Chinese hairpin

During the Chinese funeral period, women in mourning were not allowed to wear hairpins.

{{See also|Guan Li}}

{{transl|zh|Ji}} played an important role in the coming-of age of Han Chinese women. Before the age of 15 years old, women did not use hairpins, and always kept their hair in braids. When a woman turned 15, she stopped wearing braids, and a hairpin ceremony called {{transl|zh|"Ji Li"}} ({{lang|zh|笄礼}}), or "hairpin initiation", would be held to mark the rite of passage. During the ceremony, their hair would be coiled into a bun with a {{transl|zh|ji}} hairpin. After the ceremony, the woman would be eligible for marriage.

When engaged to be married, Chinese women would take the hairpin from their hair and give it to their male fiancé. After the wedding, the husband would then return the hairpin to his newly-wed wife by placing it back in her hair.

The {{transl|zh|chai}} hairpin{{Cite web|title=Tradition of China - Hair Ornament Culture {{!}} ChinaFetching|url=https://www.chinafetching.com/tradition-of-china-hair-ornament|access-date=2021-05-06|website=ChinaFetching.com|language=en}} also used to be a form of love token; when lovers were forced to break apart, they would often break a hairpin in half, and each would keep half of the hairpin until they were reunited.

Similarly, when married couples were separated for a long period of time, they would break a hairpin in two and each keep one part. If they were to meet again in the future, they would then put the hairpin together again, as a proof of their identity and as a symbol of their reunion.

File:Tang Silver Hairpins (14254856355).jpg]]Initially, Chinese people liked hairpins which were made out of bone and jade.{{Cite web|title=Hair Accessories - MIHO MUSEUM|url=https://www.miho.jp/booth/html/artcon/00000434e.htm|access-date=2021-05-06|website=www.miho.jp}} Hairpins which were made out of carved jade appeared in China as early as the Neolithic Period ({{circa|3000–1500 BC}}), along with jade carving technology. Some ancient Chinese hairpins dating from the Shang dynasty can still be found in some museums.{{Cite web|title=Hairpin 13th–11th century B.C. China|url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/45177|url-status=live|access-date=2021-05-06|website=www.metmuseum.org|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506014920/https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/45177 |archive-date=2021-05-06 }}

By the Bronze Age, hairpins which were made out of gold had been introduced into China by people living on the country's Northern borders. Some ancient Chinese hairpins dating back to 300 BC were made from bone, horn, wood, and metal.

The art of engraving wood first appeared in the Tang dynasty, and this new form of art was then applied to large wooden Chinese hairpins.{{Cite book|last=Lester|first=Katherine Morris|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mHDTMcfDyekC&dq=chinese%20hairpins&pg=PA118|title=Accessories of dress : an illustrated encyclopedia|date=2004|others=Bess Viola Oerke, Helen Westermann|isbn=978-0-486-14049-0|location=Mineola, New York|pages=118|oclc=857715305}} Many of these wooden hairpins were then coated with silver.

In the Ming dynasty, the hairpins became more elaborate, and the carvings were made on silver, ivory, and jade, with pearl being used often as a setting.

Hairpins could also be decorated with gemstones, as well as designs of flowers, dragons, and phoenixes.

There are various types of Chinese hairpins:

The Zan is a type of hairpin with a single pin. The Zan could also come in different styles such as:

• {{transl|zh|Ji}}-style: A style of {{transl|zh|zan}} hairpin which likely refers to the hairpin used to secure the hair in a bun.
• {{transl|zh|Ruyi}}-style: A style of {{transl|zh|zan}} hairpin in the shape of a {{transl|zh|ruyi}} scepter.
• Tiger-head style
• Round-dragon style

File:Shang Bone Hairpins (10324995483).jpg|Shang dynasty bone hairpin

File:Shang Bone Hairpins (10197643816).jpg|Shang Bone Ji

File:Shang Bronze Hairpin.jpg|Shang bronze hairpin

File:Shang Jade Hairpin.jpg|Shang dynasty jade hairpin

File:Spring & Autumn Bronze Hairpin (11865789735).jpg|Spring & Autumn Bronze Hairpin

File:Warring States Bronze Hairpin (9965380263).jpg|Warring States period bronze hairpin

File:Tang Jade Hairpin Tops.jpg|Tang dynasty jade hairpin.

File:Song koraal haarsieraad, AK-MAK-60.jpg|Coral hairpin, Song dynasty.

File:南宋银鎏金凤凰衔花簪.jpg|Hairpin from Southern Song.

