In ancient times, the coronet was not confined to the male only. At first, the coronet was mostly worn by females in the palace. Emperor Qin Shi Huang once ordered all his concubines to wear Furong (lotus) coronet in summer, decorated with the ornaments woven from the five-colored pith plant.
Among the women coronet decorations used in ritual ceremony, the phoenix coronet enjoyed the supreme position. Over a long period of time, it was regarded by women the tiptop glory to wear the phoenix coronet and the cape. The former almost became the synonym for a noble lady.
Source:
http://traditions.cultural-china.com/en/15Traditions1870.html
