#commoners hanfu

[ziseviolet]

Thank you so much for gathering this information, you are providing a valuable resource for hanfu enthusiasts! I love the sumptuous cuts and fabrics, but as someone often involved in physical labor, it isn't realistic for me. Are there any examples of clothing that might be worn by country folk who have to work in the fields and tend animals?

Hi! Thanks for the question, and sorry for taking ages to reply! (image via)

Yes, there is hanfu suitable for country folk who have to work in the fields and tend animals. Historically, such people would have worn a type of unisex hanfu called 裋褐/shuhe. Shuhe goes by a few other names, including 短打/duanda, 短褐/duanhe, and 竖褐/shuhe. They all refer to a two-piece set of attire composed of a cross-collar top that extends to the knees, coupled with tied trousers. Both pieces were typically made out of coarse cloth. It is the basis of almost all underclothing, usually the clothing worn under armor, and the casual outfit of commoners and laborers (x). This outfit was generally worn by people doing manual labor, such as farm work, and by martial artists (x).

I wrote about shuhe in my post on casual/adventurer-type hanfu here. For more information on shuhe, I recommend checking out the following links:

Wikipedia article on 衫裤/shanku

Patterns for shuhe-making

Shuhe-making tutorial

A few images of shuhe in historical art & modern day (1, 2, 3, 4):

Shuhe understandably isn't as popular as other "fancier" hanfu styles, but there are still some available on Taobao, including the following:

Farmer-style shuhe for spring & autumn from 華夏节奏 (x):

2. Ming-style ramie shuhe from 淮边筱竹 (x):

3. Tailor-made Ming-style shuhe from 淮边筱竹 (x):

4. Ming-style quilted cotton winter shuhe from 淮边筱竹 (x):

For more references, please see my shuhe and commoners hanfu tags.

If anyone has more info/recs, please share! ^^

Hope this helps!

[kingsandbastardz]

So for basically my whole life I'd grown up with and was resigned to accept that the chinese concept of formal/nice clothing of my and the previous generation has been western clothes. So at any awards ceremonies or performances, entertainers would show up mostly in western suits/dresses and maaaaaybe you'll spot the occasional cheongsam if they're going for a Wong Fei Hong vibe. Which, you know, kinda sucks if you have any concept of western cultural imperialism in asia.

So when the hanfu revivalist movement started, I was waiting to see when it would enter the mainstream -- my hope was for fashion designers to integrate traditional/dynastic elements into their work and make it common place enough that I can buy this shit online for ME. Because I WANT.

Though some of the designs can be a bit hit or miss, I am LOVING what various stars and entertainers are wearing out and about now.

Anyway - here's a collection of Xiao Shunyao's modern hanfu inspired/hybridized stage outfits from the last couple years. For his MLC performances, his stylists seem to be borrowing inspiration from his Di Feisheng and possibly other character costume silhouettes.

I'd been seeing a few comments about how his outfits play with gender - and some of his outfits do! But I think the interesting thing to discuss is from which standard is he playing with gender? Because from a western perspective, the things he does with his western suit tops, belting on top of the jacket for a tightly cinched waist, and the addition of a trailing skirt = femme. But if you're talking from a hanfu-hybridized pov, that's just a modern take on hanfu and having any of those elements is not inherently femme and would often read masc to me.

So these things aren't necessarily gendered because they exist traditionally in chinese men's clothing or costume designs (ie video games, comics, historical fiction illustrations and film, etc, so therefore in the modern lexicon of masculine/acceptable for men):

presence or lack of a skirt

silky, velvety, gauzy or sparkly material choice, esp in formal or stage clothing

short or long length of skirt

embroidery

flowers/floral/bird designs

folding fans

certain styles of makeup

beading, gold, tassels, jewels

non-chunky jewelry

headbands

widely flowing silhouettes

What XSY's stylists are doing with some western clothing items are interesting. I'm convinced there have been one or two western jacket tops made of thinner material that they're folding over the front, and belting down instead of buttoning (which then matches with his other outfits that are designed specifically to do this). Then they're adding a skirt, cloak or bracer element to it.

The western portions often bring a military minimalist feel which they balance with a more gauzy material in the skirt or cloak portions.

Things I think are playing with gender:

row 1 - image 1: red di feisheng-inspired outfit

The lace-up girdle is there to match the bracers in both material and style. And it's positioned to be similar to the heavy belt that Di Feisheng wears. HOWEVER. That style of girdle/corset-like clothing item can't be divorced from the modern idea of sexy leather corsets. So imo, this waist piece on that outfit was a choice. Especially when paired with his allergic-to-collars-higher-than-his-sternum necklines. And if you take into context how masculine yet female coded his character is in the drama, the whole look evokes that.

row 2, image 1: black western suit with belt on top, hat, cloak, black boots and not-visible but also a black tassel fringe skirt

Hat and cloak moves the intention of the outfit from western toward a more Asian slant, because alone, it looks like a western black suit with western heeled boots, cinched waist with a lady's belt (seated photoshoot) and western style tassel skirt. The suit top consists of a vest and a shrug-like sleeve portion that appears masculine at first glance. But take the shrug and pair it with the tassel skirt (I can't find the red carpet photos but here is a better view of the skirt when seated), and I think you got a look that's both intentionally edging toward the femme in a western sense but also confusing matters by hiding within the parameters of both western and chinese traditional male styling.

row 2 - image 2 : white asymetrical western jacket styled in a front fold-over style, gauze skirt, trailing pearl embellishments

The more traditional leaning version of this is the white outfit in row 3 that he wears to the Hi6 Hello Saturday variety show -- the skirt portion on that outfit is one I'd consider non-gendered. Row 1, images 2 and 3 are examples of masculine/neutral uses of gauze that plays with flow of form but isn't inherently femme. This stage outfit is very western-appearing masculine suiting, until you hit the skirt which is giving me long ballerina tie-on skirt with the additional swan/mermaid pearl strings. Imo, another example of deliberately using traditional masculine styling but switching it up with the combination of material choice and make that is feminine.

row 2, image 3: black space military boots, black suiting, black -silver ombre sequin trailing skirt and white gauzy shawl with black floral design

The over all design is going for a masculine military-feel. (think this outfit for shen langhun) But instead of a thicker military cloak, it's replaced with a woman's gauze shawl and a skirt that trails behind him very much like the back of a woman's formal fish-tail gown when he moves around. If you take into context Wang Herun's outfit is a white-silver sequined dress cut in a way to also give a space-military-queen vibe, imo they both coordinated their outfits to balance out with both femme and masc qualities.

