Han Couture Judge Amy Li Talks About Traditional Chinese Clothing

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• published: 12 Mar 2013
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Sublime beauty, elegance, and grace describe the clothing of traditional Chinese people. Han couture or Han Chinese clothing—also known as Hanfu—had been worn for millennia before the Manchus invaded China and established the Qing Dynasty in 1644. The legendary Yellow Emperor was believed to have worn this style of clothing. NTD Television has been holding a Han Couture Design Competition as part of its global competition series. Han Couture Competition Head Judge Amy Li talks about the use of different color shades to create a stunning effect. [Amy Li, NTD Han Couture Competition Head Judge]: "The overall effect of this outfit is very beautiful. It uses a very coordinated set of shades of purple. From the structure of this style, on the outside you have big sleeves, and inside, it has a very high skirt that reaches above the chest and it's fastened there. So inside you have the skirt and beneath that, the pants. The four pieces together make up the whole outfit." [Amy Li, NTD Han Couture Competition Head Judge]: "This style is very typical of the Tang Dynasty, particularly the middle to late periods of the Tang Dynasty. It is normally accompanied by a relatively big hairstyle." Each dynasty has its own unique style to distinguish the status of officials. [Amy Li, NTD Han Couture Competition Head Judge]: "During the Tang Dynasty, the ranks of officials were distinguished by different color clothing. The Song Dynasty was the same, but the differences in the clothing were not significant. When it got to the Ming Dynasty, they wore not only different colors but more importantly, they had symbols. They had a square piece of cloth—the same on the front and the back—a stitched picture to indicate an official's rank." Today, Han couture is sometimes worn as part of a historical presentation, during festivals, or weddings—and people feel transported back to the past. [Amy Li, NTD Han Couture Competition Head Judge]: "When people put on Han Couture they feel 'wow, why did ancient people wear these kinds of clothes?'" That's because there's a deeper principle and meaning behind Han couture. It conveys righteous etiquette, purity, beauty, and virtue. Through its global Han Couture Competition, NTD Television's endeavor to revive these ancient values has had a positive impact. [Amy Li, Han Couture Comp. Head Judge] "We have held the competition 3 times—in 2008, 2009, and 2010. We all see very clearly the biggest change in our contestants. They have matured in their understanding of Han Couture, the pure Han Couture that embodies the inner meaning of traditional culture." The contestants come to understand the essence behind Han Couture and integrate that with their designs. Li talks about the maturing process. [Amy Li, NTD Han Couture Competition Head Judge]: "The first year we discovered the pieces still had a way to go...Through the first and second time, they're going through a process. By the third competition in 2010, we discovered that over 90 percent of the contestants had matured." Contestants gain a deeper understanding of traditional Chinese culture. [Amy Li, NTD Han Couture Competition Head Judge]: "Wearing these clothes, how they should talk, how they should salute, how they should they bow. They need to think of these issues. So through researching Han Couture for the competition, the contestants study many profound things from Chinese culture." Thus every masterpiece seeks to recreate and restore the traditional Chinese culture of courtesy, wisdom, elegance, and etiquette that has been largely lost, especially in Mainland China. This year NTD's fourth Global Han Couture Design Competition will take place in September—with the semi-finals, finals, and award ceremony held in New York. By Margaret Trey, PhD.