Hui'an Women's Costume
Hui’an women’s costume refers to the clothing and adornments traditionally worn by Hui’an women. Typical Hui'an women wear short cyan jackets with slanted openings and black trousers which flare out at the leg, and they cover their heads with colorful scarves and conical hats. The clothing is unique in its coordination between each part in regards to colour, style, lines, and patterns, which combine to give a traditional flavour as well as a modern flair. Hui’an women’s costume was included in the first National Intangible Cultural Heritage List of China in 2006.
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Sight Seeing
Major tourist attractions in Quanzhou include the Qingyuan Hill, Kaiyuan Temple, Qingshui Rock, Tianhou Temple, Confucian Temple, Luoyang Bridge, Qingjing Mosque, Longshan Temple, Chongwu Ancient Town, Kiln of Qudou Temple, Tomb of Zheng Chenggong, Moslem Saint Tombs, Anping Bridge, Jiuri Mountain, Chengtian Temple and Gusao Pagoda. Quanzhou's food is famous for its unique flavors, wide variety, nutrition and tastiness. Local dishes include gruel cooked from thread-like noodles, Haozaijian, Shishi Tian, Shenhu Fish Ball and Yongchun Bangshe. Kaiyuan Temple Kaiyuan temple, first constructed in 686, was originally named the Lotus Flower Temple. The temple was later renamed several times until finally in 738, the Tang Emperor Xuan Zong, a devout Buddhist, ordered every large town in China to name one of its temples "Kaiyuan," the title of his reign. The temple has since been known as Kaiyuan Temple. The Kaiyuan temple is one of the outstanding examples of Chinese architecture and art. There are numerous other stone carvings in the temple - figures resembling the Sphinx, animal heads and birds, dragons and tigers. Interestingly there are columns here in ancient Greek style. Many of these rare art works were once religious decorations on other buildings in Quanzhou, later moved to Kaiyuan Temple. Qingyuan Hill Located in the northern suburbs of Quanzhou, it is a beautiful rocky hill with clear streams and luxuriant woods. It has been a scenic attraction ever since the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and is known as the "first fairyland of Fujian." The statue of Lao Zi- forefather and founder of Taoism-in sitting position on the hill is 5 meters tall, 7 meters deep, and 7 meters wide. It was made of a single piece of rock during the Song Dynasty (960-1279). The smiling face and flying beard of the statue bring to life the kindly character of this legendary old man. Luoyang Bridge Spanning the Luoyang River about ten kilometers northeast of Quanzhou, this bridge was completed in 1053 during the Northern Song Dynasty after six years and eight months of hard work. It was originally 1,200 meters long and five meters wide, with 46 piers and 500 balusters decorated with 28 stone lions, seven stone pavilions, and nine stone pagodas. It is one of the most famous beam bridges of ancient China. Quanzhou Ceramic Culture "Dehua has many beautiful ceramics", is how the Italian traveller Marko Polo described Dehua. Porcelain manufacture has a long history in Dehua. Well-known both in China and overseas for its top quality, fine workmanship, the porcelain industry in Dehua is regarded as one of the three major porcelain capitals in China, together with Jingde town of Jiangxi Province and Lilin of Hunan Province. In Ming Dynasty, the "Ivory White" ceramics developed by the great master He Chaozong surprised the world and was named "China White" by the westerners. People describe Dehua top white porcelain as "white as snow, thin as paper, bright as mirror" and describe Dehua Jianbai porcelain as "smooth and transparent as condensed lipid and frozen jade". The porcelain Kuanyin made in Dehua is called "Oriental Venus". Culture of Hui - an Women Costumes He costume culture of Hui - an women dates back into the ancient China. They wore a yellow scarf, a blue short blouse, silver chain and large trousers, which are unique in the national costume culture. The blue short blouse displays the colour of sea and sky, the yellow bamboo hats symbol the land and beach; the flowery scarf indicates the movement of mountain flowers and sea waves. The blouses are tight and short, exposing the navel, displays their characters of being bold, flexible, but extravert. The costume of Hui - an women is always focused on the body above the waist, especially on the head decoration which differs in patterns, occasions and ages. When Hui-an women attend weddings or ceremonies, the head decoration should be bright and colourful to display the “happiness”. The old women of Hui - an usually have a bob on the back of the head and wear a black scarf with pins decorated with beads and flowers, which displays a unique style. Liyuan Opera Quanzhou Liyuan opera is a rare and valuable opera in China, because it still preserves the characteristics of Southern opera from Tang and Song Dynasties. Originating in Quanzhou, it has spread to Taiwan and the Southeast Asian Countries in the footsteps of the emigrants from Quanzhou. Having preserved a large repertoire of southern opera from Song, Yuan and Ming Dynasties, Liyuan opera has been called the “living fossil” of opera and is one of the oldest operas existing in China. Liyuan opera is sung by Quan melody. It has preserved a lot of important music from Tang Dynasty and Song Dynasty and is closely related with the ancient music - Southern Tone. The music of Liyuan opera is mainly played by the bamboo flute and string music instruments.
