In 1979, when John Ang (洪光明) was studying dance in New York City, he often spent his free time visiting museums. That year, the Metropolitan Museum of Art mounted a stunning exhibition of imperial robes from the Ching dynasty (1644-1911), and Ang found himself returning repeatedly to the show. Besides being impressed by the superb quality and condition of the robes, Ang was fascinated by being able to see over two thousand of China's most treasured garments in a foreign country. The exhibition stimulated him to under take formal study of Chinese textiles, and he has become well-versed in the subject.
Today, Ang is director of Artasia, a commercial gallery in Taipei that specializes in Asian antiques and art consultancy. Besides his recognized expertise in China's textiles, Ang also writes on Chinese furniture. In this article, he explains the symbolism used on the robes worn by the Ching imperial family.
Ching dynasty robes are clearly different from those of the earlier Chinese dynasties. Unlike the large robes with wide sleeves preferred by Han Chinese, the Manchurian rulers required that all Chinese men under their rule wear the Manchu-style costume adapted from their earlier riding outfits. This costume can be distinguished by its slimmer cut, long and narrow sleeves, and horsehoof-shaped cuffs.
This style can be seen in the dragon robe or lung-pao (龍袍), a robe worn frequently by the emperor, his relatives, and high officials. The lung-pao is also called the chi-fu (吉服) or auspicious robe, was always decorated with nine dragons. Nine is an auspicious number and the dragon symbolizes imperial authority. Three of the dragons are found on the front of the robe, three on the back, one on each shoulder, and the ninth dragon is covered under the lower right-hand fold of the robe. When the wearer puts on the robe he takes over as the ninth visible and most auspicious dragon.
From the lower hem of the robe, rising diagonally, are lines of different colors representing ripples of water. These are topped with turbulent waves symbolizing the oceans. The prismlike rocks seen just above the waves on the back, front, left, and right represent the four cardinal points-north, south, east, and west, respectively—as well as the traditional four continents. The clouds above, in which the dragons coil and writhe, represent the sky and the rest of the universe. Therefore, when the emperor wore the dragon robe and sat on the dragon throne, he was actually sitting in the center of the fifth and the central continent, China, and he represented the axis around which revolve the oceans, the other continents, and the rest of the universe.
Although all dragon robes combined the same cosmic symbolism, they were not all equal in status. The robes were differentiated according to the wearer by the type of dragon, the color of the robe, and by other symbols. In 1759, after the strict laws governing Chinese clothing regulations were formulated, only the emperor, the empress dowager, the empress, the emperor's first and second consorts, and sons and princes of the first and second ranks and their wives, were allowed to use the five-clawed dragon, while all others used the four-clawed dragon.
Blue and brown dragon robes were worn by princes, nobles, and high officials. Only the emperor, empress dowager, empress, his first and second consorts, and his sons, were allowed to wear imperial yellow robes. The emperor's own robes were unique by having twelve imperial symbols of authority, seven on the front and five on the back. On the front were the sun with a three-legged chicken, the moon with a hare pounding the elixir of immortality, the three-star constellation, an axe, the fu symbol, libation cups with tigers in them, and water weeds. On the back were mountains, a pair of dragons, a pheasant, fire, and millet.
Although these symbols were used on emperors' robes for two thousand years, beginning in the Han dynasty, scholars still have not been able to agree on their actual meaning. In the late Ching dynasty, when the regulations on clothing became lax, even the lowest-ranking official could wear robes with five-clawed dragons. But the imperial yellow dragon robes with twelve symbols were strictly reserved for the emperor throughout the Ching dynasty.
Besides the chi-fu, the emperor and his officials used another type of dragon robe for more formal occasions, such as the annual sacrifices at the Altar of Heaven. This robe, known as the chao-fu (朝服) or court robe, also had narrow sleeves and horsehoof cuffs. How ever, unlike the chi-fu, it was made from two separate units, an upper jacket and a lower skirt. Sometimes these were joined together, some times not. The cut of the chao-fu was also based on the traditional Manchu hunting outfit, which allowed for comfortable riding. It was only slightly adapted for court use. Early chao-fu designs were simple and more closely related to the single piece court robe common in the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). Later, however, the chao-fu evolved into the more elaborate and decorative two-piece court robe. The emperor's chao-fu was yellow and also had the twelve imperial symbols.
The 12 symbols of authority appear on the chi-fu in order of importance and at three levels—near the neck, waist, and knees. Although scholarly opinions differ, some widely accepted Interpretations of the symbolism follow:
1. Sun with three-legged bird—Heaven and enlightenment; three represents yang, the masculine principle.
2. Moon—the rabbit in the moon (not the man in the moon) pounds a pestle containing the elixir of immortality.
3. Three—star constellation-Heaven and the cosmic universe.
4. Axe—power to judge, temporal justice.
5. Fu symbol—discernment of good and evil (one part faces good, the other faces evil).
6. Libation cups with tigers inside—loyalty, bravery, and wisdom; filial piety.
7. Water weeds-purity.
8. Mountain—stability and the earth.
9. Pair of dragons—the emperor's adaptability through transformation or renewal.
10. Pheasant—-education and literary refinement.
11. Fire—intellectual brilliance and virtuous zeal.
12. Plate of millet—the emperor's duly to feed the people.
Whenever he left the palace, the emperor and his officials wore a black outer coat, or surcoat. The emperor's surcoat was called a kun-fu (哀服) thorn by his relatives and officials were known as pu-fu (補服) Badges of insignia were sewn on the pu-fu to signify rank.
The kun-fu consisted of four front-facing, five-clawed dragon medallion badges, or roundels. Each badge would have one of the twelve imperial symbols.
In an old photograph of the last emperor we can see him wearing a kun-fu with four dragon medallions; the three-star constellation can also be seen just above the dragon in the front medallion. Besides the emperor, only princes, which included sons and brothers, were allowed to wear circular dragon medallions. However, these were not all front-facing dragons; some were in profile and others were four-clawed dragons, and none would have any of the imperial symbols. For example, second-rank princes could only wear four roundels with dragons in profile rather than front-facing dragons. In contrast, nobles and officials wore square badges of rank on their pu-fu.
In the Ching dynasty, Chinese officials were divided into nine military and nine civil ranks. Officials in the military ranks were identified by nine different types of real or mythical animals sewn on their pu-fu. Officials in the civil ranks were identified by nine different birds sewn on their pu-fu.
Apart from these standard robes worn by men of importance in the Ching dynasty, there were a few other simpler robes used at home, but none as interesting and decorative as the three types of robes just described.
In Taiwan, people have little opportunity to see exhibits of court robes since they were one of the few treasures from the imperial court that were not brought from the mainland to the National Palace Museum. According to a former curator at the Palace Museum in Peking, there are about ten thousand imperial robes still stored in the Forbidden City, but only a few are ever displayed. Some textile experts have expressed concern about the quality of these storage facilities. Fortunately, the imperial robes that Westerners purchased as collection items in the late years of the Ching dynasty and in the early days of the Republican period have for the most part been carefully preserved.
Private collections and museums now display the robes in all their beauty and splendor. Among some of the best museum collections are those of the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the Textile Museum in Washington, D.C., the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, the Denver Art Museum, and the University of Oregon Museum of Art in Eugene.
Court robes are now appearing for sale at international auctions and also in Hong Kong and Taiwan antique shops. Many collectors and admirers of China's rich heritage hope that one day there will be a museum in Asia that will display the robes that once hung in the wardrobes of the Chinese emperors.