Guan (headwear)
Guan (), literally translated as hat or cap or crown in English, 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  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 ; however, these laws were not fixed; and thus, they would differ from dynasty to dynasty. There were various forms and types of . Cultural significance and symbolism 
In ancient China, there were various forms of headwear, which included  (),  (),  (),  (), and  (). The code of wearing  forms a crucial aspect of the Hanfu system. According to philosopher Wang Chong in Lunheng; 
In ancient China, Han Chinese men had to undergo a capping ceremony called  as their coming of age ceremony where a guan was placed on their head by a respected elder. The  started by the nobles of the Zhou dynasty and eventually spread to the civilians. The  was eventually forcefully ended during the Qing dynasty. When worn together with  (), a  can form a set of attire called  (); this set of attire could be used as an indicator of its wearer's social status, age, occupation, and educational background. As the character  () is a homonym another Chinese character pronounced  () which literally means official; the  (冠) became the symbol of officials. History 

In the early history of , sumptuary laws regulated the wearing of  based on one's social status; as such, the poor people with a low social status were forbidden from the wearing of . These laws, however, varied from dynasty to dynasty. Zhou dynasty 

As recorded in Rites of Zhou and Book of Rites, clothing became one of the principles of rites and ceremony, hence guan became a foundational item for etiquette and ritual. During the Zhou dynasty, the main types of  used were  and  (弁冠). The  was the highest rank of guan and could only be worn by the rulers, the feudal lords and nobles in sacrificial ceremonies, such as the Heaven worshipping ceremony and the ancestors worshipping ceremony, and in conferring ceremony. The  followed strict regulations based on social hierarchy with the number of beads tassels indicating the ranks of its wearer; for example, the Emperor wore twelve beads tassels while the lowest rank officials wore only two beads tassels. The  was the second highest  after the  and was divided into two types:  and . The  was red and black in colour. The  was decorated with 12 beams of white deer-skin, had an arched top, wide edges, and was decorated with many colourful jades in its seams. Warring States period 

During the Warring States period, King Wuling of Zhao adopted the  policy and a -style , which looks similar to the conical hat of the Scythians, was adopted. King Wuling's  -style  was less pointy than the actual Scythian hat and he decorated his hat with a marten tail to denote his noble status. The King of Qin later give the -style  of King Wuling to his servant as an insult to King Wuling after the latter had destroyed the regime of the Zhao state. King Huiwen of Zhao later wore the same -style  as his father, King Wuling; and therefore this type of  was named  (). Many years later, the  evolved into the military cap called  (). A  decorated with pheasant feathers became known as  () by the Han dynasty; the  was first worn in the state of Zhao to distinguish military officers during the Warring States period. The  was possibly derived from the -style  adopted by King Wuling through  policy. The snow pheasant () was a symbolism of martial valour and courage due to its association with the snow pheasant which would fight its opponent until death. Qin dynasty 
In the Qin dynasty, the  continued to be worn to distinguish military officers; by that time onward, the use of  had spread throughout the whole empire. Han dynasty 

In the Han dynasty, only people from distinguished background were allowed to wear . During this period, there were many forms of , such as  worn by the Emperor,  worn by dukes and princes;  worn by the civil officials, and  (武冠) worn by the military officials. The  was decorated with two pheasant feathers on either sides and was worn by specialized member of the Han dynasty military. Sui dynasty 
Emperor Wendi of Sui established a new attire system by basing himself on the system of the Cao Wei, Western Jin, and Northern Qi dynasties; however the Sui dynasty system was incomplete. It was under Emperor Yangdi that more reforms took place in accordance with the ancient traditions and that the appearance of the ritual headwear were reformed. The  continued to be worn by the Emperor Yangdi. He also wore  (弁冠) which was distinguished by a gold mountain-symbol called  (博山). He also wore another kind of  called  (武弁), which was lighter and simpler in terms of designs when compared to the . The  was traditionally worn by the military officials, and it was derived from the  which was worn by the court officials. The  became the favourite  of the Emperor Yangdi when he went on cuttings; such as hunting trips, military expeditions, and other related ceremonies. He also allowed his ministers and the other government officials (military and civil officials) to wear the . The  (進賢冠) was worn by the civil officials at the court. The court censors wore the  (卻非冠) under the reign of Emperor Wendi as their official headgear, but it was later replaced by the  (獬豸冠) by Emperor Yangdi which would distinguish its wearer's rank through the use of various materials. Tang dynasty 
In the Tang dynasty, the  was replaced by the  in the official clothing system. Song dynasty 

In the Song dynasty, the Emperor wore the  while the crown prince wore  (遠遊冠). The  was worn by the literati which continued the long tradition. It was also generally worn by the  and those who were dedicated to adhere to the ancient courtesies and etiquette. Some literati would also wear the  () on summer days in order to not exposed their topknot. Under the reign of Emperor Huizong, all Confucian temples were ordered to upgrade their images of Confucius by adding a  with 12 beaded-tassels on its depictions. Ming dynasty 
In the Ming dynasty, the  was only reserved to the Emperor and the members of the royal family; they were only suitable on formal occasions. The emperor wore  (翼善冠). Types of historical guan 

 Diaochanguan (貂蟬冠) / longjin ()
 
  (鶡冠) –  a military guan decorated with pheasant feathers. ()
 
  (弁冠):  and 
  () 
  (束发冠) – a type of 
 Tongtianguan/  ()
  ()/  (大冠)/  (武弁大冠) –  was derived from the 
  ()
  ()/ faguan ()
  (翼善冠)
  (遠遊冠)
  (趙惠文冠)

Gallery

See also 

 Guan Li

 Hanfu
 List of Hanfu headwear

Notes

References 

Hanfu
Chinese headgear