Clothing represents not only a way of life, but a way of thinking and a culture. Today's Chinese have abandoned the old scholars' robe and mandarin vest, and put on Western suits. What have they gained? And what have they lost? Can what has been lost be rediscovered?
Last year, the meeting of APEC leaders was held in Manila, in the Philippines. Upon entering the country, every leader, conforming to local custom, changed into a Filipino shirt, marked by dazzling patterns and bright, fresh colors. The collective photo which all the leaders lined up for is permeated by the style and passion of Southeast Asia. It makes a strong impression on anyone who sees it, wherever they may be from.
The Western suit has come to dominate all industrial societies. It is de rigueur for business leaders and professionals in all fields, from government officials to stock brokers to insurance salesmen. Career women have followed suit, with long dresses, mid-length skirts, and Western-style jackets, trying to find their own position in the ever-changing world of fashion.
But looking around the world, many places still retain clothing unique to their nationality or locality. And in formal settings, they are proud to wear their own traditional clothing.
In Hawaii, they have hibiscus-patterned "aloha shirts" for men, and women wear "muu muus" (a single sheet of cloth which can be wrapped around the body into a variety of shapes). These are trademarks that everybody knows; when you see them, you immediately think "Hawaii."
The traditional dress of India is the "sari," a single sheet of cloth made into a skirt that goes to the ground; it is both mysterious and graceful. The Philippines, using locally produced palmetto cloth, has crocheted and embroidered shirts. Indonesian "batik," wax-dyed or hand-dyed, is cool and comfortable; a sarong around the waist with a short jacket open in the front is comfortable and beautiful. Not only do such traditional fashions make their peoples proud, they also win the respect of foreigners.
Dress for (national) success
In nearby Korea and Japan, though most people ordinarily wear Western garb, on important occasions they wear traditional attire, which is seen as more solemn and dignified.
Looking at Taiwan, on formal occasions some women may still wear a traditional qipao (or an updated version thereof), but it seems that men have no choice but Western suits.
China was once considered a country with an exemplary national-costume heritage. But in its first steps toward modernization, in the late Qing and early Republican eras, men steadily moved away from traditional national dress. This is similar to what happened at the beginning of the Qing, when the new Manchurian rulers compelled men to wear a braid and alter their attire, thus relegating Ming dynasty clothes to the attic of history. But commoner women were not placed under any restrictions-it is said that "the men surrendered but the women were never conquered"-and traditional Han women's fashion survived. Still, by the end of the Qing, the Manchurian noblewoman's qipao, cut in a very tight fit and appearing noble and graceful, was gradually accepted by women in general. It came to be seen as typically "Chinese dress," and even Western women have admired it.
Today, when high-ranking officials attend important events at home or abroad, men wear Western suits and ties, but their wives wear updated qipaos. People are so used to seeing this mix of East and West, traditional and modern, that no one thinks it strange.
Yu Yuh-chao, currently head of the New York branch of the Government Information Office, notes that he often has occasion, because of his work, to attend international conferences. "For events where they encourage people to wear national attire, I feel embarrassed, because all I have is Western clothing," he says with exasperation.
Yu remembers one occasion when he attended a formal dinner given by the governor of Hawaii. All of the male guests came in dark-colored Western suits. They were taken aback when the governor reminded them that the invitation to the event clearly stated that it was to have a local cultural theme. Why, he wanted to know, didn't everyone come wearing an aloha shirt suitable to the climate? He persuaded all the guests (who were being put up in the hotel where the dinner was held) to go to their rooms and change.
Two years ago, during the presidential election in Taiwan, when candidates went down to the countryside to campaign, they tried to appear more "close to the people" by abandoning their severe Western suits. But they couldn't find anything of a local color more suitable, and sometimes ended up wearing Southeast Asian-type clothes.
People had different reactions to seeing government officials in Southeast Asian garb. Some said, "It's a good choice; a little formal, but not too formal." But the well-known clothing designer Lu Fong-chih said bluntly, "It's completely out of place and looks ridiculous."