Thoughts? I'm curious what others think about this.

While I wait for the CNY photoshoot for XSY's red and black look, here's him with his stage collaborators with a nice range of skirt lengths, period influences and material choices. The woman in the center is the one with the most military-fighter design out of the bunch. The dudes are all in variations of formal-wear-with-good-kicking-boots (and lots of crotch space).

[rongzhi]

do you have any idea when people in china stopped bowing to each other as a greeting? it seems like the most common forms of greeting now is to shake hands or wave both which were introduced from the west. it's the same in taiwan too.

Tldr: It never stopped because Chinese people never had the practice of bowing in greeting the way that Japanese people did/do.

-

(Note: there are types of greetings that involve a sort of bowing (ketou), but this is reserved for special occasions)

Back in the day, the greetings were made by clasping one's hands in front of them in the direction of the person being greeted. There might be some head lowering/slight bowing involved but it's done in conjunction with the hand greeting. You can see various forms of this in historical dramas and even hanfu shows and shortform videos. The exact way one held their hands changed in some years but the general idea is the same.

Women's and men's hand greetings differed back in the day. A women's greeting was called 万福礼 wànfùlǐ and consisted of holding the hands in front of oneself and bending the legs, or holding hands at the hip, etc. The exact way to hold the hands also changes through the years. Women also do what is called 肃拜 sù bài, which is an earlier form of a women's greeting and includes getting on one's knees (thus the 拜).

Some examples of greetings:

Men's vs women's hand positions

拱手礼 gōngshǒu lǐ ("cupped hands greeting"). The most common greeting. Top photo shows the gendered difference for proper etiquette for nowadays if you ware going to do it, for example, as a new year's greeting. Bottom photos: I think if you look carefully in modern society, you can still see examples of this greeting in China. It is a gesture that can also be used to expresses one's gratitude. It is still there, it's just fell out of vogue in favor for waving and hand shaking.

This can also be seen in The video above shows Ming era 万福礼 as well as men's 揖礼. 作揖礼 zuòyī lǐ ("bow with clasped hand greeting") is kind of the same thing as 拱手礼, but 作揖 specifically includes a slight bow whereas 拱手礼 is merely the raising of the hands.

叉手礼 chāshǒu lǐ ("crossed hands greeting") popularised during the Western Jin - Song dynasties, seen in the drama "The Longest Day in Chang'an", which takes place in the Tang Dynasty. This particular greeting started out as one used by Buddhists in the Eastern Han dynasty. https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/489897518

抱拳礼 bàoquán lǐ ("cupped fist greeting"). This one is something done more so by martial artists. For men, you use your left hand to cover your right hand. For women, the opposite is true. It is also called 吉拜 jíbài when showing respect. If you flip your hand (keep in mind men/women do this the opposite way), it is called 凶拜 xiōngbài and it used to show respect to the dead. So one has to pay attention to this.

There's kind of a lot more etiquette rules you could get into but this answer has already sort of gone beyond the scope of your question lol. Chinese people wrote rites books over the many dynasties so actually there are descriptions of how these greetings were done and over time and that's how they are replicated in dramas and movies.

[mtkay13]

Wen Kexing!! My focus here was to channel his coolness even through warm colors, and to get his... "essential vibes" through one picture. More (rambling) below! (this is essentially a post about WKX's personality)

A big case can be made about "who or what is the 'true' Wen Kexing". So; let's be real, I don't know if anyone makes a "big case" out of it, but I sure have seen people seemingly arguing against a vague 'common opinion' regarding Wen Kexing's personality. The """common""" opinion (allegedly): the true Wen Kexing is [insert one of WKX's facets] (or something along those lines) The case against it: all Wen Kexing's are the true Wen Kexing Now I do agree with the fact that "all Wen Kexing's" are Wen Kexing, technically. For clarity, let's list and name those various facets (most are commonly accepted, some I'll just name on the go): - Wen Kexing: I'll use his full name for the personality we're first met with in the book. Someone cold, rather quiet, analytical and distant. Giving off strange vibes in social situations (ZZS thinking he's weird, other jianghu figures being creeped out by him or thinking that he's up to no good), contemptuous - Philantropist Wen: The more extravagant, (bullshit) storyteller, outrageous and shameless flirting enthusiast version of WKX. - Valley Master Wen: cold, calculating, quiet, cruel, unbelievably patient, dislikes fun and games, barely feels anything - Wife Wen: The over the top dramatic wife whose life is made difficult by his difficult and shameless husband, essentially a lot of roleplaying the good littol domestic wife and whatnot - The wooden man: similar as Valley Master but demure and apparently subservient? (for calculated purposes) Okay they could be more I guess, but the point is, we have an array of WKX personas and personalities and the actual consensus (I think, my sample is like 10 people so....) is that every one of those is "true" to WKX and that not one of them is a fully constructed persona. Now, while I agree, I guess that what I wonder is: what is WKX in his resting state? If nothing is happening and that he's not in a particularly social or specific situation, what do we get to see? I think that the answer mostly resides in extra 4, which is an INCREDIBLE retelling of TYK from WKX's perspective; someone who thinks quite a lot, and for long, someone who observes things with distance and little to no emotion. Someone who is used to having one goal (revenge, taking care of ZZS during his coma), and who will probably go through a lot of quiet thinking when finally faced with the void of not having one specific thing to aim for. Someone who will have to learn to find joy/happiness, and who probably doesn't... get there "naturally"? (and by that I mean, without ZZS or without directly following ZZS around). Someone whose ties to his own emotions have been severed a long time ago, I guess. Someone still quite contemptuous of many things and people and who has a whole life he didn't plan for or even consider ahead of him. Which is............ what I tried to draw............ here..................... (That and also I wanted to draw a pretty looking hanfu in sepia colors) (but I SWEAR that was not the main goal) (I think) (anyway please ignore me)

[atlaculture]

Cultural Fashion: Katara's Ba Sing Se Dress

Katara's Ba Sing Se dress is inspired by changyi robes (氅衣), which were full-length gowns worn by Manchu noblewomen during the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911). Characteristics of changyi include high slits on both sides of the dress, prominent trim along the openings of the robe, and a rounded cross collar (pianjin/偏襟). Around the beginning of the 20th-century, standing collars and more fitted silhouettes also became common on changyi and other Manchu women's clothing. Overall, Katara's Ba Sing Se dress possesses many characteristics of a late Qing Dynasty changyi.

