Traditionalists: The Hanfu Movement

The Hanfu movement, some say, started around 2003 when a man named Wang Letian (pictured) wore Traditional Han Chinese clothing called Hanfu out in public. His actions (according some Chinese media outlets) started what is called the Hanfu Movement which is a group of people that wish to see Traditional Han clothing incorporated into daily life in China. Supposedly (again according to critical media voices) the movement was brought on by popular TV shows where the protagonist travels back in time to imperial China.

In China there are 56 different ethnicities. The Han Chinese comprise of about 91% of the population making them the dominate ethnic group in China.

The other 55 ethnicities have vibrant cultural traditions whose expression is seen as a good thing in China. The Han Chinese however have become a very Westernized people and this movement has been viewed (by some of the media and the government at least) very negatively.

Though some have called the movement frivolous, the Chinese government views it as dangerous.
To make TV "safer" for the people of China, the government's television censors have issued guidelines which all but ban TV dramas from featuring time travel saying they “lack positive thoughts and meaning.” and “casually make up myths, have monstrous and weird plots, use absurd tactics, and even promote feudalism, superstition, fatalism and reincarnation.”

The People's Republic of China, being a very repressive regime, is highly sensitive to anything that might challenge it's authority. When the Communist rebels under Mao took control of the country they set about to destroy the "four olds" in China. The four olds being Old Customs, Old Culture, Old Habits and Old Ideas. The Communists in China have a deep hatred for Chinese culture which they see as backward and dangerous to the Communist mentality and are suspicious of any cultural revival.

Criticisms of the movement include the movement is "awkward time travel" or those in the movement are just showing off or trying to attract attention. Critics also say that Hanfu is impractical for modern living.

One criticism against the movement which should be addressed is that those in the movement are mixing traditional and modern clothes together which is making an "awkward time travel". For example they criticize mixing Hanfu with modern shoes or backpacks etc. They also say that it looks awkward to see people wearing Hanfu using computers or going into modern buildings.

This criticism is empty however as the goal of the movement is not to "time travel" but to make Hanfu as common as western clothes and incorporate it into modern life. What they fail to see is how after the fall of the Qing empire, China broke completely with the National styles of Chinese clothing. In other words Chinese styles did not modernize, they were completely replaced with styles that are not Chinese in the slightest. Therefore those who wish to dress "Chinese" have no choice but to go back to more ancient styles of clothing as there is no modern version of Chinese dress; it is all western. Those in the Hanfu movement simply wish to be actually "Chinese" in their dress not return to living as ancients in ancient society.

There can be no doubt that to revive Chinese identity merely in the sphere of clothing would have drastic consequences on the rest of Chinese public thought that would hasten the decline of the very un-Chinese  Communists regime. It is important to note that already it has awoken the practice of many other Traditional Customs such as archery, tea ceremonies, traditional Han weddings and other rituals. This is why the "Reds" fear this movement and have taken the first step in crushing it; by banning TV from favorably portraying life when China was actually Chinese.

The war of between Revolutionaries and Counter-Revolutionaries sees battles at every element of human life. This is because The Revolutionaries seek to "change" (or destroy) the Moral Order and Natural Law that governs the universe. The way they think they can destroy Natural Law is by making Man into something Nonhuman which they do by convincing the masses to do the exact opposite of every Natural tendency of Man.

It is for this reason that something seemingly trivial like Traditional clothes must be cherished by Traditionalists and defended to the best of our ability; after all the Communist Revolutionaries in China think it very important and they should know.

Story of Tradition: St. Thomas and his Christians

I intended this post to be in honor of St. Thomas the Apostle whose feast day I thought was today. I later found out it was Thomas Aquinas' feast but I wanted to finish the post anyway.

The Catholic Church in India is comprised of three different groups. The Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, The Syro-Malankara Catholic Church and the Roman Catholic Church.

The Syro-Malabar Catholic Church is one of the Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with Rome that trace their origin from St. Thomas the Apostle who is said to have come to India in 52 a.d. There are 5 million Indian Catholics that belong to this Church. This Church has its own liturgy derived from the East Syriac Rite of the the Catholic Church. The Church is governed by its own hierarchy that are subject to the Pope.

