From Chinese characters to Hanfu: Australian girl’s love affair with China

China News Service, Hangzhou, October 3. Title: From Chinese characters to Hanfu: Australian girl’s love affair with China

Author Cao Dan Sun Linru

During the National Day, a foreign girl wearing Hanfu walked on the streets of Hangzhou, attracting the attention of passers-by from time to time. Her name is Anxin Ran, from Australia. "I like Hanfu very much and think it is very beautiful. I made a video and posted it online, and netizens also liked it very much."

An Anran is a doctoral student majoring in ancient Chinese literature at Zhejiang University. After graduating from the University of Queensland, Australia, majoring in Chinese in 2022, she came to China. "Because I like Chinese, I want to learn more here."

The first thing that attracted her were Chinese characters. “I thought Chinese characters were very mysterious at first, but when I started to learn them, I found that they have a very soul.” In her eyes, Chinese characters have a long history, and when you see them, you will be reminded of ancient poetry, music, and paintings. “It is a very beautiful thing to me.”

As a "foreign disciple" majoring in ancient Chinese literature at the School of Liberal Arts of Zhejiang University, her graduation thesis focused on the study of the spread of the English publication "Tianxia Monthly" and ancient Chinese literature during the Republic of China. "I have been studying with Professor Xu Yongming at Zhejiang University. After graduating from my master's degree, I continued to study for a doctoral degree with him. My current research direction is Ming and Qing literature."

Outside of the classroom, she also took the initiative to take courses on Chinese philosophy and Confucianism. From Han Yu and Li Ao to Zhu Xi and Wang Yangming, to Feng Youlan and Qian Mu, they were all familiar to her. In her view, Chinese philosophy can help people become a better version of themselves, and understanding these ideas is the key to understanding Chinese literature.

Over the years in China, Anxin fell in love with Hanfu. At first, she just thought Hanfu looked good. As her research deepened, she read ancient books and compared murals, and gradually understood the shapes and combinations of costumes in different dynasties. From a simple enthusiast, she became an "expert" in Hanfu among netizens.

On September 25, Anxinran and her friends were photographed on the streets of Hangzhou wearing Hanfu made from the Song Dynasty. Photo by Sun Linru

She often takes photos of Hanfu outfits and beautiful Chinese scenery, and is quite famous on the short video platform, with about 400,000 fans online. She also noticed that foreign netizens often mistook Hanfu for traditional costumes of other countries on overseas social platforms, so she began to introduce Hanfu in English and figured out a method: first tell foreigners about the different dynasties in Chinese history, and then teach them slowly like teaching children, "You can't start by talking about Chinese clothes, otherwise they won't understand."

In her opinion, the love for beauty is shared by everyone regardless of national boundaries. The beauty of Hanfu is universally recognized, and her own advantages are language skills and cross-cultural understanding.

Talking about the future, Anxin Ran said that he hopes to continue to work and live in China. "Perhaps in a few years, foreigners will be very familiar with Hanfu. Then I will spread something deeper - ancient Chinese culture."

She hopes to use this enthusiasm to infect more people and let the Chinese people know that more and more foreigners who love Chinese culture are coming across mountains and seas. (over)