Traditional Chinese clothing inspires a budding fashion in Saint John
It's a strange contrast.
An elegant figure straight from an ancient Chinese painting — walking down the street in suburban Saint John.
Shui Tang, 21, wears sheer, layered robes in the style of the Song dynasty, which lasted from 960 to 1279.
The wide, delicately embroidered sleeves trail past her elbows. Her waist-length hair is twisted into a complicated style with the aid of a delicate hair comb.
It's a modern take on the traditional clothing of China's Han ethnic majority, to which Tang belongs.
Traditional Han clothing — or Hanfu, as the style is called by devotees — "gives me a lot of confidence," said Tang, 21, who moved to New Brunswick in 2017 to take e-commerce at the University of New Brunswick Saint John.
Hanfu is a growing trend among young Han Chinese seeking to recapture their traditional culture lost during centuries of foreign domination.
'Wow, that is amazing!'
Hanfu tends to turn heads in Saint John.
"When you walk down the street, many people will look at you and say, 'Oh, you are pretty!' and they say good things to you."
Recently, photographer Nelson Cloud took pictures of Shui Tang at Saint John landmarks, including Rockwood Park, the Martello Tower, Market Square, and the New Brunswick Museum building on Douglas Avenue.
Tang was introduced to the style as a middle school student in Shanghai.
"I saw a picture," she said, "and I thought, 'Wow, that is amazing!' So I did a little bit of research about it."
The trend has been popularized in recent years through the video app TikTok and Chinese micro-blogging service Weibo.
"There are people who share all the information on the same page," she said. "People are wearing Hanfu and getting to know it."
Historical accuracy
Historical accuracy is the first goal of Hanfu.
"If you imagine something, that becomes cosplay, not Hanfu," Tang said.
The custom-made dresses can take months or even years to ship to Canada from Chinese suppliers and range in price from a few hundred dollars, to more than $3,000 for top-quality reproduction Ming dynasty robes.
Tang wears Hanfu mainly for special occasions, she said, although sometimes she pairs a historical skirt or hair accessory with everyday Western clothes.
It's a passion Tang wants to share with other Han Chinese in New Brunswick.
"A lot of my friends come to my place and I will show them and let them try it on," she said.
National pride
Clothing is one way for people to express pride in their unique national identity, Tang.
"I really like to see more people wearing their own traditional clothes — not just our Han people, but also Koreans, Japanese, Indian," Tang said.
"I hope they can express themselves in wearing all these traditional things and let other people know about their culture.
"If we all have our own styles, it will make the world more beautiful."