The other native Indian Catholic Church is The Syro-Malankara Catholic Church. The population of this church is much smaller than the Syro-Malabar with only 500,000 adherents the majority of whom live in India in the southern state of Kerala.

The Liturgy of the Syro-Malankara is derived from the West Syriac Rite of the Catholic Church  and is also governed by its own hierarchy of bishops subject to the Pope.

Like the Syro-Malabar Church, The Syro-Malankara Church also traces its origin to St. Thomas when he came to India.

The Roman or Latin rite Catholics in India trace their origin to the Missionary work of St. Francis Xavier.

The Catholic Indians have derived their Culture from three different sources Hindu, Syrian and Portuguese Colonial era. These influences blended together has given Indian Catholics their own Independent Identity.

To the mentality of Indians, including Indian Catholics, to worship a deity requires something visual. As a result of this, images of Christ and the Saints are very important to Indians.

Throughout the areas where Catholicism is prominent, there are Shrines that attract many pilgrims who consider their pilgrimages there as important times in their lives.

One interesting practice that is really a Hindu practice adapted to Catholicism is the leaving of an offering of either Salt, Peppercorn, Coconut or other sweets at a statue of a Saint. This practice is called Prasdam. The Prasdam or Offering left at the Statue is considered sanctified by that particular Saint. The Offering is left by those devoted to the Saint as a gift to others who are devoted to the Saint. These other devotees who receive the gift consider it a gift from the Saint himself.

Processions and Parish Feasts are extremely important to Indian Catholics who spare no expense in conducting extremely elaborate and colorful events. These feasts are held throughout the year except during Lent. Processions can include decorated Elephants carrying images of Saints, Colorful Umbrellas, Statues carried on shoulder palanquins and decorated chariots.

Feasts are so elaborate in fact that a bishop in India was concerned that a huge portion of the Parish's funds were going to feasts. This forced him to restrict feasts to only nine days.


Like the rest of the world the Catholic Church in India has some problems,  the greatest being the rise of the Catholic Charismatic movement and the local bishops' acceptance of it.

Thankfully unlike most of the Catholic world, Communion in the hand is not allowed.

Like Indian Society as a whole the "Caste" system is present in the mentality of Indian Catholics. Most Non Latin Indian Catholics Consider themselves to be of the high caste Nambudiri Brahman. Interestingly Latin Rite Catholics in India are of a Lower Caste than the Syro-Malabars and Malankaras.

The Catholics in India carry on a Catholic Rite that is as old as the Church herself and are a people that see their Traditions as something to be proud of (unlike their western brothers in the Church that seem to consider their heritage something irrelevant and undesirable in their lives).

It is good to remember that there are more than just "Western" Catholics in the Church and that East and West both have different beautiful expressions of the same True Religion, Catholicism.




I derived the information for this post from https://www.catholicsandcultures.org

Poland: Tradition under Siege

In the Catholic West there appears to be only one stronghold left for our enemies to conquer. The other great bastions of the faith have all fallen: France, Malta, Ireland, Italy and Austria. Poland alone remains free but as we speak it is besieged by the enemies of Catholicism and Tradition.

Unlike the majority of Catholics, whose homelands have fell to the Liberal-Modernists and are now underground resistance fighters, the Polish people live in a country whose religious and temporal leaders support Tradition and the Faith. The Liberals have not forgotten Poland though and are doing everything they can to destroy her.

What we see today calls to mind the Siege of Vienna when the Ottomans besieged the temporal capital of Christendom. That time in history saw the Ottomans defeated by the Polish army and the Catholic world saved. Today it is Poland that is under siege and there seems to be no one that can save her.

The reason that Poland has withstood this modernist invasion must be credited to Communism. The Polish people understand that their identity as Poles is distinctly Catholic. They know this because the Communists attacked that aspect of Polish culture the most. Now that Poland is free the people are rightfully distrustful of everything that hates their faith.

Currently in Poland there is a very Traditional mindset. Religion is still very important to Poles, they have very strong opinions on the importance of family, they have very traditional views on morality and have a healthy nationalistic mentality.

