Why is Chinese mainstream clothing like hanbok not popular? How suits are replacing Chinese clothes?

Why is mainstream Chinese clothing unpopular? How to replace Chinese clothes with suits? The editor brings a detailed article for your reference.

This question actually has two levels. First, why is the current mainstream clothing in China not the traditional Chinese dress, but the suit? Secondly, why the Chinese hanfu has not taken the world by storm.

To understand the first question, it is first necessary to understand how Western-style clothing has gradually replaced traditional Chinese clothing throughout Chinese history.

It is well known that traditional Chinese clothing is not static, but is constantly changing to suit the practicality and aesthetics of the scene. From Wuling's "mounted archery" to Zhao during the Warring States period, to the sophistication of printing and dyeing techniques during the Han Dynasty, to the entry of the Qing army, which forced Han Chinese to shave their heads and change their clothes, ancient Chinese dress was constantly changing.

These changes have been documented in historical sources, such as the Old Tang Dynasty Book of Fishermen's Fathers, which states:

"Too often, the music is still huqu, and the aristocratic imperial meals are delicious and huishu-made, while the women compete to take hufu.

Zhu also said:

"Today's public **** service is the uniform of justice, which has flowed into China since the first day of Hu May.

So in the late Qing, when East and West met, people naturally blended and adapted their dress, just like the ancients before them.

For example, Kang Youwei wrote "Please Prohibit Women's Footbinding Folding" and "Please Break Hair and Change Clothes Folding Yuan Folding," arguing that women could not work without footbinding. Long, straight braids were not conducive to machine production; in an era when taking off ribbons and clothes was elegant and not conducive to competition among nations, and not changing clothes was not easy to change people's minds, a new policy should be adopted.

Kang Youwei

This was a practical suggestion for clothing reform.

Song Shu, who taught at the Beiyang Naval Division, argued that "a change of law must begin with a change of clothes." They all took "following the example of other countries" as a reference, and demanded to wear, cut hair, change clothes, and change clothes as an important part of learning Western civilization.

It's a proposal for reform of clothing culture.

But changes in clothing are always influenced by factors such as customs and economic conditions, and even backlash. Guo Songtao, a British minister in the late Qing Dynasty, was impeached for wearing foreign clothes.

Perhaps the reformers of the time wanted to ask why Western-style clothing was unpopular, not why Chinese clothing was unpopular.

So why did Western-style clothing become the dominant garment in China and even in non-Western countries?

To scrutinize, many factors have influenced the changes in human dress in recent times.

First of all, the influence of economic factors. As the Western Industrial Revolution expanded around the world, foreign fabrics, clothing and goods entered non-Western markets. In China, for example, mass-produced foreign fabrics were widely welcomed by the Chinese people at the time because of their low prices and good quality. From the major trading ports to the inland towns, 12.3% of the people wore local clothes and 78% wore foreign clothes.

The second was cultural and aesthetic changes.In the early 20th century, movies and newspapers became popular. Various vivid images appeared in people's view. People recognized the beauty of women's different face shapes through photos and movies, which made women pay more attention to their figure and appearance, and modern clothes became popular.

Women's fashion in the 1940s

Finally, suits were very practical in modern life and were more likely to be popular among the working population. As the pace of production and life accelerated, Western-style clothing finally replaced traditional Chinese clothing completely.

It should be noted, however, that the evolution of traditional Chinese clothing was not merely a fusion and absorption of Western-style clothing. On the one hand, our culture and aesthetics have gradually accepted Western-style clothing. On the other hand, Western-style clothing has entered China and followed the customs of the country. Their own changes have also met the needs of Chinese people's daily wear.

In such a process of clothing evolution, why did Chinese popular clothing go out so quickly in China?

This is mainly because Hanbok only conformed to the habits of an agricultural society, far from the life of an industrial society.

For example, the long sleeves in Chinese clothing brought great inconvenience to modern life. Besides, Chinese clothes are not as cool as short-sleeved t-shirts or as warm as down jackets. It

In addition, the Han Dynasty dress form and its corresponding traditional "ritual system" has not adapted to the values of modern society: clothes deep cover the body, the face covered with powder, shoes with three inches of gold lotus, dress taste of different classes, and the values of modern people.

Finally, the suit from ancient times is not a shirt or pants style. It has also gone through a long process of development. Today, western style clothing is popular all over the world because Britain was the first country to drag the world into the wave of modernization. It promoted light and cheap fabrics to the world. Wherever Britain's wars and trade went, local clothing changed, a material force of modernity.