During the trip that just ended, Liu Mengting wore a Ming Dynasty horse-faced skirt and put on AR guide glasses to watch the Mawangdui exhibition at the Hunan Museum, completing a visit that felt like a science fiction time travel.
In recent years, wearing traditional clothes to visit scenic spots has become a trend among young people.
During the Spring Festival of the Year of the Dragon that just passed, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province held a free subway event for about a week wearing traditional Chinese clothing. Horse-faced skirts became more and more people’s “New Year uniforms”; young girls wore Hanfu to Disneyland. Check in and call it "the most suitable princess dress for Chinese babies' physiques"; the streets of Quanzhou, Fujian are crowded with tourists dressed in the shape of Cunpu girls. This costume, which started in the Eastern Jin Dynasty and flourished in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, has a unique flavor when wearing it when visiting the ancient city.
The "national trend" is strong on the road to travel. Why are traditional Chinese clothes so popular?
Traditional clothing takes to the streets and is no longer a "low-end product"
Zhao Xi, 27, has been exposed to Hanfu since high school. “At that time, it was still in the early stages of the revival of Hanfu, and very few people paid attention to it.”
When she and her best friend traveled to Chengdu wearing Hanfu during the National Day last year, she found that there were young people wearing traditional Chinese clothes everywhere in Wuhou Temple, Du Fu Thatched Cottage and the Chengdu Museum.
"Walking in ancient costumes on the street used to be considered strange, but now everyone is used to it."
When Zhao Xi went to study in Germany, she even wore Hanfu abroad.
Wearing a horse-faced skirt while taking a taxi on the street in Switzerland, the driver asked curiously: "Which country are you from?" When I briefly took off my down jacket to reveal my Hanfu to take pictures in Tromso, Norway, the people around me commented that "the clothes are so beautiful" Along with the compliment "You are so cute".
In 2022, Zhao Xi participated in the orchestra activities of the German-Chinese Association, wearing Hanfu and playing guzheng.
"When I told them that this is traditional Chinese clothing, many foreign friends asked me, is this what your princess wears?" Zhao Xi found it very interesting and was proud that Chinese traditional clothing has received unanimous praise.
"Wearing Hanfu among young people born in the 1990s and 2000s is a good signal for the return of traditional culture." Pan Lusheng, chairman of the Chinese Folk Writers and Artists Association, said in an exclusive interview with a reporter from China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily that many young people are now consciously or not Consciously inheriting excellent traditional culture, you can see many primary, secondary and college students wearing Hanfu in scenic spots such as Hangzhou West Lake and Suzhou Gardens.
"In the past 20 years, our traditional culture teaching has undergone great changes." Pan Lusheng said, "The post-90s and post-00s are willing to travel in traditional clothes because they feel that my cultural identity is related to Hanfu, and wearing it is a kind of Fashion".
Pan Lusheng believes that this kind of cultural advocacy is spontaneous rather than mandatory, and is a return to traditional culture.
"When people continue to understand and discover traditions, and wear costumes with Chinese traditional cultural charm on important ceremonial occasions and in daily life, the costume tradition will become an existence closely related to life." Pan Lusheng once wrote in the article "Clothing Trends and Clothing Culture" 》 pointed out that traditional clothing is no longer just a commemoration and memory of the older generation, but also a choice for young people today to express their cultural identity, establish a sense of life rituals, and shape their own personality image, forming a brand that spans the Internet, reality, and culture. and diverse expressions of travel, images and narratives.
More than just beauty, there is a cultural “code” hidden behind traditional clothing
Chen Chen, a girl from Hunan, collected different shapes of traditional Chinese clothing and matched them according to different scenes during her travels.
