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Thread: The Hanfu Resurgence

  1. #1
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    Slightly OT

    Intriguing trend. I admire cultures wearing traditional attire but the Cult Rev crushed that notion in PRC. Then there's this:

    The Hanfu fashion revival: ancient Chinese dress finds a new following
    400 years after falling out of favour, the flowing, and sometimes controversial, robes of the Han ethnic group are back in style
    PUBLISHED : Saturday, 21 October, 2017, 9:16am
    UPDATED : Sunday, 22 October, 2017, 2:05pm
    Alice Yan



    When Luo Zhenchen first put on Hanfu, the traditional dress of China’s Han people, its wide sleeves, crossed collars and long robes transformed him.
    “I felt a strong sense of affection and belonging,” the Guangzhou University design student said in an interview with the South China Morning Post. “I like the traditional culture behind it.”
    Luo, a sop****re, now wears Hanfu once a week. He also joined the Hanfu Society at his school. Its members celebrate traditional Chinese festivals, clad in Hanfu, and go into the community to lecture about their garments.
    Luo is by no means alone in venerating traditional Chinese attire. An increasing number of Chinese argue that Hanfu, which characterised the Han ethnic group for more than three millennia, is worthy of far greater attention today – both at home and abroad.


    Luo said he feels “a strong sense of affection and belonging” when he wears Hanfu clothes. Photo: Luo Zhenchen
    After vanishing from history for about 400 years, the style has gained a substantial number of followers on the mainland in the past 15 years as the country attaches more importance to tradition and calls on the public to be proud of Chinese culture.
    Hanfu, Luo said, had a “more broad historical context” than he expected. He said he also admired the “historical origins and historical tales” in its components.
    Most Hanfu enthusiasts, like Luo and his peers at the university, reserve their outfits for traditional festivals; only a small proportion wear them every day.
    A university student recently made headlines on Chinese media for dressing in Hanfu for more than 300 days in a single year to promote the style and culture.
    To complement his traditional robe, Kang Wei, a commerce and management student at Southwest Petroleum University in Chengdu, Sichuan province, wore shoes made from black cloth and, on rainy days, carried an umbrella made from oil paper, Chengdu Business News reported.
    “I admire Kang’s courage to wear Hanfu every day,” Luo said. “This kind of dress is different from what people wear nowadays.”
    Gao Zhiluo, a photographer from Luoyang in central China’s Henan province, is another diehard Hanfu supporter. She has worn the apparel almost every day since 2014.


    Photographer Gao Zhiluo has been wearing Hanfu outfits almost every day since 2014. Photo: Gao Zhiluo

    She was drawn to the costume from childhood when she was learning to play the pipa, a four-stringed instrument sometimes called the Chinese lute.
    When she plays on stage she always dresses in Hanfu, which she described as “beautiful and comfortable to wear”.
    Her passion for Hanfu carries into her everyday life. Before she goes out with friends, she spends an hour selecting her clothes, making up, combing her hair and choosing shoes and a handbag.
    When she is out and about, she said people often misunderstand her. Lots of people stare, she said, and some mock her for wearing what they assume is a cosplay outfit. Others, with a nationalistic or patriotic bent, get annoyed because they think her traditional robes are Japanese or South Korean.
    “I’m never put off by what they think because I know I’ve done nothing wrong or broken any rules,” she said. “But I am sad that people have such a lack of awareness of Hanfu. They don’t know that this is what our Han ancestors wore for thousands of years.”


    Gao said that people often stare at her when she is out and about and some are even abusive, but she is “never put off by what they think”. By: Gao Zhiluo

    Hanfu is not without its controversy. It has been linked to nationalist movements and even some of its most ardent fans have rejected calls to elevate it to China’s national dress. These naysayers point to the potential conflict such a move could spark between China’s Han majority and its 55 ethnic minorities.
    Han people, who have made up the bulk of China’s population since ancient times, were forced to change their clothes to Manchu-style ones by the Manchu rulers of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) in the mid 17th century. Many were killed for protesting the order.
    It is hard to estimate the number of people who wear Hanfu today. Clubs promoting the fashion have sprouted at every major university and that demand has led to the creation of hundreds of new clothing brands. Just 10 years ago, there was barely a handful.
    Most supporters say they wear the style to show their appreciation for Chinese culture or just for fashion, without caring about the Han nationalism publicised by some leaders of the Hanfu revitalisation movement more than a decade ago.


