Futou

Futou (simplified Chinese: 幞头; traditional Chinese: 襆頭/幞頭; also pronounced and written as putou), also known as fu (幞) and toujin (頭巾), was one of the most important forms of Chinese headwear in ancient China with a history of more than one thousand years. The futou first appeared in Northern Zhou under the reign of Emperor Wu where it became prevalent. It was also commonly worn in the Tang and Song dynasties.^: 319 The futou was typically worn by government officials. The futou was originally turban-like headwear which was tied at the back of its wearer's head, with the two corners going to opposite directions and acting as decorations. From the Sui to the Ming dynasties, the futou evolved and was developed based on the fujin. The futou eventually came to assume a variety of shapes and styles.^: 319 The shape of the futou worn by the government officials in the Song and Ming dynasties, the latter known as the wushamao (烏紗帽), was based on the futou of the Tang dynasty.^: 71–72

The futou was also introduced in both Unified Silla and Balhae^: 135 and continued to be worn by government officials until the late Joseon.^: 25 The futou with a jinzi (lining) was also introduced back in the Sogdian areas in Central Asia spreading to the Western regions through the Xinjiang region. The futou with jinzi was also introduced in Japan during the Nara period through Prince Shōtaku. Đại Cồ Việt was introduced to the futou in the late 10th century and adapted various iterations from the Early Lê to the Nguyễn dynasty.^: 171