着我汉家衣裳；兴我礼仪之邦
Hanfu - Traditional Han
Chinese Clothing
汉服
2
Aril 2007
If somebody tells you the
clothing shown in the picture above could
become the ceremonial uniforms of the Chinese
athletes in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, surely
you won’t feel surprised – traditional
dress parade has always been one of the
highlights on the opening ceremony, and
Chinese are yet to make their contribution in
this field.
These fanciful Olympic
uniforms are designed by some Chinese netzens
based on a clothing style that has thousands
years of history, worn by Han Chinese ever
since the time of Yellow Emperor who is
considered to be the founding father of the
Chinese nation and the common ancestor of all
Han Chinese.
Contemporary Chinese
in the traditional Han clothing
Click on the image to view enlarged
version
Han people are the biggest
ethnic group in China and the prime creator
of the Chinese culture. In the recent
decades, as the result of the one-child
policy imposed solely on the Han, its
proportion has fallen, but still it consists
of 92 percent of the total population in the
mainland. As for in Hong Kong, Macau and
Taiwan, it is said to be between 94 and 98.
The Han is also the biggest ethnic group in
the world, counting 19 percent of the global
population, meaning nearly one in every five
people on the planet has a Han background.
Han dress’ flowing
style and integrated ties for fastening
wonderfully reflecte a rich, flexible and
inclusive spirit of the Chinese culture,
while its close association with silk makes
it one of the most visually appealing
garments in history.
Han
Dress In the Chinese Paintings
illustrated by Chinese artists
Click on the image to view all paintings
A thousands-year old cultural
tradition, sadly, was brought to a brutal
halt more than three hundred years ago by the
Manchurians who demanded the locals, Han and
other ethnic people, giving up their way of
living and adopting that of Manchus. Hundreds
and thousands of people were massacred in
defending their dress code their hair style
and their honour, echoing the events of
carnage conducted under the similar mentality
in the other parts of the planet at the time.
It would be nice if one day
1.3 billion Han Chinese, or say 20 percent of
the total population on earth, once again
bear their own unique expression based on Han’s
distinctive physical features and wealthy
cultural heritage - like what other 55 ethnic
groups have done in the mainland. If that
could be the case, then China’s
streetscapes will be much more interesting
and inviting, so are the opening ceremony of
the Olympics.
A little Chinese
girl in the traditional Han dress
holding a traditional Chinese fan
posing in the traditional Chinese
veranda
A newly opened
theme restaurant called Han Style
Eatery (汉风食邑) in Beijing’s
Fengtai district
Pre:An
Olympics with Beijing Accent |
Next: Cutting
Paper with Teeth
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