is a kind of traditional headgear worn by adult men in the

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...

. In ancient China, the was usually made out of fibres or horsetail or could be made out of mixed fabrics such as silk or linen. The Korean of the

Joseon period Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...

was a derivative of the and was introduced to Joseon during the Ming dynasty. Similar head-wears to the was also worn during the from the Later Lê dynasty to the Nguyễn dynasty of

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

and in the

Ryukyu Kingdom The Ryukyu Kingdom, Middle Chinese: , , Classical Chinese: (), Historical English names: ''Lew Chew'', ''Lewchew'', ''Luchu'', and ''Loochoo'', Historical French name: ''Liou-tchou'', Historical Dutch name: ''Lioe-kioe'' was a kingdom in the ...

History

According to the legend, the earliest people who wore were Taoist priests. One day, the Hongwu Emperor of the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...

wore common clothes to visit the folk and he saw a Taoist priest wearing on top of his head. The emperor asked what it was, to which the priest answered:

"This is . Wear it on top of your head, then your hair will gather together" (ref. "").

The emperor was very satisfied with the answer that also referred to uniting the country. After the emperor returned to his palace, he ordered all the men in the country, from the emperor to the common man, to wear . Since then, the has become the common headgear of adult men in the entire country. Wang Bu, a man from the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...

, once introduced the as something that looks like a fishing net. The two borders are adorned with two small circles made of gold, jade or copper and tin. Tie small ropes at each end of the side, cross in two circles, tie the top to the forehead, and make the side and eyebrows flush. There are also many styles of . In the Wanli period of the Ming dynasty, people began to use fallen hair and horsehair instead of silk to make . During the collapse of the Ming dynasty, the Manchu emperor of the Qing dynasty ordered all men to shave their forehead under the policy, the use of in China came to an end. Nowadays, historians and the people interested in Chinese history research ancient books and historical relics to restore various forms of the .

Gallery

File:Winnowing machine.jpg, alt=, Men wearing a and working on a winnowing machine, illustrated in the book Tiangong Kaiwu from the

. File:Wangjin cultural relics.jpg, alt=, A unearthed from the tomb of Zhang Mao and his wife in the Ming dynasty. File:Wangjin.jpg, alt=, Modern replica of a .

References

{{Reflist Chinese headgear Korean headgear

History

Gallery

See also

References