Can the traditional Ao Dai become the national costume?

Also in the past 10 years, the Dinh Lang Viet group has been a pioneer in restoring the five-panel dress, which has existed for hundreds of years and has historical value, contributing to identifying the Vietnamese national identity, suitable for many ages, or different social classes, in many different circumstances...

Researcher Tran Doan Lam affirmed the necessity of having a national costume, along with the National Anthem, National Flag, National Name of Vietnam... are the shortest, easiest to visualize, most expressive symbols of a country, a nation. Regarding culture, the Ao Dai also contributes to positioning the national culture on the colorful picture of world culture, in which the Ao Dai can be used for ceremonial situations, especially diplomatic relations, cultural and artistic activities. According to Dr. Tran Doan Lam: The traditional Ao Dai, with short or loose sleeves, inherited from the Five-panel Ao Dai originating from Hue, is a suitable choice for both men and women.

The five-panel ao dai (traditional ao dai) was born during the reign of Lord Nguyen Phuc Khoat, and was respected, treasured, and became the main costume of the people in the Dang Trong region, affirming cultural autonomy. During the reign of King Minh Mang, with the drastic change in costumes throughout the country; the five-panel ao dai was widely and uniformly applied nationwide.

At the workshop, Associate Professor Dr. Bui Xuan Dinh, advisor of the Vietnamese Village Communal House Club, hoped that men's Ao Dai would appear regularly with civil servants in offices, 2-3 times a week, and hoped that the Government would soon have regulations on this matter, confirming Ao Dai as the National Costume.

However, there are also concerns about Ao Dai in the diversity of Vietnamese culture because this culture is a harmonious blend of the cultures of 54 ethnic groups living together on the S-shaped land. Each ethnic group has its own traditional costumes and they are all worthy of respect, worth preserving and there are policies to facilitate their promotion once they are cultural heritage. However, when considering a type of costume that can be used as a national costume to represent Vietnamese culture at the national or international level, we must choose the type of clothing that is most popular, capable of expressing the identity of the Vietnamese people when thinking of Vietnam as a unified community, or Vietnamese culture as a unified entity.

Dr. Le Thi Minh Ly, member of the National Cultural Heritage Council, said that protecting the ao dai is also preserving Vietnamese cultural values, which includes many meanings: family, clan, rituals, customs, behavior, performing arts... Accordingly, the ao dai is a creative product of intangible cultural heritage. Protecting the ao dai is also a way to identify who we are, wherever we are, at any moment. However, according to Dr. Le Thi Minh Ly: “Protecting the ao dai is also preserving diversity. The five-panel dress or whatever it is, it must still be the ao dai, we should not be so rigid that we do not develop it. We have many opportunities to express ourselves, but the core value of the ao dai does not change. Tradition is not frozen, we must use it flexibly, respect identity in diversity, and equality in culture”.

Dr. Le Thi Minh Ly also affirmed: the five-panel ao dai has historical significance and pride in the dynasty that invented it; it is convenient, dynamic, and popular. Not yet proposing the ao dai as the national costume, Dr. Minh Ly said: let the majority of people wear it, appear in many places, many places, from there it becomes a spreading effect to the community. She also believes that in the near future, the ao dai - a cultural creation of the Nguyen Dynasty will "shine", starting from Hue. The evidence is that not long ago, the Knowledge of Sewing and Wearing Hue Ao Dai was included in the List of National Intangible Cultural Heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Source: https://vov.vn/van-hoa/ao-dai-truyen-thong-lieu-co-the-tro-thanh-quoc-phuc-post1118202.vov