Hanfu: A blast from the past
Print Edition
PUTTING up her hair in a bun adorned with an elaborate hairpin and wearing a long gown with embroidery and loose sleeves, 19-year-old Chen Xi might be mistaken for a time traveler from centuries ago if not for her face mask and cellphone.
The sophomore of Yunnan Normal University fell in love with hanfu, a traditional outfit of the Han ethnic group, when she was 13, and now she has more than 20 hanfu outfits.
“I was drawn by the beauty of hanfu in costume dramas. They looked fairy-like,” she said. “Entranced by this special garment, many young Chinese like me become more interested in traditional culture, customs and music.”
In 2018, the number of hanfu fans hit 2.04 million, up 72.9 percent year on year, according to a report by iiMedia Research, a Chinese consulting agency.
A few years earlier, whenever Chen put on a hanfu and walked on the street, passers-by gave her weird looks. Now things are different. Hanfu has seen a growing and more visible presence in daily life.
In 2019, a survey released by China Youth Daily showed around 65.4 percent of the 2,001 respondents are fans of hanfu and about 44 percent have worn one.
A total of 65 percent of those surveyed across the
Liu Dan, 43, put on his first hanfu suit in 2006 when he returned from overseas to Kunming, the capital of southwest China’s Yunnan Province.
He said the hanfu craze started in the early 2000s on online forums and websites, but now the fashion has jumped out of the screen and onto the streets. In 2007, Liu, with an background in software engineering, founded the Yunnan Hanfu Association.
Its membership has grown from fewer than 10 to more than 10,000.
Many companies have cashed in on the trend. E-commerce giant Alibaba and livestreaming platform Huya both have launched apps to engage hanfu fans.
The resurgence of hanfu, like traditional songs and poems, is part of a larger trend to prize tradition, as an increasingly wealthy and modernized society reconnects with its cultural roots.
“Wearing hanfu is more than just an expression of aesthetic taste,” said Chen Xiaoye, a 27-year-old tea art specialist and diehard fan of hanfu and traditional culture.
His girlfriend is also an enthusiast,” he said.
“When we marry, we will choose a hanfu-style wedding.”
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