Hairpin Dragon
Hairpins are the most practical of hair accessories, but in ancient China hairpins hold far more meaning than the humble bobby. They symbolise an important rite of passage, marking, upon her fifteenth birthday, a girl’s advent into adulthood. Prior to this age, a girl wore her hair in braids, but afterwards she would comb her hair into a bun decorated with pins. This also signified she was of marriageable age.
Chinese hairpins were made from many different materials that proclaimed social status and wealth. The women of rich families wore gold, silver and jade hairpins, inlaid with precious stones or kingfisher feathers. Poorer women had to make do with wood or bone hairpins, and perhaps would only ever own one silver hairpin in their whole lives. Sometimes an entire hairpin collection could be shown-off at once, inserted into a bun in a sunray shape, or as part of a headdress.
Chinese headdressIn a charming reversal of the Western tradition of giving an engagement ring to the bride-to-be, a Chinese fiancée would take a hairpin from her hair and present it to her fiancé as a pledge. After the wedding, the new husband would place the pin back into his new wife’s hair.
I purchased my dragon hairpin in Hong Kong, from an antique store in the Cat Street Market. I love the little dangle hanging from the dragon’s muzzle. I’ve no idea of its provenance, but it is probably made of brass. It’s quite sharp enough to double as a weapon too, à la the film Crouching Tiger, Hairpin Dragon (teehee).
Find out more about Chinese hairpins at the Hairpin Museum.
Two hardstone-inlaid silver floral hairpins, Qing dynasty, 19th century
Gold plated silver hairpin with phoenix, Liao Empire (907–1125)