In the Song Dynasty, there was an iron or bamboo foot on both sides of the official hat. Why?

In the Song Dynasty, both sides of the official hat were extended with iron sheets or bamboo frames. Now this kind of hat has a unified name-long wing hat. It is inconvenient to wear such an official hat. In fact, there are two explanations for the long-winged hat at present: one is to prevent ministers from whispering, and the other is the result of aesthetic evolution.

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First, its function is to make you inconvenient.

The more inconvenient you are, the person who invented this hat (that is, Zhao Kuangyin) will achieve his goal. This winged hat was invented by Zhao Kuangyin, the founding emperor of the Song Dynasty. The long wings on both sides of the hat are made of iron pieces and bamboo strips. The iron wings on both sides are one foot long (one foot ≈33.3333cm), and then longer.

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So why did Zhao Kuangyin invent such a hat for his ministers? According to folklore, this is because after Zhao Kuangyin became emperor, he felt very uneasy about his colleagues who had fought side by side with him. In order to prevent the courtiers from whispering, Zhao Kuangyin explicitly ordered his ministers to wear this kind of hat. Because he has wings on both sides of his head, it is easy to hurt others by mistake. Over time, no one dares to twist his head easily, and the phenomenon of ministers whispering is less.

As for the hat worn by Zhao Kuangyin himself, there is a saying of setting an example.

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Second, the appearance of the long-winged hat is not accidental, but the necessity of aesthetic development.

As early as the early Tang dynasty, the phenomenon of two "ears" on both sides of the hat already existed. These things called "folding towels" and "hoes" are used as belts to fix hats. In the murals of the late Tang Dynasty, we can find that these "ears" have various shapes, upward or downward, which existed at that time.

With the change of aesthetics, the two belts are gradually elongated, and people are beautiful because of their length. What we are seeing now is actually an expression of aesthetic exaggeration.