Mianguan



A lit. '"ceremonial headdress"' (冕冠), also called mianguan in China, is a type of crown that was traditionally worn by the Emperors of China, Japan and kings in the cultural sphere of East Asia.

The benkan is a type of crown that originated in China where it was called mianguan; in ancient China, it was worn by the Emperor, by his ministers, and by aristocrats. Among all the type of Chinese headwear, the mianguan was the most expensive type; it was reserved especially for important sacrificial events. Regulations on the shape and its making was set during the Eastern Han dynasty and used in the succeeding dynasties only to be ended at the fall of the Ming dynasty in the 16th century AD.

In Japan, the benkan has been worn by Emperors as a crown since the Nara period when the Chinese-style mianguan was introduced from the Tang dynasty. Emperor Shomu was reported to be the first emperor in Japan to be fully dressed into mianfu (a form of Chinese ceremonial clothing), which included the Chinese-style mianguan in 732 AD during the New Year court assembly.

It is also used in Vietnam, and the monarchs of the Joseon Dynasty also wore benkan.

Emperor's crown
The benkan is a type of ceremonial crown in Japan, also known as the Emperor's ceremonial crown, and was once used together with mianfu (imperial robes) in ceremonies such as accession to the throne and morning prayers. In the Kojidan, it is said that "the crown at the time of the Imperial Festival is that of Emperor Ōjin", and that the crown of Emperor Ōjin was used at the Imperial Festival until the Heian and Kamakura periods. However, the crown did not survive to the present day.

Among the Shōsōin treasures, there is a benkan worn by Emperor Shōmu that has been damaged and is called Onkamuri Zanketsu. The crown does not retain its original form, but there are metal openwork pieces with phoenix, clouds and arabesque patterns, as well as pearls, coral and glass beads threaded through the crown.

The benkan worn by Japanese emperors is often referred to as a "Tang-style crown", but it is actually quite different from the benkan worn in China. The benkan worn by the emperor in the Edo period consisted of a metal frame placed on top of an openwork gilt-bronze base called the "heavenly crown", with forty-eight jewels hanging from the edge of the frame, twelve on each side.

The painting Silken Painting of Emperor Go-Daigo prominently displays the Benkan of Emperor Go-Daigo which is said to be the crown of Emperor Jimmu. The crown differs greatly from the Chinese crown, in that there is a bright vermillion sun decoration protruding from the front of the crown. The crown has twelve tassels spread across all sides rather than merely two as in the Chinese form (six strands as only two sides of the crown are shown in the image), indicating that this is the crown used by the emperor when he is dressed in formal attire.

The benkan worn by Emperor Go-Sai and his successors during the coronation ceremony is preserved in the Imperial Collection of the Kyoto Imperial Palace.

The benkan was used until the coronation of Emperor Kōmei, but since Emperor Meiji, the benkan has been replaced by a kanmuri as the government reformed the coronation to be more Shinto-based rather than Chinese inspired.

Empress' crown (hokan)


The crown of an Empress is called a hokan (宝冠). Whether it can be considered as a type of benkan or a different type of crown is a matter of opinion.

The hokan does not have a crown board or similar metal frame on top of the crown, and there is no hair hanging from the crown board. The other difference between the hokan and the benkan is the phoenix attached to the front of the hokan. There are ornaments hanging from both ears and the beak of the phoenix, which are decorated with flowers. However, the top of the head is decorated with the same sun emblem as the benkan and the same design of Yatagarasu and Zuiun. The hokan is accompanied by a hairpin, a foreign object and a small bow.

The Order of the Precious Crown, established in 1888 (the 21st year of the Meiji) to be awarded to women, is a reference to this, and the center of the insignia is decorated with the image of a precious hokan.

Mian guan (China)
In ancient China, the mianguan was worn by the Emperor and by his ministers, and by aristocrats. Among all the type of Chinese headwear, the mianguan was the most expensive type; it was reserved especially for important sacrificial events.

The mianguan along with the mianfu was used since the Zhou dynasty. The mianfu system was abolished in the Qin dynasty by the First Emperor of Qin and adopted the shenyi system instead, the mianguan was however recorded. The mianguan was not used in Western Han. In the Qin and Western Han, the emperor would another attire called Juanxuan.

In the Eastern Han, Emperor Ming created new clothing regulations for sacrificial rituals and official occasions, prescribing which types of clothing and accessories were allowed to be worn by people of different social rank; this included the mianguan. According to the new regulations, the mianguan was supposed to be worn along with the official clothing only by the emperor, princes, dukes, and ministers on important ritual occasions. The revived crown based on the literature, after which it was then used in rituals and important ceremonies in various dynasties. However, there are mutual contradictions in the descriptions of the documents and their ancient notes, and each dynasty often revised them.

Regulations on the shape and its making was set during the Eastern Han dynasty and used in the succeeding dynasties only to be ended at the fall of the Ming dynasty in the 16th century AD. The basic shape of the Chinese mianguan remained the same from ancient times to the Ming Dynasty. The crown worn by the Ming Dynasty's Wanli Emperor has been excavated from the Dingling Mausoleum, while the one showed in the painting, "Illustrated Scrolls of the Emperors of the dynasties", by Yan Liben depicts the emperors from the Former Han Dynasty to the Sui Dynasty, where the mianguan is almost the same shape as the crown depicted.

Construction and design
The mianguan is composed of:

A long, rectangular wooden board called the mianguan board (yan in the Han dynasty ) was placed on top of the mianguan, with fulls hanging from the front and back of the mianguan board.

In the Han dynasty, the yan was round in the front but flat in the back; it was about 7 inches in width and in length, it was 1 foot. On both sides of the mianguan, there was a hole where an emerald hairpin could pass through so that the crown could be fastened to the hair bun of its wearer. A red band called Tianhe band is attached to the centre of the mianguan and wraps around it. The silk cord was tied on one end of the hairpin and would then be tied on the other side of the hairpin passing under the chin. There was also a chong er (lit "stuffing the ear") located on both side of the mianguan around the ear area; the chong er was a pearl or a piece of jade which symbolized that the wearer of mianguan should not believe in any slander.

The number of tassels depended on the status of the wearer, and the mianguan of the Emperor had 12 tassels at the front and back, for a total of 24 tassels. The 12 tassels dangles down the shoulders and were made of jade beads of multiple colours which would sway with its wearer's movement.

In addition, there was the nine-tasselled crown, worn by dukes and the Crown Prince's servants. The Eight-tasselled crown was worn by princes and dukes. Qiliu mian (七旒冕): Seven-tasselled Crown. Worn by ministers. The five-tasselled crown (wuiu mian, 五旒冕) was worn by viscounts and barons.

The quantity and quality of the jewellery were an important marker of social ranking. In the Han dynasty, the emperor would use 12 strings of white jade, 7 strings of blue jade were used by dukes and princes, and black jade were used for ministers.

Cultural significance
The mianguan was designed to strengthen the charismatic authority of its wearer which was conferred by the head. This is similar to the Mandate of Heaven concept in which there is a rationalization of divine authority.

Related items
Since China is a crown-wearing culture, there were many crowns for different ranks, positions, and times.


 * Feng Guan - a crown worn by an empress (e.g. Phoenix Crown - crowns of Empress Xiao Danxian and Empress Dowager Xiao Jing excavated from the Dingling site, 2 each)

Miện quan (Vietnam)
The Chinese-style Benkan was also used in Vietnam.