Guapi mao (, ) is a type of skullcap, a male traditional headgear worn in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

starting from the Qing Dynasty. It is made in the shape of a hemisphere and is divided into segments and is named for its resemblance to a watermelon rind.

History

The guapi mao started as the taller Liuheyitong mao (六合一統帽) (meaning Six-in-One Unified cap) invented during the Ming Dynasty by the

Hongwu Emperor The Hongwu Emperor (21 October 1328 – 24 June 1398), personal name Zhu Yuanzhang (), courtesy name Guorui (), was the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty of China, reigning from 1368 to 1398. As famine, plagues and peasant revolts in ...

. Traditionally, it is divided into six sections- symbolizing the sky, the earth, and the four cardinal directions- to represent the unification of China. The guapi mao is shorter than the liuheyitong mao, more resembling a skullcap. It is also a distinctively

Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...

-influenced style of headwear.

Design and Materials

Guapi mao may be divided into six or eight segments. They are brimless and may have bamboo boning to make it keep its shape. Guapi mao are traditionally made with black silk, wool, gauze, or damask, but can be multicolored. They may have embroidered designs or decorations attached to denote a 'front' side. The top may also be decorated, often with a bobble or braided tassel.

Other usage

The

emoji An emoji ( ; plural emoji or emojis) is a pictogram, logogram, ideogram or smiley embedded in text and used in electronic messages and web pages. The primary function of emoji is to fill in emotional cues otherwise missing from typed conversat ...

'Man with Chinese Hat' (👲) is displayed as a man wearing a guapi mao. It was approved as part of Unicode 6.0.

References

{{Reflist Chinese headgear Qing clothing