Head ornaments
Hairpins and hair clasps were everyday embellishments in old China. During the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing Dynasties (1644-1911), women’s hair ornaments expressed traditional Chinese thought and culture in exquisite, sophisticated techniques.
The generic term for hairpins and hair clasps is ji. A one bar ji keeps coiled hair in place, and a two bar ji is a feature of the hairstyle itself. Before the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) both Chinese men and women wore their hair in a coiled bun with a ji to keep it in place.
The fashionable designs and diverse patterns of these ornaments made them a favorite ornament with women of all social strata.
Fashioned in materials that included jade, gold, silver, ivory, bronze and carved wood, the style, materials and craftsmanship of these hair ornaments reflected both social status and Chinese ethnic culture.
The patterns, craftsmanship, materials and number of hair ornaments a woman wore signified her social rank. Feudal etiquette defined the style of hair ornaments women wore on formal occasions, such as weddings or court ceremonies.
The elaborate buyao hairpin was an exquisite hair ornament denoting noble status. Often encrusted with jewels and featuring carved designs, the main feature of a buyao was its pendants that flatteringly framed the wearer’s face and “danced” as she moved, hence the name buyao, which literally means “shake as you go”. This ornament was generally made of of gold in the shape of a dragon or phoenix and adorned with pearls and jade.
Hair ornaments worn by women of wealth also took the form of gold flowers encrusted with jewels depicting flowers or animals.
Among popular decorative patterns were auspicious birds and beasts, such as the dragon, phoenix, crane, deer and the 12 animals of the Chinese “zodiac.” The deer was considered a propitious animal because its pronunciation in Chinese is the same as that for six, which denotes success. Hairpins in the design of a mandarin duck denoted married bliss.
Patterns of flowers and fruit-bearing trees featured the peony, lotus flower, plum, guava and asphodel. The five petals on a plum represent blessings, high-salary, longevity, luck and wealth.
Designs depicting auspicious objects included musical instruments, chess pieces, calligraphic characters, and the “four treasures of the scholar’s studio” comprising the calligraphy brush, ink stick, ink slab and paper. But to the women of ancient China the ji was far more than just a hair ornament. The ji ceremony, which bestowed a hairpin upon a young woman when she reached the age of 15, was a rite of passage signifying that she had reached marriageable age.
A hairpin also functioned as a love token. When Chinese lovers of ancient times were forced to part they would often split a hairpin, both keeping a half with them at all times until they were reunited.
Before the Qing Dynasty, both Chinese men and women would wear their hair in a coiled bun and use a hairpin to keep it in place. And women’s hair ornaments were more exquisite than men’s. A variety of women’s hairpin styles were recorded in ancient documents, including hairpins, hair clasps, buyaos (hairpins with pendants) and gold flowers etc.
Way back in the Neolithic Age, women began to use jewelries like hairpins. In the feudal society, wearing a hairpin would symbolize a girl’s coming of age. And a hair-pinning ceremony would be held to mark the occasion. In ancient times, a hairpin was also a symbol of personal dignity. Criminals were not allowed to wear hairpins. Hairpins and hair clasps were basically similar to each other, but a hairpin was a one-strand fastener while a hair clasp was a two-strand one.
Those precious hair ornaments handed down from previous generations or unearthed as relics witnessed the passing of thousands of years, holding sweet and sad memories of the past.
Tags: buyaos, hair clasp, hairpin, Jewelries, pendant
Please, can you PM me and tell me few more thoughts about this, I am actually fan of your blog…
You made some good points there. I did a investigate on the matter and found most people will agree with your blog.
I just be in love with your weblog! Very nice post! However you can do many things to improve it, and i will be back.
Hey very nice blog!! Man .. Attractive .. Amazing .. I will bookmark your blog and take the feeds also…
Hello Guru, what entice you to post an article. This article was particularly fascinating, in particular since I was looking for thoughts on this subject last Saturday.
Hi, I found your blog on msn. I’m pretty happyto have found your websitebecause I think it is amazing! I hope you don’t mind I retweeted this interesting post?
