Among the factors differentiating the world’s peoples are language, housing, and dress. According to Vietnamese scholar Phan Ke Binh’s Vietnamese Customs, “most of our dress since the Tang Dynasty has imitated the Chinese.”
Chinese civilisation influenced Vietnamese culture during the thousand years the Northern (Chinese) people dominated Vietnam. Court dress (head-wear, clothes, belt, garments, boots) and ancient military uniforms (hats, armour, clothes, shoes) reflect this influence. However, the Chinese presence did not affect civilian clothing for the common people, particularly the women’s robe called “ao tu than” or “four-panelled traditional dress.” Ao tu than is the forerunner of the ao dai . It does not look like a Chinese woman’s
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