Guan (headwear)

Guan, literally translated as hat or cap or crown in English, is a general term which refers to a type of headwear in Hanfu which covers a small area of the upper part of the head instead of the entire head. The was typically a formal form of headwear which was worn together with its corresponding court dress attire. There were sumptuary laws which regulated the wearing of ; however, these laws were not fixed; and thus, they would differ from dynasty to dynasty. There were various forms and types of.

Cultural significance and symbolism
In ancient China, there were various forms of headwear, which included,  ,  ,  , and.

The code of wearing forms a crucial aspect of the Hanfu system. 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].')" In ancient China, Han Chinese men had to undergo a capping ceremony called as their coming of age ceremony where a guan was placed on their head by a respected elder. The started by the nobles of the Zhou dynasty and eventually spread to the civilians. The was eventually forcefully ended during the Qing dynasty.

When worn together with, a  can form a set of attire called  ; this set of attire could be used as an indicator of its wearer's social status, age, occupation, and educational background.

As the character  is a homonym another Chinese character pronounced   which literally means official; the  (冠) became the symbol of officials.

History
In the early history of, sumptuary laws regulated the wearing of based on one's social status; as such, the poor people with a low social status were forbidden from the wearing of. These laws, however, varied from dynasty to dynasty.

Zhou dynasty
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. During the Zhou dynasty, the main types of used were  and  (弁冠). The was the highest rank of guan and could only be worn by the rulers, the feudal lords and nobles in sacrificial ceremonies, such as the Heaven worshipping ceremony and the ancestors worshipping ceremony, and in conferring ceremony. The followed strict regulations based on social hierarchy with the number of beads tassels indicating the ranks of its wearer; for example, the Emperor wore twelve beads tassels while the lowest rank officials wore only two beads tassels. The was the second highest  after the  and was divided into two types:  and. The was red and black in colour. The was decorated with 12 beams of white deer-skin, had an arched top, wide edges, and was decorated with many colourful jades in its seams.

Warring States period


During the Warring States period, King Wuling of Zhao adopted the policy and a -style, which looks similar to the conical hat of the Scythians, was adopted. King Wuling's -style  was less pointy than the actual Scythian hat and he decorated his hat with a marten tail to denote his noble status. The King of Qin later give the -style of King Wuling to his servant as an insult to King Wuling after the latter had destroyed the regime of the Zhao state. King Huiwen of Zhao later wore the same -style as his father, King Wuling; and therefore this type of  was named. Many years later, the evolved into the military cap called.

A decorated with pheasant feathers became known as   by the Han dynasty; the  was first worn in the state of Zhao to distinguish military officers during the Warring States period. The was possibly derived from the -style  adopted by King Wuling through  policy. The snow pheasant was a symbolism of martial valour and courage due to its association with the snow pheasant which would fight its opponent until death.

Qin dynasty
In the Qin dynasty, the continued to be worn to distinguish military officers; by that time onward, the use of  had spread throughout the whole empire.

Han dynasty
In the Han dynasty, only people from distinguished background were allowed to wear. During this period, there were many forms of, such as worn by the Emperor,  worn by dukes and princes;  worn by the civil officials, and  (武冠) worn by the military officials. The was decorated with two pheasant feathers on either sides and was worn by specialized member of the Han dynasty military.

Sui dynasty
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. 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.

The continued to be worn by the Emperor Yangdi. He also wore (弁冠) which was distinguished by a gold mountain-symbol called  (博山). He also wore another kind of called  (武弁), which was lighter and simpler in terms of designs when compared to the. The was traditionally worn by the military officials, and it was derived from the  which was worn by the court officials. The became the favourite  of the Emperor Yangdi when he went on cuttings; such as hunting trips, military expeditions, and other related ceremonies. He also allowed his ministers and the other government officials (military and civil officials) to wear the.

The (進賢冠) was worn by the civil officials at the court. The court censors wore the (卻非冠) under the reign of Emperor Wendi as their official headgear, but it was later replaced by the  (獬豸冠) by Emperor Yangdi which would distinguish its wearer's rank through the use of various materials.

Tang dynasty
In the Tang dynasty, the was replaced by the  in the official clothing system.

Song dynasty
In the Song dynasty, the Emperor wore the while the crown prince wore  (遠遊冠). The was worn by the literati which continued the long tradition. It was also generally worn by the and those who were dedicated to adhere to the ancient courtesies and etiquette. Some literati would also wear the  on summer days in order to not exposed their topknot. Under the reign of Emperor Huizong, all Confucian temples were ordered to upgrade their images of Confucius by adding a with 12 beaded-tassels on its depictions.

Ming dynasty
In the Ming dynasty, the was only reserved to the Emperor and the members of the royal family; they were only suitable on formal occasions. The emperor wore (翼善冠).

Types of historical guan

 * Diaochanguan (貂蟬冠) / longjin
 * (鶡冠) – a military guan decorated with pheasant feathers.
 * (弁冠): and
 * (束发冠) – a type of
 * Tongtianguan /
 * / (大冠)/  (武弁大冠) –  was derived from the
 * / faguan
 * (翼善冠)
 * (遠遊冠)
 * (趙惠文冠)
 * / faguan
 * (翼善冠)
 * (遠遊冠)
 * (趙惠文冠)
 * (趙惠文冠)