One of even if a person has a lot of money, his/her spiritual world can
be empty, or his/her life is not free. I think that he would never be truly happy,
and sometimes will be hurting, too. Some people hold this point of view, “it is
better to cry sitting in your Porsche than on your bike”.So, there have been many things in today's society, for example, 20-year-old girl to marry 40-year-old rich man. In “A Dream of
Red Mansions” by Xueqin Cao, the hero Baoyu Jia grows up in a prominent and
wealthy feudal bureaucratic family. He lives the life of others people’s envy; it
stands to reason that he is happy. But that is not the case; he is imprisoned by
the feudal ethical code. He has no real freedom. Therefore, he is not happy. Finally,
he has to run away from home. We always complain about not having enough money
to spend. We also have more arguments with our family because of money, and we
have an irrepressible impulse to be shopaholics. Are we happier when we have a
lot of money? I do not think so.
2013年11月18日星期一
2013年11月11日星期一
A Bit of China
When this documentary was broadcast,
it has a huge impact in China; a lot of people become very enthusiastic about
Chinese food. Unlike other food TV shows, this documentary is full of
humanistic concern and traditional Chinese culture.
2013年11月4日星期一
Chinese Clothing
As a vital part of Chinese civilization, traditional costumes play an important role in the country’s history and culture. Their basic features are cross-collar, wrapping the right lapel over the left, tying with sash and a form of blouse plus skirt or long gown. These features have been preserved for thousands of years till the time of the Republic of China (1912 – 1949AD), when Chinese Tunic Suit (Mao Suit) and cheongsam prevailed. Nowadays, however, most Chinese wear modern clothes in their daily lives, not much difference from their western counterparts. Traditional attires are only worn during certain festivals, ceremonies or religious occasions. However, they are often seen in Chinese television serials and movies. Many of the country’s ethnic minorities also wear their traditional costumes in their daily lives and they played an important role in the traditional Chinese clothing.
History
History
Traditional Chinese Suit |
Features
In addition to the basic features and patterns, traditional Chinese attires have many other features like appearance, cutting, decoration, color and design, etc, all of which changed over the various dynasties. For example, black is the most dignified color in the Xia Dynasty (21st - 17th century BC), white in the Shang Dynasty and red in the Zhou Dynasty. They also vary based on one’s political position, social status, occupation and gender, etc. For instance, dragon embroideries and bright yellow can only be used by emperors most of the time; in the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907 AD), purple official costumes are for the fifth or higher rank officials; in the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911 AD), the higher a person’s social rank or the richer one was, the more embroideries and borders there were on his attires.
Well-known Fashion
Cheongsam |
Traditional Han Chinese Clothing (Han Fu): It refers to the attire worn by the Han people from the enthronement of the Yellow Emperor (about 2698 BC) till the late Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644 AD). It became known as the Han Fu (“fu” means “clothes” in Chinese) because the fashion was improved and popularized during the Han Dynasty. It is usually in the form of long gown, cross collar, wrapping the right lapel over the left, loose wide sleeves and no buttons but a sash. Although simple in design, it gives different feelings to different wearers.
Chinese Suit (Tang Zhuang): It is a combination of the Manchu male jacket of the Qing Dynasty and the western style suit. It is usually straight collared, with coiled buttons down the front. Its color and design are in traditional Chinese style but tailoring is western.
Cheongsam (Qi Pao): Originated from the Manchu female clothes, it evolved by merging with western patterns that show off the beauty of a female body. Its features are straight collar, strain on the waist, coiled buttons and slits on both sides of the dress. Materials used are usually silk, cotton and linen. Cheongsam is the most popular Chinese attire in the world today.
Chinese Tunic Suit (Zhongshan Zhuang): Also called the Yat-sen Suit, it is designed by Dr. Sun Yat-sen by combining the western-style suit and Chinese attire. It has a turn-down collar and four pockets with flaps. As Chairman Mao Zedong worn it quite frequently, it is also called the Mao Suit by westerners. It is the main attire from the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 till 1980’s. The country’s leaders still wear it today when attending important occasions, such as military parades.
Other Types
Traditional Manchu Clothing: It is the traditional dress of the Manchu ethnic nationality, usually in the form of long gown and sometimes with a jacket or waistcoat outside. Since Manchu is the leading class of the Qing Dynasty and their dresses were strongly promoted, this kind of clothes was very popular in that period. The characteristics are round or straight collar, fasten with buttons from the right collar and a sash on the waist, two or four slits, and tight sleeves with cuffs shaped like horse hoofs.
Traditional Clothing of the Other Ethnic Minorities: In addition to Manchu, the country has 54 ethnic minorities and each of them has their own unique costumes. Unlike the traditional Han Chinese costumes, these costumes are still widely worn today. Basically, they can be divided into two types: long gown and short coat with pants or skirt. They usually wear long gowns with hats and boots; others prefer short coat and generally wrap their head with cloth and wear shoes. People wearing the same type of clothes can be further distinguished by the costume details like the structure, craft and style, etc. Take the long gown for instance. The Mongolian and Tu nationalities prefer high collared gown with buttons down the front; theTibet and Monba groups wear collarless gown with buttons on one side and the Uygur love those with buttons on the right.
|
|
Dragon Robe: It is so named because of the embroidered dragons on it. It can only be worn by the emperor, who was considered a dragon from heaven in the ancient times. Other characteristics of a dragon robe are round collar, buttons on the right and most of the time in bright yellow.
Officials’ Uniform: Unlike modern China, almost all kinds of officials in ancient times had uniforms. They are strictly distinguished by colors, embroidered patterns and hats, etc. For instance, in the Ming Dynasty, the embroidered pattern on a first rank civil officer’s uniform was a crane, second rank a golden pheasant, third rank a peacock, fourth rank a wild goose, fifth rank a silver pheasant, sixth rank an egret, seventh rank a “purple mandarin duck”, eighth rank an oriole and ninth rank a quail.
Traditional Wedding Costumes: Chinese traditional wedding costumes vary in different dynasties and time periods. However, they are red most of the time as red is considered lucky, happy and auspicious in the country’s culture. The most well-known are red chaplet and official robes, which are still widely worn today by newly wed in traditional style wedding ceremonies or for taking wedding photos.
Officials’ Uniform: Unlike modern China, almost all kinds of officials in ancient times had uniforms. They are strictly distinguished by colors, embroidered patterns and hats, etc. For instance, in the Ming Dynasty, the embroidered pattern on a first rank civil officer’s uniform was a crane, second rank a golden pheasant, third rank a peacock, fourth rank a wild goose, fifth rank a silver pheasant, sixth rank an egret, seventh rank a “purple mandarin duck”, eighth rank an oriole and ninth rank a quail.
Traditional Wedding Costumes: Chinese traditional wedding costumes vary in different dynasties and time periods. However, they are red most of the time as red is considered lucky, happy and auspicious in the country’s culture. The most well-known are red chaplet and official robes, which are still widely worn today by newly wed in traditional style wedding ceremonies or for taking wedding photos.
(http://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/clothing/)
订阅:
博文 (Atom)