TorGuqin Blog Two Years Old! Thank you for 33,300 hits

Liek, YAAR.

In late June 2008, all school clubs registered under Student Affairs received an email regarding how in the coming year, all traditional site hosting services will be discontinued and eventually converted to a WordPress system. In consideration that this club eventually will have to expand out to the community, the site moved onto WordPress.com itself, and initially named “torguqin.wordpress.com” in anticipation of what was to come.

And hence, it all began then…the supposed beginning.

As of tonight, there are (approximately) 33,300 hits so far to the mainpage and blog articles to this site – compared to the stats taken one year and a half ago at 12.8k hits, that’s another 20,500 hits within a year and a half – a significant increase by any means.

The picture that started it all.

Although this blog may seem focused on Hanfu articles, we are still in nature a Guqin-based blog and society, and we have never forgotten our basic mission: To promote the first of the Four Scholarly Arts, to seek out new players and new appreciators of the music, and to boldly tell what many people (even Chinese) couldn’t tell – that a Guqin is not a Guzheng.

 Today is also the date when the BEACHREAD305 discount for the Standards of the Guqin expires. However, readers in the US can still enjoy free shipping discounts with Lulu.com with their free shipping coupon. As the gem of TorGuqin’s combined expertise and hard work, please remember to show your support and interest by purchasing one today! (Click on the book cover on the right column)

The Rise and Fall of Hanfu in Shanghai Expo ’10

Members of the Chong Zheng Delegation from Hangzhou pose in Hanfu at the Shanghai Expo 2010.

Although not officially recognized, Hanfu is increasingly becoming the icon for the Han Chinese tradition among the post-Reform generation of mainland Chinese. It is also an ubiquiteous social phenomenon that can be found not only on the streets and Internet, but also on the official airwaves, with frequent mentions and interviews on radio and television. Young people often participate beauty pageants and reality TV shows in Hanfu to show their love for tradition, with a further implication of concern of the current image of the Chinese culture. Since the opening of Shanghai Expo ’10, Chinese people have been wearing Hanfu to demonstrate their cultural identity to international visitors and fellow countrymen alike, with many overseas student participants making use of their foreign language skills. However, this all takes a downward turn on August 8, three months since the start of Expo, for all this to take a drastic change as national security procedures suddenly targeted Hanfu participants and sending them away from the ‘Expo. The result from this incident is no less than a full-fledged reflection amongst Hanfu supporters and a round of conspiracy theories. Let us overview the history of Hanfu phenomenon of Shanghai Expo 2010 up to today.

The Dummies’ Guide to the Shuhe, Part 2

Hu Jingming wearing his Shuhe final product, with a leather belt with Warring-States era style bronze buckle.

This post is a continuation from the Dummies’ Guide to the Shuhe, Part 1. The previous guide describes the techniques involved in measuring, tailoring (cutting), drawing patterns onto the material and painting them with acrylic colours. This second part will cover sewing the pieces up, attaching the lining to the clothing, making facing for irregular-shaped edges and hems, and attaching the Hanfu collar.

Source: Hu Jingming’s Shuhe Complete Tutorial, page 2