However, similar to her headdress, her robe isn't 100% historically accurate. The standing collar doesn't appear to be directly attached to the pianjin opening and her sleeves appear to be modeled more after hanfu than qizhuang (Qing Manchu clothing). Nonetheless, her design still alludes to a very specific period in Chinese fashion history, rather than simply being a generic "Asian-esque" dress. Plus, the design is just lovely!

Fun Fact: The cloud pattern on Katara's dress is known as xiangyun (祥雲) or "lucky clouds" in Mandarin. Clouds are considered auspicious imagery in Chinese culture due to the Mandarin word for cloud (yún / 雲) sounding similar to the Mandarin word for good fortune (yùn / 運).

Like what I’m doing? Tips always appreciated, never expected. ^_^

https://ko-fi.com/atlaculture

[sirenalpha]

I'm seeing so much commentary on people reacting to the live action atla toning down Sokka's misogyny

and I'm over here like this is a total non-issue because in my own rewrite of the show I already did that exact thing, it makes complete sense to do it and they should do it because it's a weaker aspect of the original show

Sokka's early misogyny is utterly cartoonish in comparison to the set up of the rest of the SWT, it doesn't feel realistic for the only teenaged boy in a dying culture surrounded by adult women with a grandmother who left a more out and out misogynist society to act the way he does

how Sokka "resolves" his misogyny is equally cartoonish, I never liked how in The Warriors of Kyoshi literally episode 4 of the show makes a teen girl compromise her own culture with a female only fighting tradition teach a boy who is supremely rude and disrespectful to her and then still be attracted to him afterwards, it's more misogyny to fix misogyny and is very obviously men writing about how to fix misogyny especially as they have Aang make a joke about Sokka wearing a dress after going through how meaningful the fighting costume is and how a lot of Asian clothing with hanfu influences like atla borrows from would have men in what to western eyes would be dresses, Aang has already seen multiple male authority figures in robes, the joke makes no sense

I also wouldn't consider Sokka's misogyny genuinely resolved after this, consider how the show deals with his romantic relationships with both Yue and Suki and how both can be seen as extensions of how Kataang is treated in the show, rewards for the hero, especially with how Sokka interacts aggressively with Hahn instead of respecting Yue's wishes whatever her reasons for them, I think an argument can be made that Yue's death is a fridging for Sokka's storyline rather than or in combination with being a consequence of Aang's failure as an avatar or the culmination of her own storyline where she fulfills her duties as a leader to protect her own people

Beyond his romantic relationships, while Sokka drops a lot of his more misogynistic language with Katara, he doesn't support her when she faces off with the NWT leaders to learn waterbending, and he still leaves the caretaking and food preparation and grocery shopping to her which is more common than him going out to hunt or gather in order to provide for the group while he takes a leadership role like determining their travel schedule and routes, it is not an even division of labor and falls along traditional sex stereotypes

In addition to his typical duties to the group, Sokka also remains invested in the trappings of masculinity after ep4, he's concerned about what's manly and how he compares to Jet for example, there's no investigation or interrogation in his interest in meat and hunting and how they relate to masculinity and his misogyny, in the episode with Piando, his insecurity as a non-bender is resolved by giving him a new male mentor and a new martial skill, sword fighting, which is masculine in both western and Asian cultures rather than assuaging his self esteem issues in any less stereotypically masculine ways, I also think it was done so he could compare more favorably to Zuko, another male character, and even his interest in engineering and mechanics comes with a male mentor and is a traditionally masculine pursuit

the show's poor handling of misogyny also extends beyond Sokka, with the NWT, the show acts as if Pakku is the only reason the tribe is misogynistic and the only consequences to that misogyny is that women can't waterbend and there are arranged marriages, and that both the NWT and Pakku's misogyny is resolved by allowing only Katara to learn to waterbend which she doesn't even earn on her own merits, she gets the opportunity because Pakku likes her grandmother

none of this is realistic, misogyny is not because of one bad apple, Pakku doesn't make Yue's arranged marriage, Chief Arnook does, he picked Hahn for her, and the show acts as if Arnook has no authority to compel Pakku to teach Katara or any ability to persuade him in order to reduce his culpability in the NWT's misogyny as its leader to make him a more respectable character so it's not uncomfortable when Aang and Sokka follow his orders in the battle later on, but women not being able to bend and forced into arranged marriages is still status quo when the gaang leaves, Yue's just dead

I'm not even convinced the show runners understand what's wrong with arranged marriage, the issue is not Yue can't be with Sokka who she likes and at most has a slight crush on cuz she's only known him for like two days, it's that she's being treated as male property, a broodmare, and a vehicle to ensure Hahn receives the throne because her father has no male heir and picked some guy to succeed him instead, like it's not explicit in the show but that is the implication based on the historical reality of princesses in arranged marriages, and the show has her get out of it only through death idc that she ascends to being a spirit, it's still a teen girl that dies

There's also no discussion by the show of the Earth Kingdom's misogyny when it has the exact same shit going on, Toph is the only female earthbender in the show not including avatars, there might have been a female earthbender in the background when Katara broke them out of prison, but I'm not really counting that, the entire army and Dai Li are all made up of men, the EK might even be worse because the show doesn't demonstrate that women and girls even have the capacity to earthbend aside from Toph and avatars and Toph doesn't even learn from a human, she has to learn from animals, the show treats this as commentary on her disability but the show has no compelling reason why it can't also be commentary on her sex, Toph was also originally supposed to be a boy so this could have ended up so much worse there literally would have been no female earthbenders aside from avatars at all, I'm not counting Oma as she might just be a mythological figure not a real person that once lived

The Fire Nation kinda barely avoids the same issue, Azula is the only named female firebender aside from avatars in the show but she has two female sidekicks who despite being non-benders show martial skill and there are clearly female soldiers and guards in the FN military so there are much stronger implications of female firebenders existing and being completely allowed to train their abilities and that Azula isn't exceptional in that respect like Toph is, only for being a prodigy with blue fire

