Unlike China, The U.S. Does Not Have The Capacity To Make Its Move In Asia

The Chinese civilization has a long history. As such, the behavior, morals, principles and benchmarks it advocates have influenced many Asian nations for more than 20 centuries. China’s status as an influential nation has been firmly entrenched, evidenced by the acceptance of Confucian culture by other Asian nations as an ethical standard to abide by.

Many years ago, one of the chief editors of Confucian culture and economy, the former president (Liu Mao Cai) and vice president (Ru Xin) of Sichuan’s Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and China’s lunar probe project scientist, Ouyang Zhiyuan, co-sponsored research on Confucianism and the Asian economy. Remarkable results were revealed and widely accepted by the public, leading many Asian countries to adopt Confucian practices. Societal norms, values, morals and laws were established based on Confucian theories, and have remained so for thousands of years.

Apart from that, I would like to further explain myself by comparing Korean costumes and Chinese Buyi costumes from Guizhou. I do not intend to determine which of the costumes came first. Instead, I would like to teach people how to face history and to treasure the present, as well as address learning points of both cultures.

Recently, I was invited to a study initiated by the publicity department in Wangmo County in Guizhou. They proposed to base its leading fashion on culture, to use culture to enhance people’s preferences, and to encourage people to prioritize culture, so as to develop the county culturally.

I realized that the Buyi tribe descended from the ancient Yue people in China. These people have been living in China’s mild climate and beautiful landscape. The Buyi tribe entered the agricultural society as early as the Neolithic Age and currently still deals with agriculture. As such, its costume reflects the temperate climate that they live in and the agricultural livelihood in which they survive. Due to the long history and culture of the Buyi tribe, its costume has also changed dramatically over the past thousands of years. In the Ming dynasty, women used to wrap their heads with green cloth and wear pleated skirts. Though the custom of wearing pleated skirts did not change in the Qing dynasty, differences were witnessed across various regions. Prior to Emperor Qian Long’s era, written records show that women used to wear the typical long pleated skirt along with silver jewelry. Women in the Nanlong and Dushan regions even used velvet and silk to embellish their skirts. Meanwhile, people were very particular about the way their clothing was produced — being exquisite was considered fashionable, while adorning silver jewelry was considered honorable. This shows that the quality of life then must have been high enough for women to have had time to manufacture clothing and for families to possess an array of silver jewelry.

We know that Korean costumes have unique features: They use extremely exaggerated styles to give the impression that the wearer has an assertive personality. Be it pants with flairs or body-hugging tops, Korean fashion seems to leave a bit of style on its wearers. Besides, asymmetrical design is a classic in Korean fashion — pants that are long on one end and short on the other look especially dynamic when worn. Korean fashion also emphasizes color, which accentuates the attractiveness of the piece of clothing.

Some people may also say that the traditional Korean costume, Hanbok, that is elegant and stylish, has recently been replaced by more Western costumes. Most people only wear the Hanbok during special occasions. The female traditional costume includes a short-sleeved shirt and a wide long skirt so that elegance is exuded, while the traditional male costume includes pants, a short-sleeved shirt, a jersey or a vest, representing unique taste. White is used as a basic color, while the material and design differs according to season and the wearer’s identity. During weddings and other special ceremonies, most people also put on dazzling clothes and jewelry. Recently, a Hanbok that allows for practical living has become increasingly popular.

No matter how much Korean costumes, they never veer far from the green head cloth and pleated skirt. Thus, I believe that Korean costume originated in China, and in particular from the Buyi costume.

Some people may not agree with my point, but considering how much Chinese culture has been spread and passed down over time, the China of today indeed falls behind Korea, Japan and other Southeast Asian countries. The online debate about whether the Dragon Boat Festival was set to commemorate Li Bai, Zhu Ge Liang or Qu Yuan that occurred some time ago undoubtedly sent a message to everyone that Chinese culture is shared among many Asian countries, and is not solely possessed by China.

Lastly, I would like to say that in terms of capacity, it is a fact that there is a stark contrast between Western and Eastern culture. This cultural difference has no relationship to the contrast between the power of their economies and military. Besides, if the U.S. wants to rise in power in Asia, it must first manage its relationship with China. It must also face the fact that the Chinese culture is prevalent throughout Asia. Hence, it is clear that the U.S. does not have the same influence and capacity that China has to earn itself a glorious place in Asia.