Hanfu ( 漢服), or “Traditional (Magua, and later Western fusion such The History of Disappearance Han Chinese Ethnic Clothing (漢 as the Mao suit). However, this view 民 族 傳 統服 飾 )”, refers to the came to be questioned by the Chinese When the Manchus since the 2000 APEC Conference, and a entered China in 1644, the style of clothing worn by the Han movement rose on the Internet since new regime ordered that Chinese (known as the Huaxia 2003 to bring back and disambiguate all Han Chinese are to cultures prior to Qin Dynasty). the Chinese tradition. shave their heads and braid their hind hair into a The design goes back to Huang Di Hanfu was petitioned for the clothing queue (“Pigtails” as the over 4500 years ago, who “draped representing the Chinese image during British later called them), in the robes and gowns, and all the 2008 Beijing Olympics by over 100 and forced Manchurian under heaven came in order”. scholars, but was declined by the designs of clothing for all Each seam and shape symbolizes Beijing Committee on grounds of not people in the new empire. the Chinese cosmological view representing the Chinese present and The Han Chinese resisted into one image. To list a few future 1 . Many Chinese criticized the with all their might examples, the Shang (the skirt or discontinuity of tradition and modernity against this policy, but lower part of the long robe) is among the social psyche, citing the lack were crushed by the comprised of 12 pieces of fabric of respect of ethics and aesthetic sense, Manchu armies, resulting sewn together, symbolizing the in contrast to the Japanese and Korean in 50 to 80 million casualties over 30 years of months of the year; the collars are models of traditional resistance (almost half the population at the folded over left-over-right, preservation. To this, many hold a time 2 ). The only traces of this original Han symbolizing self-control and civility („barbarian‟ unanimous opinion that the latter half Chinese clothing can be found today lies in tribes wear their robes in reverse). of the opening ceremonies and the Buddhist and Daoist garb, certain elements in The Chinese wore these fold-over robes with the closing ceremonies‟ image female wear, burial wear, and costumes on the y-shaped collars and hemmed skirts and sleeves of the Chinese were theatre stage. since then and improved its designs over the shallow and appalling. To eras, but these basic elements remained as key this end, it is clear that In this age of globalization and the rise of features of the clothing, and this design spread to only Hanfu and the Han China, it becomes even more important that all over East and Southeast Asia, as part of the Chinese image can authentic Chinese cultural images and traditions Sinosphere influence. represent the elegant and be passed on and celebrated by the international magnificent culture we label as “Chinese”. community – as precious heritages of all Today, most Western viewpoints of the Chinese humanity and civilization. traditional image (and to a great extent the Chinese themselves now) as braids and button- ups, as represented by the “China Dress” 1 http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007- (Western-stylized Qipao) and “China suits” 04/06/content_845379.htm 2 ZHANG Xianyu. Zhongguo Renkou Dili (Chinese Demographic Geography), In China, There is the beauty of dress and decoration; this is called Hua 華. There is the grandeur of rites and social conduct; that is why it is called Xia This pamphlet is brought to you courtesy of: . 夏 Toronto Guqin Society - Kong Yingda’s Commentary on Zuo Zhuan, Duke Ding, Vol.LVI, Year 10) 多倫多古琴社 (formerly) Interested in learning more? Want to get a set of clothing yourself? Check what‟s new at our blog! http://torguqin.wordpress.com Rediscover the true beauty of Han Chinese Clothing 漢民族服飾 .