Headband depicting a fish turning into a dragon

At the time this headband was made, many parents hoped their sons would pass the civil service examination and secure positions at the royal court serving the emperor. Women designed boys’ outfits with symbols of the mothers’ hopes for the wearers. This eye-catching headband shows designs encouraging the boys to earn high degrees.

Here the embroidery depicts a golden carp leaping against the rapids at a red gate—the symbolic border of heaven—beyond which are blue dragons with a flaming ball, surrounded by clouds and peony, a noble flower. This iconic scene represents the mythological claim that, of the thousands of carp that attempted to jump over the dragon gate, only seventy-two could jump it each year. As soon as they succeeded, the fish would transform into dragons, while the ones that failed remained in the “low” form of fish forever.