The ancient Chinese concept of left and right

The traditional Chinese crossed collar with the right lapel.

The crossed collar with the right lapel is closely related to the concept of left and right. The ancient Chinese people would sometimes honor the left and sometimes the right, depending on the occasion and the purpose. These seemingly contradictory customs are actually consistent with different cultural beliefs.

The philosophy of Yin（阴）and Yang（阳）

In simple terms, from the philosophy of Yin（阴）and Yang（阳）, ancient Chinese people believed that everything in the world have yin and yang aspects. Therefore, the philosophy of Yin and Yang became the basis of the universe. Gradually, the custom of honoring the left emerged. The left side represents Yang, which is positive; the right side represents Yin, which is negative. This concept is reflected in many aspects of daily life, such as seating arrangements and building orientation. Therefore, the character “好（good）” in the oracle bone inscription has a woman on the right and a man on the left, which formed the concept of male on the left and female on the right, as well as the custom of the left side as more valuable.

From the perspective of the power worship, the ancients also believe that the right hand is stronger and more flexible than the left hand, so in some occasions that would display power and authority, the right side was regarded as a position of honor, which is the concept of right side is respected and left side is disrespected. This concept is particularly evident in military and political. Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty also said, “The left side represent Yang, which symbolic of initiative, growth, and good fortune, in peaceful times, a gentleman honors the left side, reflecting the pursuit of peace and good fortune. While the right side represent Yin, which symbolic of passivity, restraint, and misfortune, therefore, the right side is honored in warfare.” The right side symbolizes harshness and killing, which is beneficial for warfare, so in ancient China favor the good events were held on the left side, and bad events were held on the right side.Ancient Chinese people wore the right over left collar when alive, and the left over right collar when dead, which was exactly the opposite, also originated from this concept.

The right over left collar of ancient clothing

After understanding the concepts of honor and inferiority regarding left and right, we can have a deeper understanding when we look at the right over left collar of ancient clothing. The interlocking collar refers to the intersection of the left and right lapels of the clothes, the left lapel cover to the right lapel,which indicate that the left side is considered more valuable. However, from another perspective, the belt is tied on the right side for convenience when using the right hand, which can also be understood as the right side being more valuable, which is the result of the pursuit of practicality.

Why do nomadic peoples prefer to wear garments with the left-buttoned (left over right collar)?It should be due to the needs of riding and archery. Because of archery generally have to hold the bow in the left hand, the right hand pull the string. If the right lapel cover to the left lapel, it can avoid the sword plume and bowstring hook hanging the lapel.Therefore, nomadic peoples and those who engage in riding and archery often wear garments with the left side buttoned. Another reason is that when mounting a horse, most people stand on the left side of the horse and first put their left foot on the stirrup. With the lapel on the left side, it is also convenient for people to step up onto the horse.