Feb., 1912. Jade. 249 



3. Ornaments for Headgear and Hair 



Ceremonial headgear was utilized to a large extent during the Chou 

 period. The ceremonial cap mien was surmounted by a rectangular 

 board (yen) in horizontal position from which twelve pendants of 

 globular jade beads, six in front and six behind, were suspended, strung 

 on varicolored silk threads. This headdress was worn in connection 

 with the robe embroidered with dragons by the Son of Heaven, when he 

 sacrificed in the ancestral temple. 1 These jade pendants are called 

 yii tsao; the word tsao is a general term for aquatic plants which is fre- 

 quently mentioned in classical literature (Bretschneider, Botanicon 

 Sinicum, Part II, p. 224) and appears also as an ornament embroidered 

 on the robes of the emperor and the officials. In a similar manner, as 

 the word tsao denotes also an elegant composition, a meaning derived 

 from the fine shape of the leaves of the plant, so it became emblematic 

 of the jade pendants gracefully hanging down like the leaves waving 

 over the pond. 



Not only the emperor, but also the officials were entitled to this 

 ceremonial headdress, yet the number of pendants was graduated 

 according to their ranks. "The cap of the Son of Heaven had twelve 

 pendants of jade beads set on strings hanging down, of red and green 

 silk; that of feudal princes (chu hou), nine; that of the great prefects 

 of the first class (shang tai fu), seven; that of the great prefects of the 

 second class (hia tai fu), five; and that of the ordinary officers (shih), 

 three. In these cases, the ornament was a mark of distinction." 2 

 None of these pendants, as far as I know, have survived to the present 

 day. 



But another jade ornament is preserved which Wu Ta-ch'eng pre- 

 sumes served for the decoration of a headdress. This is a round flat 

 button called k'i (Giles No. 1048) which was sewed on to the front 

 of the conical leather cap pien, worn by the emperor and all officials 

 (Biot, Vol. II, pp. 152, 234). 



Besides the two specimens here figured (Figs. 154 and 155) Wu gives 

 two plain ones. All four have small holes on the lower face, three of 



1 Legge, Li Ki, Vol. II, p. 1. Couvreur, Vol. I, p. 677. In the illustration on 

 p. 676 and repeated in his Dictionary on p. 541 which is derived from the Leu king 

 t'u, the beads appear as strung on threads; nevertheless Couvreur (Dictionnaire, 

 p. 927) speaks of bands ornamented with embroideries in five colors and provided 

 with pearls of jade. 



2 Legge, Li Ki, Vol. I, p. 400. Couvreur, Vol. I, p. 549. Biot, Vol. II, p. 235. 

 According to the regulations of the ceremonial of the Han, the Emperor wore a jade 

 hat with nine strings of jade beads hanging down in front and behind (yii kuan kiu 

 Hang). 



