Guangzhou University Students Graduate Wearing Qipao

From Sina:

On April 24, the graduating class of 2005 students of the advertising class from Guangzhou University’s school of News and Broadcasting, in addition to wearing the traditional graduation gown to take graduation photos, also wore Tang outfits and qipaos [cheongsam] to add to to their memories.

Comments from QQ:

草上飞:

It is still better for Chinese people to graduate in the Chinese way…what kind of meaningful memento is wearing foreign gowns?

远方的留念:

Sweat!!! Purely just putting on a show! These journalists truly have nothing more important to report! There are only a few pieces reporting the peasants and worker’s aspirations, but there is a huge pile of news like this kind of show!!! The tragedy of the news industry!!!

腾讯网友:

Hahaha, so many pig legs.

郝伟:

The qipao contains the essence of China’s several thousands of years’ culture. It is extremely capable of embodying the Asian female’s lasting appeal.

It is definitely better than wearing foreigner funeral dress, right?

腾讯网友:

University students, university students!! Wearing qipao is good, but if you are going to wear qipao, you should have the look of one who wears qipao!! I only have one thing to say: I feel you guys do not know how to wear qipao.

杭州市:

Qipao is the outfit for whores! It insults China/Chinese. Strongly request that they be human flesh searched!

腾讯网友:

You guys from other provinces kindly restrain your speech. They were just taking graduation pictures and you guys start talking about whether they are virgins or not.

If they are, so what, if they are not, also so what. That China’s thinking is backwards is because it has you country bumpkins.

Not liking new things but always abandoning old things.

Strongly support this kind of “innovative” behavior. Young people should take advantage of their youth to be a little crazy/wild.

Can those culture-less, standard-less, filthy people please shut your stinking mouths?

腾讯网友:

It is time we wear clothes that have our own characteristics, why must we wearing school uniforms? It looks like a plate is nailed to our heads…qipao and Tang outfits are very creative…

腾讯网友:

I personally think these also exactly embody an aspect of the Chinese people’s culture! The news shows all sides, and any side can be reported! Tang outfits and qipaos, just like Japan’s kimonos should be passed down [between generations]. That there are university students wearing them today, I personally think is a good phenomenon!

胡生刚:

Not bad, it should have been like this long ago. Our country’s graduating students should definitely have our own people’s characteristics, and let the Western owl-like graduation gowns go see ghosts go to hell. You guys did a good thing, I support you guys.

腾讯网友:

The girls look like prostitutes dressed like that, Guangdong people are not suited for wearing qipao. The reason is Guangdong has no luck with handsome guys and pretty girls! The few that are pretty, I bet are definitely not Guangdong people [Cantonese].

腾讯网友:

Grandstanding! Have you all found jobs yet? You, why are you spending your parents’ money to go show off now? Does it feel that good? And intentionally posting it here, you think you are very beautiful?? If you are beautiful, then immediately go out dressed like this and earn some money to bring back to your parents!

手机网友:

When wearing qipao should demonstrate Asian women’s disposition/qualities, sigh…what kind of poses are these…

中山市:

Is any one of them a virgin?

绍兴市:

…there is an art to wearing qipao. If you are not slim and well-proportioned, do not wear it. If you come out [wearing it], you will actually look a little ugly…better wear Tang outfit instead…

郴州市:

Vomit~! Elephant legs…gross.

After reading many criticisms from netizens, one of the Guangdong students posted a reply: “We like it! Statement By A Tang Outfit Qipao Graduating Student“. Here is a translation of a part of their response:

I do not discount the suspicion that there is internet media hyping the news. However, looking at your guys’ posts, who did we offend with our photographs? Even the reporter felt [what we did] was interesting for it to be treated as news to report, but you guys? Look at what you guys are saying. Where are your characters/dignity? What more, all of our clothes were ordered online, so on the measurements aspect there could be some that are not perfect. Some of the girls upon received their qipao also were worried if their qipao was a little too short. However, this was something our class organized/arranged before hand, and the 2005 Advertising class is united in solidarity and used this method to represent it. After all, everyone will soon graduate, and everyone will go their separate ways. What opportunities will there be for all of us to be together like this in the future? The closer we come to losing each other, the more we do not want to lose each other. This should be how every person who has attended university has felt. The closer to graduation, the more we are afraid of graduating. Afraid of losing everyone. After all, we were all schoolmates for four years. After all, schoolmates of 4 years graduating together, these kind of opportunities are not many. So, we put on the Tang outfits, we put on the qipaos.

We did not expect that after putting them on we would be devastatingly beautiful or soaringly handsome. We only hoped that in the moment of our last gathering, we can make a memory that would be difficult to forget. This, after all, is a beautiful moment for all of us to take out together decades after graduating to remember!

Moreover, in the beginning we did not know it would attract so many people’s attention, and even less thought it would provoke this many people’s reproach!

Actually, we do not understand these people who reproach [us], where are you coming from/starting from [what is the origin of your reproach]? Where did we offend you? The things you say are revolting and even going as far as talking about the dress of minorities, Manchu dress, etc. Oh. This is Tang dress, this is qipao. No matter from what minority they came from, they are both examples of our Chinese people’s dress!

We do not deny that we do not look good enough, handsome enough, wearing these. However, this is for ourselves to remember, who did we bother?

Below are some responses from netizens:

Comments from ifeng (Phoenix BBS):

祖籍山东:

I approve of making qipaos the official female dress for graduation photos!

zgvip:

Hm. Swimsuits would have been even better.

冷兵器:

I think it is really good. It is creative. Life is already very stuffy, must everything have “regulations/rules?” Support.

高山老鬼:

Whether they wear any clothes, or what kind of clothes they wear, is their freedom, their own sense of fashion.
Everything above is no cause for criticism! We do not have the right to go make personal remarks.

However, I am against publicity stunts!

华夏文明:

It is not to say that qipao is not good, but that they are wearing it without even understanding clearly their own traditional dress.
To wear is no big deal, but do not say it is our traditional dress.

The 56 minorities should definitely be amicable with each other, but each culture should not be mixed up.
This is our traditional formal dress:

东方雪莲:

Chinese outfits also have many different styles and I support the emergence of things that are our own! Qipao’s are only one! A lot of people blindly admire Western things. look down upon their own culture, are considered cultural traitors.

灰木:

Chinese people (the majority) are like this…always like to add to the trouble/make a big deal…always like to talk about other people.
Why don’t you take a good look at yourself…

skyflash:

I think having different voices is a good thing, just express yourself the way normal people do and it is fine, but personal attacks shows how low your character is.

z11b22:

Them wearing qipaos offended who? I think more and more people have nothing better to do for them to not respect other people’s normal and basic rights. This too is an ill of China, lacking respect for others.

220.166.26.*:

Whatever they wear I do not oppose, even if it is a bikini. Just do not use the reason that it is the people’s clothes. Qipao is just a fashion. It is not the Han people’s nor the Manchu people’s.

What do you think?