For example, when going to the grasslands and lakes in Inner Mongolia, wear wide robes with long sleeves that are suitable for the Wei and Jin Dynasties; in summer gardens in the south of the Yangtze River, the Song Dynasty spiral skirts are cool and elegant; when walking on the city wall of Xi'an, you will wear a Tang Dynasty chest-length skirt that is graceful and luxurious; when you come to the Forbidden City, round neck collar The robe paired with the horse-faced skirt looks dignified and elegant; when going to Quanzhou, nothing can be more fitting into this world heritage city than the look of a Xiapu girl wearing a hairpin apron, a long-sleeved shirt and wide-legged trousers.
When buying traditional clothing, in addition to color matching and style, Chen Chen also pays attention to patterns and meanings.
Her favorite is an imitation Confucius flower and bird skirt known as "White Moonlight in Hanfu Circle". The pattern of the skirt is based on the Ming Dynasty white dark flower gauze embroidered flower and bird pattern skirt from the Confucius old collection in the Shandong Museum. It is embroidered with four seasons flowers, Luan and Phoenix. Birds.
"Wear this when traveling and instantly feel like a Ming Dynasty girl."
"I think this is different from renting a set of clothes to take photos at tourist attractions when I was a kid. It's not just for taking photos, but to allow myself to have a deeper and immersive understanding of the cultural connotations behind traditional clothes and feel the ancient meanings described in poems and articles." Chen Chen explain.
Bi Hong, deputy director of the Embroidery Art Professional Committee of the China Arts and Crafts Society, inheritor of intangible cultural heritage, and Beijing arts and crafts master, has been engaged in traditional clothing protection research, inheritance and innovation work for nearly 28 years.
When she was an intern, a chance encounter at a roadside antique shop made her "see the beauty of ancient palace embroidery for a thousand years".
From then on, she became obsessed with collecting Qing Dynasty palace clothes, focusing on the protection of Qing Dynasty palace clothes and fabric embroidery and the research of palace embroidery (Beijing embroidery). In her spare time, she looked for various opportunities to travel to various places to learn how to protect traditional Qing Dynasty clothes. Weaving and embroidery patterns and ancient clothing-making techniques.
In Bi Hong's studio, there is an old camphor wood box, which is full of Qing Dynasty palace costumes and embroidery items that she has carefully collected for more than 20 years.
Bi Hong knows the year, material, color combination, and pattern meaning of each piece of embroidery, and she carefully protects the records with her apprentices.
In her view, traditional Chinese clothing is not only an important carrier of embroidery and patterns, but also contains the unique cultural heritage, profound aesthetics and ingenuity of the ancients.
For example, the one-word buttons on traditional clothing carry the ancients' understanding of the round sky and the unity of man and nature, as well as their respect and belief in nature.
On formal jackets of contemporary clothing, an odd number of 7 buttons or buttons is more common.
"Legends record that in ancient times, literati went to Beijing to take exams or merchants went out to do business. Due to the long distance and inconvenient transportation, they often didn't know when they would return." Bi Hong told reporters, "In ancient times, most of the people who went out were the heads of the family. Before traveling, the family would I will make a lot of clothes for the travelers who are about to travel in preparation for the long journey. There are 7 buckles on each piece of clothing, which symbolizes the Big Dipper in the sky, which means that no matter how far you go, you must remember the waiting of your family, no matter how difficult and dangerous it is. You have to find your way home. When you lose your way, just look at the Big Dipper in the sky."
In addition, the embroidery patterns also contain unfinished words from the ancients.
For example, the two swallowtail butterflies on the court cloak of the Qing Dynasty symbolized a happy reunion; the chrysanthemum pattern was a favorite of the ancient court nobles and represented a long and peaceful life.
"The ancient weaving and embroidery patterns always 'speak auspicious words' to the wearer and the designer," said Bi Hong.
"Chinese traditional clothing is the earliest standard definition carrier of 'system' in Chinese history. It not only pays attention to the coordination and matching of human body shape, skin color, makeup, etc. with clothing, but also pays special attention to the integration of functionality and artistry. It also pays special attention to people, clothing, and nature. , the overall harmony of the environment is an important part of China's excellent traditional culture." Bi Hong once shared with students in a lecture, "It contains profound philosophical connotations and the way of harmonious coexistence with nature, conveying long-lasting and memorable meanings Endless classical beauty, traditional beauty, and artistic beauty."
