Cosplay, a portmanteaux of the words "costume" and "play", is very popular in China. Its origins stem mostly from the ACG (anime, comic, and games) subculture, where fans dress up as their favorite characters to express their love for certain franchises. However, it has evolved into more than that as Chinese citizens have begun to explore the clothing of their own history in addition to that of fictional worlds. The rise of the Hanfu Movement has seen more and more young people donning on their traditional clothing as a celebration of their culture and its beauty. The videos below will highlight both movements, serving as tools to learn more about the art of cosplay in China.
What is Hanfu? What has caused its reemergence in China? And what are the hopes it carries with it for the future of the country? Through interviews with Hanfu enthusiasts and industry experts, the documentary above explores these questions and more as it seeks to uncover the inspirations and motivations behind this movement. In the present day, interest in and knowledge of Hanfu has grown immensely, with many people believing it holds even greater potential for the future. As an embracement of Chinese culture, this piece of traditional clothing signifies the joining of the old and the new, serving as an appreciation of the country’s history and growing influence. The Hanfu movement has expanded to other Asian countries as well and, as confidence continues to grow, so too will Hanfu as Chinese citizens look to promote their culture on a global scale.
This 11-minute short movie might not make a lot of sense to the untrained eye, but to players and fans of Genshin Impact, it is an incredible feat. Genshin Impact is a Chinese action role-playing game with anime-style graphics, and it has taken China and the entire world by storm. It is also a popular game to cosplay, as each character has its own unique style and wardrobe. However, this video takes cosplaying to the next level. Not only does it replicate each playable character and their outfits to include even the smallest details, but it also replicates the NPCs, character attacks and movements, weapons, and probably most incredibly, the location. Genshin is known for its detailed open-world environment, which makes it even more impressive that the short video recreated major locations to the point where any Genshin Impact player could recognize the exact location in the game.
The influence of The Hanfu Movement reaches far past the borders of China. Zhuo Tongzhou, who lives and works in Sydney, Australia, integrates the traditional dress into her daily life and aims to educate more individuals — including fellow Chinese people — on this aspect of her culture. First drawn in by the beauty of Hanfu’s physical appearance and its characterization in Chinese dramas, Tongzhou began to adorn the clothing and learn more about its significance. Surprisingly, her own family members were confused by this growing interest, with her grandpa even confusing the Hanfu with the Japanese Kimono. When Tongzhou decided to create a business with her partner, Owen, that aimed to promote Chinese culture rather than take on an established corporate job, her parents were also more skeptical than supportive. This lack of knowledge from Chinese people of their own cultural history illustrates the once obscurity of the Hanfu as well as one of the primary motivations for its revival.
This 5-minute video welcomes you to Shanghai's 26th Comicup (CP), a series of Doujinshi conventions (Doujinshi is the Japanese term for self-published works), where people sell self-created items and cosplay as different characters. These are usually related to ACG (Anime, Comics, and Games) culture, and include anime, manga, cartoons, video games, novels, films, and more. This video shows the different cosplayers present at Comicup; there are people dressed up like anime characters, video game characters, Disney characters, and much more. From the video, you can see a wide variety of ACG subcultures represented. The cosplayers seem to be the attraction themselves, as they stand in the convention while others take pictures and videos and pose with them. The hard work that was put into every detail-- from makeup to hairstyle to outfits to props-- shows the level of dedication that these people have for cosplaying, as well as their love for the specific character they dress up as. The number of attendees and cosplayers shows how popular and widespread cosplay culture is throughout China.
Not only does the Hanfu Movement reach Chinese people across the globe, but it’s already impactful in drawing in the interest of non-Chinese individuals as well. In this video, YouTuber Yvon adorns a traditional Hanfu while walking through a park in Beijing. Although Yvon has lived in China for over 10 years, she is not ethnically Chinese and was thus initially uncertain as to whether or not it would be accepted for her to wear the country’s traditional clothing. Nevertheless, encouragement and positive feedback from her coworkers allowed Yvon to act upon this interest. Throughout the video, Yvon receives numerous compliments from passersby as well as a few curious stares. Towards the end, she actually meets two other girls – both ethnically Chinese – who are also wearing Hanfu; like many others, they comment positively on Yvon wearing the traditional dress and even give her suggestions on how to do her hair so she can further complete the look. The overall sentiment on foreigners wearing traditional Chinese clothing seems to be that of overwhelming acceptance as the act is viewed as an appreciation of China’s widespread cultural influence.
Although many people in China love to cosplay, some people still don't get the point of this culture, including the video's host. She begins the video by saying that she sometimes would see people dressed in cosplay on the streets, but she "doesn't get what their world is about." However, she decides to experience it herself by attending the 19th "Awkward Look" Animation Festival. There, she decides to blend in by dressing up as a maid, and learns about the world of cosplay through an experienced "coser." We can see stands selling artwork, accessories, calendars, toys, and hats, and we even learn that some of the sellers left their previous jobs to get into this business. They also watch performances by cosplay dancers, where not only are all the performers in cosplay, so are the people in the audience, who even learned "wotagei" (a type of dancing and cheering gestures performed by wota, fans of Japanese idol singers) to cheer for the performers. In the end, the host describes that through her experience, she learned that cosplaying is a fun hobby and admires how cosplayers continue to do what they love despite other people's judgments.
While wearing Hanfu in public may be relatively common in China today, this fashion trend was definitely not welcomed in the past. The video explains the first hand experience of 3 people who wear Hanfu. Some of them only wear it during special occasions, while others wear it in their everyday life, whether it's going to school or eating at a restaurant. All 3 of them mentioned that around five years before the video was published, people were not accepting of those who wore Hanfu, viewing them as "monkeys in a zoo." Nowadays, times are different. Although people's attention are still attracted to those who wear Hanfu in public, most people embrace and appreciate it.
This short video gives audiences a glimpse into Bilibili World, an anime convention that takes place in Shanghai, China. The creator specifically highlights the Genshin Impact exhibition, and the architecture of the booth itself can be deemed an impressive feat. Intricate murals, stages, and other creations were all created and put together to bring to life the world of Genshin Impact. This recreation of the video game would not be complete without its characters, however, and the cosplayers did not disappoint. Fully decked out in elaborate representations of their favorite avatars, crowds of individuals came to enjoy a day full of games, fun tasks, and merchandise.
This video showcases the different styles of Hanfu through the different Chinese dynasties, from the Warring States Period (475 BC) to the Song Dynasty (AD 1279). A traditional Chinese historical costume show was held in Shanghai, where different costumes were displayed, and the costumes were restored based on unearthed historical relics. The video describes the fashion styles and also displays the relic that it was based on, showing the historical accuracy. Furthermore, the men and women who modeled the costumes also had their hair, makeup, and accessories done to match the specific dynasty.
Filmed in 2011, this video captures one of the earlier cosplay events in China. Unlike what is showcased in the previous videos, this event takes place outside with lined-up tent booths rather than in a large convention center with carefully constructed stages. And also unlike the more professional and elaborate cosplays we’ve grown to be accustomed to, the cosplays in this video seem to be a bit more simple and carefree (the narrator certainly does love to highlight the “quirky” wigs and costumes). Despite these differences, the enjoyment that is gained from cosplaying has certainly remained the same. The large number of people participating in this event is evident throughout the clips that are shown — indicating the existing popularity of anime and cosplay — and viewers can feel a genuine sense of joyfulness radiating from the cosplayers in the video. Thus, even though this convention wasn’t as extravagant as modern day ones, the same purposes of community and excitement are achieved.