The origin of the green hat

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"Green hat" is a term that Chinese men avoid like the plague; the mere mention of green is enough to make them turn pale. Not only hats, but even headwear cannot contain any color or word related to green. Inadvertently mentioning the word "green" in casual conversation can instantly lead to a falling out and the end of a friendship. This demonstrates the profound fear Chinese men have of being cuckolded. There are various explanations for this uniquely Chinese phenomenon of "green fear," and it's impossible to determine which is more accurate or true. However, this phenomenon has become a widely accepted consensus among men. Today, I want to explore not the historical reasons for this "green fear," but rather its evolution in the present day.
One explanation goes like this: In ancient times, there was a couple. The wife was beautiful and charming, attracting many suitors. The husband, a businessman, frequently traveled for business, and over time, the wife grew lonely. Finally, she couldn't resist and began an affair with a cloth seller in the market. While her husband was away on business, they would engage in illicit relations. Once, the husband stayed home for three months without going out, which worried the cloth seller so much that he kept pacing around their neighborhood. One day, the husband went hunting outside the city on horseback. Passing through the market, the cloth seller was overjoyed, assuming he was going out to do business again. That very night, he eagerly sneaked into his wife's bedroom to meet his lover. Unexpectedly, the husband returned and almost caught him red-handed. The wife was terrified, and the cloth seller had to tremble under the man's bed all night. After this incident, the wife asked the cloth seller for a piece of green cloth and made a hat for her husband. She made a promise with the cloth seller: "When you see my husband wearing a green hat going out, you can come." A few days later, the husband was about to leave on business again. The wife quickly took out the green hat and said to him, "The wind and sand are strong outside; wearing this will keep your hair clean. Besides, this color makes you look very handsome. From now on, I'll make you a new one every time you go out, as if I'm with you, so you won't worry about me." The husband was delighted, thinking he really looked handsome. So he happily put on the green hat, rode his horse triumphantly through the market, and went off to do business. That night, the cloth seller and his wife had an affair without any restraint. Afterwards, whenever the cloth seller saw the husband wearing the green hat, he couldn't help but feel overjoyed: "Ha! Your green hat is really handsome, but tonight it's my turn to be handsome!" Thus, the saying about the green hat came about.
The second version is that the origin of the green hat dates back to the Yuan Dynasty. At that time, there were no prostitutes in Mongolia. As outsiders, they could have whatever they wanted. On the vast grasslands, men and women, if willing, would immediately use the sky as their blanket and the ground as their bed. When the Yuan dynasty marched south into the Central Plains, they found the brothels run by the people of this supposedly civilized land of etiquette unacceptable. Therefore, the Yuan rulers decreed that prostitutes wear purple robes and men working in brothels wear green headscarves to distinguish them from ordinary people. This practice continues to this day, giving rise to the hat that Chinese men fear most: the green hat.
A third explanation is that the green hat was first invented by a Tang dynasty county official named Li Feng. It is said that during his tenure as magistrate of Yanling County, he decreed that if an official committed a crime, he would not be punished with caning, but must instead wear a green headscarf as a form of humiliation, which could only be removed after a certain period. This is probably the earliest origin of the "green hat." During the Yuan and Ming dynasties, the government further required the men in the homes of brothel owners to wear green headscarves. From then on, wearing a green headscarf or green hat became a way to ridicule men whose wives were having affairs or engaging in promiscuous behavior. Thus, when a woman commits adultery, her husband is cuckolded, a situation described as "green leaves yearning for red flowers."
Regardless of the reasons, the "green hat" (cuckoldry) has driven Chinese men to the brink of madness, giving rise to hatred more important than life itself—the hatred of "killing one's father and stealing one's wife."
However, everything has its cause and effect, and as the saying goes, extremes meet. When something develops to its extreme, it will produce a counterforce. That is to say, it will turn from one extreme to another. The "green hat complex" is no exception. Now, many people's understanding of green hats is quietly changing. This group is mostly white-collar workers and wealthy groups, and the mainstream is open-minded, fashion-leading young and middle-aged people. They are unwilling to be bound by the constraints of established customs and traditions, like to challenge tradition and break the rules, and use reverse thinking to judge things. They are unconventional and surreal. Their biggest difference lies in their acceptance of green hats!
Indeed, they are different, bold, and almost overturn history. These people believe that green hats are just a word, but they have bound the Chinese people for thousands of years, just like the chastity arches that bound Chinese women. For thousands of years, we have lived for it, which is a great tragedy! The biggest difference among these people is that they can accept their wives' infidelity. A wife's infidelity must stem from some shortcomings on the part of the husband, an inability to provide what the wife desires. A high-quality life is something everyone desires. Rather than constantly guarding against a wife's infidelity, it's better to tacitly condone it while aware of it, rather than secretly having a lover. As long as it doesn't destroy the family, it's tolerable. Moreover, the marital bond among these couples is often deeper than in ordinary families, with lower divorce rates and husbands being more considerate towards their wives. The fundamental meaning of the cuckoldry complex has changed; many people have shifted from fear, hatred, resistance, and avoidance to tentative acceptance. We cannot categorically deny this change, treating it like a monstrous flood to be eradicated. There must be a reason for its existence. Even if we deny, suppress, or block it, it's not the best solution; it's merely self-deception. We must delve deeper to explore the essence of this phenomenon. Like a market, where there's demand, there's a market; existence itself is its own justification.

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