#zanhua

簪花/zānhuā? It however is not a specific term for men but all acts of putting flowers on the hair are called such. Everyone could put flowers on their flowers. It was most popular for men to do so during Tang and Song dynasty. People still did it in the later period but it was not as common.

Hi, thanks for the question! (image via)

I have a post with some shop recommendations for traditional Chinese hair accessories for hanfu here, and you can also check out my hair ornaments tag for all my posts related to hair accessories. I also have a hair accessory recommendations tag. With that said, here’s a more comprehensive list of my recommendations for Chinese hair accessories shops on Taobao (click name for link to Taobao page):

1) Xun Zan Ji/寻簪记 - A large variety of elegant designs that make heavy use of floral themes and pearls:

2) Shui Mo Jiang Hu/水墨江湖 - Light, ethereal designs in gradated colors (my personal favorite!):

3) Feng Xue Chu Qing/风雪初晴 - Airy, feminine designs bursting with delicate details:

4) Jing Chen Xuan/静尘轩 - Traditional designs for a more formal and/or mature look. Has a gorgeous collection of gold filigree pieces, including lotus crowns:

5) Qing He Ji Yi/青荷记忆 - A wide assortment of classic styles showcasing traditional motifs (the ornaments in the top image of this post are from this shop). Notable collections include graceful crowns (guan) and lovely silk flowers:

6) Hua Yue Sha/花月砂 - Beautifully crafted designs mainly in gold and silver, including filigree, with gems providing pops of color: 

7) Chai Dian Fang/钗钿坊 - This shop specializes in Chan Hua/缠花 (wrapped flowers), a traditional Chinese craft of making floral hairpins with fine textiles:

8) Yangzhou Feiyi Ronghua/扬州非遗绒花 - This shop specializes in Rong Hua/绒花 (velvet flowers), a traditional Chinese craft of making floral hairpins from fine silk on twisted wire frames:

9) Xi Qing/喜晴 - This shop has a gorgeous collection of crowns suitable for weddings, including phoenix crowns (fengguan/凤冠), among its treasures:

10) Hui Shou Zuo/翙手作 - This shop’s intricate pieces are truly works of art:

Of course there are a lot more great Chinese hair accessories shops out there, but hopefully this gives you a place to start ^^ 

Finally, I’ll leave you with this self-deprecating meme image (“Ladies who wear hairpins will never admit defeat!”) that pokes fun at how hanfu lovers can get addicted to buying the many different types of Chinese hair ornaments :P

Hi, thanks for the question! 

Yep, you’re right - the Cdrama “The Empress of China” sometimes uses Japanese-style fabric flower hairpins (see example below) that are culturally and historically inaccurate (then again, Chinese costume dramas are notorious for being loose with sartorial historical accuracy…):

So let’s now take a look at actual Chinese fabric flower hairpins:

The umbrella term for Chinese flower hair ornaments is Zan Hua/簪花 (lit. “flower hairpins”), which includes fresh flowers as well as artificial ones made from fabric, paper (Zhi Hua/纸花), beads (Zhu Hua/珠花), etc.

Traditional Chinese fabric flower hairpins used with Hanfu include (but are not limited to!):

1) Juan Hua/绢花: “Silk flowers” - flower imitations made from silk fabrics of various colors. Dates back to more than 1,700 years ago, and was the main ornament for women during the Tang Dynasty. In 2008, Beijing Juanhua was officially designated as an intangible cultural heritage of China.

2) Chan Hua/缠花: “Wrapped flowers” - using colorful silk threads to wind flower art onto fixed frames. The technique of wrapping flowers originated during the Ming dynasty and flourished in the Qing dynasty. Notable for being small, delicate, and lifelike. Has been designated as an intangible cultural heritage of China.

3) Rong Hua/绒花: "Velvet flowers” - made from fine silk on twisted wire frames. Dates back to the Qin Dynasty, and was a marker of nobility. Eventually became popular among the common people during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, and was mainly worn during festivals and weddings. In 2006, Nanjing Ronghua was officially designated as an intangible cultural heritage of China. 

For more resources, you can check out my Zanhua tag for my posts on Chinese floral hair ornaments, as well as my sub-tags for Chanhua and Ronghua.

Of course this doesn’t cover everything, but hope this helps! ^^

Hi! Thanks for the question, and glad you love my blog ^^ 

Please check out my post on the names of Chinese hair ornaments here - it contains links to four resources with detailed information on the history of Chinese hairpins. I also recommend going through my hairpin tag for additional information and visual references. Hope this helps!

In the past few months, I have been working with the Gibson House Museum in Toronto to develop an exhibition inspired by Chinese zanhua (lit. flora-wearing; 簪花) & floral fashion around the world, and this art installation is titled "Flora, Luna-Corona 团花·月華".

For folks from Toronto, Canada:

Accompanying the exhibition, from 1-4pm on this Saturday (July 22), I am hosting a two-part event with my collaborators, Ange & Alaina, at the Gibson House Museum: