Reconstruction of "Ethnic-Chineseness" in East and Southeast Asia through the Creation of "Traditional National Costume" and Transformation of Clothing

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26370958
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Cultural anthropology
• Research Institution: Tohoku University of Art and Design
• Principal Investigator: Xie Li 東北芸術工科大学, 芸術学部, 准教授 (30424295)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: マレーシア華人 / 華人性 / 出身地と居住地 / アイデンティティ / 客家 / 旗袍（チャイナドレス） / 民族服 / ファッション

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Clothes called“traditional national costumes”are often talked about as a material symbol that represents the consciousness of an ethnic group's history and tradition, and the sense of belonging to it. However, it is at the same time a modern product. In this research, the author discusses the fact that wearing a qipao (china dress) in colonial Taiwan was not necessarily an“anti-Japanese”attitude, while at the same time having worn kimono can not be regarded as“pro-Japanese”. The author also elucidates the fact that in Malaysia, with a social context different from that of Taiwan, Chinese women tend to regard qipao not only as a Chinese woman's traditional costume, but also as a modern fashion, and that it emerges in a certain gap between ethnicity and femininity.

Free Research Field

文化人類学