“Transformed into Gentleman and Ladies by Costumes” “衣之所著 化身君子淑女”

The third workshop of traditional Chinese culture essence series at Shiu Pong College (SPC) – Traditional Chinese Costumes, was held successfully on February 28, 2017. Chinese costumes specifically refer to the fashion of traditional clothing in China from the period of Xia/Shang/Zhou Dynasties to the late Ming Dynasty, bearing unique characteristics of the Chinese historical heritages. SPC intends to enable students to appreciate the rich aspects of the Chinese cultural heritages through this Chinese costumes workshop that could induce students’ soul searching.

The workshop turned out to be highly engaging. It attracted 43 SPC students to join the whole show. Dr. Gong Yuan Zhi, an expert in traditional Chinese costumes and a professor of United International College (UIC) – established in Zuhai by Beijing Normal University and Hong Kong Baptist University – was the guest speaker introducing the various types, colors, characteristics and the evolution of our Chinese costumes through different dynasties. With amiable styles, interesting explanations and multi-angle analysis, Dr. Gong presented the differences and similarities of Chinese costumes from different dynasties to help students feel the charm of costumes through visualization. Thirteen students from the UIC Traditional Art Society presented to SPC students a fashion catwalk of traditional Chinese costumes, with a play-by-play narration from Dr. Gong on the historical period and features of each costume set. Male costumes exhibited manhood through each small step and salutation of our student models, while female costumes showed the gentle and refined temperament of womanhood. As a single catwalk was not enough to satisfy the visual appetite of students, five female UIC students, wearing costumes, accompanied by music, continued the show with elegant dancing performance. Audiences were all fascinated by the catwalk and dances. Besides the visual feast, students had a chance to put on selected Chinese costumes, as led by the College Master and the emcee of the night. The evening ended with a group photo with both UIC and SPC students in Chinese costumes.

This workshop along the line of cultural engagement is intended to increase students’ understanding of the traditional Chinese costumes. The last workshop, in the traditional Chinese culture essence series – ink painting, will be staged on March 7, 2017. It will enrich students’ appreciation towards Chinese painting.

紹邦書院2016～2017年度重點發展的中國文化精華系列的第三次工作坊—華服—於2017年2月28日順利舉辦。華服，專指從夏商周時期到明朝末期的 中國傳統民族服飾。它具有獨特中華民族文化的風貌性格，是通過自然演化而形成的華夏民族服飾的總體集合。紹邦書院欲通過華服的展示與試穿體驗讓同學們感受不一樣的中華民族色彩，通過衣之所著，貼近我們的心靈。

工作坊的舉辦十分順利，同學們對工作坊的投入度也非常高。有43名紹邦書院的學生全程參與。這次工作坊，由現任北京師範大學和香港浸會大學携手創立、位於珠海的聯合國際學院(United International College, UIC)助理教授的華服專家—龔元之博士為同學們講解華服種類、顏色、特徵以及華服在歷代歷朝中不同的演變。龔元之博士平易近人，利用有趣的話語和多角度的分析華服的不同朝代的異同，讓同學們從想像中感受華服的魅力。經過上半場的講解，龔元之博士帶領十多位來自UIC傳統藝術社華服組的學生為紹邦書院的同學們帶來視覺上的華麗盛宴。他們先來一段華服走秀，龔元之博士從旁講解每套華服所屬的朝代、特點等等。男學生的每一小步，每一行禮都展現出氣概，女學生更表現出女子的溫柔儒雅。單單一個走秀怎麼能滿足同學們的眼球，五位女學生更穿著華服，配上音樂，來段典雅的舞蹈，臺下的同學們看得如痴如醉。大飽眼福後，大家當然要“親自上陣”。龔元之博士帶來了不同的華服，讓同學們親身體驗華服的魅力。院長、主持人率先穿上華服，讓同學們羨慕的都迫不及待想要一試。最後，拍下一張似穿越般的大合照,來為這次華服工作坊畫上句號。

從未知到已知，從含糊到清晰，同學們通過這次工作坊增加了對傳統華服的了解。中國文化精華系列工作坊接下來將迎接第四個，亦是紹邦書院本年度最後一個工作坊—水墨畫，於3月7日將會為大家呈現對畫不一樣的感覺。