China: When nostalgia defeats revolution

"A bunch of eunuchs?"

"To observe September 1, the national back-to-school day,

Hangzhou's Ziyang Elementary School held a special ceremony

in which teachers and students wore Qing costumes. According

to principal Lu Aiping, this was intended to honor the

school's long history, which extends back to 1703 and the

reign of the Kangxi Emperor.

Chinese Internet users saw it quite a bit differently. In a

thread on Tiexue net, someone commented : they look like a

bunch of eunuchs.

Another netizen said, Qing costumes are the ugliest. History

was evoked to make the argument more compelling : At the

beginning of Kangxi's rule, Southern Ming minister Zhang

Huangyan was captured and sent to Hangzhou to be

dismembered.

When the people saw Zhang in Ming style clothes, everyone

shed tears. Now, 98 years after the Han drove out the aliens

and recovered the country, how can these barbarian clothes

still be the fashion? When they students wear barbarian

clothes, do they even think of Zhang, who was buried by West

Lake? The newspaper report said that principal Lu has

received scores of angry letters protesting the ceremony.

One outraged citizen was afraid that his complaints would be

ignored if he posted on the school BBS, so instead he hacked

the school's website and posted an open letter decrying the

ceremony." End of quotes.

✍ In Yokohama Chinatown I'd understand but I am quite not

sure to see what is behind this sudden wind of nostalgia.

Quotes here of this interesting blog regularly updated

http://www.danwei.org/