36.3358, Books: Doing Hanfu: Jia (2025)

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-36-3358. Mon Nov 03 2025. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 36.3358, Books: Doing Hanfu: Jia (2025)

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Date: 03-Nov-2025
From: Jan Martin [lotdissertations-fgw at uva.nl]
Subject: Doing Hanfu: Jia (2025)


Title: Doing Hanfu
Subtitle: An Ethnographic Study of Embodied Meaning-Making Practices
of Contemporary Young Chinese
Series Title: LOT Dissertation Series
Publication Year: 2025

Publisher: Netherlands Graduate School of Linguistics / Landelijke
(LOT)
           http://www.lotpublications.nl/
Book URL: https://dx.medra.org/10.48273/LOT0699

Author(s): Yan Jia

Paperback
ISBN: 978-94-6093-484-1
Pages: 354
Price: 43,00 euro

Abstract:

“You ask what Hanfu is? Essentially, you are asking what this group of
people is doing!”
Hanfu means “Han clothing,” with Han referring to the predominant
ethnic group in the People’s Republic of China. In this context, “this
group of people” refers to “self-defined Hanfu fans.”
Doing Hanfu is an ethnographic study of their embodied meaning-making
practices and how these contribute to the construction of situated
identities. The ethnographic fieldwork was conducted in two distinct
geographic locations: Beijing, China, and the Netherlands. Besides
interviews and field notes, participant observation was carried out
across both online and offline spaces. These generate a large body of
multimodal data.
Drawing on theories from various fields, including sociolinguistics
and fashion studies, this dissertation presents the lived and
socio-culturally embedded features of the meaning-making bodily
practices of self-defined Hanfu fans and the fluid, multifaceted
nature of their identity construction in the larger sociocultural
structure, and the people-centered Hanfu material cultural dynamics.
Four empirical chapters respectively present different practices,
narrative practice, the practice of dressing up in Hanfu, branding
practice, and the stylization, and their roles in negotiating and
enacting collective and intimate Hanfu identity, various types of
Chinese femininity, authentic Hanfu fan membership, and new migratory
identities. These identity formations contribute to the diverse
meanings attributed to Hanfu material culture.
Doing Hanfu may capture your interest—whether you are simply curious
about Hanfu, its fans, or you are a professional engaged in fields
such as youth and pop culture, sociolinguistics, gender, migration, or
fashion.

Linguistic Field(s): Sociolinguistics

Language Family(ies): Chinese

Written In: English (eng)



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