    Online broadcaster Wang Tingting said she prefers to see Hanfu as the traditional dress of the Han people, not as a fashion style that represents all Chinese. Photo: Wang Tingting

    To raise Hanfu’s profile, in 2015 some members of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Congress proposed making it China’s national dress, while several deputies to the National People’s Congress suggested that the robes worn by university students and academics on the mainland should be designed in a Hanfu style.
    Not all Hanfu supporters endorse those suggestions, however. Wang Tingting, an online broadcaster from Chongqing in southwestern China, said she had been wearing Hanfu regularly for several years, but preferred to see it as the traditional dress of the Han people, not as a fashion style that represented all Chinese.
    “Making Hanfu China’s national dress could be misleading, as if it was promoting Han nationalism and that could lead to ethnic conflicts,” she said.


    Wang makes tea dressed in one of her silk outfits. She said she has been passionate about Hanfu for several years. Photo: Wang Tingting

    Luo shared Wang’s concerns, saying that it would be controversial to make Hanfu the national dress.
    Gao said she could not understand why it was necessary to have a national dress.
    “It’s just clothes,” she said. “Why bother to politicise it? “If Hanfu was our national dress, what would ethnic minorities think?”
    Li Bochun, director of the Chinese Culture Rejuvenation Research Institute said it was comforting to see so many young people being drawn to Hanfu, but thought it was probably inappropriate for daily use.
    “In this fast-paced society, is it realistic to wear it while riding a bicycle or scrambling to get on a bus or subway train?”
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  2. #2
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    I would totally rock a hanfu

    More on the Hanfu resurgence.

    Wearing pride: Centuries-old Chinese fashion is making a comeback
    Updated 12th October 2019
    Written by
    Jessie Yeung
    Lily Lee, CNN
    Beijing, China
    Contributors
    Natalie Thomas, CNN

    This feature is part of a wider CNN Style series on how culture in China is evolving in the Xi Jinping era.

    When Zhang Lingshan was a child, she would watch the Chinese period drama "Palace" on television, entranced by the characters' ancient clothing. The costumes were colorful and regal, long gowns embroidered with lotus flowers and dragons, topped with intricate headpieces.
    She didn't know what these beautiful clothes were called -- only that they were from some distant past.
    "When I saw it, I really liked it," she said. "They looked fairy-like, dreamy. I was completely drawn by the beauty of these clothes, and then eventually came to understand the culture of Hanfu, and I liked it more and more."
    Now aged 19 and living in Beijing, Zhang is a member of China's growing "Hanfu" movement -- a renaissance of the ancient clothing traditionally worn by ethnic-majority Han Chinese before the Qing dynasty. The movement, which started in the early 2000s as a fringe subculture on online forums and websites, has now stepped out onto the streets.
    Though it's still not mainstream, if you walk through major cities you may see a fan dressed in the sweeping robes, crossed collars and wide sleeves of Hanfu, which literally translates to "Han clothing."
    There are Hanfu shops, designers and researchers, and even photography studios that rent out accessories and outfits.
    Hanfu outfits cost anywhere from $30 to a few thousand dollars, depending on the quality. Sales have soared in recent years -- the Hanfu industry's total market value is estimated to be worth 1.09 billion yuan (about $154 million), according to state-run media China Daily.
    Tight-knit Hanfu communities and university clubs often meet up for themed activities like folk games or costume showings. Zhang and her friends sometimes visit places with ancient architecture, like Beijing's Forbidden City, where emperors once resided, to take photos in costume and post them on social media.


