Guan (headwear)
Guan | |||||||
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Chinese | |||||||
Literal meaning | Hat/ cap/ crown | ||||||
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Guan (Chinese:
Cultural significance and symbolism
[edit]In ancient China, there were various forms of headwear, which included guan (Chinese:
The code of wearing guan forms a crucial aspect of the Hanfu system.[4] According to philosopher Wang Chong in Lunheng;
“
衣服 ,货也。如以加 之 于形为尊重 ,在 身 之 物 ,莫大 于冠" ("Clothes fall under commodities. Should they rank higher, for being on the body, then nothing worn on the body is more important than the [guan].")[6]
In ancient China, Han Chinese men had to undergo a capping ceremony called Guan Li as their coming of age ceremony where a guan was placed on their head by a respected elder.[7][4] The Guan Li started by the nobles of the Zhou dynasty and eventually spread to the civilians.[7] The Guan Li was eventually forcefully ended during the Qing dynasty.[7]
When worn together with fu (Chinese:
As the character guan (Chinese:
History
[edit]![]() | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2022) |
In the early history of guan, sumptuary laws regulated the wearing of guan based on one's social status; as such, the poor people with a low social status were forbidden from the wearing of guan.[4] These laws, however, varied from dynasty to dynasty.[4]
Zhou dynasty
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e1/Western_Zhou_Bronze_Chariot_Ornament.jpg/220px-Western_Zhou_Bronze_Chariot_Ornament.jpg)
As recorded in Rites of Zhou and Book of Rites, clothing became one of the principles of rites and ceremony, hence guan became a foundational item for etiquette and ritual. [9] During the Zhou dynasty, the main types of guan used were mianguan and bianguan (
Warring States period
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/20/Changshadragon.jpg/220px-Changshadragon.jpg)
During the Warring States period, King Wuling of Zhao adopted the hufuqishe policy and a hufu-style guan, which looks similar to the conical hat of the Scythians, was adopted.[11] King Wuling's hufu-style guan was less pointy than the actual Scythian hat and he decorated his hat with a marten tail to denote his noble status.[11] The King of Qin later give the hufu-style guan of King Wuling to his servant as an insult to King Wuling after the latter had destroyed the regime of the Zhao state.[11] King Huiwen of Zhao later wore the same hufu-style guan as his father, King Wuling; and therefore this type of guan was named zhaohuiwenguan (Chinese:
A wuguan decorated with pheasant feathers became known as heguan (Chinese: 鶡冠; pinyin: héguān; lit. 'long-tailed pheasant hat') by the Han dynasty;[12] the heguan was first worn in the state of Zhao to distinguish military officers during the Warring States period.[13]: 293 The heguan was possibly derived from the hufu-style guan adopted by King Wuling through hufuqishe policy.[12] The snow pheasant (Chinese: 鶡; pinyin: hé) was a symbolism of martial valour and courage due to its association with the snow pheasant which would fight its opponent until death.[13]: 293
Qin dynasty
[edit]In the Qin dynasty, the heguan continued to be worn to distinguish military officers; by that time onward, the use of heguan had spread throughout the whole empire.[13]: 293
Han dynasty
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c6/Jinxianguan_from_han_dynasty_tomb_Hebei_wangdu_county_%E8%BF%9B%E8%B4%A4%E5%86%A0_%E6%B2%B3%E5%8C%97%E6%9C%9B%E9%83%BD%E6%B1%89%E5%A2%93%E5%A3%81%E7%94%BB.jpg/144px-Jinxianguan_from_han_dynasty_tomb_Hebei_wangdu_county_%E8%BF%9B%E8%B4%A4%E5%86%A0_%E6%B2%B3%E5%8C%97%E6%9C%9B%E9%83%BD%E6%B1%89%E5%A2%93%E5%A3%81%E7%94%BB.jpg)
