Post-SPoT and Buying CD Last Chance Notice

Thanks for coming by TorGuqin @ SPoT Summer 2011!

A big thank you to everyone who came by on Sunday, Jun 21 by our Small Press of Toronto Book Fair booth! Also, a very nice to meet you to all of our new friends who learned about our society on that day, and we hope to see you again soon in a gathering!

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In other news, I sadly announce that the TorGuqin members’ CDs currently on sale at Lulu.com will be discontinued from sales after September 19, 2011 as the said printer will no longer provide CD/DVD printing services. We are looking into alternative POD CD publishers, and will keep you advised on the issue. At the meantime, we highly recommend you to show your support to our talent by buying our books and CDs — revenues go the individual artists themselves, and is an excellent way of showing support for developing the Toronto qin community! Head over to the discography page or click the links below to buy them today!

Standards of the Guqin: An Audio Exemplar to the Chinese Seven-Stringed Zither

Long Yin -dragon murmurs- by Yanyan Zhu.

Beyond Flat Cutting: Debunking Hanfu as a 2-D tradition

Artifact N15 Restoration team (from left): 王鹏智 Wang Pengzhi, 柯宇鹏 Ke Yupeng, 鲁余栋 Lu Yudong, 琥璟明 Hu Jingming, 罗海波 Luo Haibo

Source: http://tieba.baidu.com/f?kz=1099289997
Original Title: 华采衣兮若英—江陵马山一号楚墓(N15)复原 [Flamboyant and Illustrious Clothing Such As Petals – Restoration of Jiangling Mashan Chu Grave No.1 Artifact N15]
By: Hu Jingming, Hunan Normal University
Translated by: Juni Yeung  

Translator’s Foreword: This is a prime example of how the Hanfu movement challenges previous authorities on Chinese historical sartorial research. Whereas in the past visual analysis of actual artifacts and artwork alone made up the bulk of empirical research, the new generation takes to active analysis of the clothing’s structure as a livable, usable piece. Numerous pieces of knowledge regarding the history and structure of Hanfu itself have been debunked as myths thanks to these people’s work, and leads us to all the more in awe to the creativity and genius of our ancestors.  

Hu’s Foreword: As Duanwu arrives, our restoration research project draws to a successful close. This may be a new way of examining and savoring our history, as we try in the past to understand history through reading words, but now we analyze and organize historical accounts with archaeological data, and restoring a visual impression to actualize our point. Not only is this an effective supplement to textual information, but also a more sensual way of interpreting history. From restoring our ancient clothing, we also provide valuable reference material for our modern fashion design and development.  

This restoration was done by the Hanfu Research Team at Huangshi Polytechnic Institute Fashion major, consisting of Hu Jingming, Lu Yudong, Luo Haibo, Wang Pengzhi, and Ke Yupeng. In order to achieve as close a texture to the original artifact, we used silk as the fabric of choice, while the collar is real silk brocade. We combined hand sewing with machine sewing for our handiwork.  

Also, we would like to thank netizen Piaoguo Yinzhou 飘过沂州, as her research results have provided great help and guidance to our efforts. When our model put on the piece, I could feel this piece’s own unique aura and aesthetic, and I am nothing short of awed and inspired from our ancestor’s sense of beauty and creativity.  

In the modern context, I believe this clothing is really suitable as a wedding dress, but definitely not something for the streets. It must be worn on a clean, polished floor, or a carpeted, bamboo-matted ground, or of the sort.  

Let us begin.