While studying in Belgium and after working, Wang Mei wore traditional Hanfu more and more frequently. She would wear it when visiting friends’ homes, eating in restaurants, attending traditional Chinese festivals, and traveling with her “colleagues.” , I will also wear it when visiting museums. During the Mid-Autumn Festival in 2022, she put on Hanfu, put on a headdress, put on makeup, and brought several sets of Hanfu of her own, "to see if anyone wants to try them on and wear them to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival with me." That day, two foreign girls tried on her Hanfu, and she also introduced them to the patterns and dynasties of the clothes. "I could see that they were particularly interested, and they even took the initiative to ask about the history of the clothes and the meaning of the patterns." Inspired by this, Wang Mei has been going out almost every week to invite locals to experience Hanfu.
Zhang Yongyi, who is studying at Donghua University, uses another form to bring traditional Chinese clothing elements to life. In the elective course “Intangible Cultural Heritage and Social Practice” in her sophomore year, she learned about Shanghai’s municipal intangible cultural heritage—Chongming Homespun Cloth. After on-site visits and research, she discovered that there is rich cultural connotation behind homespun cloth: "For example, there is a kind of cloth called 'Double Happiness Cloth'. Parents will use 'Double Happiness Cloth' to make wedding dresses for their daughters to express their best wishes for their daughter's future life." Zhang Yongyi Using Chongming homespun cloth as fabric and combining it with the style of traditional Shanghai cheongsam, three sets of physical clothing were made and held in public performances, attracting many audiences.
Today, there are many young people like Wang Mei and Zhang Yongyi. The horse faces floating in the streets and alleys during the Spring Festival of the Year of the Dragon, and the various forms of Hanfu in parks and countryside during the spring season all tell the story of young people using clothing as a carrier to inherit traditional culture. China Youth Daily·China Youth Daily recently launched a relevant questionnaire survey for young people, mainly college students, and a total of 2,222 valid questionnaires were collected. The results showed that 98.47% of the respondents liked national style clothing, of which 47.30% liked it very much. 37.08% of the respondents prefer it, and 14.09% of the respondents generally like it.
National style clothing enters the daily life scene, witnessing the cultural confidence of youth
A survey by the China Youth School Media showed that 7.47% of the respondents often wear national style clothing, 19.08% of the respondents sometimes wear it, 36.63% of the respondents rarely wear it, and 36.81% of the respondents never wear it. National style clothing has been used by respondents in various life scenes, such as daily life (15.46%), travel (26.99%), traditional festivals (20.51%), parties (4.20%), important ceremonies (8.19%), themes Activities (22.93%), etc.
Li Junhao, who is studying in the Turing class of the School of Artificial Intelligence of Xi'an University of Electronic Science and Technology, became interested in Chinese costumes because he was influenced by costume dramas. At that time, he was still in high school, and almost no one around him wore Hanfu. He kept his love for traditional costumes secretly in his heart. When he was in his senior year of high school, he saw people wearing Hanfu for the first time on the street. "At that time, I thought they were very bold and cool." So he also began to secretly save money to buy Hanfu and wear it secretly during after-school activities. But now, Li Junhao can wear Hanfu openly and invite friends to go shopping and eat. During the Chinese New Year last year, he went home wearing a Feiyu suit and cloak and went from house to house to pay New Year greetings to relatives and friends. "Everyone was very surprised at that time, so I generously introduced the characteristics and history of clothing to everyone." Li Junhao said.
Chi Jiawen of Sunshine College also wears Chinese-style clothing as regular clothes. "Shirt and horse skirt" is her outfit choice when going shopping or attending classes. She is also willing to wear Hanfu to the forest parks around the city, so that Hanfu and nature can collide. “Being among the undisturbed woods, walking and taking photos with friends allows me to enjoy the natural and comfortable feeling.”
A survey by the Chinese Youth School Media shows that among the reasons why respondents like Chinese-style clothing are that Chinese-style clothing is fashionable and a trend (27.42%), and that wearing Chinese-style clothing can highlight individuality (28.23%). Xing Haiyan, professor of the Department of Sociology at Shanghai Normal University, pointed out in the article ""National Trend" and "True Self": Self-Presentation of Youth Groups in the Internet Era": "In the past, when the public's national self-confidence was not strong, some people once thought that domestic products were Representatives of rustic and low-end... Through online discourse scanning, we found that compared with the previous generation, Generation Z people have stronger cultural confidence and national identity. They are more receptive to domestic brands and have more designs with Chinese elements. The product becomes fashionable and trendy in their eyes.”
