CNST 213 Indicators of Status and Rank in Chinese Apparel

Indicators of Status and Rank in the Ch'ing Dynasty

Color, decoration and quality of materials were the chief indicators of status and rank in the Ch'ing (Qing) dynasty. These were of greatest significance within the imperial court. Color was significant in Chinese decoration. It was used to suggest the relationship of humans to the universe and also distinguished rank and status; this relationship is demonstrated in the chart below. The wu xing or five activities (wood, fire, metal water and earth) are represented by the five colors and are associated with a point on the compass. The wu zing symbolize the qualities of the substances they represent and all phenomenonal existence could be explained by the interaction between the wu xing.

Color	Element	Direction
Blue	Wood	East
Red	Fire	South
White	Metal	West
Black	Water	North
Yellow	Earth	Center

The Emperor was considered the center of power, so he wore yellow. Others wore colors related to how close they were to the center of power. Members of the imperial family wore various shades of yellow. Other nobles wore blue; those of lesser rank wore black. White was reserved for mourning. Red was not utilized much because it had been the predominant color in the preceding dynasty.

An embroidered square badge sewn onto the mandarin (Manchu) robe was use to represent the rank of the official. Called a Mandarin Square, the Historic Costume and Textiles Collection at the University of Delaware owns one to be pictured here soon.

The principal motif on almost all court robes is the dragon. Only the emperor and members of his family were allowed to wear dragons. You can see an example of a Dragon robe from the Ming dynasty at this link (the previous dynasty). It was made approximately between 1600-1644. One can note that it is not from the Ch'ing dynasty because it does not have the horse shoe cuffs typical of Manchu design.

Chinese jacket from the University of Delaware Historic Costume and Textile Collection The Historic Costume and Textiles Collection at the University of Delaware has several Chinese robes in its collection, including the one pictured here.

References
Scott, A. C. (1958). Chinese Costume in Transition. Singapore: Donald Moore
Steele, V. (1982). Fashion in China. Dress, 8-15.
Vollmer, J. E. (1983). Decoding Dragons: Status garments in Ch'ing Dynasty China. Eugene, OR: University of Oregon Museum of Art.

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