What is the cloth on the head of ancient literati?

This kind of cloth is called Confucian towel or square towel, a headscarf worn by ancient literati.

Confucian towel: Qi's "Three People's Meeting": "Confucian towel, the clothes of ancient scholars, the crown of chapters, the crown of today's scholars, and anyone who is not the first." Zhang Fu was a square crown in the pre-Qin period. In the Song Dynasty, Confucius was the "crown of clothes". Later, Confucian scholars all used this Confucian crown and evolved into Confucian towel. People in the Ming Dynasty all wore Confucian scarves.

Square towel: A square soft hat worn by Confucian scholars and Chu Shi in the Ming Dynasty. Also known as "square towel", it is a square soft hat issued in the early Ming Dynasty. The hat worn by officials and Confucian scholars is made of black gauze, and its four corners are square, so it is also called "four-corner square towel".

Difference: Square kerchief and Confucian kerchief in Ming Dynasty were mostly worn by literati. Square towels are mostly worn by reclusive literati officials and scholars, while Confucian towels are mostly worn by juren and students who have not completed their studies, such as scholars. When wearing Confucian towels, they often wear shirts.