Liangmao
Hakka woman
A Hakka woman wearing the traditional Hakka hat, called Liangmao.
Chinese name
Chinese涼帽
Literal meaningCool hat
English name
EnglishCool hat/ Hakka hat/ Hakka bamboo hat

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]

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

Cultural inheritors

Monuments

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]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Davison, Gary Marvin (1998). Culture and customs of Taiwan. Barbara E. Reed. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press. p. 157. ISBN 978-0-313-03214-1. OCLC 49797139.
  2. ^ a b c Constable, Nicole (1994). Christian souls and Chinese spirits : a Hakka community in Hong Kong. Berkeley: University of Calif. Press. p. 12. ISBN 0-585-11231-2. OCLC 44966033.
  3. ^ a b c d "The beauty of Hakka bamboo hat_EYESHENZHEN". www.eyeshenzhen.com. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Womens hat (liangmao) by Hakka people". collection.maas.museum. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
  5. ^ a b c d e Garrett, Valery (2012). Chinese Dress : From the Qing Dynasty to the Present. New York: Tuttle Pub. p. 327. ISBN 978-1-4629-0694-9. OCLC 794664023.
  6. ^ "Hong Kong Museum of History". www.lcsd.gov.hk. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h "Rejuvenating Folk Culture-- Beijing Review". www.bjreview.com. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
  8. ^ a b c "Gankeng, an ancient town hidden in a modern city". www.szdaily.com. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
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