At the 2024 Chinese Costume Week held in Shanghai, more than 300,000 Chinese and foreign young people immersed themselves in the vast splendor of China's excellent traditional culture, and used the infinite enthusiasm of young people to experience the beauty of the integration of China's ancient and long history and culture with modern life.
The national style consumption boom that has lasted for several years has now reached a new peak: Hanfu elements such as cloud shoulders and horse-faced skirts are increasingly worn by young people, "archaeological blind boxes" in major museums across the country are sold out, and groups of young enthusiasts who observe and learn are gathered in intangible cultural heritage workshops......
This is a generation of Chinese young people who look at the world in a variety of ways, they use various ways to release their love for traditional culture, self-confidence in "Chinese aesthetics", they from consumption to active promotion, inheritance, is becoming a vigorous youth force in the inheritance and development of Chinese culture.
Clothing, food, housing and transportation "everywhere national style"
In recent years, the national style has repeatedly come out of the circle, involving music, art, architecture, furniture, clothing, food, daily cultural creativity and other aspects, and has become a hot spot among the youth groups with the "post-90s" and "post-00s" as the main body. As a result, traditional Chinese cultural elements have regained their vitality in various consumption scenarios, and are increasingly integrated into "clothing, food, housing, transportation, travel, shopping and entertainment", becoming a new driving force for consumption.
Confidently wearing traditional Chinese costumes, leaving beautiful scenery in historic sites, cities, and countryside, and also "circled" countless like-minded friends...... He Chuhan, a teacher of traditional culture at Hebei University, who was praised by millions of fans as "the most storyteller" and "post-90s", said that this is an increasingly common way of life for young friends around her in recent years. And He Chuhan, who is telling about it, is also wearing a beautiful horse-faced skirt: "I was very surprised to see that the horse-faced skirt, which is very popular in Chinese history, has gone out of history and is loved by more young people in the new era." ”
The horse-faced skirt evolved from the spiral skirt of the Song Dynasty, and was later named because of the "horse face" that resembled the Ming city wall. As one of the main representatives of ancient Chinese skirts, horse-faced skirts with diverse styles and distinctive characteristics have become popular in recent years, and the consumption boom driven by this year is even more staggering: "2024 Douyin E-commerce Women's Consumption Trend Data Report" shows that the order volume of horse-faced skirts has increased by 841% year-on-year; In Cao County, Shandong, one of the main production and sales bases of Hanfu in the country, in the first quarter of this year, the online sales of horse face skirts alone were nearly 900 million yuan......
The horse-faced skirt is just a big IP in the new consumption preference of Chinese clothing, and the wind of traditional cultural elements has blown to more and wider, vertically deeper and finer directions in the escalating consumer demand of young people. The all-round supply of traditional Chinese culture has cultivated a huge new national style consumer market and inspired young people to "buy, buy, buy".
The Forbidden City's co-branded makeup, Sanxingdui's ice cream in the shape of a gold mask, the jewelry made of enamel and gold and silver technology, and the milk tea named after poetry...... Based on historical relics and intangible cultural heritage skills, the categories of cultural and creative products are becoming more and more abundant, and young people's clothing, food, housing and transportation are almost "ubiquitous".
When the national style began to shift from explicit elements to connotative development, and entered the stage of fashion symbols, the consumption preferences of young people also further expanded to cultural tourism, literary and artistic works and other fields.
At the level of cultural tourism consumption, with the popularity of the Forbidden City and Sanxingdui, archaeological site parks and museums across the country have ushered in more and more young fans to check in and linger. On April 18, the Chinese Academy of Cultural Heritage was commissioned by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage to release the latest operating data of 55 national archaeological site parks across the country, and in 2023, the ticket revenue of 55 parks alone will increase by about 5 times year-on-year, and the demand for cultural and tourism consumption such as cultural and creative industries and archaeological research has risen sharply and reached a new high.
Ji Yong, vice president of the Anhui Museum, said that as a museum worker, he can see a large number of young visitors coming to the museum every day. "In addition to the exhibition hall, the most lively is the cultural and creative space, from stationery, books, jewelry, to cultural and creative blind boxes, these cultural and creative products flashing with historical relics can always stimulate young people's desire to buy. Every time an intangible cultural heritage bazaar is held, it will also attract tens of thousands of young visitors to check in. He said.