Wrapping oneself in the national symbol
Every time there was a change of dynasty in China, there was also a change in fashion. However, as Wang Yu-ching of Fujen Catholic University's GITC points out, although each dynasty established a new code of dress, the forms still changed only gradually. It was only with the Manchuria-based Qing dynasty, which required Han Chinese to change to Manchurian clothing, that there was a sharp, sudden change in clothing styles.
In the past, an excessively stubborn attachment to the national culture ended in tragedy, when more than 100,000 Ming loyalists were killed for refusing to wear Qing clothing. Today, when there is not a shred of that stubborn attachment, is this not also a tragedy?
Wang Yu-ching says that clothing is a symbol of thought. It is a way a people have to express and reinforce their group identity. Today society clearly lacks such a group identity.
Take for example the use of color in traditional Chinese dress. The most elevated form of formal dress in ancient China was the mianfu ("worship dress"). Its color was xuan, unique to China. Wang Yu-ching notes that xuan color textiles are produced by first dying white cloth red, and then dying this black; it looks black, but carries a red tint.
"This is not only a matter of the optical impact of a color, it involves the world of Chinese philosophy," Wang explains. "Red amidst black" is an expression of the mystery and profundity of the universe. It reminds people that the universe has bestowed on us an unsurpassable beneficence, and we must understand how to be grateful and to give of ourselves in turn.
Meanwhile, the usual color for clothing among the common people was blue. The clothing of the Hakka women of Meinung, a town in southern Taiwan, is of a pure, eye-catching deep blue. Perhaps this is connected to the brightly colored sky of southern Taiwan. In mainland China, during the war to resist Japan, it seems there was not a single schoolgirl or young woman not wearing a blue yindan shilin (a more loose-fitting version of the qipao). It was simple, yet dignified. Of course, after Mao decided he wanted all Chinese, men and women alike, to wear blue work uniforms, they took on the disheartening, even frightening, character of blue ants.
The Japanese Yamada Kyosuke once wrote: "The Chinese are a people of blue clothing. Crossing the bridge over the Yalu River, one suddenly passes from a land of white dress [Korea] to a continent of blue clothing, giving one a powerful feeling that things are very different here."
Wang points out that blue is the color of the heavens. It symbolizes the national thinking of Chinese of "Heaven and man in harmony," and "taking Heaven as the basic principle."
Besides the use of color, Chinese clothing has also had unique elements in design as well.
Wang Chen-hua of the Teh Chien Academy, who invariably dresses in a "Tang suit," offers the following idea about the design of Chinese clothing: The "wide body, loose sleeve" outfit respects the individual's character. In other words, the man makes the clothes, the clothes don't make the man. Such clothing has flexibility, changing in response to the movements of the wearer. It doesn't bind or restrict the wearer. Though clothes may be similar, the characters of people differ, and the Tang suit can change in countless ways to reflect the individual.
Tied to history
The British psychoanalyst J.C. Flugel, in the book The Psychology of Clothes, wrote: "In matters of dress, the mindset of the modern man is more stubborn and strict than that of the woman." Today, 60 years later, Flugel's point is still valid.
Western suits look neat and spirited. The shoulder area is based on medieval European military uniforms. Wang Yi-mei of Fujen's GITC says that these originally extended down to the knees, and later evolved first into formal jackets long in the back and short in front, and then to equivalent length front and back. The modern form of the Western suit was basically settled by the 19th century.
Tsai Kang-yung, the editor-in-chief of a men's fashion magazine, has always chosen Western suits for formal occasions. He says that Western suits are accompanied by ties because a tie has the function of "drawing attention up to the face," the most important feature of a person. The tie has become an indispensable accoutrement to the Western suit.
In fact, early on the tie had a practical function. Wang Yi-mei says that it evolved from the scarf and the neck-tie (for tying closed the neck of a shirt) of the 18th century. The main function of these was to keep out the cold.
The price of civilization
As for the tie, which binds men around the throat, feminists have their own interpretation: It is a phallic symbol of a paternalistic society.
Wang Mo-lin, head of a theater company, says that in a "civilized society," clothing is a kind of "cultural violence" inflicted on the body. Western suits are clearly a form of such "cultural violence." He avers: "People do violence to their bodies just for the sake of attaining a socially recognized standard of beauty. People mold their bodies in order to conform to the judgments of others."
