In a bamboo hut, a model in a blue-green robe with a stand-up collar and an oblique lapel looks back and smiles; Scenic spots and historical sites, tourists from far away put on embroidered exquisite horse-face skirts and take photos with a round fan … … Recently, there is a new trend in Hanfu circle — — "Qing Han women" style. As the name implies, the style of "women in the Qing Dynasty" refers to the dress style of Han women in the Qing Dynasty: the style is wide, the top is down, and the embroidery is exquisite. This new trend has provided young people with a new way of cultural experience. The popularity of the new wave actually stems from young people’s interest and love for modern traditional culture. In the circle of "Qing Han women" lovers, everyone exchanges and shares this kind of clothing and related traditional cultural knowledge. For people outside the circle, they are more likely to be curious. What kind of experience is it to wear this kind of clothing?
Experience retro style
National Style Dresses Wear into Daily Life University teachers wear Qing and Han clothes to work.
Blue oil paintings in gold frames and red velvet sofas in Phnom Penh are like European aristocratic mansions in the last century. Ulla was dressed in blue embroidered clothes, sitting on the sofa stool with the yueqin in her arms, slightly bowing her head to the left, and her eyes were slightly sad; Small warmth is sitting on the ground in a wedding dress, putting the violin on a wide white skirt, looking up to the right and looking at Ulla with a twinkle in her eye.
The late Qing Dynasty met with western girls here. The tone and Chinese and western elements of the whole painting show a strong sense of collision, but they are not against each other. As a netizen commented: "There is a feeling of meeting in the century!"
The photographer of this group of photographs is A Wei. She is a fan of "Qing Han Nv" and a photographer of Chinese culture. The comments of the above-mentioned netizens spoke of her creative shooting. "The exchange of costumes also means cultural exchanges. I want to express the cultural and spiritual exchanges between two women in the East and the West at that time." A Wei hopes that his photographic works can express the inheritance and new ideas of history.
The costumes of "Qing Han women" full of historical heritage sometimes "jump out" of retro photos and are put into daily life by everyone.
Tan Ru, a university teacher, has a strong recognition of traditional culture and traditional costumes. She jokingly calls herself a "wild spokesperson for traditional costumes". In recent years, Tan Ru has paid attention to many bloggers’ clothing sharing posts on social media. In addition to paying attention to the photos taken by exquisite Hanfu, Tan Ru began to pay more attention to the practical value of traditional costumes — — It can not only retain traditional cultural elements, but also be suitable for daily life. This year, she officially "into the pit" and bought two improved versions of Qing and Han women’s clothing, two gowns and a horse-faced skirt.
One day, Tan Ru was going back to the office to work overtime. Before going out, she chose a top with Ruyi Yuntou double-breasted clothes and a horse-faced skirt as the bottom. The clothes are made of beige jacquard satin fabric, and the neckline, front, hem and armhole are decorated with orchid edging, while the hem of the horse-faced skirt is embroidered with blue butterfly peony patterns, which echoes the blue embroidery line of the clothes.
Tan Ru’s dress is in sharp contrast with other people in the school, which has attracted the attention of many teachers and students. While Tan Ru was waiting at the elevator, a female student of about 20 years old came up to her.
The female student’s eyes stayed on her dress and could not help but praise: "This dress is so beautiful! It looks beautiful on you, too! " Later, the female student asked curiously: "Where did you buy this dress? Won’t this fabric be hot in summer? "
Tan Ru shared it with the girl happily, and also said that the clothes are made of Xiangyun yarn, which is very comfortable and breathable to wear in summer. Seeing that the girl is very interested, Tan Ru further explained that perhaps because traditional costumes have a historical flavor, people often feel heavy and have a certain sense of distance, but in fact, traditional costumes contain a lot of wisdom and can be applied to different seasons. Finally, Tan Ru shared her purchase link with female students, and the other party also said that she would pay more attention to this aspect in the future.
Of course, "Qing Han women" is also one of the dress choices for many traditional clothing lovers to travel on weekends. When Zhu Xi traveled to Taizhou, he specially wore a relatively simple and elegant jacket and trousers suit with fresh color matching: a white jacket and light green trousers. Many friends praised him for "successfully reducing his age by 20 years".
Have many fans
The sales volume of 40 improved versions of Qing-Han clothes exceeded 2,000 pieces in seven months.
Tens of thousands of notes can be searched in bilibili and a certain life platform with the keyword "Women in the Qing Dynasty", and the related words include clothing, makeup, production, hairstyle, dance and so on. "Women in the Qing Dynasty" fans not only pay attention to the shape, material, technology and color of clothes, but also pay attention to how makeup and hairstyle can better match with clothes. When taking photos, they will also pay attention to the coordination and consistency of body movements.
