Paofu (Chinese: 袍服; pinyin: páofú; lit. 'robe'), also known as pao (Chinese: 袍; pinyin: páo; lit. 'robe')[1][2]: 90 for short, is a form of a long, one-piece robe in Hanfu, which is characterized by the natural integration of the upper and lower part of the robe which is cut from a single fabric.[3] The term is often used to refer to the jiaolingpao and the yuanlingpao.[2]: 90 The jiaolingpao was worn since the Zhou dynasty[1] and became prominent in the Han dynasty.[4]: 13 The jiaolingpao was a unisex, one-piece robe;[5]: 234 while it was worn mainly by men, women could also wear it.[4]: 12 It initially looked similar to the ancient shenyi; however, these two robes are structurally different from each other.[4]: 10–13 With time, the ancient shenyi disappeared while the paofu evolved gaining different features in each succeeding dynasties; the paofu continues to be worn even in present day.[4]: 14 The term paofu refers to the "long robe" worn by ancient Chinese,[4]: 15 [6]: 217 [7] and can include several form of Chinese robes of various origins and cuts, including Changshan,Qipao, Shenyi,Tieli, Zhisun, Yesa.
^Snodgrass, Mary Ellen (2015). World Clothing and Fashion An Encyclopedia of History, Culture, and Social Influence. Taylor & Francis. ISBN9781317451679.