My name is Yike Jiang. I was born on October 10th, 1981. The birthday is so unique that I have had a great passion to devote myself into history and culture of China since I was a little child.
I am an introverted person. In my youth, I was deeply attached to ancient books and delved into literal words for deeper meanings. Many young people think ancient books are boring, but those books once became an important part of my life. They brought me pleasure or sadness. I once said to others, “If you can understand ancient people, then their feelings are also yours.”
My passion about history and culture was born reading books including “All Five Thousand Years” and historical picture-story books in my childhood. During my college life, I read the Commentary of Zuo on the Spring-Autumn Annals. I am always touched by the unselfish, faithful, steadfast and chivalrous qualities of people who are recorded in the book. Moreover, the book shows cultural passion and free spirit. The Commentary of Zuo brought an ideology completely different from those of schooling and media. The book rebuilt my values.
The Greek Way written by Edith Hamilton also fascinated me. I believe that universal values are applicable to not only the Occident, but also the Orient. The Chinese way is harmonious with the Greek way.
The website Oriental Style was created in February 6th, 2006. Over the last decade, I have experienced confidence, depression and self-negation. The Han Chinese Clothing, which I hoped to restore in my youth, has achieved a great influence on young people. However, people are more attracted by the Qin system instead of universal values. In great distress, I closed the website in 2019.
In 2023, during the days of staying in Europe, I thought about what I have striven to do for the past decades. My thinking way is always with my cultural identity. Residence and nationality can be changed, but ethnicity cannot be changed.
My articles about history and culture about ancient China are not just to tell things, but also are filled with my feelings. My efforts should not be given up. Therefore, the website is open again.
The articles were written a dozen years ago, so a lot of contents should be revised, as the passion of my youth has been converted into thinking rationally.
One of an important reason to make me create the website in 2006 was to tell the world that Hanfu was the true traditional clothing of Han Chinese people. This was unavoidable to blame the Qing Dynasty.
The Qing Dynasty destroyed the traditional clothing and hairstyle of Han Chinese, and tried to isolate Han Chinese from outside world. However, the reform in the last decade of the empire brought a great transformation to Chinese society. As the Qing Dynasty ended in 1912, the empire left a lot of talents of politics, technology and foreign affairs to the new-born republic.
Before I went to experience the life in Europe, my impression of outside world was mainly from articles written by Chinese writers. Based on my life experience in Europe, I deeply feel that humans are similar.
During the pandemic, the society of China was isolated from outside world, and honest people could not bear to read Chinese media reports about the Western world. I always said to myself, “Freedom has a price, and sometimes it is vulnerable. But this cannot prevent people from loving freedom.”
The biggest advantage of the Western society is freedom. In Europe, as a foreigner, the freedom I strongly feel is that I am able to obtain knowledge and information from global network.
The biggest advantage of China is the great diligence of Chinese people. If Chinese people could live in a free society, their creativity would be inestimable.
Yike Jiang
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