The Beijing Youth Daily reporter observed that the photos and videos of women in the Qing and Han dynasties on the Internet can be roughly divided into three styles: decadent, glamorous and colliding. Most of the decadent styles are set in dark furnishings and utensils, with light makeup, split hair, less embroidery on clothes and heavy overall colors. Many characters often hold birdcage props in their hands, and the "caged bird" implies that the protagonist is a "person in the courtyard", showing the characteristics of women trapped in deep houses in the Qing Dynasty.
Ming Yan Feng mostly chooses outdoor venues such as parks to shoot. The characters wear clothes with bright patterns such as pink and green, comb bangs and braids, hold round fans and poems, and the soft and clear sunshine just hits the characters, showing a lively atmosphere as a whole.
The most popular is the collision wind. According to the historical background of the late Qing Dynasty, many photographers chose to use Chinese and western cultural elements to collide. In the scene of Chinese house or European living room, two characters — — "Boudoir girls and young masters studying abroad" or "Boudoir girls and young ladies studying abroad", most of the former are dressed in gorgeous and complicated Qing women’s costumes, while the latter are dressed in pure white suits or gauze skirts, which form obvious contrast in color. Coupled with the interactive communication of props, characters’ eyes and movements such as cigarette sticks and teacups, the collision between Chinese and western cultures at that time was restored.
Images with both visual impact and story sense, combined with some historical copywriting, have become an important driving force for "Qing Han women" to enter the public’s field of vision.
In recent years, traditional clothing merchants have captured the trend of "women in the Qing Dynasty" and are constantly adjusting and innovating in their designs. As an online shop with a good reputation in the circle, "One City Wind Flour" began to sell "Qing Han Women" clothing with a high degree of reduction as early as around 2013.
According to Mr. Xu, the owner of "One City Wind Flour", at first, business was not good because the traditional "Qing Han Nv" clothes sold in the store were wide in size, not many customers asked, and the styles were new and slow. Later, according to the modern people’s wearing habits, the designer made some improvements to the "Qing Han women’s" clothing, making the traditional clothing more suitable for daily wear, and the orders gradually increased.
Mr. Xu used pictures to show that the beige shirt was a "recovery model": wide body, big sleeves and essential tapestry decoration; The blue coat is an "improved model": the girth and sleeve fat have been moderately reduced, and at the same time, a "tapestry edge" decoration that is more obvious for "Qing Han women" has been removed, which makes the style more simple and more in line with modern people’s clothing habits.
More and more people are interested in "Qing Han women" and begin to share their wearing notes on social platforms.
According to the sales data of "Qing Han Nv" clothing in Mr. Xu’s store, about 40 models were put on the shelves in 2021, and more than 3,000 pieces have been sold so far; About 40 models were put on the shelves in 2022, and 2000 pieces have been sold so far; In 2023, the sales volume of 40 new "Qing Han women" costumes exceeded 2,000 pieces in just seven months.
From the perspective of product types, most of the "Qing Han women’s" costumes launched in the store in the past were autumn and winter models, and many spring and summer models have been added this year to meet the needs of consumers. "At the same time, everyone’s tastes and requirements are becoming more and more refined." Mr. Xu said that his store began to put more restored versions of "Qing-Han women’s clothing" on shelves this year.
Invest heavily in "into the pit"
Each set of clothes for fans is about 1000 yuan, and the most expensive set is nearly 10000 yuan.
A Wei into the pit’s "Qing Han Nv" originated from an online video two years ago. At that time, she accidentally brushed a photo taken by a blogger dressed in antique clothes of the Qing Dynasty, which shocked her. "The clothes that should have been in the museum can actually enter real life!"
Curiosity about antique clothes in the Qing Dynasty prompted A Wei to start "shopping for goods" on second-hand websites, and a moon-white double-breasted gown "hit" her at once.
The asking price for a long gown is more than 6000 yuan, which is not a small expense for Awei, who was still a sophomore at that time. But she still gritted her teeth and bought the suit by installment with the money she earned from part-time photography.
Like A Wei, many retro photographers have a hobby of collecting antique clothes. Most of them are willing to pay high prices to buy Qing Dynasty clothes in second-hand shops or auctions.
Chen Runxi is a retro photographer. He came into contact with "Qing Han women" about ten years earlier than A Wei. Chen Runxi started shooting the theme of ladies in 2010, including the series of Tang, Song and Ming Dynasties, and later the series of "Women in Qing Dynasty and Han Dynasty". His series of pictures of beautiful women have a good reputation in the industry.
