Evolution of Caps in China

中国帽子的变迁

Cap was invented long ago in China. For example,in Chinese idioms，there are“yi guan chu chu"(neatly dressed both in clothes and in cap)，and“guan mian tang huang"(elegant and stately in dressing，and so on. The“Guan" and "Mian" here refer to cap.

中国很久以前便发明出了帽子。例如在中国成语中有“衣冠楚楚”(形容衣服和帽子都穿戴得十分整齐)和“冠冕堂皇”(形容衣着十分端庄高贵)等等。在这里，“冠”和“冕”指的都是帽子。

The code of wearing caps was an important part in China's costume code;when a man reached the age of 20，he began to wear cap，and on that occasion there was a ceremony called“Guanli(Ceremony of the Cap )”，indicating that he had grown up.

戴帽子的规范是中国穿衣规范中的重要组成部分:当男子到了二十岁时，他便开始佩戴帽子，这时就要举行一个称之为“冠礼”(佩戴帽子的仪式)的仪式，表明他已经长大成人。

The cap in ancient China was not the same as that of the present. It had only a narrow ridge¹ covering only part of the calvaria，not like today's cap that covers the whole head.

古代中国的帽子与今天的帽子不太一样。它只有一个窄窄的顶端来盖住头的部分地方，不像今天的帽子能够将头整个遮住。

Since the cap came into being，hierarchical rule in terms of social status was associated with it: a poor person with a low social status was not allowed to wear a cap. The rule on cap wearing was different from dynasty to dynasty.

帽子出现之后，社会地位方面的等级规定便与之联系在一起:社会地位较低的穷人不允许戴帽子。各个朝代对佩戴帽子的规定也不尽相同。

In the Han Dynasty(206BC一220AD )，the shape of the cap was already similar to that of today. A cap must be matched with a headband. People from lower classes could only wear a headband，and a minor² was only allowed to wear a hollow headband. The influence of such a rule lasted until the Ming Dynasty(1368-1644).

在汉朝(公元前206年至公元220年)，帽子的外形已经与今天的样子很像了。帽子必须配上头巾。身份低微的人只能戴头巾，而未成年人只能允许戴空的头巾。这条规定一直影响到明朝(1368一1644 )

In the Ming Dynasty, the Wushamao( black gauze cap ) appeared in the official uniform.‘’Mian" appeared earlier than“guan"，and generally refers to“mian"(crown)specially used by the king or emperor. Only when the son of the emperor succeeded to the throne could he be coronated(Jiamian，in Chinese，meaning offering the crown ).Laborers³ could only wear a headband mostly for wiping off the sweat, and later it served as a cap.

到了明朝，官员的制服出现了乌纱帽。“冕”的出现要比“冠”早些，而且通常指的是国王或皇帝专用的’‘冕”(王冠)。只有当皇帝的儿子继承皇位之后才能加冕。劳动人民只能佩戴头巾，这主要是为了擦拭汗水，之后头巾便发挥了帽子的作用。

Chinese caps have their own national features. In ancient times，people of the Liao(907一1125)and Jin(1115一1234)Dynasties usually wore fur caps，and people of the Yuan Dynasty(1201一1368)usually wore helmet-style caps and hats. Moreover，there were little colorful cap of the Uygur, felt cap of the Tu，fox fur cap of the Mongolian，and so on. In daily life，cap(hat) has also such functions as cold protection，warm keeping，and decoration.

中国的帽子具有其自身的民族特色。在古代，辽(907一1125)金(11151234 )时代的人们通常佩戴毛皮帽子，而元朝(1206一1368)人们通常佩戴盔式帽。此外，还有维吾尔人戴的彩色的小帽子，土族戴的毡帽，蒙古族戴的狐皮帽等等。帽子在日常生活中还具有御寒、保暖以及装饰的作用。