Qipao show models driven away from Shaolin Temple in Henan
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Qipao show models driven away from Shaolin Temple in Henan
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The latest public discord to make headlines occurred this week between two somewhat surprising parties: a group of models and staff at a Buddhist temple in Henan.
A dozen women donning a qipao and holding umbrellas showed off their outfits on a cat-walk in front of the Shaolin Temple in Dengfeng City, Henan Province on Friday morning, attracting crowds of visitors to come snap pictures. Rather than welcoming the new attraction, however, Shaolin Temple staff thought the show would spoil their image and drove the ladies away,
ifeng News reports.
Yan Chang, the Master of the temple, made his point loud and clear: "A temple is an area for Buddhism. If they want to hold a qipao show, they should go to the West Lake area instead. It will spoil the temple's image."
Li Qiuling, the show's organizer, didn't see any contradictions. "The qipao is a part of traditional culture. The Shaolin Temple is a part of historic culture. I see these two as having something in common."
Wang Yuming from the Shaolin Temple's Liaison Office told reporters that the show organizer had phoned them to explain that the show would come through to promote the culture of the traditional Chinese qipao.
"There are a number of business opportunists attempting to promote their own interests under the guise of the name of the Shaolin Temple. What they wanted was simply to win people's eyeball.
Netizens took turns mocking the somewhat passive-aggressive exchange between the two parties. "If you dare, you can perform on a cat-walk in front of a Mosque. Buddhism is so kind!" one user said in jest.
Another stated that "Buddhism is the most hypocritical." One user questioned "Why the hell is the show being performed in front of the temple? Why don't you build a brothel next to the temple...isn't it a traditional culture too?"
By Lucy Liu
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