The People of Poland also seem to recognize the danger of Muslim refugees and have expressed this on many occasions including a soccer game in 2015 where fans held a giant flag of a crusader knight blocking three ships filled with Muslims from entering (interestingly the banner also contained anti U.S. sentiment by having the boats named U.S.S ISIS, U.S.S. Bin Laden and U.S.S Husein) underneath the banner was written "Lets rise up to defend Christianity".  According to a Pew Research Center survey done in 2014: 50% of Poles that responded had an unfavorable view of Muslims compared to 32% whose views were favorable. 

Though Poland's Traditionalist mentality is still strong it is experiencing some losses. One major loss was the government caving to pro-abortion activists protesting the complete ban of abortion bill that passed in Poland's Parliament. The Polish youth also seem to be tending to have more liberal views and a wanting not to seem backward to the rest of the European Union.

Though Poland has suffered some losses She has also had some great victories with the Catholic Bishops declaring Christ to be the King of Poland (with the Prime Ministers approval) and their refusal to take immigrants into their dioceses.

The current position of Poland seems far from hopeless with the Polish tending to see the madness that the West is advancing but the danger is still real with the world putting more and more pressure for Poland to abandon its Traditions.

Story of Tradition: Mongolia

                                         
Many people I am sure will suppose that to be a Traditionalist, one must be entirely against technology (and that a traditionalist blogger like myself must be a demented hypocrite). The Truth is however that to be a Traditionalist one need not reject technology but try to use it Traditionally.

Mongolia is a fine example of true Traditionalism. The Majority of the People of Mongolia live the way there ancestors did as Nomadic herdsmen. Over the last few decades however they have incorporated technology into their Traditional lives making them more efficient.

Traditionalism does not mean our lives must be stagnant, rather Tradition should be our guide as to how we use technology and modern advances. It is helpful to think of Tradition as a tree. A tree is always growing as tradition always grows. To cut down the tree or to stop it from growing both harm the tree. The same is with Tradition, to completely reject it as progressives do or to reject all progress are both nontraditional.

The People of Mongolia are living Traditional lives while using technology to improve themselves. The government of Mongolia has helped Nomad families to obtain access to the internet and television. This has helped the herdsmen to keep track of meat prices and has enabled them to get better prices when selling their meat. It has also helped education and literacy. The Nomads have also added gas powered vehicles such as motor cycles and trucks to help care for their herds better.

Though life has become a little more modern for these nomads, there traditions are still secure. The Family is still the basis of their society usually having three generations living together. They continue to support themselves by herding sheep, camels and horses. Evening are spent together and it is common for the grandfather to tell the children stories that have been passed down for countless generations. Though western clothing is becoming more common, many nomads continue to preserve their traditional dress. Traditional music is also much more common than the modern music popular in Mongolia's only metropolis, Ulaanbaatar.

Traditional eagle hunting is a common feature of Mongolian life and horsemanship is a common skill. There are many Festivals also in Mongolia where the Nomads compete in sports that celebrate their Traditional lifestyles.

Religion is still strong in Mongolia with the majority of Mongolians practicing Tibetan Buddhism. Surprisingly even in an unlikely place like Mongolia, the Catholic Church is present and has some one thousand adherents.

Though Tradition in Mongolia remains a strong force, there are still problems there with Progressivism. Many families have moved to the capital Ulaanbaatar and given up their nomadic lifestyles. This is mostly due to the Republican government that is trying to westernize the country. The risk of Mongolia loosing all traces of Traditional life however is quite low as the country has seen many regimes and were the west to ever stop being interested in Mongolia the modernization and westernizing of Mongolia would quickly cease.

Mongolia is a great example for Traditionalists that to have technology does not mean one can not be a Traditionalist. For Westerners what is needed is more Tradition in our lives and less technology. Living more traditionally could be keeping chickens or hunting or gardening; one could also be more traditional in one's recreation like reading, singing folk songs or telling stories. The important thing is to do what we can to reverse the modern mindset by thinking traditionally. We do not have to rid ourselves of modern conveniences but do what we can to counter the revolution that has become the establishment.