File:明梅花形玉花头簪.jpg|Ming jade hairpin decorated with flowers.

File:Ming Gold Hairpins (10093441326).jpg|Ming gold hairpins

File:Tomb of Prince Chuang of Liang (梁莊王) - Hairpins 2.jpg|Tomb of Prince Chuang of Liang-gold hairpins

File:Ming Jade Hairpins & Ornaments.jpg|Ming dynasty Jade Hairpins & Ornaments

File:Ming Hairpins & Gold Earrings (14156513934).jpg|Ming dynasty Hairpins & Gold Earrings

File:Ming Gold Hairpins (10093412995).jpg|Ming Gold Hairpins

File:Ming Gold Earrings and Hairpin (9979248486).jpg|Ming Gold Earrings and Hairpin

File:Ming Gold Earrings and Hairpin (9979198744).jpg|Ming Gold Hairpin and gourd earrings

File:Hair pin from China, Qing dynasty, nephrite, HAA.JPG|Hairpin from China, Qing dynasty, nephrite,

File:Silver gilt Qing Dynasty hairpin.jpg|Qing dynasty hairpin, Silver gilt

Phoenix (Fenghuang) hairpin originated in Qin dynasty and had an upper part made of gold and silver while the feet was made of tortoise shell; it later evolved into the fengguan during the Song dynasty. The fengguan then continued to evolve further in the Ming and Qing dynasties, and in the modern republic.{{Cite journal |last=Cheng |first=Hui-Mei |date=2001 |title=Research on the Form and Symbolism of the Chinese Wedding Phoenix Crown |url=https://www.koreascience.or.kr/article/CFKO200111921178119.pa1ff8ge |journal=Proceedings of the Korea Society of Costume Conference |pages=59–61}} In the Han dynasty, an imperial edict decreed that the hairpin with fenghuang decorations had to become the formal headpiece for the empress dowager and the imperial grandmother. The Fenghuang is an auspicious bird in Chinese tradition and is believed to represent the empress or the bride in a wedding.{{Cite web |title=Phoenix hairpin |url=https://www.roots.gov.sg/Collection-Landing/listing/1386401 |access-date=2022-10-22 |website=www.roots.gov.sg}} Phoenix hairpins were also made and used by Peranakan women after settling in the Straits as part of their wedding headdresses.

File:南宋银鎏金凤凰衔花簪.jpg|A pair of fire-gilded silver phoenix hairpins of the Southern Song dynasty.

File:Ming-Qing Gold Earrings & Hairpin (9979192834).jpg|Ming-Qing Gold Earrings & phoenix Hairpin

File:Tomb of Prince Chuang of Liang (梁莊王) - Phoenix Hairpins.jpg|Golden phoenix hairpins from the tomb of Prince Chuang of Liang, Ming dynasty, 15th century

The {{transl|zh|chai}} is a type of hairpin with double or multiple pins. The double-pin {{transl|zh|chai}} evolved from the {{transl|zh|zan}}; it was frequently found in Chinese poetry and literature as it played an important symbol and as a love token.

File:Jin (Western & Eastern) Silver Hairpin (14177500943).jpg|Jin dynasty (Western & Eastern) Silver Hairpin

File:Hairpins Tang Guimet MA2257–58.jpg|Tang dynasty {{transl|zh|chai}}.

File:Ming Gold Hairpin (10093365364).jpg|Ming dynasty gold hairpin

File:元金簪.jpg|Yuan dynasty chai.

File:牡丹龙凤纹金钗03563.jpg|peony gold hairpin

File:Hairpin, China, Tang dynasty, 618-907, silver, gilt - Royal Ontario Museum - DSC04137.JPG|Tang dynasty,silver,gilt - Royal Ontario Museum

File:Tang Gilded Silver Hairpins.jpg|Tang Gilded Silver Hairpins

File:Ming Gold Hairpin (16928808649).jpg|Ming Gold Hairpin

File:Hairpin-MA 97-IMG 0446-black.jpg|Silver hairpin of Tang Dynasty

File:Liao Gold Hairpin (14156467735).jpg|Liao dynasty Gold Hairpin

File:Tang Gilded Silver Hairpin (9833859183).jpg|Tang Gilded Silver Hairpin

File:Ming Dynasty Silver-gilt Hairpin 2.jpg|Ming dynasty gold chai

The {{transl|zh|buyao}} was an elaborate and exquisite form of hairpin which denoted noble status. It was generally made of gold and was often decorated with jewels (such as pearls and jade) and carved designs (such as in the shape of dragons or phoenix). It looked similar to a {{transl|zh|zan}}, but one of its main characteristics is its dangling features, which gave it its name {{transl|zh|'buyao'}} (lit. "shake as you go" or "that sway with each step" or "step shake").{{Cite thesis|last=Wu|first=Yiqian|date=2020|title=A Study of Historical Transformation and Cultural Change in Chinese Dian-cui Jewellery [Thesis]|url=https://hdl.handle.net/2123/24005|journal=University of Sydney|pages=21, 30, 33, 43–44|hdl=2123/24005}} The {{transl|zh|buyao}} became popular in the Western Han dynasty.

