Historical Background
This entry concerns the ceremonial court headdress of a woman holding the recognized status of wife of a fuguo gong, or duke who assists the state. That designation was derived from the imperial-clan system of noble titles; it was not a government office personally held by the woman. Women's court headdresses formed part of graded formal dress and must be distinguished from auspicious-dress hats and everyday jewellery. Materials, finials, and permitted quantities of pearl ornament depended on the relevant female rank and regulations.
Forms and Practices
The Illustrated Regulations for Imperial Ritual Paraphernalia, compiled under Qianlong, prescribes clothing and ritual equipment through drawings and written rules. Volume 4 provides identifiable regulations for winter and summer court hats worn by fuguo gong themselves. Those rules do not establish that their wives wore identical finials or peacock feathers. Female headdress provisions require separate consultation of the later costume volumes and original illustrations.
Interpretation and Evidence
Accordingly, the present source supports the existence of a distinct ceremonial question but does not justify an invented list of ornaments for this rank of women. An apparent “68” attached to the old index term may be a page-number artifact. The exact index wording and women's costume specification remain to be checked before final publication.
Sources and Bibliography
References reproduce links supplied with the Chinese research manuscript. Individual historical claims have not all been independently verified against the primary sources.
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