Traditional clothing is popular, but what next?
During the Spring Festival of the Year of the Dragon, the traditional Chinese pattern creation show "Nian Brocade" appeared on the stage of the New Year's Eve Spring Festival Gala, showing traditional Chinese auspicious patterns from the Han, Tang, Song and Ming eras, and showing the beauty of traditional Chinese clothing that has been passed down for thousands of years.
Zhao Xi initially liked Hanfu because it “looked like the clothes people in TV series wore.”
At that time, the "restoration style" of Hanfu was not popular yet, and it was more inclined to the "photo studio style" in everyone's impression.
As the understanding deepened, Zhao Xi gradually discovered the "attractiveness" of restored Hanfu.
"Those are things left by our ancestors. The beauty that has been baptized and accumulated over the years is the real beauty." Zhao Xi said.
"I think the original intention of promoting Chinese traditional clothing is to make people no longer feel that it is a strange thing to wear it, but that it is natural." But Zhao Xi found that as traditional clothing becomes more and more popular, some chaos Symbols also appeared immediately. For example, stores collectively referred to traditional clothing with Han elements as "Hanfu", but in fact some of the shapes were disordered and the quality was uneven.
"China has been known as a country of great clothing and etiquette since ancient times. Clothing not only records the aesthetic characteristics of different stages in the historical process, but is also one of the important symbols that record the context of Chinese civilization and Chinese etiquette. The clothing fabrics, patterns and patterns of different eras are all It is closely related to the development of the times and the inheritance of civilization. Therefore, inheritance and innovation have always been traceable." Bi Hong leads the team to adhere to "keeping integrity and innovation" on the road of inheritance. In her view, adhering to "tradition" is not old-fashioned or outdated; It does not mean that innovation cannot be achieved. The premise of "keeping integrity and innovation" is to follow the "etiquette" and "system" inherited by clothing. Those are regulations and rules that cannot be tampered with at will.
"Through practice and experience, it will take time and more people's efforts to let more people deeply understand the rich connotations behind traditional culture and traditional clothing, but this is necessary and worthwhile to further enhance cultural confidence." Bi Hong said.
She suggested that the love of traditional culture and traditional clothing among people of different ages should be further cultivated through different methods such as exhibitions, teaching lectures, and experience sharing.
"Young people are active participants in inheriting Chinese civilization and traditional Chinese culture." Pan Lusheng said that we should look at the reality that "traditional culture lives in the present" from a positive perspective.
"I hope young people will read more, learn more about the essence of traditional culture, and elaborate on their understanding of traditional culture. This is a recognition of their own cultural identity."
How long will traditional Chinese clothing remain popular?
"It's not about how long it will be popular, it will always be popular, and it will become more and more popular!" In Bi Hong's view, traditional clothing is one of the concrete manifestations of China's excellent traditional culture, whether it is traditional clothing or inheritance Thousands of years of civilization are the soul of the Chinese nation that will never be erased in the long course of history.
“In the long course of history, mountains and rivers may change their appearance, and the sea may change into mulberry fields, but the soul of Chinese civilization has never disappeared.”
Bi Hong believes that the current "fire" is a phenomenon and a trend, and the next step for "fire" is to inspire more patriotic young people who are educated, confident, ideal and enthusiastic to join the "Chinese Wear" The team of "Chinese Clothing" calls on more students and enthusiasts to devote themselves to the protection, inheritance, innovation and development of traditional clothing through learning, research, practice, etc.
"We look forward to the day when the finely crafted Chinese clothes will proudly stand at the forefront of world fashion, so that all beauty lovers around the world will be proud to own the most beautiful Chinese clothes," said Bi Hong.
(Zhao Xi is a pseudonym at the request of the interviewee)
China Youth Daily·China Youth Daily reporter Yu Bingyue Source: China Youth Daily