In the field of spiritual and cultural consumption, the degree to which local traditional folk customs, operas, songs and dances are sought after by young people is not inferior to any traffic star. The popularity of the British song and dance in the Chaoshan area of Guangdong and the wandering gods in Fujian have just passed, and the hairpin tradition in Quanzhou, Fujian Province has set off another boom; Chen Lijun, a post-90s student of the Zhejiang Xiaobaihua Yue Opera Troupe, has pushed Yue Opera to the "top stream" position in the hearts of young audiences......
Zhang Le, executive vice president of Anhui Provincial Institute of Cultural Tourism Innovation and Development, said: "Behind the continuous rise in traditional cultural consumption, there is the cultural pursuit and aesthetic changes of the young generation, which reflects not only a consumption phenomenon, but also a cultural phenomenon. Under the highly developed material conditions, young people in China have both emotional preference and rational identification with the excellent traditional Chinese culture. ”
"Deeper" traditional cultural identity
"The young generation wears clothes containing excellent traditional culture, not only for the function of covering the body, but also for the spiritual skin of Chinese youth in the new era, which portrays the spirit and style of each period of the upper and lower 5,000 years. He Chuhan said passionately.
According to the phased results of the major innovation project of the Institute of Sociology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, "Research on the Construction of a Cultural Power in the Digital Age", the proportion of "post-90s" and "post-00s" who hold a high degree of cultural identity and confidence in cultural development is the highest among all generations. Compared with other generations, the "post-90s" and "post-00s" grew up in a period of rapid economic development in China, witnessed the enhancement of the country's comprehensive national strength, and fully enjoyed the dividends of the times brought by material growth, education level improvement, and urbanization, so their sense of identity and confidence in Chinese culture will be stronger.
Experts believe that the unique national charm of Chinese civilization constitutes a natural bond to arouse the emotional identity of young people, and the continuous and enduring cultural characteristics of China's excellent traditional culture have significantly enhanced the individual's sense of national pride and cultural identity.
"For me, the recognition of traditional culture comes first and foremost from understanding. "Post-95" white-collar woman Li Xiaowei said. She used to pay little attention to traditional culture, but the extremely high communication effectiveness of the Internet era made her unconsciously perceive the charm of traditional culture. "Whether it is a short video platform, Weibo, Xiaohongshu and other social software, content with keywords such as 'national style', 'national tide' and 'Chinese-style romance' is increasingly appearing on hot searches. Li Xiaowei said that she was first attracted by the fact that overseas students wore Hanfu at graduation ceremonies, and then paid more and more attention to ancient Chinese costumes and related knowledge.
"Chinese history and culture are so broad and profound, just from the clothing, you will naturally come into contact with the ancient social hierarchy order, customs, etiquette and aesthetics and other knowledge that can be infinitely explored, the more you understand, the more you will be full of amazement and admiration for the depth of Chinese traditional culture that can continue to this day. She said that when she has enough knowledge of the "past and present life" of the land under her feet, the cultural identity engraved in her bones will flourish, and she feels that it is very worthwhile to pay for this identity consumption.
Chen Xinran, a "post-00s" generation, identifies with traditional culture and has a practical impact on life. "There is a popular saying on the Internet that when you reach a certain age, the quintessence of the country will automatically awaken. She said that although she was not interested in traditional culture when she was a child, the school education she received since childhood has deeply embedded Chinese history and culture in her bones. Chen Xinran very much agrees with netizens' comments on the animated movie "Thirty Thousand Miles of Chang'an", "When everyone in the cinema recited Tang poems with Li Bai, education completed the closed loop at this moment many years later. Chen Xinran believes that young people are more and more fond of traditional culture when they grow up, in addition to the influence of the Internet, it is also because many traditional cultures are in line with the living conditions and mental states of young people. "For example, the Taoist philosophy is called 'the most suitable psychological counseling for Chinese babies', the fine wine from all over the world in front of Li Bai's tomb, the naming of the streets and alleys full of historical stories in various places is called 'the romance that belongs to the Chinese', and the ...... of cooking tea around the stove that arose during the period when they could not travel far" These traditional cultural elements moisten things silently, but continue to give young people more spiritual nourishment in their daily lives.