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/13/%E6%AD%A6%E5%86%A0_han_stone_relief_guard_found_in_Deng_county_Henan_%E6%B2%B3%E5%8D%97%E9%82%93%E5%8E%BF%E5%87%BA%E5%9C%9F%E4%B8%9C%E6%B1%89%E7%94%BB%E5%83%8F%E7%A0%96%E4%B8%8A%E7%9A%84%E4%BD%A9%E5%89%91%E6%89%A7%E7%AC%8F%E6%AD%A6%E5%90%8F.jpg/144px-%E6%AD%A6%E5%86%A0_han_stone_relief_guard_found_in_Deng_county_Henan_%E6%B2%B3%E5%8D%97%E9%82%93%E5%8E%BF%E5%87%BA%E5%9C%9F%E4%B8%9C%E6%B1%89%E7%94%BB%E5%83%8F%E7%A0%96%E4%B8%8A%E7%9A%84%E4%BD%A9%E5%89%91%E6%89%A7%E7%AC%8F%E6%AD%A6%E5%90%8F.jpg)
In the Han dynasty, only people from distinguished background were allowed to wear guan.[2]: 16 During this period, there were many forms of guan, such as tongtianguan worn by the Emperor, yuanyouguan worn by dukes and princes; jinxianguan worn by the civil officials, and wuguan (
Sui dynasty
[edit]Emperor Wendi of Sui established a new attire system by basing himself on the system of the Cao Wei, Western Jin, and Northern Qi dynasties; however the Sui dynasty system was incomplete.[14]: 132 It was under Emperor Yangdi that more reforms took place in accordance with the ancient traditions and that the appearance of the ritual headwear were reformed.[14]: 133
The mianguan continued to be worn by the Emperor Yangdi.[14]: 133 He also wore bianguan (
The jinxianguan (
Tang dynasty
[edit]In the Tang dynasty, the guan was replaced by the futou in the official clothing system.[2]: 17
Song dynasty
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/11/Portrait_de_Song_Xuanzu.jpg/220px-Portrait_de_Song_Xuanzu.jpg)
In the Song dynasty, the Emperor wore the tongtianguan while the crown prince wore yuanyouguan (
Ming dynasty
[edit]In the Ming dynasty, the guan was only reserved to the Emperor and the members of the royal family; they were only suitable on formal occasions.[2]: 18 The emperor wore yishanguan (
Types of historical guan
[edit]- Diaochanguan (
貂 蟬冠) / longjin (Chinese: 笼巾; lit. 'cage kerchief')[5]: 7 - Fengguan
- Heguan (鶡冠) – a military guan decorated with pheasant feathers.[12]
- Jinxianguan (simplified Chinese: 进贤
冠 ; traditional Chinese:進 賢 冠 )[2]: 16 - Mianguan
- Bianguan (
弁 冠 ): Pibian and quebian - Quefeiguan (Chinese: 卻非
冠 ; lit. 'the cap that rejects the wrong')[14]: 134 - Shufaguan (
束 发冠) – a type of xiaoguan[17] - Tongtianguan[2]: 16 / chengtianguan (lit. 'a hat bearing the sky')[5]: 7, 41
- Wuguan (Chinese:
武 冠 ; pinyin: wǔguān; lit. 'military cap')[2]: 16 / daguan (大冠 )/ wubiandaguan (武弁 大冠 ) – wuguan was derived from the zhaohuiwenguan[11] - Xiaoguan (Chinese:
小 冠 ; lit. 'small crown')[17] - Xiezhiguan (Chinese: 獬豸
冠 ; lit. 'Xiezhi crown')[14]: 134 / faguan (Chinese:法 冠 ; lit. 'Legal crown')[5]: 7 - Yishanguan (
翼 善 冠 )[2]: 18 - Yuanyouguan (
遠 遊 冠 )[2]: 16 - Zhaohuiwenguan (
趙 惠 文 冠 )[11]
Gallery
[edit]- Types of historical guan
-
Daoguan (
道 冠 ) -
Faguan (
法 冠 ) -
Fangshanguan (
方 山冠 ) -
Fankuaiguan (樊噲
冠 ) -
Gaoshanguan (
高 山冠 ) -
Jianhuaguan (
建華 冠 ) -
Liangguan (
梁 冠 ) or Jinxianguan (進 賢 冠 ) -
Pibianguan (
皮 弁 冠 ) of Prince Huang of Lu, housed in Shandong Museum -
Qiaoshiguan (
巧 士 冠 ) -
Quediguan (卻敵
冠 ) -
Quefeiguan (卻非
冠 ) -
Shushiguan (
術 士 冠 ) -
Wubiandaguan (
武弁 大冠 ) -
Yishanguan (
翼 善 冠 ), Ming dynasty -
Yuanyouguan (
遠 遊 冠 ) -
Zhangfuguan (
章 甫 冠 ) -
Zhangguan (
長 冠 ) -
Zhongjingguan (
忠 靖 冠 )
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Jia, Jinhua (2018). Gender, Power, and Talent : the Journey of Daoist Priestesses in Tang China. La Vergne: Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-54549-5. OCLC 1024284417. Archived from the original on 2022-06-11. Retrieved 2022-06-11.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Feng, Ge (2015). Traditional Chinese rites and rituals. Zhengming Du. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4438-8783-0. OCLC 935642485. Archived from the original on 2022-06-11. Retrieved 2022-06-11.