    "Hanfu" refers to ancient clothing worn before the Qing dynasty. Young Hanfu fans model the fashion's characteristic wide sleeves and sweeping robes in highly stylized photo shoots. Credit: Chengdu Linxi Photography Room
    Chen Zhenbing, chairman of the China Hanfu Association, fell in love with the clothing when he was 16 and handmade his first Hanfu suit back when it was still a niche interest. He recalled holding a 2005 Hanfu event that only attracted about 50 attendees -- five years later, a similar event drew up to 500 people, he said.
    Nowadays, Hanfu events around the country can draw upwards of a thousand attendees.
    He and many others see Hanfu as a way to celebrate Chinese culture and improve national self-esteem. For years, Chinese professionals looked to the West for their wardrobes, wearing dress shirts and suits as the country's economy raced to catch up. Now, "we don't think China is underdeveloped," said Christine Tsui, a fashion columnist and researcher based in Shanghai. "So it's the confidence of the younger people, the confidence of the country."
    And yet, there are others who take a more critical view of Hanfu's popularity, seeing it as a reflection of a monoethnic nationalist surge under President Xi Jinping, who has repeatedly promoted "traditional virtues" and patriotism.
    China officially recognizes 56 ethnic groups, of which 55 are minorities. Han, the majority group, makes up about 92% of the country's population.
    Critics of the movement like Kevin Carrico, a senior research fellow in Chinese Studies at Melbourne's Monash University, argue that the popularization of Hanfu only reinforces Han cultural dominance, to the detriment of the millions of people making up China's ethnic minorities.
    In this context, he and other academics say Hanfu is no longer just an innocent fashion trend -- but something to be weaponized in promoting a nationalistic political agenda.

    A contested history

    Some enthusiasts have developed guidelines to define "authentic" Hanfu. For instance, while many may consider the tight-fitting, high-necked "qipao" as an example of typical Chinese period clothing, in the Hanfu community, it's not considered Han clothing because it originated from the ethnic Manchu people.
    It can be a touchy topic -- some Hanfu sites claim that Manchu leaders forcibly erased Hanfu during the Qing dynasty. "They forced the Han people to drop their costumes, and so this piece of China's cultural identity almost died out in the 20th century," reads one article in state-run media.
    So for some Hanfu fans, wearing Han clothing becomes an act of cultural and historical reclamation.
    continued next post
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
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  3. #3
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    Continued from previous post


    A fan takes a break outside a gathering of Hanfu devotees at a park in Beijing. Credit: GREG BAKER/AFP/AFP/Getty Images

    But this narrative of Han suppression may not be entirely accurate, and determining "authentic" Hanfu is difficult, said Carrico, who studied and wrote about the phenomenon in his book "The Great Han: Race, Nationalism, and Tradition in China Today."
    "There wasn't any singular style of clothing prior to the Qing (dynasty) that was designated specifically for people of Han ethnicity," he said in a phone interview.
    Carrico argued that Han Chinese wore all types of clothing styles through the dynasties -- so there isn't one Hanfu style but dozens depending on the time period, geographic region and socioeconomic class.


    Photography studios that specialize in Hanfu photo shoots are becoming more popular. Credit: Chengdu Linxi Photography Room

    Some Hanfu enthusiasts acknowledge this historical diversity. For instance, Chen said round-collar robes were preferred in the Tang dynasty, while layered wrap dresses were more popular in the Ming dynasty. Still, he said there are a few common design features that characterize Hanfu -- a cross collar, no buttons and typically three layers of inner garments and an overcoat. Motifs that are frequently used include embroidered cranes, dragons, swirling clouds and delicate flowers.
    This fluidity between the different styles is why 23-year-old Lu Yao, who lives in Beijing, prefers to use the term "Huafu," which refers to Chinese clothing more generally without the ethnic connotations.
    Hanfu was too narrow a term, she said, pointing out that Chinese culture was full of "fusion and integration" between diverse ethnic groups.
    However, many fans take pride in the Han distinction of "Hanfu."
    "To some extent, the revival of Hanfu is the revival of Han culture, and the revival of Han culture is also the revival of Chinese culture," said Chen, who now owns a Hanfu store and helps organize events. "I think the Han nationality is the most powerful and unified nationality in the world, with the most sacred and noble culture. No nationality can compare with the Han nationality."

    'Ethnic flattening'

