{"id":1682,"date":"2025-07-19T01:11:04","date_gmt":"2025-07-18T17:11:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/?p=1682"},"modified":"2025-07-18T22:15:07","modified_gmt":"2025-07-18T14:15:07","slug":"common-headdresses-%e5%8f%91%e5%86%a0-worn-by-women-in-the-song-dynasty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/1682","title":{"rendered":"Common Headdresses (\u53d1\u51a0) Worn by Women in the Song Dynasty"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Zhang<\/a><\/p>\n

Times may change, but one thing remains: women have always found ways to express themselves through their hair and its ornaments. In the Song dynasty, they styled their hair high and adorned it with crowns.<\/p>\n

In this article, we will explore headdresses\/crowns (\u53d1\u51a0 ; f\u0101 gu\u0101n), commonly worn by women in the Song dynasty.<\/p>\n

What is Fa Guan \u53d1\u51a0?<\/h4>\n

Fa Guan (\u53d1\u51a0 ; f\u0101 gu\u0101n), we will discuss here are not \u793c\u51a0 (l\u01d0 gu\u0101n), the ceremonial crowns. Instead, we refer to \u4fbf\u51a0 (bi\u00e0n gu\u0101n)\u2014everyday crowns worn by Song women.<\/p>\n

In terms of materials, Bian Guan in the Song dynasty came in various forms: made of gold and silver, horn, fish pillow, tortoiseshell, crystal, etc. Among these, the most commonly used was the white horn crown (\u767d\u89d2\u51a0 ; b\u00e1i ji\u01ceo gu\u0101n).<\/p>\n

Generally, Bian Guan can be categorized into three main types: Tuan Guan (round crown), Chui Jian Guan (shoulder-draping crown), and Hua Guan (flower crown).<\/p>\n

1. Tuan Guan \u56e2\u51a0 (tu\u00e1n gu\u0101n) | Round Crown<\/h5>\n

This type of crown comes in circular, oval, or flat-round shapes\u2014also called Yuan Guan (\u5706\u51a0 ; yu\u00e1n gu\u0101n). Typically made from white horn, gold, silver, or crystal. Some are decorated with pearls or golden engraving patterns (Liujin \u938f\u91d1 technique), thus also known as Zhu Guan (pearl crown, \u73e0\u51a0 ; zh\u016b gu\u0101n).<\/p>\n

\"Zhang<\/a>
Southern Song dynasty, Golden Crown<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The crown is secured with long hairpins called Ji or Zan Zi, sometimes with ornamental tips.<\/p>\n

\"Zhang<\/a>
\u300a\u5b8b\u94b1\u9009\u62db\u51c9\u4ed5\u5973\u56fe\u300b<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Zhang<\/a>
\u6cb3\u5357\u5043\u5e08\u9152\u6d41\u6c9f\u5b8b\u5893\u51fa\u571f\u7684\u7816\u523b\u62d3\u7247<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One well-known variation is Shan Kou Guan (\u5c71\u53e3\u51a0 ; sh\u0101n k\u01d2u gu\u0101n), tall and towering, with a lower center and higher sides. In Qian Xuan\u2019s painting\u300a\u62db\u51c9\u4ed5\u5973\u56fe\u300b(zh\u0101o li\u00e1ng sh\u00ec n\u01da t\u00fa), a woman is shown wearing a translucent crystal Shan Kou Guan, appearing light and cool, perfect for summer wear.<\/p>\n

2. Chui Jian Guan \u5782\u80a9\u51a0 (chu\u00ed ji\u0101n gu\u0101n) | Shoulder-Draping Crown<\/h5>\n

\"Zhang<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Zhang<\/a>
\u5c71\u4e1c\u6dc4\u535a\u7a91\u91d1\u4e09\u5f69\u4eba\u7269\u4fd1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you\u2019ve ever seen women in Song attire wearing a crown that softly drapes to the shoulders, that\u2019s Chui Jian Guan. This crown became popular during the mid-Northern Song dynasty. As described by Mei Yaochen: \u201cCurved brows, gentle face, hair tied up, wearing a thin white horn crown that drapes to the shoulders.\u201d<\/p>\n

