Prevod

Long ago, in the army of Emperor Wu of Wei, men began making white caps for no apparent reason. Such plain white attire was an ominous sign of death and mourning. At first, a seam was sewn across the front to distinguish it from the back, and these were called “caps with a face.” The fashion spread. By the Yongjia era, the seam was gradually dispensed with, and they were called “faceless caps.” Meanwhile, women bound their hair ever more loosely, until even their tightly tied topknots could no longer stand upright; their hair hung over their foreheads, leaving only their eyes visible. “Faceless” spoke of shame; a covered forehead showed the look of humiliation. The ever-looser binding signified that all beneath Heaven had abandoned ritual propriety and righteousness and given free rein to their passions, until, at the furthest extreme, they would come to utter disgrace. Two years later came the turmoil of Yongjia. The realm fell apart, and the common people, grieving amid calamity, had no face left with which to go on living.