Liangmao

This article is about the cool hat worn by the Hakka people. For the liangmao hat worn by officials of the Qing dynasty, see Qing official headwear.

Liangmao (Chinese: 涼帽; lit. 'cool hat'), also known as Hakka hat^[1][2] and Hakka bamboo hat,^[3] is a traditional bamboo and/or straw hat worn by the Hakka people who perform manual work, such as farming and fishing.^[1][4][5] Hakka women wore it when working in the fields.^[6][7] The liangmao is made and is most commonly worn by the Hakka people who were originally from Northern China.^[4] The liangmao is a typical symbol of Hakka culture^[7] and is a "unique feature of Hakka culture";^[8] it is also the "most public symbol associated with the Hakka".^[2] Some Hakka women still wear the liangmao when working outdoors nowadays.^[5] It also worn by non-Hakka women who work outdoors.^[2]

Liangmao
A Hakka woman wearing the traditional Hakka hat, called Liangmao.
Chinese name
Chinese	涼帽
Literal meaning	Cool hat
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Liángmào
English name
English	Cool hat/ Hakka hat/ Hakka bamboo hat

History

Popularity and decline

Gankeng town is the home of Liangmao village.^[8] The people of Gankeng have been making liangmao for more than 200 years.^[3] After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Gankeng town was the biggest producer of liangmao.^[7] In the 1970s and 1980s, every household in Liangmao Village would produce liangmao which would then be exported to Southeast Asia, Britain, and France.^[7][8] In the late 1970s, the liangmao lost its market appeal and the demand for the hat shrank.^[7] In 2002, the last Hakka hat maker died; and no more residents of Gankeng town made the hats anymore.^[7]

Intangible cultural heritage

• In 2006, the Gankeng bamboo hat was included on the Shenzhen Municipal Intangible Cultural Heritage list.^[3]
• In 2013, the Hakka hat-making craft was added to the Guangdong's provincial intangible cultural heritage list.^[7]

Cultural inheritors

• Zhang Guanxian and Zhang Hangyan, who are both veterans liangmao craftsmen, were named as the inheritors of the Hakka liangmao.^[3]

Monuments

• Liangmao Baby - a statue of an ethnic Hakka girl wearing liangmao was erected on 29 September 2016 in Gankeng New Town, Longgang district of Shenzhen, Guangdong province, as a new municipal mascot.^[7]

Construction and design

Liangmao, lit. 'cool hat', now stored in Shenzhen Museum.

The design of the liangmao reflects its functions as a hat designed for farming and fishing:^[4]

• The liangmao is made of a flat disc of woven bamboo and/or straw.^[4][1][5]
• There is a hole in the centre of the hat which is trimmed with black embroidered cotton.^[4] The lack of crown on top of the hat allows the head to remain cool.^[4]
• Around the outside edge of the hat, there is a fringe or veil of black (sometimes blue^[5]) pleated cotton fabric hanging down.^[4][1] The cotton fringe around the edge of the hat is about 15 cm deep.^[5] The cotton fringe covers the shoulders and give protection from insects.^[4] It also keep the sun off from the face of its wearer, and in winter, the cotton fringe would offer some warmth.^[4]
• In summer, the cotton cloth could be removed, and the hat would be secured by attaching ties through the loops that were attached to the central hole.^[4]

See also

• Hanfu
• Hakka
• Hanfu headgear
• Weimao
• Conical hat