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Although Chinese people call it the Zhongshan suit (中山装) after Sun Yat-Sen, Mao Zedong is often credited for the popularity of the suit of his namesake in postwar China. Business tycoons and factory workers alike strode the streets literally wearing their politics on their sleeves. But more than being just a long-sleeved, dourly colored tunic of coarse cotton, the Mao suit soon came to represent proletarian unity. In this artwork, symbols of Chinese communism are discreetly hidden in the vest: the four pockets represent the ancient Chinese virtues of honesty, honor, justice and propriety while the five buttons hint at the past 5 branches of the Chinese government. Like the qipao (旗袍), the Mao suit soon entered popular imagination around the world as one of the most enduring icons of China. [Loo Ching Ling 吕晶琳] |