In subtropical Taiwan, with its long, hot, and humid summers, wearing a Western suit and tie outdoors can make the sweat pour off you. Indoors, the air conditioning has to be turned up to the max. This is really self-abusive and uneconomical behavior.
Pi Heng-ta, chairman of the Graduate Institute of Building and Planning at National Taiwan University, wrote the following description in the book Women Seeking Space: "Outdoors, it may be hot, but in the boardroom it is often chilly enough to cause people to shiver. Thus, strong air conditioning was designed especially for men. It's not that men are more able to stand the cold, it's just that in formal settings men always wear Western suits and ties. . . ."
In the Elizabethan Era in England, people wore tight bodices made from strips of wood and metal. This torture caused fainting spells and heart attacks, and cut years off lives. It's better these days, but you still have to wonder if some people don't suffer heat prostration from wearing Western suits.
In Zaire, a scorchingly hot place, fashion has also been influenced by Western tastes. Adapting the clothing to the locality became necessary. One epidemiologist, who was in that country doing research, wrote later that the president of Zaire issued an order that it was not necessary to wear ties or jackets even for formal dress.
According to The Psychology of Clothes, once someone in the US tried to convince people to stop wearing hot and stifling suits in summer. In the city of Baltimore, a clothing reformer called on men to wear pantaloons. And in New York someone else promoted the wearing of loose-fitting, short suitcoats for summer. But none of these ideas caught on.
Deconstructing Western clothing
We should take a deeper look at the mindset of men who today are dependent on the Western suit.
A psychologist once argued that many people wear jeans not because they want to feel free and easy, but because they want to be able to freely and easily "hide themselves." The dependence of modern men on the Western suit also contains an element of "hiding oneself," of covering up one's personality and feelings.
The women's attire that Lu Fong-chih designs has a strong Chinese feel. But he himself, on formal occasions, gives up the East and embraces the West, showing up in a suit. He says that suits are convenient, and you can buy them anywhere. Moreover, a suit gives people a serious and dignified impression. "Though it is somewhat restrictive, when a person puts on a suit he naturally feels a surge of energy and spirit."
The Shiatzy Fashion Company produces women's clothes with a marked Chinese character. But over 70% of their men's clothes still are European-style suits, albeit with some Chinese flavor in the shoulder line, silhouette line, and neck design, trying to integrate a Chinese feel into mainstream fashion.
Men's fashion designer Yin Pei-kun says that "it's would be very difficult" to get Taiwan men to go beyond the confines of the Western suit.
"Men's roles and positions in society mean that there is little variability or flexibility in dress," says Yin. Last winter, Shiatzy experimented with putting out men's cotton padded jackets. Completely unexpectedly, they attracted the attention of many taller and stockier women. This summer, they have put out a "shirt-jacket" (with the appearance of a jacket but which can be worn alone, like a shirt). It is said to have proven more acceptable.
Although there has been little flexibility in men's fashion, the orthodox traditional Western suit is not utterly immutable. With designers constantly "overturning" and "deconstructing" the suit, it has steadily moved in the direction of being "comfortable" and "user-friendly."
The warp and weft of history
In recent years, due to the opening up of mainland China, economic growth in East Asia, the return of Hong Kong, and many other factors, European designers have flocked to adapt "Chinese style." "Plate buttons" (wide rolled cloth button-like ties); edging; fan, cloud, and ruyi patterns; and other special features of Chinese garb have been widely used. Indeed, even Chinese architecture, calligraphy, painting, and porcelain have been put to use in fashion design.
Still, though Chinese style is popular among some, modern Chinese can't find anything that makes a statement that "this is who I am." This problem was causing difficulties as far back as 1928, when Dr. Sun Yat-sen's corpse was being brought from Beijing to Nanjing for burial.
At that time, the national government, after scores of conferences, designs, and studies, still had come to no satisfactory conclusion. In the end they just made do with the government regulations adopted in the first year of the ROC under the Yuan Shikai regime, which carried on from the formal attire of the Qing dynasty: blue scholars' robe and black mandarin vest.