Azula was also originally supposed to have an arranged marriage in s3 and they dropped it in favor of showing that royal and noble girls could casually date in the FN which has wild implications for women's empowerment in the country more so than but especially in combination with the fact women can train and join the military (which is why I say the FN is not fascist it's literally the least misogynistic country aside from Kyoshi and by like a country mile so it's literally not misogynistic enough) not that the show does anything more than minor teen drama with it

again, the vast majority of this misogyny is completely unremarked upon by the show especially after s1 when they leave the NWT, it is clearly a fictional world made by men with no true understanding of misogyny just a vague awareness that misogyny is bad and what the really obvious and outdated examples of it are, this is a narrative inconsistency in the show to have the examples and commentary on misogyny be so cartoonish in the beginning and then disappear after s1

your options to resolve this inconsistency is to either go all in with more realistic misogyny and provide commentary on all of it but this takes effort and will be divisive, or take the easier route and ease off the cartoonish-ness of it and comment less on it to avoid drawing attention to all instances of misogyny in the show

obviously Netflix was gonna do the latter

(not me tho, I'm making it less cartoony and dealing with it in my rewrite)

[chinesehanfu]

[Hanfu · 漢服]Chinese Tang Dynasty(618–907AD)Winter Hanfu Based On Tang Dynasty Mural and figurines

【Historical Artifacts Reference 】:

China Tang Dynasty female figurine：

showing woman wearing“披袄/ Pī ǎo",“披袄/ Pī ǎo" is kind of formal wear. It is said began in the period of Cao Wei（曹魏）period, and was derived from Yiyi(祎衣). Mostly used in winter.

Among the pottery figurines and line carvings of the Tang Dynasty, wearing 披袄/ Pī ǎo" is a very common combination, as well as winter clothing such as double-layered thick Pī bó(披帛)and Earmuffs（暖耳/Nuǎn ěr)

Tang Dynasty”Earmuffs”:暖耳(Nuǎn ěr):

The mural of Li Yong(李邕)'s tomb in Fuping, Shaanxi (the fifteenth year of Tang Kaiyuan, 727 AD),showing a  woman wears 暖耳(Nuǎn ěr).

It is presumed to be made of animal fur and a cloth belt, and the cloth belt is tied under the chin.

————————

📸Recreation Work：@扬眉剑舞

🧚🏻‍ Model :@陈喜悦耶 @长歌要努力吖

🔗 Weibo:https://weibo.com/1879589532/NyTNDD1Eb

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[enidzzyx]

Round collar robe & black boots (Tang Dynasty)

Fullbody with shoes

Masculine

BGC

24 Swatches（12 solid swatches+12 pattern swatches）

All LODs & All Maps

Custom Thumbnail

Fang Hair

Male Hair

BGC

24 EA Swatches

Hat Compatible

All LODs & All Maps

Custom Thumbnail

I made two cc in traditional Chinese style for male sims. The robe is called round collar robe, which is a kind of common clothes in ancient China and also popular among hanfu lovers in recent times. Round collar robe of different dynasties has different characteristics and what I made is according to the Tang Dynasty style. Besides, I made the robe attached with black boots because it is a very common matching.

As for the hairstyle, it is not the proper hairstyle used by ancient Chinese people because they thought it good manner to tie their hair up and put it into hat. But this kind of hairstyle is very common in some Wuxia or history TV drama, and in the eye of modern people, this hairstyle looks cool to match with traditional clothes, so I decided to make it.

Download: CurseForge

@sssvitlanz @simbfinds @glimersimsfinds Thanks a lot!

Please don’t claim my cc as your own and reupload

[project-sekai-facts]

Here's a fun little Project Sekai fact! Almost all of your faves have appropriated other cultures as costumes and some have even done blackface. If you're supporting this game and refusing to make a meaningful statement about it beyond "b-b-but i said it was bad! 🥺", you are fucking racist.

You're either anti-racist, or you're a pro-seka blog. Choose one. You can't be both.

Basically everything is problematic and actually I have criticised the cultural appropriation and racism present in the game multiple times, at no point have I refused to acknowledge it (and you’re not the first person to send an anon in). You can play the game and be anti-racist actually it’s called being critical of the media you consume and having social awareness, we’ve been over this. Everything is problematic you probably like problematic media too.

Yeah the game did revival my dream and that was fucking racist, the costumes are stereotypical and they didn’t research into any specifc native culture they just wanted to make something that would get them money. it’s not princess mononoke put the trained costumes next to each other, the trained costumes are heavily stylised to look "pretty and fashionable" and forego accuracy. I’m aware of that, I’ve said this before multiple times but you wouldn’t know that because you just randomly came here to send me this message.

Then there's also the kamikou sports fes set. Luka's qipao is very obviously altered for the sake of fanservice which is just so wrong, do not sexualise other cultures for money. Rui's I think is meant to be some sort of military hanfu? But quite stylised, which again for someone outside the original culture to stylise a traditional outfit just is a no-go because you will probably get things wrong. Mizuki's outfit seems to be based on Qi-lolita and there's a whole thing surrounding that about whether you should wear it if you aren't chinese.

and then there's the island panic cards which are both orientalist. yes, not just the boys, the girls too. the outfits aren't based on any specific culture and just mishmash different swana and south asian cultures and stereotypes together to make something that looks "exotic".

If you notice a recurring thing is that all of these are in some way wxs related, and wonder why that is, it’s because they’re the theatre unit. They wear costumes, these are just cultures being appropriated as stage outfits, because the devs don’t care they just want a quick bit of money.

all of these are horribly common in idol games and gacha games, not just project sekai, and it's important to recognise the problems rather than just blindly consuming it. If it makes money, devs will continue to include ca, recognise that.

and yeah puchiseka episode 6 happened at no point have i ever denied that. it should have never happened but it did and at the very least the fandom was able to rally together and get sega to take it down. even after they did that sega and clpl should still be held accountable for even letting it be released. while they didn't make the episode, that was entirely handled by an external company (who should also be held accountable for their actions - we're never getting a second season for a reason), sega still released it knowing full well the contents. it wasn't ganguro like people said it was extremely clearly based on a very racist and crude interpretation of african tribes, and for part of a joke no less. It was disgusting. And it’s not ganguro like how people defend it; ganguro is part of the gyaru subculture and the outfits in that episode were not that. there is no defence for what happened. at the very least, it was impressive that the fandom called out the episode and actually got staff to listen and learn. that doesn't happen in other games, and we managed to do it again with rmd. the fanbase is calling the game out and actually educating staff. It’s just critical consumption - fans of the media were able to recognise that the episode was racist and correctly called out management with enough of a voice to make staff correct their mistakes. They apologised, it’s not my apology to accept, and I still hold them accountable for the fact it even happened.

