A walking political statement
By Gan Tian (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-12-18 09:26
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There are two competing opinions about the origin of the Mao suit.
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For decades, Mao suits have been embraced by Chinese leaders. |
Some say Sun Yat-sen bought one in Japan and it was named the "Zhongshan suit" in his honor.
Others say it was a suit Sun ordered at a Shanghai tailor's shop and gave the detailing political implications.
The suit had to have four pockets, five front buttons, and three cuff-buttons.
The four pockets represented the traditional "Four Virtues" (kindness, intelligence, diligence and courage) of Chinese culture. The five front buttons stood for the five branches of the Republic of China government. The three cuff-buttons indicated Sun's "Three Principles of the People", a political philosophy intended to make the country free, prosperous and powerful.
"Foreigners will interpret the Mao suit as a political symbol, just because it has typical Chinese connotations," vice-professor He Yang at Beijing Institute of Fashion (BIFT) says.
BIFT professor Li Keyu discovered this when she attended an opening ceremony in the United States with her husband, in 1981. The invitation letter stipulated that men should wear suits with a bow tie. Li's husband decided to wear a Mao suit. It won praise.
"Foreigners knew at first sight that we came from China," Li says.
After reform and opening up fewer people were interested in wearing a Mao suit because they had more choices and it was no longer a political necessity.
"It was more popular several decades ago, but now, it would appear very strange if I took a walk in the street wearing this suit," says 54-year-old government officer Zhang Shichuan, who has not worn his green Mao suit for nearly 30 years.
Chinese leaders including Deng Xiaoping and Jiang Zemin, however, continued to wear the Mao suit on important occasions, such as the nation's anniversary celebrations. Fashion designers like Liu Yuanfeng are hoping that ordinary men and women too will once more embrace the Mao suit.