In 1929, the ROC government issued its "Dress Regulations," which stipulated the national dress. For men it was still the blue robe and black mandarin vest. But for women there were two forms: the blue robe, and the blue shirt with black skirt. Materials could vary depending upon climate, with a choice of silk, hemp, cotton, and wool.
However, in the past 60-plus years, not only has the blue shirt and black skirt outfit never become popular, the robe-and-vest outfit steadily went out of fashion, eventually disappearing.
To celebrate the "return" of Hong Kong to Chinese rule, one charitable organization called the "Hong Kong Public Interest Fund" put an ad in a newspaper calling on all Hong Kong office workers to wear "Chinese attire"-qipao and robe-on July 3. Not only did they receive no support, people even scoffed. Referring to the old-fashioned garb always worn by zombies in Hong Kong films, some jested that "if people really dressed that way, it would look like the streets were filled with walking corpses!"
A dressing-down for Chinese culture
Are the scholars' robe and mandarin vest really a thing of the past? Why has such an outfit become only suitable for zombies?
Wang Yu-ching looks to history for the reasons. "Ever since the May Fourth Movement [of the 1920s] brought down what they called the 'humanity-destroying rituals and customs' of old China, the Chinese have yet to see their national self-confidence restored." Today, of course one cannot solve this problem by a simple "return to the ways of the ancients" in matters of dress.
Moreover, many people note that the long robe and qipao are relics of the Manchurian Qing dynasty, and wonder if they can truly represent traditional Chinese attire. The Executive Yuan and the Chinese Cultural Renaissance Commission have both held conferences on this subject in the past.
Wang Yu-ching, who has done a great deal of research in this area, says that the robe-and-vest outfit and the qipao have deep historical roots, and didn't just "fall from the sky." You can already find indications of many special features of Qing clothing-such as the round collar-in Tang dynasty fashion. Tight-fitting clothing with narrow sleeves existed in the Han dynasty, and the robe was already a form of formal wear at that time. The short mandarin vest was all the rage for a time as early as the reigns of the Qing emperors Kangxi (1662-1723) and Yongzheng (1723-1736).
Besides the above psychological factors for rejecting traditional attire, the robe-and-vest and qipao have been criticized as being "inappropriate for the times." In this modern society, where speed and dynamism are of the essence, long scholar's gowns and qipaos would clearly hamper movement.
As for this objection, Wang has a different point of view. He says that formal wear is for special occasions, and not for sports or going to work, so why would traditional attire be an inconvenience? After all, how "convenient" is Western formal wear?
Sun dress
After the robe and vest, several more convenient and modernistic styles of formal dress appeared. Sadly, these either disappeared in short order or else became "uniforms." None came to be a form of formal dress generally accepted and worn by the general public.
In the early years of the Republican era, there was the Sun Yat-sen (or Zhongshan) jacket, created by Dr. Sun and based on the pattern of the Boy Scout uniform.
The Tatung Clothing Company in Nanjing was one of the most well-known makers of the Sun Yat-sen jacket. A top designer in the company relates that the Sun Yat-sen suit had a definite pattern, with many subtle references. For example: The five front buttons symbolized Dr. Sun's "five-power constitution," the three sleeve buttons symbolized his "Three Principles of the People" ideology, and the four closable pockets symbolized "the feeling of loyalty to the motherland felt by Chinese spread across the four seas." None of these could be altered arbitrarily.
Huang Kuo-li, general manager at Tatung Clothing, says that before going abroad, many of students of the 1920s and 30s who were headed overseas to study would have a Sun Yat-sen suit made in case of need. These days almost nobody takes a Sun Yat-sen suit when they go abroad. Indeed, except for a few very elderly KMT elite, such as Chen Li-fu, or some artists like Fei Yu-ching, the Sun Yat-sen suit is hardly ever worn by anyone at all.
Around 1930, Chiang Kai-shek began promoting the "New Life Movement," advocating a simple lifestyle. In a very short time, everyone was wearing the yindan shilin dress. In 1973, when Chiang Ching-kuo was premier, he strongly promoted a suit which was called "youth dress." The simple outfit soon became the uniform for civil servants of that day.