Chen Runxi studied in the clothing major, and by chance, he became keen on collecting antique clothes from the Qing Dynasty. He once spent nearly 10,000 yuan to auction a double-breasted jacket worn by women in the late Qing Dynasty. There are wishful heads on both sides of the clothes, embroidered with "Sanduo" (pomegranate, peach, bergamot), etc., which means many children and many blessings. The complicated embroidery process is an important feature of clothing in the late Qing Dynasty, and the most exquisite of this dress lies in sleeve-sleeve and edge embroidery.
"You see ‘ Loneliness behind prosperity ’ This picture, at first glance, is a woman in a deep house compound. " Chen Runxi said that when he took this photo, he wanted to create a decadent aesthetic feeling of broken wells and ruined walls, so he chose a solid dark background, a minimalist makeup with a split hair style and a golden crown to balance the complicated embroidery clothing.
"Compared with the traditional costumes in the Tang and Song Dynasties, women in the Qing and Han Dynasties are more everyday, with lower requirements for makeup and hair, and daily wear is more appropriate." Zhu Xi pointed out the differences between "Qing Han women". Since last year’s "into the pit", she has bought five sets of improved Qing-Han women’s clothing. Each set of clothes is about 1000 yuan, and the most expensive set is nearly 10 thousand yuan.
She said that this set of Qing-Han women’s clothing that she "spent a lot of money" to buy is a one-to-one replica of antique clothes, with complicated and gorgeous embroidery, which is both practical, appreciative and collectible. "I have high requirements for clothing, like silk and Xiangyun fabrics, and tend to choose merchants who have the strength to collect antique clothes for improvement, which can also ensure the accuracy of the shape." Zhu Xi said.
It is understood that compared with the traditional costumes of other periods, a more important feature of women’s costumes in the late Qing Dynasty is the complicated and exquisite embroidery process. Traditional embroidery techniques, such as Ping Xiu, Panjin Embroidery and Seed Embroidery, were frequently used in women’s clothing in the Qing and Han Dynasties. Exquisite embroidery has also become the difficulty and focus of restoring women’s clothing in Qing and Han dynasties. Modern machine embroiderers can’t reach the manual craftsmanship of ancient embroidered mothers, so today’s "Qing Han Nv" clothing makers can only spend a lot of time, energy and embroidery factories to continuously develop and polish this important element to create more exquisite products and show the beauty of traditional clothing.
Revival of traditional culture
The more you know about traditional costumes, the higher your recognition and acceptance will be.
When asked how to be a "Qing Han woman" in into the pit, different people gave the same answer — — Social media. The push of a large number of pictures, videos and copywriting on social media has attracted readers’ interest. With more and more knowledge about this kind of dress, they can’t help thinking of "into the pit" to try it for themselves.
Not only is the strong attraction brought by social media, but the popularity of "Qing Han women" is also accompanied by the trend of traditional cultural revival. Tan Ru, who graduated from history with a master’s degree, felt this trend. She recalled that in a course called "Modern Social Culture in China", some students had conducted research on traditional costumes. However, at that time, most of the research was at the level of literature, and it was rare to really wear traditional clothes on your body.
In recent years, Tan Ru found that people’s recognition and acceptance of traditional costumes are getting higher and higher. When she wears traditional clothes in her daily life, people around her often look at her with appreciation, and many colleagues around her also express their desire to try. On the Internet, she met some friends and exchanged "Qing and Han women" costumes from time to time.
"I think many young people have a growing sense of identity with traditional culture and traditional costumes, and they also have a strong desire to explore. The inheritance of traditional culture is very important, so is the education of beauty. Aesthetic education is not only curriculum knowledge, but also can be integrated into daily life, and we show beauty by ourselves. " Tan Ru expects, "Maybe one day, we can walk in the street and appear in the workplace in the traditional costumes of any dynasty, and no one will think it is very strange."
As a popular store in the circle, Mr. Xu has a deep understanding of the revival trend of young people who are increasingly keen to study traditional culture. Especially since last year, he obviously felt that more and more people paid attention to "Qing Han women".
"In recent years, people have paid more and more attention to the traditional culture, and the traditional national costume has been gradually known by more people. ‘ Women in the Qing Dynasty ’ Although it belongs to a relatively small category in traditional costumes, in history, it is one of the peak periods of the development of ancient costume technology. The costumes bred under this background are inevitably gorgeous. As long as you like traditional costumes, you will not ignore the costumes of this period. " Mr. Xu said. (A Wei, Mr. Xu, Tan Ru and Zhu Xi are pseudonyms)
This edition/reporter Chen Jing Intern Liu Ruihan Wang Sihan
Coordinator/Lin Yan Zhang Bin Photo courtesy/Respondents