Exploring the cultural genes wrapped in clothing, young people are serious
A survey by the China Youth School Media showed that 55.63% of the respondents believed that young people are willing to explore traditional culture and discover the beauty of traditional Chinese culture.
From coming into contact with Hanfu to gradually learning, understanding and spreading the culture behind it, Zhang Silin, a graduate student at Beijing Normal University, followed the clothing to explore the cultural roots behind it. Her social media account "Yes Xiao Lin Wow" initially just updated her Hanfu photos, but slowly, she observed that many people regarded "ancient costumes" and "fairy clothes" as Hanfu, and paired them with modern online makeup, and It cannot accurately show the beauty of Hanfu, makeup and hair. So she decided to spread the traditional clothing culture in her own way.
In order to make the shooting content as rigorous as possible, Zhang Silin and his companions will refer to murals, cultural relics, relevant literature and books and other materials to restore traditional clothing, makeup, styling and accessories as much as possible. She also tried to buy fabrics and find a tailor to customize some Hanfu with the correct shape that was difficult to find on the market. Because many of the ready-made garments available are too short or not rigorous in shape, she recently customized a Ming Dynasty peacock patchwork round-neck robe. The photos of this round-neck robe also attracted the attention of many netizens.
If clothing is a person's appearance, then the cultural core behind it is just like a person's connotation. In the view of some interviewees, national style clothing is a beautiful existence both internally and externally. A survey by Chinese youth school media shows that respondents believe that national-style clothing has high aesthetic value (74.57%), and the long-standing Chinese culture behind the clothing has unique charm (71.74%), etc., which are important reasons for the popularity of national-style clothing.
For Zhang Yongyi, who majored in fashion design, her own experience is the epitome of this "national trend" in clothing - from not knowing much about traditional clothing culture, to gradually learning in practice, and finally being able to design her own " "National Trend" works. When she was a junior in college, she entered a bag design competition hosted by Coach. The theme of the competition is "China Cool". In the process of thinking about how to integrate the "national trend" with the brand, she and her teammates thought of the Chinese knot. "We did not rush to design products, but first understood the origin and story of the Chinese knot. Rough understanding and design are irresponsible to traditional culture." They visited clothing museums and exhibitions offline, read papers and allusions, and learned about the types and meanings of Chinese knots. "We used the 'Five Blessings' - 'Fu, Lu, Shou, Happy Wealth' as the starting point to find the corresponding 'knot' style. For example, the Shiquan knot we used in the design means perfection, and the halberd knot represents a bright future. ,step up". The work of Zhang Yongyi's team won the best creative award in the competition and was exhibited at the China International Clothing and Accessories Expo. “At the exhibition, hearing people from all walks of life praise our work made us feel that this matter is very meaningful and can infect many people.”
With the help of young people, national style clothing and culture become a trend
A survey of middle school and youth school media shows that in addition to wearing Chinese-style clothing, some respondents have also participated in Chinese-style clothing-related societies or activities (34.65%), organized and managed Chinese-style clothing-related societies or activities (16.56%), and designed Or make clothes or accessories with Chinese style elements (17.46%), learn relevant knowledge through lectures, courses, online information, etc. (34.43%), post photos and videos of Chinese style clothes on social networks (31.86%), etc. .
Yang Chaoming, former director of the Confucius Institute in China, once said in an interview with the media that young people not only fall in love with traditional culture, but now also bring traditional culture to more people's horizons through the Internet, social media and other means. Wang Mei regards the Internet as one of the carriers to spread clothing culture.
From initially holding Hanfu as a "living signboard" to setting up stalls and hanging signboards in shopping malls, parks or scenic spots, Wang Mei's "small stall" for trying on Hanfu for free has gradually taken shape. Every time I go out to the stall, there are not only many people queuing up to change clothes and do styling, but also a large number of onlookers. After setting up an account on social media to record the process of dressing up for foreigners, she already has more than 100,000 fans. "At first, I only had my own clothes for adult women to try on, but because many children were interested, I bought a small size of Hanfu. Later, fathers who brought their children also wanted to experience it, so men's clothing was added." When she was "out at the stall", she tried on clothes and styled clothes for up to 13 foreign friends at a time, and they were almost exhausted. In the end, she had to apologize to those who still wanted to experience it, and asked them to come back later.
