There is a joke saying you may not catch cold for not wearing “Me More Cool” in winter; but your may end up with a broken leg by your mum…
Compared with foreigners who have been training physically since childhood and used to the cold weather, Chinese people would choose to wear more layers because we do not want to get sick from the freeze, especially most old Shanghainese parents are afraid of their children falling ill. That is why many of young Shanghainese have memories of being chased by parents asking them to put on what we call “Me More Cool”.
Must-wear in Winter
Even in China, there are huge gap in temperature from north to south. The chilling and wet winter is a challenge for the southerners without indoor heating(暖气 nuǎnqì).
Therefore, as living in the south, we have this:
Hot water bottle(热水袋 rèshuǐdài)
This:
Electric blanket(电热毯 diànrètǎn)
And This:
Thermos cup(保温杯 bǎowēnbēi)
Of course, the magic pot of bubbling broth to ward off the chill that is popular all over the world:
Hotpot(火锅 huǒguō)
But none of them can replace the warmth and memory that “Me More Cool” has brought us.
“Me More Cool” is a nickname transliterated from the pronunciation of Shanghainese word “棉毛裤 miánmáokù”, referring to thermal leggings or pants. Similarly, there is “Me More Say” transliterated from “棉毛衫 miánmáoshān” referring to thermal top. In general we call them thermal underwear(保暖内衣 bǎonuǎn nèiyī).
“Me More Cool” is not originated in China?
Chinese pay attention to keeping legs warm since ancient time. Those tights, once as a symbol of noble status in Europe, were introduced into China and now become colorful winter warm leggings for Chinese people.
In fact, modern “Me More Cool” were born in North America. John and Frank, the two sons of Charles Stanford, the founder of Canada’s time-honored brand for clothing, invented a technique that can prevent clothes from shrinking by being washed in water and produced this type of non-shrinking underwear in 1915. They made a lot of money in the gold rush in northwest Canada.
Not long after the modern ”Me More Cool” was invented, they were introduced into China with other foreign goods at the end of Qing Dynasty. By the time of Minguo(1912-1949), the Republic of China, “Me More Cool” as pants under with lady’s Cheongsam(旗袍 qípáo) had become one of the most popular fashion in China.
Different Names in Chinese
If you stay in north part of China, then you may not be familiar with “Me More Cool”. Instead, “Chill Cool” is the word more commonly used in north with the same meaning. In Chinese, it is written as “秋裤 qiūkù“, literally means “autumn pants” since when the weather turns cold in autumn, wearing only one pair of trousers is not enough to keep warm, so we want to add another layer fitting inside. Likewise, “秋衣 qiūyī”, or “autumn top” means thermal top, just the same thing as “Me More Say”.
People say the fundamental reason for Chinese afraid of coldness is that we have been covered tightly for too long, which weaken our ability to adapt to the cold weather. However, people’s respond to coldness varies. Even at the same temperature in winter, some people tremble in the cool air while others can swim in the freezing water. In a word, if you do not have the habit of wearing less clothes in winter, then do not suddenly train yourself to resist cold. Just dress up and wear “Me More Say” and “Me More Cool”!
Dàjiā dōngrì kuàilè，zhùyì bǎonuǎn o！
大家冬日快乐，注意保暖哦！
Have a happy winter. Remember to keep warm!