File:清金凤簪.jpg|Qing dynasty gold phoenix {{transl|zh|zan}} hairpin.

File:MET 1978 428 1 O1.jpg|Buyao, 18th century

The {{transl|zh|diancui}} hairpin, also known as "kingfisher feather hairpin",{{Cite web|title=Kingfisher feather hairpin from China|url=https://collection.maas.museum/object/188707|access-date=2021-05-06|website=collection.maas.museum|language=en}} were made using the traditional Chinese art of {{transl|zh|diancui}}.

File:Tian-tsui (kingfisher feather) hair pins.jpg|Kingfisher feather hairpin.

File:Hairpins, China, 20th century, silver, kingfisher feather, pearl, coral, jade - Fernbank Museum of Natural History - DSC00064.JPG|Kingfisher feather hairpin

File:The Childrens Museum of Indianapolis - Chinese cricket-shaped hairpin.jpg|Tian-tsui cricket-shaped hairpin

The Flower-hairpin headdresses is a generic term which was used to refer to the jewelry and headdresses worn by the Song dynasty Empresses and imperial concubines.{{Cite book|last1=Zhu|first1=Ruixi|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/953576345|title=A social history of middle-period China : the Song, Liao, Western Xia and Jin dynasties|last2=朱瑞熙|date=2016|others=Bangwei Zhang, Fusheng Liu, Chongbang Cai, Zengyu Wang, Peter Ditmanson, Bang Qian Zhu|isbn=978-1-107-16786-5|edition=Updated|location=Cambridge, United Kingdom|pages=26–27|oclc=953576345}} The Flower-hairpin headdresses were decorated with flower hairpins. Different numbers of flowers were used depending on the imperial consorts' ranks and specific imperial rules were issued on their usage.

Jin Chan yu yue ({{lang-zh|c=金蟬玉葉)|p=Jīn chán yù yè}}) Known as the "gold cicada on a jade leaf" hairpin, or {{transl|zh|"jin zhi yu ye"}} "Jin zhi yu yue" ({{lang-zh|c=金枝玉葉)|p=Jīnzhīyùyè}}) (lit. golden branches and jade leaves) a homonym for the Chinese idiom "one of noble birth",{{Cite web|last=Liu|first=Fang|date=2011|title=Rare collections of the Ming and Qing Dynasties|url=https://europe.chinadaily.com.cn/culture/2011-04/06/content_12280357.htm|url-status=live|access-date=2021-05-06|website=europe.chinadaily.com.cn|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506023109/https://europe.chinadaily.com.cn/culture/2011-04/06/content_12280357.htm |archive-date=2021-05-06 }} a type of Ming dynasty hairpin in the shape of a cicada made of gold sitting on a piece of jade carved in the shape of a leaf.

The Tiaoxin ({{lang-zh|c=挑心)|p=Tiāo xīn}}) is a Chinese hairpin worn by women in the Ming dynasty in their hair bun; the upper part of the hairpin was usually in the shape of a Buddhist statue, an immortal, a Sanskrit word, or a phoenix. The Chinese character {{transl|zh|shou}} ({{lang|zh|寿}}, "longevity") could also be used to decorate the hairpin.{{Cite web |date=2020-12-04 |title=Traditional Chinese Hair Jewelry - Ming Style Diji & Tiaopai |url=https://www.newhanfu.com/9228.html |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=www.newhanfu.com |language=en-US}}

• Hairpin
• Hair stick
• List of Hanfu headwear
• {{transl|ja|Kanzashi}} - the Japanese equivalent
• {{transl|ko|Binyeo}} - the Korean equivalent
• Fengguan - phoenix crown

{{Types of Han Chinese clothing}}

Category:Chinese headgear

Category:Confucian culture

Category:East Asian traditions

Category:Fashion accessories

Category:Hairdressing

Category:Rites of passage