Matthijs De Smedt
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#TodayILearned that the Mandarin Chinese word for bangs (the hairstyle) is 刘海 (liúhaǐ), which I found super odd because it looks like someone’s name, so I did a bit of digging.
And turns out…it is someone’s name. Liuhai was the adopted name of a prominent (legendary?) character in Daoist history, who wrote a handful of Daoist texts. He’s often known as 刘海蟾 (liúhaǐchán, literally Liuhai Toad), and he is often drawn playing with a three-legged golden toad and holding a string of golden coins, in a template known as 刘海戏金蟾 (Liuhai playing with the golden toad), and get this…he’s traditionally shown with hair bangs.
And…that’s it. “Bangs” is literally known as “Liuhai’s hairstyle”.
A modern depiction of Liuhai done in traditional watercolor/ink style. Liuhai is shown as a bare-chested, bare-bellied man with a mullet hairstyle and bangs, dressed in a black robe with red belt. He is shown twirling a string threaded through golden coins in the air as he walks with a smile. A three-legged golden toad looks up at him on the ground.
A very colorful, modern day depiction of Liuhai playing with the golden toad. He’s shown as a balding man with a mullet and bangs, wearing a red shirt, blue pants, and an orange and yellow polka-dotted apron, tied with a pink belt. He holds an exaggeratedly long string threaded through golden chinese coins. One end of the string is held in the mouth of a three-legged golden toad.