Woman Advocates Spirit, Dresses of Hui'an Women
February 15, 2016 By Wang Shasha Dazuo, a village in Hui'an County, in Southeast China's Fujian Province, is home to a special group of people — Hui'an women, who are known for their industriousness and unique clothing. Since 2008, Zeng Meixia, a Hui'an woman who lives in the village, has indulged her passion for advocating the spirit and traditional dresses of Hui'an women throughout the world. Cultural Exchanges During the winter of 2008, Zeng met several photographers, from other places, who visited Dazuo to shoot photos of Hui'an women. Zeng was interested in photography. She chatted with the photographers, and she showed them around the village. After she learned they didn't have a place to stay, Zeng invited them to stay at her home. The photographers told Zeng they often saw several elderly Hui'an women wear the traditional dresses, but that they seldom saw young women in the traditional clothes. The photographers said they feared the younger generation of Hui'an women had abandoned the custom of wearing traditional Hui'an dresses. Zeng was touched by their concern. "I really didn't want traditional costumes of Hui'an women to disappear … I hoped I could do my part to protect the traditional dresses of Hui'an women, and to encourage more people to wear traditional dresses," Zeng says. The style of Hui'an women's clothing was shaped during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), and the style matured during the Song Dynasty (960-1279). In 2006, the style of clothing was added to China's list of national intangible cultural heritage. The traditional clothing of Hui'an women includes a yellow bamboo hat, a large kerchief, with flower patterns, a short jacket, a silver waist belt and loose pants. In 2008, Zeng established Hui'an Women's Inn. It serves as a platform for cultural exchanges for photographers, painters, art-college students and tourists, from home and abroad, who visit Dazuo to create art and experience the culture and spirit of Hui'an women. Zeng uploads photos of Hui'an women to her blog, microblog and website. As such, an increasing number of netizens have been able to learn about the inn, and many have chosen to stay at the inn. "The inn has nine rooms, which can accommodate, at most, 40 visitors per day. The inn, decorated in a traditional way, reflects the local residential style. If there are more visitors, I have to arrange for them to live in other hotels. I hope more inns will open in our village," Zeng says. To date, the inn has accommodated more than 50,000 visitors. "A foreigner lived at our inn for several months. He came here to learn to speak our local dialect, Hokkien. A couple from the United States came to vacation here, and they enjoyed collecting shells on the beach," Zeng recalls. Zeng is impressed by David Paskett, one of the UK's leading watercolorists and President of the Royal Watercolor Society of UK. Paskett visited Dazuo in 2009. "He learned about me and my inn through my blog, and then he decided to visit our village to experience the local culture, and to paint local women," Zeng says. "As he couldn't speak Chinese, and as I couldn't speak English, we had to communicate with each other through body language. I later downloaded translation software to help us understand each other. He spent three days here, and I was actually a tour guide for him. He told me that he enjoyed his time here," Zeng says. Folklore Although officially Han Chinese, the Hui'an women practice distinct customs and traditions that make them stand out from other Han Chinese and minority groups in China. Hui'an women are known for their hard work, bravery, kindness and wisdom. The women do most of the farm work and family chores while their husbands are at sea. From 1958 to 1960, the women built a reservoir, which was given the name Hui'an Women's Reservoir. To help visitors better understand the history and lives of Hui'an women, Zeng established the Hui'an Women's Folklore Garden, near the seashore at the east end of Dazuo, in 2012. "Tourists, photographers and painters come to the garden to take photos and/or create paintings of Hui'an women, in traditional dresses, when they are fishing, mending nets, carrying stones, making embroideries and doing other family chores. The female visitors also like to try on the traditional dresses and experience the happiness of labor," Zeng says. Zeng always consents when asked to model for painters or photographers. "At the beginning, elderly people, who were conservative, tended to think that posing as a model for painters and photographers was not elegant. I persuaded them that there was no problem for women to do so," Zeng says. Now, dozens of local women work as part-time models at the garden. Zeng's 5-year-old daughter and 85-year-old grandmother sometimes pose for visitors. Since 2012, the garden has received more than 100,000 tourists, photographers, painters, calligraphers and art-college students. Encouraged by Zeng's passion for traditional dresses, an increasing number of Hui'an women in Dazuo, and several neighboring villages, have begun wearing traditional dresses in their daily lives. They understand that visitors are attracted by Hui'an women's dresses, and the women feel