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

Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

. 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 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 Later may refer to: * Future, the time after the present Television * ''Later'' (talk show), a 1988–2001 American talk show * '' Later... with Jools Holland'', a British music programme since 1992 * ''The Life and Times of Eddie Roberts'', or ...

to the

Nguyễn dynasty The Nguyễn dynasty (, chữ Nôm: 茹阮, chữ Hán: 朝阮) was the last List of Vietnamese dynasties, Vietnamese dynasty, preceded by the Nguyễn lords and ruling unified Vietnam independently from 1802 until French protectorate in 1883 ...

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

and in the

Ryukyu Kingdom The Ryukyu Kingdom was a kingdom in the Ryukyu Islands from 1429 to 1879. It was ruled as a Tributary system of China, tributary state of Ming dynasty, imperial Ming China by the King of Ryukyu, Ryukyuan monarchy, who unified Okinawa Island t ...

History

According to the legend, the earliest people who wore were

Taoist priest A ''daoshi'' () or Taoshih, translated as Taoist priest, Taoist monk, or Taoist professional is a priest in Taoism. The courtesy title of a senior is ''daozhang'' (, meaning "Tao master"), and a highly accomplished and revered is often cal ...

s. One day, the

Hongwu Emperor The Hongwu Emperor (21 October 1328– 24 June 1398), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Taizu of Ming, personal name Zhu Yuanzhang, courtesy name Guorui, was the List of emperors of the Ming dynasty, founding emperor of the Ming dyna ...

of the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

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 Headgear, headwear, or headdress is any element of clothing which is worn on one's Human head, head, including hats, helmets, turbans and many other types. Headgear is worn for many purposes, including protective clothing, protection against t ...

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 Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

, 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 The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic peoples, Tungusic East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized Ethnic minorities in China, ethnic minority in China and the people from wh ...

emperor of the Qing dynasty ordered all men to shave their forehead under the policy, the use of in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

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 The ''Tiangong Kaiwu'' (), or ''The Exploitation of the Works of Nature'' was a Chinese encyclopedia compiled by Song Yingxing. It was published in May 1637 with funding provided by Song's patron Tu Shaokui.Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 36.Song, xi ...

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 . File:至聖先賢半身像_冊-102-馬融.jpg, Ming dynasty portrait of a man wearing ''wangjin''.

References

{{Reflist Chinese headgear Korean headgear

History

Gallery

See also

References