This probably all makes me sound like a white saviour, and I don’t want to speak over the people affected by this, but that’s what you wanted, isn’t it? You probably have me blocked already and never followed me in the first place, but if you really wanted to call out racism, then maybe you should’ve sent this to blogs that do turn a blind eye to the flaws in this game, not one that calls them out. Why just me? Was it because of the username, because you’re not the first person to make that quip. I know you won’t see this anon, but a word of advice. Most media is problematic one way or another, you can enjoy something but still be aware of and acknowledge its problems. Project sekai is not made with the intent of encouraging or funding harmful behaviour, yet it still includes some harmful content. Call it out, educate staff and tell them not to do it again, they listened once they can do it again.

[meichenxi]

languages, travel, identity, grief

Maybe some of you have heard of Xu Zhimo's Second Farewell to Cambridge (徐志摩 再別康橋 Translation: Saying Goodbye to Cambridge Again, by Xu Zhimo | East Asia Student). It's an achingly lovely poem about a Chinese scholar who studied in the UK, and how he left so gently, taking nothing with him as he went. It brought me solace over the last year.

I thought for a very long time about how I felt about having to leave China, and what it felt like to mourn for a future that was never going to mine. I cried. How am I supposed to explain why? I'm not Chinese. I've got no family there, or a childhood to look back on. I couldn't explain it even to myself.

That pain was coupled with a type of uncertainty, a discomfort at myself for feeling so strongly. This feeling was not allowed. It meant - what? Something awful, probably. I was a racist, probably. I should hate myself, probably. Fetishization is the word that gets thrown around for white people and their time spent in East Asia at one end of the spectrum - at the other end it's just seen as embarrassing and deeply, you know, cringe. It's a self-interrogation - why do I feel so sad? Why do I feel this pull so strongly anyway, to a country that's not even mine? Why should it matter so much when I leave? I didn't feel like this grief has any sort of legitimacy. But it has taken from September - eight months after leaving - for me to pick up Chinese again.

I felt, for months, hollow and unsettled and drifting from place to place. I opened my textbook, and closed it again. The memories there were too painful. I'm not going to write about why I had to leave, but it wasn't by choice. I had loved the people in the school, even if it was for a short time. When you have no internet and are training eight hours a day, the days are coloured more sharply: bright and hurtful and wonderful all at once. We had no running water. It was in an abandoned hotel. I miss the monk at the temple door opposite the school, always on time at 6am to open it for our classes. I miss the folk at the local shop who invited me to watch films on their projector; once they killed a chicken for us. I miss the woman in the woods who gave me the chestnuts she had picked. I gave the chestnuts to the cook, and we steamed them and ate them by the lake. He wanted me to marry his son; he wanted it so strongly that he brought me pork, and desserts, and gave me paper, and promised me I could have a jade bracelet, that he would buy me a house. I miss the oldest martial arts teacher, who spoke in such strong dialect I could barely understand him. When I was sad and missing home one night, he told me that I should stay after dinner. In the silence and against the cicadas, he started to play the erhu for me. Later, my friend told me that he hadn't know what to say, how to comfort me; I was a foreigner and a young woman, after all. We had very little in common. But nobody has ever played a piece of music for me like that before.

And I miss X, my best friend there and partner in snack-smuggling crime. She is 19 years old, and a janitor's daughter, and one of the wisest people I have ever met. (She also rides an excellent motorbike, and lent me her hanfu, and we sped through the city giddy with our own daring and trying not to be caught.) We got matching haircuts; she had always wanted to cut her hair like a boy, and was too scared to do it alone. When I left, I told her to stay in touch: she shook her head. She said that some people were meant to know each other for some time, and no more. I think the death of friendship by attrition, by - as Elrond said! - the slow decay of time, is one of the saddest things of all. I deleted Wechat. I don't want to read over the old messages. By having this place - her, and the chestnuts, and the cicadas - as a memory, I can tuck it away it. I can keep it close.

I wrote a poem myself on the plane. That was the last I thought about China, the last thought I let myself have, in eight months. I kept myself away from it. It felt like a wound. And against that hollowness, there was constantly the question: Why should I have any right to miss this place? Who I am there? Why does it matter? We are all different people, wherever we go, and whoever we are with; we wear different skins, large or small. In China I was [...]. She was who I was. That name, that I introduced myself to people with - she was bright and friendly and tried to translate things just so. Everybody who goes as the only foreigner to a place - or the only foreigner that speaks the language - is a little bit self-obsessed. It happens. It's unfortunate, and something to guard against. But it also gives you its own kind of identity in a way: your identity is Foreigner. Your identity is a cultural bridge. Everyone you meet, in a country as friendly and curious as China, has questions about you. You stand with your feet in both worlds, and are not really part of either of them. That identity is easy to slip into, like cool water, like trying on new clothes. It's easier that thinking: who am I outside of that? Where am I going? I don't really know. I don't think anyone really does.

And then the second thing happens. I speak Chinese well, by this point. My accent is there, but it's slight. I am short, and have dark hair, and a generally similar build to many East Asians - so the questions I have got in the last few years have changed. Sometimes people think I have been raised here. Sometimes they think I am ethnically Russian, and nationally Chinese. Sometimes I get asked if I am half Chinese. Usually they know I am a Foreigner, 100% white - but not always. There is a peculiar rush that comes from that acceptance; from feeling the relief, just for fifteen minutes, that you belong. It's not about 'passing', or race-bending, or anything twisted - it's nothing so unnerving as that. It's just the human need to belong. Everyone gets tired of being stared at, after a while. And after a while, you start to think - I wish I understood. I wish they understood. I wish this were easy.

But then the conversation keeps going. You don't know a local word, or you misunderstand. You say something in a strange way, or you make a strange gesture, and the glass shatters, and - there you are again, naked again, exhausted again, explaining yourself again. That's the other half of it. There's solace in the Foreigner identity, because that means that's all you are. You don't have to think about your parents, or whether they worry about you so far from home; of course they do. The Foreigner is good and filial and a wonderful daughter. You can craft her into any shape you like. But it also marks you out again and again, endlessly and again, as Other.