    Chen echoes the kind of nationalist surge that has swept through China in recent years. Much of this rhetoric harks back to a supposed golden era in China's history, centuries ago.
    When Xi Jinping took power in 2012, he promised "a great revival of the Chinese nation," and regularly quotes the ancient philosopher-teacher Confucius. Schools are seeing an increased emphasis on Chinese culture, literature and history, which "teaches the youth to see things through the China lens," said Wessie Ling, an associate professor in fashion studies at the UK's Northumbria University.
    But academics like Carrico and Ling fear an emphasis on Hanfu and Han culture could further edge out minority groups and flatten China's ethnic diversity.
    Ethnic marginalization and suppression is a particularly prominent concern in today's China. For the last two-and-a-half-years, China has been detaining hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities in the far western region of Xinjiang. Beijing describes the measures as "voluntary de-radicalization camps" and "vocational training centers." Critics call them "re-education camps." Critics and former detainees say they are actually forced political "re-education camps" and compare them to internment camps.
    Some Uyghurs claim the camps are part of a wider and systemic program of "cultural genocide" by Beijing, intended to eliminate their religion and culture and bring them closer to China's majority Han population.
    In recent years, Chinese media has showcased numerous examples of Uyghur schoolchildren and adults dressed in Hanfu during celebrations and public performances.
    "While Uyghur clothing is being discouraged in schools, or only allowed under strict parameters set by the authorities, Chinese clothing is being increasingly pushed on Uyghurs students," said non-profit organization Uyghur Human Rights Project in a 2018 report.
    According to the report, "assimilative policies" carried out by the government include "pressuring Uyghurs to publicly perform modern dances, sing Communist 'Red Songs,'" and "wear pseudo-traditional Chinese Hanfu robes."
    The Xinjiang government has not responded to CNN's request for comment.
    Carrico says this is more evidence of forced assimilation -- of "erasing groups' culture and heritage, and imaginarily making them Han."
    Matthew Chew, a Hong Kong Baptist University professor who studied the sociology of Chinese national dress takes a different view -- Hanfu still isn't mainstream enough to be worn by most Han people in daily life, let alone prevalent enough to be forced onto ethnic minorities, he said.
    "It's still a minority subculture," Chew said in a phone interview. "The risk (of ethnic suppression) is really low."
    Besides, he added, "there are nationalists who are not ethnonationalists. Some who don't base their love of the country on ethnic criteria." There are more harmless forms of nationalism, he argued.


    Women rehearsing for a performance at a gathering of Hanfu fans in Beijing. Credit: GREG BAKER/AFP/AFP/Getty Images

    Other Hanfu fans like the Beijing teenager Zhang take issue with the politicization of Hanfu. "I simply like this clothing, it's beautiful," she said, adding that it was "nonsense" to link Hanfu with nationalism.
    "We should have a more relaxed attitude towards Hanfu," she said. "Don't make something that you like so exhausting."
    Tsui, the fashion columnist, echoed this sentiment -- people just wear Hanfu "for their own dreams," she said. Besides, she added, Han people make up more than 90% of the Chinese population, so "it's not weird" that Hanfu is so popular.
    "It's part of globalization," she said. "We all wear T-shirts, but can you say we are all Americanized?"
    Whether or not Hanfu is inherently political and racialized, the ongoing debate reflects the complexity of fashion and trends. Fashion doesn't exist in a vacuum -- it shapes and is shaped by social, economic, and political events. And the crucial question here, experts argue, is whether Han dominance in the popular imagination of what being "Chinese" means, comes at the expense of other ethnic narratives.
    "This country is not opening up any more, it's closing down -- so the emphasis of the dominant culture is once again reinforced," said Ling. "We hear a lot about representation of ethnicities... but the people in power in China are the Han Chinese."
    If this trend continues, perhaps we'll need a hanfu thread.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  4. #4
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    The Hanfu Resurgence

    ‘Cultural power not a suit and tie’: hanfu traditional fashion revival strengthens, even as China’s economy slows
    Young Chinese people are increasingly favouring hanfu, clothes once worn by ancient Han Chinese, as an expression of cultural identity and fashion
    Sales of hanfu clothing leapt more than 50-fold from 2015 to 2021, when they were worth over US$1.45 billion, with sales of US$1.8 billion predicted this year

    Mandy Zuo in Shanghai

    Published: 2:00pm, 27 Aug, 2022


    The popularity of hanfu, traditional Chinese dress, has boomed in recent years, particuarly among younger generations who are embracing Chinese culture and identity. Photo: Weibo
    Decades ago as a young boy, Zhao Bo loved travelling with his tailor father on visits to ancient towns and villages across China collecting traditional clothes once worn by their Han Chinese ancestors.
    The 35-year-old comes from a family of tailors in northern China and has continued his father’s passion as an adult, collecting more than 2,000 pieces of ancient clothing, and reproduced dozens more by studying antiquities and ancient books.
    Zhao now heads a museum in Yongqing, Hebei province, northern China, showcasing antique garments, some more than 500 years old, and handmade replicas of outfits dating back to more than 2,000 years ago,
    An intangible cultural inheritor appointed by the Hebei provincial government to promote Chinese culture, Zhao is a part of a growing movement among younger Chinese that has helped revive hanfu, the name given to clothing once worn by ancient Han Chinese.


