In Beijing many undergraduates have begun to take an interest in traditional Han Chinese culture. Many of them wear traditional Han-style clothes (the attire of ancient Han people before the Ming Dynasty) and held historic rites to display their respect for the rich Chinese culture.

 

 

More than 10 female students from Shandong College of Art & Design in traditional Chinese outfits are performing Ji Ceremony in Jinan, capital city of Shandong Province on July 2, 2006. The activity, an adult ceremony in ancient China marking the grown-up of a girl, aims to show the beauty of Han (206 BCE - 25 CE) costumes and succeed Chinese culture.

 

 

Lei Yun, a junior from the Renmin University of China, held his rite of passage in the Old Summer Palace (Yuanmingyuan Garden). The ceremony was conducted in a wholly traditional fashion with everyone wearing historic Han-style clothing.

 

"Our country has long been known as the land of ceremony and propriety and I think the rite of passage should be the most important one as it serves as a landmark in one's life for him or her to realize their responsibilities as an adult," said Lei.

 

Traditional Han-style clothes have also become the new fashion. Some students have even designed academic costumes in that style. There's also a website about Han clothing. Many undergraduates are calling on people to don traditional-Han-style clothes on traditional festivals to feel the culture behind such events.

 

(Chinanews.cn November 14, 2006)