Scarf and hat were the ornament for ancient Chinese. People wore them on head to match the dress. The earliest scarf and hat were made of heavy cloth or leather to keep warm. With the development of social system and human ethical code, Crown and Costumes became part of “social etiquette”. It’s an important symbol to distinguish people’s ranks and social status. From the emperor and his concubines down to ordinary people, their head ornaments varied in shape and material. In general, the emperor and imperial concubines wore crown while the civilians wore scarf and hat.
Scarves were made of cloth originally used as wiping sweat, later used as wrapping around the head. Hats evolved from scarves. The difference between hats and scarves lied in whether it’s sewn up or not. Wearing hat was much easier than wrapping scarf around the head so the scarf was gradually replaced. Hats were most made of hair felt to keep warm.
Ahead of Qin and Han Dynasties (206B.C.-220A.D.), common people wrapped their heads with black and cyan cloth. At that time, hats were worn by the ethnic minorities in the Western Regions. In the Central Plain, only children wore hats.
At the end of Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220), because scarves were widely used among the dominator and scholars irrespective of restriction, they became even more popular. Princes and aristocrats used scarves as hairdo known as Fu Jin to follow the chic deliberately. Fu Jin was made of a square piece of cloth. Hair buns were wrapped by Fu Jin, tied on the forehead. Scarf at that time was in square. People had to wrap and tie each time when they wore scarves. Later lapped sewn scarves in different shapes appeared which were easy to use. Jiao Jin of Eastern Han Dynasty was one of them. As hats became more diverse, they were beloved by more and more people.