I would like to thank you for your good work on this post. We are also working on our blog and I have already bookmarked some of your posts. Peter
I’m so glad to have found your web page. My pal mentioned it to me before, yet never got around to checking it out until now. I must express, I’m floored. I really enjoyed reading through your posts and will absolutely be back to get more.
Added to my favourites list and added to my blogroll.
thanks !! very helpful post!
thanks !! very helpful post!
Took me time to read all the comments, but I really enjoyed the article. It proved to be Very helpful to me and I am sure to all the commenters here It’s always nice when you can not only be informed, but also entertained I’m sure you had fun writing this article.
I’ve recently started a blog, the information you provide on this site has helped me tremendously. Thank you for all of your time & work.
I keep listening to the news speak about getting free online grant applications so I have been looking around for the best site to get one.:)
I really liked your blog! It helped me alot…
You are making a lot of good issues inside your post and would likely go along with the majority of.
I keep listening to the news speak about getting free online grant applications so I have been looking around for the best site to get one.:)
Not the greatest english speaker, but I loved reading this. By the way, the bottom of your page doesn’t seem to load properly (I am using IE8).
Exceedingly well written post you wrote here. As 1 blogger to another, I recognize how tough and how much energy it takes to come up something substantial. You have my respect.
Pretty insightful post. Never thought that it was this simple after all. I had spent a good deal of my time looking for someone to explain this subject clearly and you’re the only one that ever did that. Kudos to you! Keep it up
I am really thankful to the author of this post for making this lovely and informative article live here for us. We really appreciate ur effort. Keep up the good work. . . .
thanks for the post. I am very happy to read this post. . . . .
This is my first time i visit here. I found so many entertaining stuff in your blog, especially its discussion. From the tons of comments on your articles, I guess I am not the only one having all the leisure here! Keep up the excellent work.
I was just browsing for relevant blog posts for my project research and I happened to stumble upon yours. Thanks for the useful information!
Hrmm that was weird, my comment got eaten. Anyway I wanted to say that it’s nice to know that someone else also mentioned this as I had trouble finding the same info elsewhere. This was the first place that told me the answer. Thanks.
I definitely enjoying every little bit of it. It is a great website and nice share. I want to thank you. Good job! You guys do a great blog, and have some great contents. Keep up the good work.
I am not really sure if best practices have emerged around things like that, but I am sure that your great job is clearly identified. I was wondering if you offer any subscription to your RSS feeds as I would be very interested.
That is some inspirational stuff. Never knew that opinions could be this varied. Thanks for all the enthusiasm to offer such helpful information here.
awesome post. I have discovered for myself just how flexible WP is, as a hosting platform for your website. you literally have everything you need to publish a website at your fingertips, through WordPress. thanks.
I love your blog – super effort!
I enjoyed reading your interesting yet very informative insights. I am looking forward to reading more of your most recent articles and blogs.
Thanks for posting this info. I just want to let you know that I just check out your site and I find it very interesting and informative. I can’t wait to read lots of your posts. . . .
You really make it seem so easy with your presentation but I find this topic to be really something which I think I would never understand. It seems too complicated and very broad for me. I am looking forward for your next post.
You know what, I liked this.
Hi there may I use some of the information here in this post if I provide a link back to your site?
I agree with you plus it surely gonna guide number of people.
Hey – great blog, just looking around some blogs, seems a really nice platform you are using. I’m currently using Wordpress for a few of my blogs but looking to change one of them over to a platform similar to yours as a trial run. Anything in particular you would recommend about it?
I am happy to find so many useful information here in the post, we need develop more strategies in this regard, thanks for sharing. . . . . .
Why didn’t I find this post earlier? Keep up the good work!
This is a strongest place for such kind of articles, your site is a inspiration for me. i got so much benefits and good results after visiting here and the grace is increasing day by day in your posts. The above information is extremly essential.
I’d have to say, you picked your wods pretty well. The insight you presented are well positioned.
This is a subject near to my heart thanks, needed some more images maybe.
I’m not actually too familiar with this topic. I a bit more so just like to stop by blogs for layout tips and points like that. But you in fact developed a subest that i often care absolutely nothing about exceptionally intriguing. This can be a very good blog to design mine immediately after. I hope you do not mind if i bookmark your websites, in order that i can effortlessly get it once more within the future. Cheers.