This crown has a unique shape: both sides curve down to frame the face and shoulders (\u300a\u68a6\u6eaa\u7b14\u8c08\u00b7\u5668\u7528\u300bm\u00e8ng x\u012b b\u01d0 t\u00e1n \u00b7 q\u00ec y\u00f2ng). It is also called Deng Jian Guan (\u7b49\u80a9\u51a0 ; d\u011bng ji\u0101n gu\u0101n) or Dan Jian Guan (\u5355\u80a9\u51a0 ; d\u0101n ji\u0101n gu\u0101n).<\/p>\n

Developed from the Tuan Guan, it adds longer, curved extensions at its four corners. Often adorned with flowers, gemstones, or gold ornaments\u2014like in \u300a\u5927\u5b8b\u5ba3\u548c\u9057\u4e8b\u300b(d\u00e0 s\u00f2ng xu\u0101n h\u00e9 y\u00ed sh\u00ec): “The beautiful woman wore a Dan Jian Guan and tucked in flowers from the imperial garden.”<\/p>\n

This type of crown is large, richly decorated, and generally popular among women of the middle and upper classes.<\/p>\n

There is also a variation with straighter, shorter corners called Duan Guan (\u77ed\u51a0 ; du\u01cen gu\u0101n, short crown), as recorded by Wang Dechen in\u300a\u5875\u53f2\u00b7\u793c\u4eea\u300b(ch\u00e9n sh\u01d0 \u00b7 l\u01d0 y\u00ed).<\/p>\n

3. Hua Guan \u82b1\u51a0 (hu\u0101 gu\u0101n) | Flower Crown<\/h5>\n
\"Zhang<\/a>
Ruan Guan (\u8f6f\u51a0) decorated with bionic flowers \u4e00 Five Dynasties, part of\u300a\u6d63\u6708\u56fe\u300bpainted by an anonymous artist<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Zhang<\/a>
Lian Hua Guan (\u83b2\u82b1\u51a0) \u4e00 Song dynasty, part of\u300a\u5374\u5750\u56fe\u300bby an anonymous artist<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hua Guan has two meanings:<\/p>\n

First, crowns decorated with flowers\u2014Tuan Guan, Chui Jian Guan, and Duan Guan could all be enhanced with floral ornaments. Besides fresh flowers, Song women also used fabric, gold, silver, gemstones, and even tongcao (a sponge-like natural material) to craft artificial blossoms.<\/p>\n

Second, crowns truly shaped like flowers\u2014Peony (\u7261\u4e39 ; m\u01d4 d\u0101n), Lotus (\u83b2\u82b1 ; li\u00e1n hu\u0101), Apricot (\u674f\u82b1 ; x\u00ecng hu\u0101), and others.<\/p>\n

These flower crowns are usually full and rounded in silhouette, resembling Tuan Guan, but much softer and more feminine in expression.<\/p>\n

Headdresses Style Comparison: Northern vs. Southern Song<\/h5>\n

A comparison of paintings from the Northern and Southern Song dynasties shows differences in headdress styles and how they were worn:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Northern Song: Headdresses were taller, larger, and more open, typically worn on top of the head.<\/li>\n
  • Southern Song: Headdresses were generally smaller, flatter, with closed tops, and worn closer to the back of the head.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Just like clothing trends, headdresses’ shapes evolved\u2014from wide and expressive to soft and graceful.<\/p>\n

    Source:\u300a\u6211\u5728\u5b8b\u671d\u7a7f\u4ec0\u4e48\u300bby \u9646\u857e<\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
    Times may change, but one thing remains: women have always found ways to express themselves through their hair and its...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":1690,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[1083,25,1086,1080,28,1088,682,1079,180,1084,1082,1081,1085,1087,1089],"class_list":["post-1682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hanfu-accessories","tag-bian-guan","tag-chinese-headdress","tag-chui-jian-guan","tag-fa-guan","tag-headdress","tag-hua-guan","tag-song-dynasty","tag-song-dynasty-headdress","tag-song-dynasty-headwear","tag-tuan-guan","tag-1082","tag-1081","tag-1085","tag-1087","tag-1089"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1682"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1682\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1690"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}