Green hat（绿帽子）：

In Chinese, it is pronounced as: lǜ mào zi，Written as:

The term “green hat” originally referred to a hat of green color but now commonly implies that one’s partner has been unfaithful. It carries a connotation of humiliation and is a phrase rooted in traditional Chinese culture. Typically, it describes a situation in a marital relationship where the wife has a sexual relationship with a man other than her husband. Commonly referred to as “wearing a green hat” or “green turban,” these phrases are steeped in derogatory implications, especially towards men. Within the context of Chinese culture, a man wearing a green hat signifies his wife’s infidelity with another man, thus the term is heavily laden with shame for men. Particularly in ancient times, the grievances of “father’s murder” or “wife’s abduction” were among the most intolerable offenses for men.

Today, the use of the term “green hat” has evolved beyond traditional confines of marriage, gender, and sexual orientation. In contemporary society, it refers to any situation where one partner in an exclusive relationship has an affair with someone else.

The evolution of the term “green hat” has spanned over a thousand years.

In ancient China, green was seen as a color for the lower class. The “History of the Han Dynasty” mentions Liu Piao, a princess of Guantao, whose lover Dong Yan wore a green hood, which was noted by Yan Shigu as “a garb for the lowly.” Li Bai, a poet from the Tang Dynasty, also depicted green as a color worn by the despicable in his poem “Ancient Airs,” which includes the line: “Who is the boy in the green hood, selling pearls for a trifle?”

During the Tang and Song dynasties, shades of green were considered the colors of clothing worn by the lower class. “Wen Jian Lu,” a historical record, notes that during the Tang Dynasty, local officials would not impose physical punishments on criminals but would instead humiliate them by making them wear a green headscarf.

It is generally believed that from the Yuan Dynasty onwards, clothing in shades of green was restricted to prostitutes and entertainers.

By the Ming Dynasty, the emperor Zhu Yuanzhang decreed that males from households of prostitutes must wear a green scarf, a red wrap, and shoes made of pigskin with hair, and they were not allowed to walk in the middle of the street but were restricted to its sides. Thus, seeing a man with a “green hat” became an indication that someone in his household was involved in prostitution or that his wife was secretly unfaithful, making “wearing a green hat” a colloquial term for infidelity.