    Zhao Bo, 35, has spent the past decade reproducing dozens of traditional Chinese clothing patterns used as early as the Han dynasty (202BC-220AD). Photo: Zhao Bo
    Annual sales of hanfu clothing have leapt from around 190 million yuan in 2015 to more than 10 billion yuan (US$1.45 billion) last year, according to Chinese data analysis firm iiMedia Research.
    The firm forecasts the hanfu market will grow to 12.5 billion yuan this year – up 65 times since 2015, despite an overall economic slowdown in China.
    “People barely talked about hanfu when I opened my museum in 2014,” said Zhao. “They didn’t even know whether it meant clothes worn by the Han Chinese throughout history, or clothes specifically worn during the Han dynasty.”
    “But about three years ago I started feeling a craze, especially among the youth, unlike before when hanfu fans were often older people,” he said.
    People wearing hanfu-style dress has become a common sight on the streets of major Chinese cities in recent years as increasing numbers of teenagers and young adults turn to the outfits as both a statement of fashion and cultural identity.

    The market for hanfu clothing is forecast to be worth US$1.8 billion this year. Photo: Weibo
    Hanfu covers clothes worn during a number of China’s historical periods. The most popular styles are from the Tang, Song, and Ming dynasties. The Ming was the last native Han Chinese dynasty to rule China before the Manchu seized power in 1636 and formed the Qing dynasty that lasted until 1911.
    Hanfu often consists of a flowing robe in beautiful shades of colour and a skirt with intricate embroidery.
    Zhao said the in-vogue hanfu attire seen on the streets of China today is not exactly what ancient Han people once wore. However, he said it remains a positive promotion of the more authentic hanfu clothing displayed at places like his museum.
    “Only when there’s great interest from the public will there be people who bother to learn more about hanfu and make it historically accurate,” he said.
    As China’s leaders have pushed for a stronger sense of national Chinese identity and renewed cultural confidence in recent years, hanfu has become a visual symbol of China’s renaissance.
    Fashion-conscious youth in mainland China have enjoyed the official promotion and turned hanfu cosplay into a way to express themselves and to connect with history and tradition.
    Lisa Zhou, a 17-year-old high school student from Shanghai, said she was fascinated by hanfu after seeing videos on social media where girls “look like fairies” in historical attire.
    She was also influenced by enthusiasts from her school who formed a hanfu club, something no school had several years ago, she said.
    wears hanfu garments, said she likes them because they are ‘pretty’, but is quick to point out that she is also keenly aware she is wearing a piece of China’s cultural heritage. Photo: Weibo
    But the teenager pointed out that she doesn’t just like the clothing because it looks pretty, but it also represents China’s cultural heritage.
    “As science and technology develop quickly, we should not forget our traditional culture. As a member of the new generation, I hope we can revitalise our traditional culture in our daily lives,” she said.
    It was for this reason that she wore a hanfu outfit to a recent family gathering, she said.
    Such attitudes are common among Zhou’s peers, according to the iiMedia report. Nearly 70 per cent of hanfu enthusiasts surveyed said the top reason they wore the garments was to “promote Chinese culture”, with “looking good” listed as a secondary concern by many.

    Zhao believes that as awareness of the history and cultural significance of hanfu garments increases, its relevance to contemporary China will only continue to grow. Photo: Zhao Bo
    Despite its rising popularity, most hanfu fans tend to only wear the outfits for photo shoots with friends and at traditional festivals, the report said. Only about 20 per cent of them have worn hanfu in their daily lives.
    Zhao, who wears adapted hanfu on a daily basis, said the best way to preserve tradition was to adapt it to modern life.
    “The government has vowed to build China into a major cultural power by 2035. There are still more than 10 years to go, and I believe during this period we’ll see a continuous surge in traditional clothing,” he said.
    “We won’t call ourselves a cultural power while wearing a suit and tie, will we?” he said.

    I'm splitting the Hanfu Resurgence off into its own indie thread from the-kung-fu-of-clothing/
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

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