Weimao () is a type of wide-brimmed hat with a shoulder-length veil hanging. The weimao was a popular form of head covering during the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

. It was invented during either the Sui or the early Tang dynasty, according to

Liu Zhiji Liu Zhiji (; 661–721), courtesy name Zixuan (), was a Chinese historian and politician of the Tang dynasty. Well known as the author of ''Shitong'', he was born in present-day Xuzhou, Jiangsu, during the Tang dynasty. Liu's father Liu Zangqi and ...

and

Zhang Yanyuan Zhang may refer to: Chinese culture, etc. * Zhang (surname) (張/张), common Chinese surname ** Zhang (surname 章), a rarer Chinese surname * Zhang County (漳县), of Dingxi, Gansu * Zhang River (漳河), a river flowing mainly in Henan * ''Zha ...

History

Sui and Tang dynasty

By the end of the

Sui dynasty The Sui dynasty (, ) was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China that lasted from 581 to 618. The Sui unified the Northern and Southern dynasties, thus ending the long period of division following the fall of the Western Jin dynasty, and layi ...

, the mili, which was previously worn, became less conservative and evolved into the weimao as it was no longer required to conceal the entire body and instead only the face had to be concealed. In the early and middle Tang dynasty period, it was fashionable for aristocratic women to wear weimao when they went on excursions, a practice which these women borrowed from the northwestern nomadic men. By the time of Wu Zetian's ascendancy, the weimao was in fashion while the mili had gradually disappeared. The fashion of wearing weimao eventually declined and disappeared in the 8th century before being revived in the 10th century in the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

Song dynasty

In the

, some scholar officials, such as

Sima Guang Sima Guang (17 November 1019 – 11 October 1086), courtesy name Junshi, was a Chinese historian, politician, and writer. He was a high-ranking Song dynasty scholar-official who authored the monumental history book ''Zizhi Tongjian''. Sima was ...

, advocated that women should cover their faces when going out. The weimao-style hat was revived in the 10th century when women started to wear mianyi (), which was also known as gaitou () by the common people. It is likely that the practice of wearing veiled hats, which was continued by these Song dynasty women, was due to them being unaware of its foreign and masculine origins.

Derivatives and influences

Humao

A variation of the weimao is a hat lacking the necessary holes to attach a veil. Instead of a veil, the rider would wear a black balaclava under the hat. Song_dynasty_Gaitou_Hat_2

Song dynasty gaitou hat

The

gaitou (蓋頭), also known as mianyi (面衣; veils or "facial clothes"), follows the style of the Tang dynasty weimao; the gaitou was worn by women when riding donkeys and horses or when they would walk on the streets. The gaitou was a veil hat where a whole piece of purple gauze would hang from the hat from the front to the back sides with 4 ribbons of different colours hanging down the shoulders.

Similar items

* Liangmao *

Damao (hat) Damao (), also known as Big hat in English, is a type of Chinese round hat with a wide brim, which was worn in the Ming dynasty. It was commonly worn by commoners of the Ming dynasty and is often seen in Ming dynasty portraits. It originated in t ...

Humao Humao () is a type of brim hat which was used in the Tang dynasty by both Chinese men and women when horse-riding. Women of all social ranks (ranging from palace ladies to commoners) wore humao when horse-riding since the beginning of the Kaiyuan ...

* Mili *

Honggaitou A (), also shortened to () and referred to as red veil in English, is a traditional red-coloured bridal veil worn by the Han Chinese brides to cover their faces on their wedding ceremony before their wedding night. The is worn along with a r ...

References

Chinese traditional clothing Chinese headgear {{clothing-stub