Hanfu is indeed very beautiful, and some people have vigorously promoted it in recent years, but it just hasn't become popular. On the contrary, Western-style clothing has always been popular. So, why does such a situation occur?
(Internet picture)
I think that to understand this issue, we need to have an in-depth understanding of the background of the formation of Hanfu.
1. Hanfu is a relatively primitive clothing.
Clothing first appeared in human life for the purpose of keeping out the cold. Considering the factors of beauty, culture, and social function is something that comes later.
The first styles of clothing designed to keep out the cold were an imitation of houses. The house is a circular body covering human beings. Therefore, clothing also comes to people in the form of a circular body. Hanfu is generally a piece of cloth that stretches from the shoulders to the feet, forming a cylinder.
However, since it was necessary to free the hands for work, two more sleeves were extended on the cylinder. However, if these two sleeves are too narrow, they will obviously be inconsistent with the main body, so it is called wide sleeves (of course, there are cultural explanations for wide sleeves, which we will talk about later). In addition, in order to make cylindrical clothing tight-fitting and achieve the purpose of heat preservation, belts appeared (belts also have unique cultural meanings).
This is roughly the basic style of Hanfu. Although there have been changes since then, this basic pattern has not changed. It has been passed down to modern China for thousands of years.
It can be seen that Hanfu should be a relatively primitive clothing with the main function of "keeping out the cold". The clothes worn by people nowadays are no longer designed to keep out the cold. Therefore, times have changed and it is no longer easy to become popular.
(Internet picture)
2. Hanfu values etiquette but not people.
As we said before, Hanfu is a relatively primitive costume, but at the same time, it is also a costume with very high cultural connotations.
This statement is actually not contradictory. You only need to look at why, in an ancient civilized country like ours with a long history, Hanfu has been spread from ancient times to modern times, you will understand this truth.
China is known as a country of etiquette, and ancient China was a society based on etiquette. Etiquette runs through every aspect of daily life, including Hanfu, which is actually the most concentrated expression of etiquette.
Hanfu is a piece of cloth that hangs from the shoulders to the ground. Such a slender shape contains very rich cultural connotations. It is an upright and consistent "gentleman" image. The belt is in the middle, which reflects a kind of integrity. Broad sleeves and a broad mind reflect an open mind.
In short, whether men or women, their clothing matching is all about etiquette.
At the same time, women's clothing in ancient times paid more attention to etiquette than men's. Women's clothing needs to cover the entire body tightly. If the body is exposed, it is a sign of uncleanness. We have seen in film and television works that the clothing of women from the Tang Dynasty gives off a "turbulent" feeling. This is obviously an artistic exaggeration and the current people's imagination of the open Datang. The actual Tang Dynasty was obviously not like this.
As for Western-style clothing, as well as current clothing, the matching is more about highlighting the beauty of the human body and expressing and displaying personality. Such clothing was unimaginable in ancient times. Similarly, ancient Hanfu with etiquette as its basic element has no market today.
Of course, it’s not that no one wears it, but this kind of clothing can only become a niche interest and cannot become mainstream.
(Internet picture)
3. Hanfu is a garment that was once abandoned.
Because China was lagging behind and being beaten in modern history, people at that time had a mentality of worshiping foreign countries. I feel that everything in the West is good, advanced, and needs to be learned. Not just science and technology, not just politics and ideology, but also culture. Western culture is also believed to be more advanced than ancient Chinese culture.
It is precisely because of this common view that too many things passed down from ancient China were discarded at that time, including culture and clothing. Hanfu was completely abandoned at that time and no one wore it anymore. From that time on, and continuing to this day, Western-style clothing is the main style.
Today our country has become stronger, and we want to carry forward our traditional culture, including re-promoting Hanfu and encouraging everyone to wear it. However, there is a habit problem here.
Although Hanfu has been circulating in China for thousands of years, it has been almost forgotten in our generation because it was discarded. On the contrary, Western-style clothing has only been popular for a hundred years, but it has become a new tradition and a new habit. Society has adapted to this habit. If someone wears Hanfu, everyone is not used to it and thinks you are wearing a strange outfit.
Of course, if Hanfu doesn’t become popular, we don’t have to worry. Culture is a process of integration. It is actually a more appropriate way to integrate the elements of Hanfu into modern clothing instead of forcibly restoring Hanfu.
(Reference: "Book of Rites")
