Futou
Futou (), also pronounced and written as putou, is a form of Chinese headwear which was commonly worn in the Tang and Song dynasties. It was also typically worn by government officials. The shape of the futou worn by the government officials in the Song and Ming dynasties was based on the futou of the Tang dynasty which is its precursor. The futou was originally a turban-like headwear which was tied at the back of its wearer's head, the two corners would go to the opposite directions thus acting as decorations. With time, the futou came to assume  a variety of shapes and styles. The futou was also introduced in both Unified Silla and Balhae and continued to be worn by government officials until the late Joseon. Terminology. The term putou/futou means "head scarf" or "head-cloth". The term "feet" () is used to describe the hard ribbons used in the futou. History. Origins. There is varying opinions on the origins of the futou in the literature: According to Chinese scholar Sun Ji in the "Cong putou dao toujin"《從幞頭到頭巾》, the futou first appeared in the 3rd century AD and was based on the headdress of a northern tribe . Guzel Maitdinova proposed in 1990 that futou may have been developed from hats worn in ancient Central Asia and was brought in by the Turks from Sogdiana to Tokharistan to China by basing herself on information provided by Hsen Kuo (an 11th century Chinese annalist), ""The Chinese clothes and hats, starting from the time of Northern Qi dynasty represents a barbarian costume"". It is also proposed by Yatsenko that the futou was part of the Chinese male costume. Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern dynasties. In Northern Zhou, Emperor Wu wrapped his head with a futou, which consisted of 4 ribbons , 2 of which were tied at the back and left hanging down, while the other 2 were tied at the top of the head. The futou made by Emperor Wu had to cover the entire head of its wearer and had two ribbons which would be tied behind the wearer's head. Sui, Tang dynasty, and Five dynasties and ten kingdoms period. In the Tang dynasty, the futou was a turban with 2 corners in opposite direction which would be tied at the back of the its wearer's head and two corners would act as a form of decoration ; but with time, the futou was further developed: a ribbon was attached to each corner of the turban to make it more decorative than it previous was. Moreover, by adding wire or silk strings inside the added ribbons, the futou could take different shapes and styles depending on the its wearer's liking. Song dynasty. During the Song dynasty, the futou was popular, and all classes of people ranging from commoners to emperors wore futou.The futou could also be found with supports made out of wood, and therefore they could look like hats and caps of various styles. There  were 5 main types of futou: "straight-feet" futou (also called "flat-feet") which was worn by people of all social classes; "bent-feet" futou, "cross-feet" futou (), "upward" futou and "downwind" futou. In the early Song dynasty, a type futou which was folded and tied at the front region of the head was worn by some people. This type of futou was called the "front-folded scarf". The "back-folded scarf", a type futou which would be bent backward, started to be worn after the Shaosheng period. During imperial court banquets, Song court officials would put flowers on their  futou; this is referred as Flower pinning.