There was a paper published a while ago that showed measures of acceptance of non-natives in native-speaking communities. It highlights a strange, but familiar experience to those who have lived abroad - the people who spoke the language to a medium level felt more accepted and less lonely than those that spoke the language to a high degree. It makes sense, and mirrors what I have found with both Chinese and German. When you speak a little Chinese, you are a wonder - a curiousity! Look at the Western girl go! People are kind, and curious, and will slow down to include you in conversations. You are thrilled with what you can access - all this knowledge, that other people don't have! Look how special you are!

And then you get better. And then you realise, cut by cut, that you will never be one of them. You don't want to be Chinese, per se; but you do want to be accepted. You are happy to be British; but you miss China like a wound, an old one, festering, even when it was never yours. How do you tell your family that you are not grieving a lost romance, a beautiful girl, but a language and a life? That there are words of majesty, of playfulness, that will never be yours? You speak well enough that people no longer bother to dumb things down, or explain them; you sit with your discomfort, smile painted on, because - you know. It's not bad. You understand most of it. And on the edge of that circle, smiling uncertainly, following the vast majority of what is being said, you are not clever enough and not witty enough to keep up with the chengyu, the cultural references, the slang, and the raucous laughter around you erupts, and you don't know what you've missed, and everybody says - she's quiet, that one. Maybe all the foreigners are? And all you are doing is sitting and feeling the distance between You and Them as heavy and as stifled in your chest as an ocean of dark.

So you go back. Back to your people. But when you sit with the other foreigners, you are apart. They laugh; what are these nutters doing? The Chinese don't make any sense. The Chinese do this - they do that. You sit there, and then there is a pressure building in your chest too, a discomfort, the desire to stand up and say - well, actually.

You are responsible for everything the Chinese teachers do, and have to explain things in a way that the students understand - Confucian thought, and Buddhist philosophy, translated in pithy bite-size adages for the West. You have no qualifications for this; everything you assert, you feel unsure. Uncertain. Someone else could explain it better, more nuanced, and you need to do more reading anyway - but here you are, and here they are, and you're the only one. And you do know. Not enough, but enough that their jokes, their pains, make you uncomfortable. You feel the need to defend both parties; to be a diplomat, every second of every day. In turn, when the students come to the teachers with problems, you have to translate their grievances in a way that the Chinese teachers will be sympathetic towards. Once I got asked: why do you never join us after class? Why are you always so quiet when you're not working? As a translator, you are always working. Every time you speak, you are working; what you choose to say, and what you choose to not say, and where you choose to intervene. You are building relationships, and disappearing, and you are becoming invisible, and you're a nothing, and you're everyone and you're nobody and nobody realises you are doing anything more than translating at all.

I wanted to stay. I couldn't have stayed. I wanted to be accepted as one of them. I wanted to be accepted for who I was. That means a foreigner. I wanted to be true to myself, which means that I would always be the Foreigner, which means I would always be apart from them. It is that contrast and juxtaposition which causes the grief. And there was never an ending to it, a resolution, a chance to reconcile myself (in China) with myself (in the UK), because all at once I had to leave. The grief comes most from the second arrow - not the pain of leaving, but the bewilderment of not knowing why I was in pain at all.

It's been eight months. Slowly, as spring comes, I feel like I am on surer ground. I can look at my old books, those painstaking notes, and I could look at new ones too and I'm starting to think, because this is what I tell my students, and maybe there's some truth in it - it's okay if you're not perfect. It's okay if you didn't achieve what you wanted to, and that the language - in its wholeness, and who can ever know that? - will never, not quite, be yours. It's the struggle and the process that means that I will know and understand Chinese in a different way, in my own way, in a slanted-to-reality sort of way, that is a treasure in and of itself. There is beauty in its brokenness too.

And there is sorrow, too. The sorrow that comes with easing yourself into a different life, and it holding you gently for a while. I sat there - I spoke to them. It's not only missing a place; it's missing a person you were, a stage of your life, for a time. It's knowing that a place has reached inside your ribs and taken root there - even if you don't return, you can never fully get rid of that again. You are two people now, with feet straddling two oceans. There are parts of you that loved and suffered and hated and grew in Chinese, not English. You can't explain that. You can't even begin. Sometimes - not often - you are a stranger in your own land. The poets spoke of that. In the age of fast travel, of the weekend break, we have forgotten the ways a place can burrow itself inside you, and find its own home.

It's not the same as the grief that someone Chinese will face. But it's still grief. I have put my life into Chinese. Maybe that is all it takes to grow love.

Now, I turn back to Chinese - as a foreigner, as Melissa, as myself. It's a bittersweet thing. I know that I cannot hold all of it. It will spill out, like the sun, and there is no way I can be that without losing myself and my history and my own green woods. But I think I am ready now. I am surer, and a little steadier on my feet.

[ziseviolet]

This question might seem a bit dumb. But my mind likes practical qquestions and i can't imagine it, but how did chinese women use the toilets while wearing different styles hanfu? It just seems a bit nervous, to accidentally dirty such a pretty outfit while doing the do. Also mensturation now that i think about it, how did the ancient chinese woman deal with her period?

Hi, thanks for the question, and sorry for taking ages to reply! (x)

Something to keep in mind is that the ultra flowy, ethereal designs popular in modern hanfu aren't what average Chinese women would have worn on a day-to-day basis historically. As can be seen in my commoners' hanfu tag, the common woman's daily hanfu was simpler and more practical with less use of fabric - which meant narrower, shorter sleeves and shorter hems. Long, elaborate hanfu was reserved for formal/special occasions and the wealthy/elite.

Thus, using the toilet wouldn't have been as difficult as you imagine - women could simply gather and bunch up their sleeves and skirts/robes (and/or if they were wearing pants, untie and lower their pants), and do business as usual.

As for people who regularly wore "fancy" hanfu such as the nobility, they would change clothes (called "更衣/geng yi") when using the toilet, either:

Removing their clothes, using the toilet, and then putting their clothes back on, or

Changing into a new set of clothes after using the toilet

There would typically be maids to help facilitate these steps. For example, it's said that wealthy politician Shi Chong of the Western Jin dynasty kept maids at the entrance of his house's bathroom. After guests used the toilet, the maids would assist them with changing into new clothes before they could come out.

As for menstruation, I have a post here on how Chinese women dealt with their periods historically.