- ^ "What is Chinese Headdress - Hanfu Traditional Hats Introduce - 2022". www.newhanfu.com. 2020-12-09. Retrieved 2022-06-12.
- ^ a b c d e "Evolution of Caps in China". en.chinaculture.org. Archived from the original on 2020-01-28. Retrieved 2022-06-11.
- ^ a b c d e f g Zhu, Ruixi;
朱 瑞 熙 (2016). A social history of middle-period China : the Song, Liao, Western Xia and Jin dynasties. Bangwei Zhang, Fusheng Liu, Chongbang Cai, Zengyu Wang, Peter Ditmanson, Bang Qian Zhu (Updated ed.). Cambridge, United Kingdom. ISBN 978-1-107-16786-5. OCLC 953576345.{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Lunheng; "vol. 24" "chapter 70"p. 70 of 118
- ^ a b c d "Coming of Age Ceremony in Chinese Culture | ChinaFetching". ChinaFetching.com. Archived from the original on 2022-04-01. Retrieved 2022-06-11.
- ^ Eberhard, Wolfram (1986). A dictionary of Chinese symbols : hidden symbols in Chinese life and thought. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. ISBN 978-0-203-03877-2. OCLC 569597341.
- ^ Book of Rites, "vol. 43"
冠 義 quote: "凡人 之 所以 為 人 者 ,禮 義也 。禮 義之 始 ,在 於正容體 、齊 顏色 、順 辭令 。容體 正 ,顏色 齊 ,辭令 順 ,而後禮 義 備。以正君臣 、親 父子 、和 長幼 。君臣 正 ,父子 親 ,長幼 和 ,而後禮 義 立 。故 冠 而後服 備,服 備而後 容體 正 、顏色 齊 、辭令 順 。故 曰:冠者 ,禮 之 始 也。是 故 古 者 聖王 重 冠 。" 1 of 4 - ^ a b c d e f Gu, Weilie (2022). A GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO CHINESE CULTURE. US: American Academic Press. ISBN 9781631815379.
- ^ a b c d e f g Rui, Chuanming (2021). On the ancient history of the Silk Road. Singapore. pp. 23–26. ISBN 978-981-12-3296-1. OCLC 1225977015.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ a b c d Wallace, Leslie (2020). "Does a feather in your hat barbarian make? Headgear and hairstyles in Han dynasty tomb murals in the Ordos". The art and archaeology of bodily adornment : studies from Central and East Asian mortuary contexts. Sheri Lullo, Leslie V. Wallace. Abingdon, Oxon. pp. 161–175. ISBN 978-1-351-26832-5. OCLC 1090702934.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ a b c Cua, A. S. (2013). Encyclopedia of Chinese Philosophy. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis. ISBN 978-1-135-36748-0. OCLC 862613166.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Xiong, Victor Cunrui (2006). Emperor Yang of the Sui dynasty : his life, times, and legacy. Albany: State University of New York Press. ISBN 1-4237-6251-7. OCLC 65174948.
- ^ Fang, Alex Chengyu (2016). The Language and Iconography of Chinese Charms: Deciphering a Past Belief System. Fran?cois Thierry. [Place of publication not identified]. ISBN 978-981-10-1793-3. OCLC 966360040.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Modern Chinese religion (2 Vols.) Song-Liao-Jin-Yuan (960-1368 AD). Vol. 1. John Lagerwey, Pierre Marsone. Leiden. 2015. ISBN 978-90-04-27181-4. OCLC 890011365.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ a b Nanjing Municipal Museum (2015). "
琥珀 束 发冠" [Amber shufaguan]. www.njmuseumadmin.com. Retrieved 2022-06-13.