Guan (冠) is a general term which refers to a type of headwear in [[Hanfu]] which covers a small area of the upper part of the head instead of the entire head.  The Guan was typically a formal form of headwear which was worn together with its corresponding court dress attire. There were sumptuary laws which regulated the wearing of Guan; however, these laws were not fixed; and thus, they would differ from dynasty to dynasty. There were various forms and types of Guan.

As the character Guan (冠) is of a homonym another Chinese character pronounced Guan (官) which literally means official; the Guan (冠) became the symbol of officials. Note, this should not be confused with [[futou]] which essentially replaced the Guan as Chinese court wear around the [[Tang dynasty]] (but continued to be worn by Confucian literati until the [[Ming dynasty]], where it became the exclusive headwear of the royal family).

h4. Subtypes
** [[Mian guan]] - Emperor's hat
** [[Xiezhi guan]] - Hat once worn by lawyers.

h4. See also

* [[Tag Group:Attire]]