If anyone else has more information, please share!

Hope this helps!

Sources: 1, 2

[farejourney]

REPAST – Chapter 1

(manhwas x reader) *will be following the webtoon, which takes in Ancient China.

"Guess it's time to change into a hanfu and pack all my stuff then," they said, putting the key with the pink and white tag onto the counter of the pony wall that was separating the kitchen and the outside while putting the other key back on the key holder on the wall. They went straight to the changing room, which is just the break room with lockers in it, and search for a reconstruction of commoners' hanfu of their favourite colour. Simple and light.

Once they change, back to the kitchen they went and they packed things that seemed important as much as they could inside of a bag of just cloth. "Ah... The food ingredients will spoil once I get there.. oh well, I guess I'll hunt for more in murim.. I should write down a list for that," they murmured when they realise how much of a stock shortage they'll be experiencing on their journey. Thinking positively fast, they wrote down a list of things to hunt for later and also instead pack all the basic necessities for cooking and some ingredients for the other menu into different boxes as well as jars, "I'll just bring salt and pepper... Cauliflower? Maybe that... Mhmn... Ah, I need these too... Two or three jar of hyacinth petals... More of that.. and we're done!" Tying the cloth together tightly and securely, they carry it on their shoulder with one hand. The other hand grab the key from the counter and head over to the entrance, trying to not trip over the hanfu. Inserting the key into the keyhole, turning it to the right which unlocked the door. Then putting the key into the secret pocket, along with money of the era, the ingredients list and a map, to hide it. Opening the door even wider, they glance to the side to see their sword. 'Should I..? No, I'll just beat them up barehanded,' They shook their head at their thought and with that, they exit their restaurant to another world.

Lights blinds them for a moment before the blue sky and tree leaves takes over their vision. Currently standing in the middle of the woods. Taking the map out of their pocket, taking a good look at all the sectors and information written down as well as the list. "Next location is Shaanxi but before that, 'get a jar full of red masrakins and blue sylimes'. Should be easy enough," Putting both the map and list back into their pocket, they close their eyes and focus on their surroundings and use the energy inside of them to locate the ingredients. A pathway of energy connected them to the energy that the masrakins and sylimes radiate. With that, they opened their eyes and took out a metal scrapper and two plastic glass jars. They walk towards a nearby tree and scrapped off the dead skin of it off to reveal red masrakins embedded into the trunk. Gently scrapping it out of the trunk, they spent precious time to finally get a jar full of red masrakins. Now, for the sylimes. Rushing towards another direction that the energy pathway has shown before, they went.

Finally reaching the specific spot, they crouched down and immediately started digging into the dirt. Soon, a bright light started to peak into their sight and they quickly dig even more to get the pieces of sylimes. Once they finally finish digging all the pieces they can find, out they put them all in the other jar. Unfortunately for them, it didn't fully reach the top but they figured they'll try again some other time and place. Gently putting the two jars back into their sack, then pull out a bottle of water to wash off the dirt from their hands. Putting the bottle back into the sack after. Standing up while wiping away the wetness on their hanfu, quickly holding up the sack - they started rushing towards to path to Shaanxi. They already wasted time on trying to find the ingredients, sure it was worth it but right now they have to speed up. In their speedy pace, they still managed to hear the loud scream of someone. They pay no mind or attention to it as it's not important to them right now.

Once they've reached the place, you look around. The streets are full of people, houses and markets. They walked around, looking at all what the markets trying to sell but none of them catches their eye, all of what they sell are not edible - even if they are edible, it doesn't fit into what is needed in their recipes. Still having the, pity or kindness, decency to buy at least a little bit of different ingredients from different markets.

In the middle of the place, they can see a boy with a messy appearance getting panhandling offerings. He looks pathetic, yes but they can see right through him. He isn't innocent as he seems and it's exactly who they're looking for. Fortunately, they didn't have to approach as the boy already approached them. Very brave for a beggar, they thought. He was putting up a pathetic facade and since he has a cute facial appearance, he's capable of doing so. But they know better.

They smile at him but it doesn't reach their eyes. "Are you thirsty, kid?" To which he nodded, he had realised that he doesn't have water amongst the food he has. Smirking, they thought, 'Sure I'll give you something to drink. I may have come here on a 'mission' but that doesn't mean I can't have fun.' They nodded and gesture him to follow them. While the boy is suspicious, he figured that he can still beat them up. They don't look strong to him. The both of them reach a secluded area and they gestured him to sit down with them. Once the both of them did, the boy look in anticipation once the person in front of him put their sack down but does not untie it. Instead, they simply reach inside from an opening - making the boy curious. Before he could peak in to see the inside of the sack however, the person look at him sharply as if they sense what he's trying to do. "Please, would you mind? I need you to close your eyes." It doesn't help the raising suspicion inside him but he did it anyway. If they try anything, he'll just beat them up. The person in front of him saw him close their eyes and they let the smile fall from their face. Sounds of items clanking together was all he heard but he didn't open his eyes. More like, he can't somehow. He can feel his eyes feeling heavy but he's not tired or sleepy. He's confused. Who is this person? Is it weird that he suspects the stranger on doing this?

The said person took out the jar of blue sylimes and took one out. Putting the sylime in their hand while putting back the jar and took out a Boston Shaker. Crushing the blue sylime effortlessly, they put the remains inside the shaker. Then, they grab a box of minpetal and add 4 of it into the shaker with the sylime dust. The cherries on top of this drink, they took out two bottles. One bottle of water and the other is a bottle of egite that looks like the raw egg without the yolk. Pouring half a bottle of water and egite together. 'It would be too cruel to use the higher but definitely more disgusting ingredients, so I'll give him some mercy.' Putting the top back on, they shook the Boston Shaker. After a while, they stopped and pour it into a gourd to avoid questions on where they got a Boston Shaker or what even is a Boston Shaker. After all, they can't reveal their secret just yet. That's way too soon.

The concoction emitted a refreshing minty smell. 'A drink shouldn't emit such smell unless it's medicine,' the boy grow wary. "You can open your eyes now, kid." To which he did. In front of him was their hand holding a gourd to him, 'Alcohol? Are they seriously giving an alcohol to a kid? I'll try to ignore the sound of the 'drink' shaking.' He hesitantly grabbed the bottle and took a sniff. Well, he can now confirm the minty smell so he's wondering if it's medicine but before he could ask them, they stood up hastily. Slinging their sack over their shoulder, they throw him a smile saying, "Well, I better go now. Keep the drink, kid. Bye!" And scurry away after, leaving him in confusion.

