Quick Answer: What Are Chinese Shubi Combs?
Shubi (梳篦, shūbì) is a Chinese term for combs and fine-tooth combs. A shu (梳, shū) is a comb used to arrange hair. A bi (篦, bì) has closely spaced teeth that can help clean hair.[1][2]
- Grooming: An Eastern Han lacquer box preserves four carved wooden combs.[3]
- Ornament: A Tang comb top preserves a mother-of-pearl decoration from the visible part of a comb.[4]
- Workshop: In Changzhou, wooden combs and fine combs use distinct materials and production steps.[1][2]
Check the spacing of the teeth and the context of the object to understand how it was used.
A comb in a grooming box and a comb worn above the forehead can serve different tasks. Look at what survives first. Teeth, the top of the comb and a container can each tell you something different.
Read the Spaces Between the Teeth
The teeth on a grooming comb guide strands of hair. In the Changzhou tradition, one fine-comb type has closely spaced bamboo teeth with some flexibility. It is used to remove debris from the hair. For a surviving comb, compare the gaps as well as the size of the tool.[2][3]
Compare a Han Comb Box and a Tang Comb Top
An Eastern Han dynasty dry-lacquer box contains four carved wooden combs. The box is 5.7 centimeters long and has silver decoration. Here the four tools survive in one small container of a type associated with toiletry kits.[3]
A mother-of-pearl comb top dated to the eighth or ninth century is 10.2 centimeters long. Decorated combs were worn in the hair in the late Tang dynasty and after. This piece preserves the visible upper part. The material of the missing teeth requires separate evidence.[4]
What Changzhou Makers Used
The national heritage entry for Changzhou, Jiangsu, records bamboo, cattle bone and lacquer for one fine-comb tradition. It also records wood such as boxwood for wooden combs. The entry describes more than 70 operations for the fine comb and 28 for the wooden comb. Those counts describe the Changzhou methods for the two types.[1]
The same craft record includes carving, drawing, engraving, heat marking and inlay among ways to decorate combs. The top can carry ornament while the tooth edge does its work. To identify a comb worn in a hairstyle, look for evidence of its placement as well as its decoration.[1]
Tell a Grooming Tool From a Hair Ornament
A silver comb measuring 8.9 centimeters wide is dated to either the Song or the Ming dynasty in its catalog. The alternate dates show the limits of identifying a period from a material or shape. A comb found in a grooming set or shown in a coiffure has a different kind of context.[3][4][5]
Look for the row of teeth before assigning a type of hair ornament. Chinese buyao are read through the moving elements, while huasheng can be read through the shape and festive use of the ornament.
FAQs About Chinese Hair Combs Shubi
What is the difference between shu and bi?
Shu refers to a comb. Bi refers to a fine-tooth form. In Changzhou, one bi uses tightly spaced flexible bamboo teeth.[1][2]
Were historical combs worn in the hair?
Yes. Decorated combs became visible accessories in some late Tang and later hairstyles. The row of teeth could sit inside the coiffure, leaving the decorated top visible.[4]
What does a comb top preserve?
It preserves the upper part of a comb and can show its materials and design. Use other surviving parts or an object record to identify its teeth.[4]
Fuentes
[1] China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network. Changzhou Comb Making
[2] China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (Red del Patrimonio Cultural Inmaterial de China). Comb-Making Workshops in Changzhou
[3] Musée Cernuschi. Lacquer Box With Four Combs
[4] The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Tang Mother-of-Pearl Comb Top
[5] The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Silver Comb