proud when they wear such dresses. At night, the local women like to put on traditional dresses and dance in the squares. The dresses are especially favored by women born in either the 1980s or 1990s. Inheriting Traditions There is an 80-square-meter Hui'an Women's Museum in the garden, and that museum exhibits traditional Hui'an women's dresses and accessories, from throughout the ages, and antique furniture and various farm and fishing tools that Hui'an women use when they work. "I began to collect traditional dresses, articles of daily use and labor tools from previous generations of Hui'an women when I established the inn in 2008 … According to local customs, when Hui'an women pass away, their personal belongings are burned. Nowadays, the number of traditional Hui'an women's dresses is decreasing," Zeng says. "I hope that establishing such a museum will help preserve the heritage of Hui'an women, and help future generations better understand the traditional dresses and the spirit of Hui'an women. I have organized various activities for local kindergarten and primary and middle school students in the garden and the museum," she adds. "Being industrious and kind are traditional virtues of Hui'an women. I think Hui'an women in modern times should also be independent, have the spirit of innovation and have the courage to challenge themselves … In the future, I plan to expand the museum to about 500 square meters, and to exhibit more items related to Hui'an women," Zeng says.
Unique Chinese Customs in Hui'an, Fujian Province
by courtesy of Mr. Qiu Huanxing and Mr. Lu Zhongmin, the authors of Folk Customs of China Hui'an County is only 30 kilometers away from Quanzhou. The dress of the women in the fishing villages on Chongwu island of Hui'an County is very interesting. They wear different-coloured jackets, which are very short and narrow. Their jackets are so short that they also like to wear big bamboo hats to cover their heads. The big hats and large kerchiefs on their heads shield their faces. There are different sayings about the costumes of the women in Hui'an. It is said that they might be descended from the Yue tribe of ancient times. Hui'an people have lived there for generations. They seldom have contacts with people outside. Today the women there still dress like this because they want to preserve their traditions. The marriage customs are unusual. At a wedding ceremony, the bride with a red cloth covering her head and face is led by a bridesmaid to the groom's home. To the sound of firecrackers, the bride and bridesmaid walk around the bonfire in front of the bridegroom's house to drive monsters and ghosts away and to pray for safety for the family. When the bride enters the house after the wedding ceremony, the groom takes the red cloth off with a steel beam. Then the bride goes to the bridal chamber. But the newly married couple is not allowed to stay in the bridal chamber together. The bride usually stays with a neighbor or asks her bridesmaids to stay with her in the bridal chamber or she sits at the table alone until dawn. The groom has to stay at a friend's home for the night. The next day, the bride calls to pay respects to her husband's ancestors and her parents-in-law. At the same time, she gives gifts to the elder members of the family and the relatives. On the morning of the third day, the bridegroom's sister leads the way to a well for the bride. The bride carries two buckets of water back. Within five days, the bride has to obey all sorts of customs. After the five days, she can go to her mother's home. After that, the bride will love with her parents. She is only allowed to go to her husband's home on the Spring Festival, the Clear and Bright Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival. Two Hui'an women are lugging stone.She will continue to do this until she gives birth to the first child. Some minority nationalities also retain the custom that women after marriage still stay at their parents' home. This may be a remnant custom from the matriarchal society. There may be some other reasons for are reluctant to leave their parents or because they are afraid of having babies. They can't help their parents to support their families. In the past, there were customs to keep the newly married couples apart. When newly married couples met, they were not allowed to talk. The woman looked at her husband as if he was a stranger. A woman would be mocked if she broke her pledge. In recent years, people in this area have had more contact with the outside world and they have been influenced by the marriage law. For these reasons, young people today refuse to obey old customs. They arrange their marriage by themselves. Old marriage customs are fast on their way out.
Knowledge Graph
Examples
1 With their fine compounds, harmonious in color and graceful style, the Huian women's costume is known as one of the most special and alternative pieces of clothing from the Han ethnic group.
2 Hui'an women's costumes was designed to fit their everyday lives and work, and also follows the principles of their own aesthetic standards, which incorporate "suitability and fashion" as the major criteria.
3 On one hand, Hui'an women's costumes attach great importance to harmony in color with the environment.