Ji Yong said that the art of life and the art of life are no longer just a slogan for young people, and they use their actions to obtain aesthetic experience and cultural memory. "When traditional culture is not all high above and far away, but can be touched, tasted, experienced, and participated, the nourishment of this culture has begun, which is more effective and meaningful than any indoctrination and preaching. ”
Traditional culture is enhancing young people's awareness of traditional culture in the form that they like to see, and the enhancement of cultural self-confidence makes young people more identified with traditional culture, and the new consumption of national style shows a spiraling trend.
Beneficiary communication carriers continue to innovate
Du Hao, a "post-00s" generation, said that communicating with foreign players in the game "Genshin Impact" always gave him a sense of pride from Chinese culture. "For example, some of the extremely beautiful scenes in the game are taken from the scenery of Zhangjiajie and other places, and the music and language in the game all have their own classical Chinese charm, and many details are done to the extreme. He said that many young players from abroad have learned about China's solar terms, food, scenery, history, literature, etc. in this game, "Their amazement Chinese the spiritual world makes us love the excellent culture of our country even more." I'm definitely willing to krypton for a game like this. ”
"From the previous rigid collage of traditional cultural elements, the national style game has gradually progressed to the stage of solid cultural connotation and cultural tension, so it has attracted more and more domestic and foreign players and won market recognition. "Post-90s" gamer "Wuji" said that this is his game experience in the past ten years.
Experts believe that in order to change the national style from an Internet celebrity to a long-term popularity, it is necessary to continue to explore technical means and innovative cultural communication carriers, and at the same time, it is also necessary to pay attention to more carefully integrating with modern culture and life, rather than simply and crudely engaging in a "big platter".
In the past decade, the audiovisual content of traditional Chinese culture has embarked on a stage of development in which the content and form are constantly innovating, and the communication power and influence are continuously increasing. Starting from "Hundred Lectures", a large number of documentaries, variety shows, dramas, short videos, animations, movies and other media works with the theme of excellent traditional Chinese culture, such as "Poetry and Painting China", "I Repair Cultural Relics in the Forbidden City", "National Treasure" and "Poetry Conference", have continuously become "hits". Experts believe that the mainstream media has found the right way to promote the effective communication of excellent traditional culture, found the "traffic password" that truly attracts young people, and established spiritual exchanges and value resonance with young people.
Zhang Le believes that only by deeply excavating and effectively "exporting" the connotation of traditional culture, and constantly exploring and innovating to enrich the carrier of cultural self-confidence, can we more effectively transform cultural value and market value. With the help of creative design, scientific and technological application and cross-border cooperation, Xi'an has made modern interpretations and innovations of traditional culture to create Xi'an Datang Sleepless City, Tang Paradise, City Wall and other cultural and tourism "top-stream" scenic spots. In the innovative "immersive entertainment" consumption scene, the real space is integrated with history and culture, and tourists seem to have a dialogue with the ancients through thousands of years, attracting a large number of tourists.
As an enterprise that provides digital creative services for government departments, Anhui Xiaoma Creative Technology Co., Ltd. has planned and organized many consumption scenarios of national style bazaars in recent years. Deputy General Manager Fang Meidan said that she deeply felt that the content innovation and presentation of cultural consumption scenes must be deep and innovative. "We're not only delving into the historical and cultural elements of each dynasty, but we're also figuring out how to retain consumers. In the planning and implementation of the Wuhu National Style Market to promote consumption activities, we set up partitions according to dynasties, integrating on-site interactions such as the six arts of gentlemen, so that consumers can immerse themselves in it, and at the same time cooperate with the design of a series of cultural and creative peripherals in the form of animation, so that consumers can have a long-term cultural experience. ”
In Anhui, a number of intangible cultural heritage products are also retaining old craftsmanship while constantly exploring how to meet the escalating needs of young consumers. Jin Rulin, the inheritor of the provincial intangible cultural heritage Tongling white ginger production skills, said that the company not only carefully designed a more aesthetic Boxing gift packaging for the product, but also launched a new service for taste customization online, and the market feedback can also be intuitively felt from the rising sales. "People's eagerness for traditional culture is reflected in the demand for intangible cultural heritage products, so intangible cultural heritage skills should also be actively responded to with continuous innovation. Only by adapting ancient skills to the needs of modern people can they enter thousands of households and continue the vitality of the intangible cultural heritage consumer market. He said.
