1894 reform, all varieties of po with wide sleeves, including the dopo, were prohibited to be worn by King Gojong and instead people had to wear the durumagi. [9]
The dopo is a long over-coat ( po) with V-neck and wide sleeves. [1] [2] It was long enough to reach the ankle of his wearer. [10] [1]
The white color dopo was typically worn for ordinary use while the light blue dopo was for festive occasions. [10] [8] Many other colors were also used.[ citation needed] Dopo made of ramie was used in summer while those made out of silk and cotton were used in winter. [8]
In terms of construction, the basic form dopo was similar to the jikryeong having a straight collar. [7] It differed from the jikryeong in the shape of the mu (무, gusset). [7] The mu of the dopo was found inside or on the back region of the garment; it was running along the front region of the garment and created two flaps on the back region of the garment. [7]
Another characteristics of the dopo is its back region which is split into 2 on back center line and is fully covered by another piece of fabric called Jeonsam. [1]
The dopo worn by the commoners were different in terms of styles from those worn by the members of the royal families; for example, the dopo worn by the commoners had a straight lapels while the dopo worn by King Yeongjo had a lapel which was made through a combination of square and pointy shape. [3]
It is recorded that the dopo was first worn in the middle period of the Joseon dynasty. [1] The dopo started to appear in Joseon since the 16th century according to historical records and relics. [3] According to Lee Eunjoo, the dopo was originally introduced from China but was localized in Korea through the integration of additional features. [11]
According to historical documents such as Seongho saseol (성호사설/星湖僿說), Ojuyeon munjang jeonsango (오주연문장전산고/五洲衍文長箋散稿), the garment was influenced by Buddhism. The authors claimed that dopo was originally monk's robe called, gwontu (권투/圈套) which was identical to jangsam, another monk's garment. [12] [13] [14] The Buddhist jangsam (장삼/長衫; lit. 'long gown') was a Buddhist robe, which was worn under the kasaya until the early Joseon, was in the form of the Chinese monastic robe called zhiduo. [15] After the Imjin wars, the Joseon system of po (robes) was adopted which allowed the dopo and the durumagi (두루마기) (also known as juui) to be used as jangsam. [15] According to Cho Geun-Hee, the name ' dopo' may have originated from China; however, the structure of the dopo was developed under the influences of other forms of traditional Korean overgarments. [16] It is suggested by the author Myoung-Hee Lee that the dopo appears to have its origins from the robe worn in Goguryeo (고구려). [1] Other authors such as Jungae Kim also suggest that it is the dopo could have originated from the jikryeong (직령/直領; coat with a straight collar) po and with which its bears similarities. [9]