"They're so weird..." He said out loud now that the stranger is gone. He turn his gaze back to the bottle in his hand. "Should I drink this..? What if it's poison?" He rationally thought over. He stayed silent for a moment before his body trembles, but not in fear, "...But what if it's actual alcohol?" He laughs under his breath, licking his lips remembering the taste of alcohol in his past life. "Hehehee well there's only one way to find out!" Without hesitation, he drank it all in one gulp. However, he immediately regretted it when he taste it. He spat whatever was left in his mouth back out but unfortunately he managed to drink some. His face turns light green in disgust, "BLEH! What the hell is this?! It's disgusting!" Trying to rub the taste away from his tongue but his efforts are all futile. The taste still lingers on his tongue and he keeps cursing out the stranger from before that gave him the drink. 'That hag! When I see them again, I'll beat them for this!... But wait, something feels different... I feel refreshed for some reason...' His body has never felt so light and refreshed as the purest water. 'Hey.. my dantian feels so much better...' he realises when he figured that out.

"Maybe I'll considering being more merciful if we ever meet again." Then he remembered the taste of the drink, "Maybe not."

[lopsushi]

Hi again, thanks for being apologetic and cool about it. I just wanted to inform you because I know a lot of people don't know the difference. Sorry if this is getting picky or me digging too much into it, but macaques outfit is also very hanbok shaped (if that makes sense). The dress/skirt itself poofs out a lot, which doesn't seem to be a characteristic of hanfu's. Also, from what little I have seen, the "jacket" (for lack of a better term) of a hanfu goes down to the waist or doesn't have a jacket at all. The jacket of an average hanbok would stop right below the chest, though I imagine that part was unintentional.

Of course, im not an expert on Chinese clothing. I just know hanboks because I'm korean, but I did find these kinds of very, very basic guides for differences between hanbok's, kimonos, and hanfu's. I really hope this doesn't come off as rude, I just like to tell people when I notice it because it is common to see people get them mixed up.

I’m just gonna crawl into a hole and cry on my sins.

Again sorry for the mistake but I TRULY appreciate the help of you showing me the differences. I hope I didn’t get you mad or anything including others. I’ll make sure to be careful better. Thanks again for showing me this and again I’m sorry. I never meant to mix tradition clothing. 😖

[rongzhi]

did only like upper class people wear hanfu? like royalty and stuff?

Hanfu is a term that has been given to retroactively describe all historical/traditional clothing, so commoners wore hanfu as well, just typically with simpler fabrics, dyes, etc.

For the most part people nowadays like to dress in the styles of nobility/aristocrats/royals because it is prettier and because it is more accessible to us now than it would been historically. There are people who wear merchant-class or just sort of simpler hanfu, too, usually more in the spirit of historically inspired hanfu compared to guzhuang style (hanfu + bells and whistles/contemporary twists, basically). I guess I don't post them that much (I don't post that much hanfu in generally, relatively speaking) but I'm sure some of the more hanfu-specific tumblr blogs have more examples.

You can generally see commoner clothing in historical dramas, too, although most styles are based on depictions from art and whatnot, as Chinese peasant clothing hasn't been as well preserved, if at all, as the clothing of the upper class.

Some examples of lower class/tone down hanfu in douyins I've posted: 1, 2, 3, 4

[bihansthot]

I wish I was good at mood boards, I would constantly be making girldad!Bi-Han ones. Or good husband Bi-Han mood boards, cause he might be a dick but I’m still convinced he’s a good husband/father. Have I mentioned Bi-Han wears tutus in addition to his tiara? He definitely does. He also has an entire hanfu collection just for tea party time, he’s never sure if his daughter wants him to be a princess like her or a prince/knight so he’s prepared either way. Usually Kuai Liang is the only one who doesn’t have to dress like a princess, he’s usually the royal sorcerer/magician, yes Bingbing has seen The Last Unicorn too many times just like her mother has and might be hung up on her uncle being Schmendrick the Magician.

Tea time is usually when lunch would be so usually Bi-Han doesn’t miss out on his Grandmaster duties, not that he would mind, his little girl comes first. It’s not an everyday occurrence, maybe once or twice a week, not that Bi-Han wouldn’t rearrange things to do it everyday if Bingbing asked but she’s knows her papa’s very busy so most of the time she plays with me and her brothers when they get home from school. Though her brothers are usually very busy with Lin Kuei training when they get home from school so Bingbing usually watches them and tries to mimic them, she’s almost old enough to start training herself.

I know I talk a lot about Bi-Han playing with Bingbing but that's not to say he didn't/doesn't play with his sons too. The boys love The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings so they'd often act out scenes with their Dad and Uncles. Kuai Liang had to be Smaug since they both breathe fire, Tomas is Bilbo, my twins are Fili and Kili and my youngest boy Shixue loves playing Gandalf leaving Bi-Han as Thorin. Nowadays though it's much more common for them all to play soccer together, all of my boys are on the school team. Bi-Han is not particularly great at soccer since he didn't have the luxury of playing it growing up, but he does his best and he's getting better with help from the boys.

TL:DR Bi-Han is a really good, hands on Father and I wanna make moodboards about it but I suck. lol

[atlaculture]

I’m not sure if you’ve covered it or not, but what style dress does Yue wear when she becomes the Moon Spirit? I love the style and think it looks so pretty

Yue’s dress is mostly fantastical, with some Chinese touches.

The thin scarf wrapped around her arms is called a pibo (披帛). The little floaty fabric with the jade pendant hanging from it looks like a detached weichang (围裳) with a jinbu (禁步). Weichang are overskirts meant to be layered over dresses and jinbu are dangling decorations meant to hang over skirts to prevent them from flying up. Since Yue’s a spirit, her weichang seems to just levitate around her gown ethereally. These accessories are often featured in depictions of the Chinese moon goddess, Chang’e (嫦娥). Other aspects of Yue’s design are also inspired by Chang’e.

Other than that, the dress is more just vaguely anime-inspired. The detached sleeves are especially common in anime.

If you want something with a similar ethereal feel to Yue’s outfit, but with more basis in a real-world culture, you could look into white-colored hanfu. 8)