Fengguan

, also known as phoenix coronet or phoenix hat, is a type of for women in. It was worn mainly by noblewomen for ceremonies or official occasions. It is also traditional headgear for brides and could be worn in set of Traditional Chinese wedding dress attire, such as the.

Terminology

literally means "phoenix crown", a name that originates from its adornments: phoenixes made of inlaid kingfisher feathers, as well as gold dragons, beaded pheasants, pearls, and other gemstones. One of the earliest phoenix crowns that has been excavated belonged to Empress Xiao of the Sui dynasty. The type became most popular during the Ming dynasty, with many changes made over time.

History

evolved from, the Chinese hairpin worn by empresses and emperor's concubines. The wearing of was issued by Emperor Qin Shihuang. It was in Eastern Jin that the word first came up; however, it was referring to the hairpin which was imitating the comb of Chinese phoenix.
The earliest discovered was the crown of Empress Xiao of the Sui dynasty, unearthed from the Emperor Yang of Sui's tomb in 2013. The crown was made under the order of Emperor Taizong of Tang after the empress's death. ; later, a replica was made based on the studies.

Construction and design

feathers were extremely rare during the Ming dynasty and were potentially sourced from Cambodia. The numbers of phoenixes, dragons and precious gems on each crown is different. For example, the phoenix crown of Ming Empress Xiaoduanxian has 6 dragons, 3 phoenixes, 5,449 pearls, 71 rubies, and 57 sapphires. Other phoenix crowns of empresses excavated from the Ming tombs have 9 phoenixes, between 12 and 9 dragons, more than 3,500 pearls, and more than 150 gemstones. The pearls, gemstones and kingfisher feathers were made into ornamental flowers, leaves, clouds, and temple ornaments. The weight of the entire crown can range from.

Styles

There are different varieties of. The number of dragons, phoenixes, and pheasants, in addition to the presence of certain ornaments was dictated by rank.

Empresses

is the 12-dragons, 9-phoenixes crown.
is the 9-dragons, 9-phoenixes crown.
is the 9-dragons, 4-phoenixes crown.
is the 6-dragons, 3-phoenixes crown.
is the 3-dragons, 2-phoenixes crown.
Only the crowns of empresses and crown princesses could have temple ornaments adorned. The empress's crown had 6 blades of temple ornaments.

Imperial concubines and princesses

, and, adorned with beaded pheasants and gold phoenixes, are worn by royal concubines and princesses, with the number of pheasants representing the wearer's royal rank. The crown princess can only have 4 blades of temple ornaments

Noblewomen

All other noblewomen/wives and daughters of officials wear the, where the crown is just adorned with pearls and gemstones. Phoenix crowns worn with have no strings of pearls by the sides of the head. Noblewomen cannot have temple ornaments on their headdresses.

Wedding

Coloured hats worn by commoner women on their wedding ceremony during the Ming and Qing dynasty was also called. The practice is believed to have started during Southern Song when the Emperor rewarded a girl for saving his life. Women wearing the as part of their set of wedding clothing has been a long tradition in the area of Zhejiang. The was a symbol of good fortune. However, women who were remarrying for a second time and who were to be become a man's concubine were not allowed to wear.