Inject youthful power into cultural inheritance
Back to this year's China Chinese Costume Week, Expo Yuan, The Bund and other places, a team of young people dressed in exquisite costumes are full of energy, groups of young people compete to "check in" in chess, pot throwing, calligraphy, tea art and other points...... A series of splendid traditional cultural programs were staged, and the traditional charm and youthful vitality complemented each other, attracting Chinese and foreign tourists to stop and watch, and praise one after another.
"Dressed in fancy clothes, Xi Han etiquette". Since 2018, the theme activities of China Chinese Costume Day initiated by the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League will come as scheduled on the birthday of the Yellow Emperor, the founder of the Chinese nation, on the third day of the third lunar month. Nowadays, the clothing and apparel display activities that reflect the traditional Chinese etiquette culture have long been extended to traditional festivals such as the Lantern Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, etc., and appear all over the country.
"The young generation is using their own actions to highlight the value of the times of traditional Chinese etiquette and culture, and establish a good image of an ancient civilization and a state of etiquette. Zhang Le said, "They grow up listening to Chinese stories, fall in love with Chinese stories, and then become a group of Chinese story tellers." ”
Traditional culture is no longer the spring and snow of the mainstream media, and the cultural identity and cultural self-confidence of young people have broken the "dimensional wall" of communication between "young" and "old", and inspired them to actively and spontaneously spread and participate extensively.
They are a generation of young people who love to share. Open Xiaohongshu, Douyin and other online platforms, and the creative content related to Chinese costumes is basically accompanied by labels such as grass planting, Amway, teaching, and popular science; At station B, under vertical categories such as national style dance, Chinese costume wearing, and ancient craft restoration, creators are very active; Searching for "Hanfu" on Douyin will be associated with a variety of secondary content categories such as Ming system, Song system, Tang system, Jin system, etc.
They are a generation of young people who have ideas and are better at using new words. The online short drama "Escape from the British Museum" uses the aesthetics of young people to endow the spirituality of cultural relics, which makes people moved by the expectations of Chinese young people for the return of cultural relics and the determination to protect and inherit cultural relics; From Li Bai and Du Fu to the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Forest, and then from Chen Yinke, Zhao Yuanren to Wang Guowei, He Chuhan can always explain the knowledge points of traditional culture to millions of fans in a limited video; The honey-fried kumquat and the mutton fat leek cake from the late Yuan Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty "The Will of Yi Ya" attracted a large number of netizens to become interested in ancient recipes.
They are still a generation of young people with imagination and new technological strength. The "post-95" B station blogger "is shallow and shallow", shocked the Internet with a "15 days spent 200,000 yuan with 500 grams of gold to knock tens of thousands of hammers to create Sanxingdui gold mask by hand", and then he reproduced the video of Sanxingdui gold scepter, which made netizens impressed again; She also designed her own works such as the crown ornament of "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains" and the series of makeup of "Classic of Mountains and Seas", which were not only praised by the makeup artist of the official Weibo of "National Treasure" and the CCTV version of "Dream of Red Mansions", but also invited to give a lecture at Oxford University.
There are also countless overseas students who spare no effort to display and promote Chinese costumes, folk music, calligraphy, and food in various countries......
"Young people have become experiencers, creators, and disseminators of traditional cultural products according to their personal hobbies and professions, and they are the youth power of Chinese cultural inheritance and development full of innovation and creative vitality. Zhang Le said that he believes that generations of Chinese young people who have integrated cultural self-confidence into their spiritual temperament will eventually export China's comprehensive self-confidence to the world.
Source: Economic Information Daily
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