Text/Editor丨Qingtian Imperial History
●—<前言>—●
It is difficult for Chinese to imagine that a "mysterious force" from China is bombing the streets of the United States. In China, the soil has been scummed, but when it goes to foreign countries, it is robbed at a high price. Made in China not only completes the export of oriental culture, but also passively monopolizes foreign markets.
These seemingly inconspicuous items in China have been used by foreigners in strange places, subverting the imagination of Chinese one by one. Why do they fascinate foreigners? Is there really no bottleneck period for Chinese manufacturing?
●—<祭品纸扎>—●
"Is this really something burned for the dead, how can it be so beautiful?" In June 2019, an exhibition called "Elysium" was displayed at the Quai Branly Museum in Paris, France, which displayed nothing else, but paper ties that are taboo for Chinese. The art exhibition attracted more than 6 million people to check in, and foreigners who saw it praised "The idea of Chinese treating death is really romantic!"
Paper tie in the folk is a kind of artistic expression that integrates the skills of tie making, paste, paper cutting, clay sculpture, color painting, etc., and is also a way to meet the psychological and spiritual needs of the people's sacrificial faith. In modern times, many customs have also kept pace with the times, not only televisions, washing machines, cars, etc.
With the change of concept, paper has not disappeared from the folk, but has become an art form and gone abroad. Unexpectedly, foreigners gave such a high evaluation to the mainland's paper ties. As more and more overseas Chinese still maintain traditional funeral habits abroad, these traditional offerings such as dead coins and paper ties have also been brought on fire. Some people also believe in activities such as burning money and paper people for their ancestors, thinking that they can change their luck, and some people will even find a Chinese paper shop to customize the "lobster burger" and "Monchiqi doll" that they liked before their death for their deceased children.
Whether it is paper or sacrifice, this mysterious power has transcended the material itself and has become the carrier of people's emotional sustenance. They serve as a bridge to connect the emotions of the deceased, and give comfort to the hearts of the world.
●—<解放鞋>—●
Liberation shoes have carried the beauty of the hard work of several generations for a long time, and almost ordinary people have a few pairs of such rubber shoes. With the substantial improvement of people's living standards, liberation shoes have been slowly eliminated by the fashion industry, but with the popularity of foreign Nike Adi in China, the mainland's liberation shoes have become a "luxury" abroad.
Such an ordinary shoe has set off a fashion craze in the United States and has become a fashion item for Internet celebrities to check in. In 2016, at a men's fashion show, models wore fashion-forward clothes, but a pair of old-fashioned Chinese galoshes suddenly appeared under their feet. Sure enough, after this show, rubber shoes quickly became popular in Europe and the United States, and were loved by young people. This kind of item, which can not only show personality, but also exude the mysterious power of the East, does not hesitate to attract foreigners to come to China to buy.
In avant-garde cities such as Tokyo and Osaka, there are also many young people who wear various improved versions of Jiefang rubber shoes. Some fashion brands also took a fancy to the simple and simple design of the liberation shoes, and quickly launched imitation products, at least a few hundred dollars, and some classic models were even speculated to a sky-high price of $5,000.
●—<中国搪瓷>—●
Enamel has been developed in the mainland for a long time, and it has a very amazing predecessor - cloisonné. Cloisonné is a technique of enameling over copper, and it is also a precious kiln that can only be owned by emperors. With the development of enamel becoming more and more mature, the types of enamel products have spread all over every household, from the commonly used lunch boxes, cups, dishes, and even urine basins and spittoons are made of enamel.
The invention of enamel seems to be made for the Chinese, considering that most of the living conditions of the people at that time needed to engage in agricultural and industrial labor, the design of enamel was "resistant to high temperature and wear", whether in a strong acid or strong alkali environment, enamel is difficult to use. Combining these advantages, products made of enamel are very popular.
While people's living standards are improving, the enamel of every household has been almost completely eliminated. However, contrary to China's development, high-income countries such as Europe and the United States are very fond of enamel made by the Chinese. The mysterious power of Chinese manufacturing forced the declining enamel to open up sales in the Western world, creating a high income of 24 billion yuan at one time.
Some netizens found that on Amazon, an e-commerce platform in the United States, a double happiness enamel spittoon was sold for $61 a piece. Not only was it sold several times higher, but this Chinese spittoon was described by foreigners as a traditional Chinese antique-level handicraft, and it was commonly used in the 60s of the last century.
The introduction of spittoons by foreigners made Chinese laugh when they saw it, but foreigners used spittoons as fruits, bread, and wine glasses to drink even more frightening Chinese civilians. In Pudong, Shanghai, there is a grocery store that has been open for more than 20 years, and the owner said that foreigners often come to buy spittoons that no one cares about, and they were once sold out of stock.
Through understanding, it was found that these spittoons were used by foreigners to raise flowers, and some foreigners claimed that using them to hold beer would bring good luck. After discovering business opportunities, these spittoons were exported abroad, and their use abroad was even more astonishing. Some people use it as an ice bucket to put wine, and some Western restaurants use it to serve pasta and bread, claiming that this looks classy.
●—<中国拔火罐>—●
Once the most complained about Chinese medicine health care therapy by Chinese actually went abroad, recalling the 2016 Rio Neiro Olympics American swimmer Phelps, in addition to his swimming skills, what is more remarkable is the "cupping marks" on his body. At that time, it was searched by netizens from all over the world and found that this was the legendary "Chinese cupping". At the Asian Games in Hangzhou, this "mysterious oriental power" reappeared again, and it was discovered that South Korean gymnasts were the first to have such cupping marks, and rows of cupping marks were also shocked behind the backs of Iranian athletes.
It is understood that during the Asian Games at that time, the Chinese medicine hall and Chinese medicine clinic in the Asian Games were all foreign athletes and referees, and even the Chinese medicine hall near the Asian Games sports hall has been in a state of full capacity. And this is not the first time that traditional Chinese medicine has become popular in the world, as American male gymnast Alex admitted in an interview with USA Today that "cupping is my secret weapon to stay healthy this year, and its effect is better than other treatments I have spent money on before." ”
After the pilots of the United States Air Force experienced cupping, they also praised it greatly, and this mysterious and powerful oriental force quickly exploded abroad, so much so that Chinese medicine halls were opened all over the world. In addition to cupping, which is obsessed with foreigners, the acupuncture therapy of Chinese medicine is also famous overseas. It is understood that there are more than 8,000 acupuncture clinics in the United States and nearly 3,000 in the United Kingdom, and there are 38,000 acupuncturists in the United States while there are 64,000 acupuncturists in the mainland.
In 2010, "Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture" was included in the "Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity" by UNESCO, and more and more foreign research institutes have also carried out research on it. They found that this treatment method is not only efficient, inexpensive, and has no toxic side effects, but is also more effective for chronic diseases than surgery and medicine. As a result, some countries have also introduced it as a means of treatment for military personnel.
Reference source: Dahe Daily's official travel channel "Dahe Tourism" column "The liberation shoes that young people in China do not wear, become treasures abroad, more expensive than Nike Adi!"
Amazon, an e-commerce platform in the United States
Global Times2023.9.28 "It's on fire in the Asian Games Village!"
JIANG Yanhui, SUN Jian'an. Olympic "Fashion" Cupping Red: Starting from the Rio Olympic Champions' Enthusiasm for Cupping[J]. Family Chinese Medicine, 2016(9):8-10.