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Jijin or Tsikin (l=ceremonial headgear) was a liturgical headwear permitted for Christian clergy in China during the 17th through 20th centuries as part of the early Jesuit missions' efforts to adapt Catholic liturgical practices to local customs.
Here we should recall what I mentioned above, that among the Chinese it is a taboo, or at least extremely impolite, ever to leave one's head uncovered, since this is the way criminals are taken to the Gibbeting. For this reason Chinese Christians only bare their heads when they confess their sins, to show that they are guilty and worthy of punishment. Since it would have been a scandal for a sacrificing priest to appear without a head covering, they pleaded with Paul V to permit them to respect local custom and not command them to disgrace the sacrifice by allowing the priest to be bareheaded. The pope gave his assent, as long as the head covering was suitable for the sacred and divine action, and differed from a profane hat.
Pope Clement X reaffirmed the permission in 1673. The jijin fell out of use during the early 20th century, during a period of Westernization in China. In 1924, the First Chinese Council was held in Shanghai. The conference brought an end to the use of jijin and Masses in the Chinese language, in order to bring the Chinese Catholic Church into line with the universal Latin Church.
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