Huang Kuo-li points out that youth dress, which evolved from English hunting attire, was in fact very flexible. Not only was there no restriction on the type of material, there were more than ten variations in the collar, pockets, and vents. In summer, for those who didn't want to wear a suit and tie, youth dress offered an alternative. Unfortunately it is out of fashion today. Huang explains that one reason is that, with government finances being tight, the budget for civil servants' uniforms has been eliminated. Moreover, as mass movements became widespread in the 1980s and 90s, civil servants generally stopped wearing youth dress because it symbolized government service.
A Tangled heritage
The humorist Lin Yu-tang, in Living Art, wrote: "Although Western clothes are already fashionable in Oriental countries, I'm still enchanted by Chinese fashion."
Lin is not the only one so entranced. When Xu Zhimo, who was deeply influenced by Western rationalism, and Lin Huiyin together hosted the Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore on a visit to China, the slender Hsu wore a long scholar's robe. Standing with the Indian poet, who was clad in the traditional dress of his native land, and Lin Huiyin in her qipao, the three looked very elegant.
Although the traditional robe-and-vest has virtually disappeared, the comfortable Tang suit has survived, and remains a formal wear choice for a select few.
Originally, the Tang suit was a term foreigners used, in a sweeping way, to describe all Chinese fashion. In fact, what people have over time come to define as the Tang suit is something that was created in the late Qing and early Republican era among the common people. It is cut wide, with long sleeves, buttons in the front, and a stiff collar. The lines are simple and generous.
There is no class restriction on the Tang suit; its enthusiasts can be found in commerce, government, and academia. Examples include the scholar Wang Chien-hua, the ethnomusicologist Lin Ku-fang, and the well-known businessmen Huang Jen-chung and Wong Ta-ming. They find pleasure in wearing Tang suits for classes, meetings, and all kinds of formal affairs.
Wang Chen-hua began wearing Tang suits 20 years ago. He says that the Tang suit is comfortable and easy to move around in. Moreover, unlike a Western suit, it is not open in the front and so keeps out the cold better. Moreover, the Tang suit has "personality." It displays an individual's character and aesthetic.
Looking for redress
Yu Yuh-chao has "suffered a blow" at a number of international conferences. He is determined to reshape the image Chinese project, and to encourage culture in daily life. Yu, who worked in the Ministry of Education for many years, is strongly promoting the creation of a new national attire. He notes that modern national dress must have five key characteristics: it must be comfortable, artistic, modern, suited to the locality, and universal. He calls his ideal national dress shuya, which means "comfortable and elegant." Taking the lead himself, two years ago he put aside his Western suits and asked a tailor to make a shuya outfit that Yu himself had designed. He wears it to work and to give lectures.
So what is shuya clothing, that it doesn't lose the spirit of traditional Chinese culture yet conforms to the needs of modern life?
This March, the Council for Cultural Affairs and Fujen Catholic University, aiming to promote innovation in national costume design, co-sponsored an academic conference and a design competition on the theme of "Comfortable and Elegant Dress Suited to Taiwan's Local Conditions."
At the end of June, the results of the competition were made public. The prize-winning design for menswear turned out to be very close to the form Yu had produced, except that its "Chineseness" was even more pronounced (for example in the use of "plate buttons"). The winning design for women was very similar to the Tang suit style.
Fujen University Department of Textiles and Clothing chairman Zerman Hu suggests that there is still room for improvement in both form and material in shuya garb, and he welcomes interested persons to participate. He states that several suits will be made in the future and presented to government officials, in hopes that they might be style-setters for this variety of suit.
Clothing paragraphs
Though some people are striving to find a novel modern dress for Chinese, some aver that there is no need to create something new. They feel that the robe-and-vest and the qipao already constitute enough of a vocabulary for the national fashion language.
Fashion designer Lu Fong-chih argues that a people should have their own national dress. "If you want to preserve the spirit of a tradition, then you must also adapt them to the forms of modern life; only then will the clothes gain wide acceptance." The problem is that such results require ongoing, vibrant, step-by-step creative efforts, and cannot be "made to order" overnight.
