Ji Li is the traditional Chinese coming-of-age ceremony in which a girl received a hairpin, traditionally at age 15.
The rite belonged to the system of traditional Chinese rites known as guan li and ji li. Ji Li was the female counterpart to guan li, the capping ceremony for young men. The name refers to the hairpin used to arrange the initiate’s hair in an adult style.
In traditional accounts, a girl’s hair was worn in a mature arrangement during the ceremony, and the event could mark her readiness for adult responsibilities and marriage. Family ritual, formal clothing, and changes in hairstyle communicated the transition from childhood.
Ji Li should not be confused with guan li, which involved a young man receiving a cap. Nor should it be treated as a modern universal Chinese birthday custom: it was a historical ritual associated with classical social and family traditions, and its practice varied by period, status, and region.