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A Century of Change in Chinese School Uniforms

2021-01-14

China Daily website (excerpt/delete if infringement)


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In 1916, Lin Huiyin (far right) and her cousins posed for a photograph. They are wearing the uniforms of the Peihua Girls' School in Beijing. School uniforms at the time symbolized social progress, especially the emergence of uniforms for girls.
  School uniforms in China are a microcosm of culture, education, history, and even politics. Changes in color and style have followed both the tides of the times and the inertia of uniformity.
 A century ago, school uniforms were a symbol of social progress; a century later, they are a topic of social debate.
  Today and in the future, the sense of identity and belonging represented by school uniforms may be secondary; what is important is the inherent quality of the uniform itself.

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In 1948, Tsinghua University, Beijing. University students at the time wore school uniforms while participating in sporting activities.

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In 1965, a group photo of "People's Primary School Red Young Pioneers" shows the style of school uniforms at the time.
In the 1970s, the combination of a white shirt and blue trousers became a popular school uniform.
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In the 1990s, the standardized "sack-like" school uniform came into view, becoming a memory for many of the 80s generation.