Recently, the crew released spoilers, and the flower – adorned hairstyles of Ju Jingyi and Chen Duling came into the public eye. However, some netizens said: For Chen Duling’s flower – adorned hanfu hairstyle, why does it seem that the flowers are too big and her head is too small? It looks a bit strange.

Ⅰ. What Is E Ji?

Regarding Chen Duling’s hairstyle, it is guessed that its inspiration comes from this hairstyle in Zhou Fang’s Ladies with Head – ornaments (《簪花仕女图》). This hairstyle has often been imitated in movies and TV dramas, but it’s rarely surpassed. The industry believes that the creative style of this painting is speculated to be from the Five Dynasties period and not earlier than the late Tang Dynasty. The greatest essence of this hairstyle lies in the “E Ji” (峨髻, a kind of high – coiled and curved hairstyle). If the hair bun doesn’t reach a certain height, the flowers will appear too big and the head too small, resulting in an uncoordinated proportion.

If it were just about high hair buns, there were countless high hair buns in the Tang Dynasty. So, what exactly does “E Ji” mean? “峨” means high and towering, and it is even higher than the common high hair buns we usually see. With such a great height, it’s inevitable that “it’s cold on the heights” (a metaphor for being in a high position with certain difficulties). At that time, there was a trend of whitewashing peace through indulgence in pleasure, and the excessive and exaggerated makeup and hairstyles were used to highlight the decadent atmosphere among the nobility. As can be seen in similar paintings and figurine works, this kind of hair bun is at least as long as or longer than the length of a face.

When it comes to whether a hairstyle is comfortable or not, proportion and balance are very important. Some netizens have made some slight post-production adjustments to Chen Duling’s flower – adorned hairstyle. It can be seen that after such adjustments, the visual proportion of the hairstyle is indeed much more comfortable. After adding the U-shaped hairpins, the overall hairstyle is also balanced towards both sides. To a certain extent, it forms a visual balance with the height of the hair bun and the width of the hairpins. After these PS adjustments, doesn’t the one on the right look better visually?

II. Popular Hairstyles

If you are a big fan of traditional Chinese costume dramas, you will know that these three dramas, from left to right, are Flourished Peony, A Dream of Splendor, and Peaceful Years, which were aired in recent years. They are simply so graceful and luxurious, as if the women of the Great Tang Dynasty have stepped out of the murals. Have you ever wondered why the “E Ji” appears in so many dramas? It seems to be very popular and has even inspired the hairstyles of countless characters in movies and TV shows to follow suit.

In fact, as early as the 1980s and 1990s, many early Tang-style movies and TV dramas referred to the flower-adorned hairstyle in this painting. It can be seen that even though there is a time span of two or three decades in modern times, the classic hairstyles still remain popular. This is enough to show the charm of traditional costume hairstyles.  

So, on the screen, there are many combinations of flower – adorned high buns, wide-sleeved robe, and hezi skirt (诃子裙) sets. It’s really not an overstatement to say that the hairstyle in this painting is the “original inspiration for the Tang – style makeup and hairstyles in movies and TV dramas.” Nowadays, there are also those that use skirt sets tied to the chest to replace the original style. For example, the clothing in Chen Duling’s set of hairstyles (on the left side of the cover ) uses the design of a large – sleeved robe paired with a skirt set with a narrow waist.

As for Ju Jingyi’s flower – adorned hairstyle, it is a common bun style in the Tang and Song dynasties. Similar hairstyles can often be seen in the character hairstyles of movies and TV dramas like
The Story of Pearl Girl (《珠帘玉幕》) and Perfect Match (《五福临门》). The front area is in an obvious split – style, with a bun coiled on the top of the head, which can visually widen the entire hairstyle.

Another key element of the flower – adorned hanfu hairstyle is the flowers. If the flowers are either too big or too small, if their colors are inappropriate, or if the quantity and proportion are uncoordinated, it will be impossible to fully capture the essence of the entire hairstyle. Moreover, it’s very likely to make the hairstyle look unbalanced. In the paintings of our predecessors, we can see that if the E Ji isn’t extremely high, it’s actually suitable to adorn it with small flowers for decoration. Additionally, pairing it with coiled buns can add more variety to the hairstyle.

Ⅲ. Some Tips

If you ask me why, despite having consulted a lot of information about Hanfu, your self – assembled hair accessories seem a bit messy, you can refer to the following points:

1. Select one decoration as the main one and place it in the middle of the head to make the entire hairstyle centrally symmetric.

2. Or create an asymmetric hairstyle. Arrange the hair accessories you currently have in an asymmetric way according to your hairstyle. Clearly distinguish the main and auxiliary parts of the hair accessories. For example, if you place a large and heavy hair accessory on the left side, you can put a small and light – weight one on the right side.

3. You can also match them in a series. If it’s a pearl – related decoration, try to use accessories from the pearl series. If they all have metal tassels, then stick to that style. However, there are always exceptions to everything. You can use your imagination to create new hairstyles. If you have any new ideas, you can also post them in the comment section.

Summary

The color of the flowers plays a crucial role. A deep – colored flower can make the overall look solemn, while a lighter – colored one can make it look lively. Therefore, the flower – adorned hairstyles of these two ladies are both excellent in their own ways. After all, everyone’s hairstyle is adjusted according to their face shape. However, if the proportion between Chen Duling’s hair bun and the flowers in her hairstyle could be more harmonious, it might be more visually appealing. Relatively speaking, the makeup and hairstyles in movies and TV shows are gradually getting closer to classical aesthetics. This is also a way of paying homage to clothing culture. It just takes some time and stages to understand and explore in – depth.