Some argue for innovation; others say that, since what exists cannot be improved upon, it would be better to carry on with the old. Regardless, what's most important, as Wang Chen-hua says incisively, is "that we stop looking at ourselves through others' eyes." A national culture must have its own way of thinking, its own value system. If Chinese fashion keeps depending upon things from outside, East or West, it will end up having no substance of its own.
Clothing may appear, on the surface, to be just packaging. But in fact it reflects the thinking and ideals of the people inside.
p.52
At the APEC conference three years ago, at an informal leaders' meeting, national representatives wore colorful traditional Indonesian attire. (photo by Huang Tse-ming)
p.53
(right) It was hot and stuffy on theday last July when Vice President Lien Chan met with foreign and local reporters. The formally dressed reporters in attendance sweated profusely, with one going so far as to only half-wear his jacket, in an attempt to cool off without offending propriety. (photo by Diago Chiu)
p.54
Clothing reflects a people's culture and spirit. A special set of stamps on the theme of traditional Chinese clothing was designed by Zerman Hu, chairman of the Department of Textiles and Clothing at Fujen Catholic University. The meticulously researched and well-designed stamps, tracing Chinese attire back to the Shang dynasty, were named one of the top ten stamp sets. (photo courtesy of Zerman Hu)
p.56
Follow the leader! In the 1970s, with Chiang Ching-kuo's encouragement, "youth dress" replaced the Western suit for civil servants at formal occasions. However, it has since fallen out of fashion.
p.57
Today, when Western suits are equivalent to uniforms for men, even in the heat of summer office workers can't escape having to wear neckties. Recently a British expert who specializes in restoring "creativity" in businessmen pointed to the necktie as one of the "leading causes of death" for creativity.(Sinorama file photo)
p.58
On formal occasions, a modern woman dressed in a qipao is sure to turn heads. In international beauty contests, the qipao is a trademark of Chinese contestants. (photo by Cheng Yuan-ching)
In recent years Chinese style has been popular with designers around the world, with even Chinese architecture becoming an inspiration for fashion. What after all is "Chinese style" to foreigners? (photo courtesy of Phoebes magazine)
p.59
It's not that Chinese don't want to wear clothing with special national character. In the past people promoted the Sun Yat-sen suit and "youth dress," but in the end these could not overcome the world-conquering Western suit.
p.60
The Tang suit, with its simple lines, looks well-suited to scholar Wang Chen-hua.
p.61
In streetside stalls one can find all kinds of leisure wear for sale. Comfortable, certainly. But not exactly suitable for formal occasions.
p.62
Zerman Hu (left) and Council for Cultural Affairs chairman Lin Cheng-chih (center) are wearing the winning designs in this year's shuya clothing competition. Yu Yuh-chao, the earliest to promote this style, is wearing a shuya suit of his own design.
Follow the leader! in the 1970s, with Chiang Ching-kuo's encouragement, "youth dress" replaced the Western suit for civil servants at formal occasions. However, it has since fallen out of fashion.
Today, when Western suits are equivalent to uniforms for men, even in the heat of summer office workers can't escape having to wear neckties. Recently a British expert who specializes in restoring "creativity" in businessmen pointed to the necktie as one o f the "leading causes of death" for creativity.（Sinorama file photo）
On formal occasions, a modern woman dressed in a qipao is sure to turn heads. In international beauty contests, the qipao is a trademark of Chinese contestants. （photo by Cheng Yuan-ching）
In recent years Chinese style has been popular with designers around the world, with even Chinese architecture becoming an inspiration for fashion. What after all is "Chinese style" to foreigners? （photo courtesy of Phoebes magazine）
It's not that Chinese don't want to wear clothing with special national character. In the past people promoted the Sun Yat-sen suit and "youth dress," but in the end these could not overcome the world-conquering Western suit.
The Tang suit, with its simple lines, looks well-suited to scholar Wang Chen-hua.
In streetside stalls one can find all kinds of leisure wear for sale. comfortable, certainly. But not exactly suitable for formal occasions.
Zerman Hu （left） and Council for Cultural Affairs chairman Lin Cheng-chi h （center） are wearing the winning designs in this year's shuya clothing competition. Yu Yuh-chao, the earliest to promote this style, is wearing a shuya suit of his own design.
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