Quick Answer: What Are Quanzhou Bridal Headdresses?
Quanzhou bridal headdresses vary by community and wedding practice. In one documented Minnan hairdressing rite (上头, shàngtóu), an officiant pins a small phoenix ornament (凤冠, fèngguān) to the bride’s bun. In Xunpu, a flower ring (簪花围, zānhuāwéi) can be paired with a crescent pin and other ornaments associated with marriage.[1][2][3]
- Support: A bun can carry an ornament or hold the pins that secure it.[1][2]
- Materials: The Xunpu examples include flowers, gold and silver components, and historically a comb with a shell base and metal decoration.[2][3]
- Use: A piece can mark a moment in the wedding or become part of a bride’s longer-term dress.[1][2]
The community, occasion and specific ornament are useful details when describing an image.
A small ornament placed during a ceremony and an arrangement of flowers around a bun can both appear in Quanzhou wedding dress. To understand either, ask when it was put on and what goes with it.
The Hairdressing Rite and Its Phoenix Ornament
In an account from Quanzhou Evening News, wedding officiant Huang Yulan describes using a wooden comb and a fine-toothed comb in a short sequence of gestures above the couple’s heads. After the rite, she pins a small phoenix ornament to the bride’s bun. Placing the ornament marks the completion of the rite in her account.[1]
The report describes different timings in different places. Some families hold separate rites before the bride is escorted to the wedding, while others bring the couple together after the escort. The small ornament in Huang’s account is fastened directly to the bun. The term “phoenix crown” can refer to that accessory in descriptions of this particular ceremony.[1]
The Xunpu Bride’s Comb, Pin and Earrings
Quanzhou’s local reporting names three pieces associated with Xunpu marriage dress: a comb traditionally made of tortoiseshell, a crescent hairpin (月牙簪, yuèyázān), and hooked earrings. Historical tortoiseshell examples have a curved back and gold decoration. A small retaining pin attached by a chain helps secure the comb. The local account also describes newer examples made with substitute materials. A historical comb’s base material and metal ornament are separate parts of its construction.[2]
The crescent pin has a decorated head and two silver prongs in the examples described. Small ornaments can represent bees and a butterfly. A chain and secondary pin help hold it in place. The guide to Chinese hairpins explains the difference between a single shaft and the forked construction.[2][3]
In the custom described by Xunpu practitioners, a woman wears the crescent form at marriage and afterward. A round-headed variant is associated with grandmothers. The earrings are also part of the local change in adornment. Together, these pieces give more information about the ensemble than the flower arrangement alone.[2]
Flowers in Daily, Festive and Bridal Dress
Provincial reporting describes exchanges of flowers at several stages of Xunpu wedding customs. Flowers also appear outside weddings. The wider Xunpu women’s customs were entered in China’s national intangible cultural heritage list in 2008. Xunpu flower headdresses explains the local bun and flower strands, and Chinese zanhua places flower wearing in a wider context.[4][5]
Contemporary visitor photographs can show a flower arrangement alongside clothing chosen for the portrait. For a historical or family photo, captions and local descriptions are more useful evidence of a wedding than color alone.[2][6]
The headwear of nearby Hui’an offers another reminder to check the community first. The heritage description identifies a yellow hat and square patterned scarf as part of a distinct coastal dress tradition. Those pieces tell you about clothing and local life before they tell you anything about a wedding.[7]
FAQs About Quanzhou Bridal Headdresses
Does every Quanzhou bride wear a phoenix crown?
Local dress and ceremony vary. A documented Minnan ceremony uses a small phoenix ornament on the bun, while the Xunpu account emphasizes a different set of ornaments.[1][2]
Is a Xunpu flower-ring portrait necessarily bridal?
No. Flower rings can be worn in daily and festive settings. Modern photography studios also dress visitors in them.[2][6]
Why do earrings matter to an account of the headdress?
Xunpu sources describe them alongside the comb and crescent pin as part of bridal adornment. Their forms can also carry meanings related to age and marriage in that local tradition.[2]
出典
[1] Quanzhou Evening News. Minnan Wedding Customs and the Hairdressing Rite
[2] Quanzhou Evening News. The Gold Ornaments of Xunpu Women
[3] Quanzhou Municipal Government. Xunpu Flower Headdress Craft, Consultation Draft
[4] Fujian Provincial People’s Government. Customs of Xunpu Women
[5] China Intangible Cultural Heritage Digital Museum. Customs of Xunpu Women
[6] Fujian Provincial People’s Government. Flower Headdresses and Oyster-Shell Houses
[7] China Intangible Cultural Heritage Digital Museum. Hui’an Women’s Dress