Wang Mei hopes that Hanfu will become a carrier for her to exchange culture with foreign friends. Every time she tries on Hanfu for foreign friends, she will introduce them to which dynasty the clothing they chose is from, what the meanings of the pomegranates, elephants, flowers and other patterns on it are, and teach them the simple etiquette of the corresponding dynasty. She also produced a Chinese-French bilingual leaflet to introduce the differences in traditional costumes of each dynasty.
Not long ago, taking advantage of the craze for "explosive modifications", Chi Jiawen of Sunshine College completed an "explosive modification to Hanfu" for two of her teachers. She combined the different styles of the teachers and chose myrobalan skirts, Hanfu from the Song Dynasty, Hanfu from the Northern and Southern Dynasties, etc. to match. "This is also an experience of introducing Hanfu to different groups of people." After the photo of the teacher wearing Hanfu was released, there were not only many compliments in the comment area, but also discussions about the characteristics of the costumes of the past dynasties. "The costumes in the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties were simple and solemn, with dark short shirts as the mainstay. In the Tang Dynasty, chest-high styles were paired with large-sleeved shirts. The decorative designs also tended towards cultural diversity and integration, which was closely related to the cultural and social trends at that time." Chi. Introduced by Jiawen.
After becoming the president of the Sixian Hanfu Club of Xi'an University of Electronic Science and Technology, Li Junhao also became the organizer of Hanfu activities and the disseminator of Hanfu culture. "We have lowered the entry threshold for Hanfu Club. Anyone who is interested in Hanfu can participate in the activities." Li Junhao found that after participating in several activities, many new friends would ask for advice and precautions on buying Hanfu in the group, and gradually from " "Hanfu novice" has become a "senior Hanfu enthusiast". Skateboarding is also one of Li Junhao's hobbies. He thought about whether he could combine the two hobbies to create a trendy and cool new trick - "skateboarding in Hanfu." He bought a set of crew-neck robes. “It’s no problem to wear them while skateboarding. The visual effect and personal experience are fully enhanced.”
A survey by the China Youth School Media showed that 53.47% of the respondents believed that the spread of youth has made traditional clothing more fashionable. Zheng Haiyan pointed out that Generation Z has more distinct self-awareness and individual characteristics. They like to chase new things and have a strong desire for self-expression. They also have rational and open thinking and consumption attitudes. “This group of Generation Z Young people were born in an era when China's national power was constantly improving, and the national trend culture has been recognized and sought after by them with its unique recognition, thus becoming the fashion of pioneering youth."
From August to December last year, Zhang Silin went to the United Arab Emirates to study and wore Hanfu in cities such as Abu Dhabi and Dubai. He received many compliments such as "Amazing" and "Wonderful". Visitors will comment favorably on the color combination of the Hanfu she wears. Some tourists also expressed their yearning for Hanfu and its unique hairstyle and makeup, and she also actively introduced it to tourists. At school, she also wore Hanfu and played guzheng, and participated in student cultural festivals, Chinese lectures and other activities. During the four months in the UAE, under the influence of Zhang Silin, more and more foreign students wanted to try wearing traditional Chinese costumes.
In the second semester of her sophomore year, Zhang Yongyi also interned at the Asian Design Alliance, combining traditional Laotian fabrics with traditional Chinese clothing styles, and independently completed 37 sets of clothing design works. "Dress is a language that can infect many people in a silent way. This is a very good way to inherit the excellent traditional Chinese culture." Zhang Yongyi has a sense of mission, "If today's young people don't pass it on, our excellent craftsmanship and clothing culture will gradually disappear, so I feel a responsibility to protect traditional culture. And I hope to use traditional culture and modern clothing to Combining them to design national style clothing that is more in line with market demand."
Applying AI to the design and dissemination of Chinese-style clothing is a small goal in Li Junhao's mind, who is studying artificial intelligence. “Although I have just started, many ideas are still in the creative stage, but as my professional knowledge continues to enrich, I hope to turn them into reality as soon as possible.”
China Youth Daily·China Youth Daily reporter Bi Ruoxu Wang Junli intern Kong Lingwen Wang Shiyao Source: China Youth Daily