Research on the Form and Symbolism of the Chinese Wedding Phoenix Crown

Along with the development of culture, dress of the Chinese people has also evolved over the last several thousand years, transcending its original functions of covering and protecting the body. As a result it has risen to become a complicated system of symbols full of intricate meanings. According to de Saussure's theory of "signs," signs are represented by the elements signified (meaning) (referent) and signifiant (sound) (exponent). "Phoenix crowns" were the headpieces most highly esteemed by women in ancient China. Actually, the name "phoenix crown" points to the fact that the headpiece is adorned with a phoenix design. The history and symbolism of the phoenix crown's use as a headpiece in Chinese weddings spans 1200 years in all, originating in the Qin Dynasty (241-210 BC) as a phoenix hairpin, evolving into the phoenix crown during the Song Dynasty (960-1276 AD), and continuing through the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1644-1911 AD), and the modem republic. It is not simply an ornamental headpiece, but instead represents the thousands of years or rich inner meaning the Chinese attribute to "dragons" and "phoenixes." This paper depicts the glorious past of phoenix crowns, using the metaphor and metonymy theories of semiology and semantics, and through the cross-verification of literature research archeological findings and reports, and old Chinese wedding photographs, in order to examine the inherent meanings of the phoenix crown in the Chinese culture.nings of the phoenix crown in the Chinese culture.