Chinese Imperial Clothing

Dress in the Qing Imperial Court...

Dragon Robes... 

A member of the Imperial Court may have worn this blue silk robe in the late 1800’s during the Qing Dynasty. Eight dragons, symbols of the emperor’s power, are woven or embroidered on the outside of the robe, while a ninth dragon is inside to protect his heart. The dragons are known as imperial dragons because they have five claws. Such five-clawed dragons could only be worn by the imperial family and members of the imperial court...

Dragon robes are rich in symbolism.  The most significant features are symbols for the parts of the universe ruled over by the Chinese emperor under his mandate from heaven.  The striped area at the hem represented his rule over the oceans and its waves.  Above that came the land with its mountains, and the sky with its clouds.  Taken together, these were also symbols of the permanent unity and prosperity of the empire.  Other symbols abound, including one with a meaning opposite to that in the west:  the bat.  While in the west the bat symbolizes misfortune, in China bats are symbols for happiness and good fortune...

At one time the court’s demand for new robes of all types kept 100,000 weavers working on 7,000 looms.  Thousands of embroiderers were needed to further embellish the robes.  Of these, dragon robes were the most elaborate.  It is estimated that two and a half years of labor were required for one dragon robe...

Fine silks were worn by imperial court members since the early Han dynasty (206 B.C.E. – 220 C.E.). Long before that, the thin fibers of the mulberry silkworm’s cocoon had been discovered and woven into fabric. Early evidence has been found in China of silk production that dates as far back as 3630 B.C.E., during the Neolithic period. Silk production rapidly spread all over China, and lengths of silk eventually became China's most successful trading commodity along the Silk Road. Even the name of the Silk Road is derived from the lucrative trade in silk that dominated its network of overland trade routes between China, India, and Europe. Today, China remains the largest producer and exporter of silk in the world... 

The blue dragon robe on display can only hint at what Margaret Howard collected. In the category of Chinese clothing alone there are 41 robes, 20 jackets, 40 skirts, 98 sleeve bands, and 22 collars, all silk and beautifully embroidered. Most of the silk pieces in the collection date from the late 19^th century to the end of the Ching dynasty in 1912. Since textiles can be damaged when exposed to light, only a few can be exhibited at one time and then for no more than six months. After that, they are rotated back into the temperature-controlled vault. In the photographs are examples from each of these categories...

Click on the first photo to view the slide show.

Dress in the Qing Imperial Court...

There was never a doubt about a person's status and rank in the Qing Imperial Court—the clothes said it all. When the Manchu Qing rulers ousted the Han Ming dynasty in 1644, the new government outlined the only acceptable court dress. This was intended to clarify everyone's rank and status.  Eventually the Qing even codified it in The Illustrated Catalogue of Ritual Paraphernalia, so that all Han as well as Manchu officials would conform to the emperor's wishes...

Color became the major indicator of status. Yellow, considered the most auspicious color, was reserved for the emperor and his royal family. Blue, the official Manchurian Qing dynasty color, could be worn by minor princes or noblemen, as could brown. Blue-black fabric was for court officials... 

Clothing for conducting government business included the well-known jifu, or dragon robe, featured here in blue. Because the Manchu had a horse-riding tradition, this robe had a side-fastening jacket and featured horse-shoe cuffs, which were originally designed to cover a rider's hands in bad weather. The robe showed symbols of water and waves at the base, then symbols of the land with a central mountain, and finally cloud symbols of the heavens above, which combine to signify the emperor's total authority over the whole universe. The five-clawed dragon, universal symbol of the emperor, featured prominently. High ranking officials had eight five-clawed dragons visible, with a ninth dragon hidden inside a front flap... 

 A jifu robe was worn with a collar, a hat, a long string of court beads, and an outer coat displaying a rank badge. This badge was an embroidered square worn on the back and front. Civil and military ranks were each divided into nine levels, with birds denoting a civil rank and real or mythological animals indicating a military rank. Civil ranks were awarded to scholars following grueling exams based on Confucianism and the classics of Chinese literature.  Military ranks were awarded after tests on military subjects and skills. The Qing Manchu rulers adopted this system of governance by meritocracy that had existed in China since 1391...  

Proper attire was also regulated by season. The dates, and even the exact hours, for changing from one season to the other were strictly outlined. Winter robes would be lined or edged with fur and padded. Summer robes would be lined with silk or made of gauze and worn over cool jackets of bamboo. A black summer gauze outer robe with rank badge can be seen in the John Fielder and Donita Van Horik Display Case outside the Breslauer Room... 

Women's Clothing...

Women were seldom involved in court proceedings, so few examples remain of a woman's dragon robe jifu. However, women did wear the same rank badge as their husband or father, and rare examples of these are in the Howard collection. They wore the rank badge on an outer coat or a fringed vest called a xiape. A popular custom grew of placing the bird or animal insignia mirroring her husband’s, so that that they would be facing each other when they were seated together at official functions... 

Affluent women wore a combination of a side-or-front fastening robe over a wrap-around pleated apron skirt. These robes were decorated lavishly with embroidery. By the time of Empress Dowager Cixi, toward the end of the Qing dynasty in 1912, the vogue among noblewomen was for bold, floral designs.  Robes were embellished further with sleeve bands embroidered with flowers, butterflies, or figural scenes. The silk skirts were likewise beautifully embroidered on the front aprons and even on the inside of the narrowest of pleats. Examples of three of these skirts are framed and hanging in the Breslauer Room and another one is in the president’s office...

Decorative Techniques...

Decoration comprises much of the aesthetic value of Chinese imperial court clothing, and great attention was paid to achieving perfectly woven silk fabric and exquisitely stitched embroidery. One of the special techniques of weaving was known as kesi or cut silk. It created the appearance of cut threads in blocks of colors on the robes. Embroidery featured special techniques, too. The so-called “forbidden stitch" was said to be so fine that it would cause blindness. Of course, we have no evidence of this, but this seed stitch or Peking knot was often used for detailing in small areas. Another special technique was called couching, where gold-wrapped silk thread would be laid on top of the fabric and held in place by over-stitching...

Xun, Zhou and Gao Chunming. 5000 Years of Chinese Costumes. Edited by: The Chinese Costumes Research Group of the Shanghai School of Traditional Operas. The Commercial Press Ltd. Hong Kong. 1988

Whitfield, Susan. Life Along the Silk Road. University of California Press. Berkeley. 1999

“World Leaders in Silk Production.” World Atlas. Accessed November 8, 2023. https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/world-leaders-in-silk-production.html.

“Silk History.” Silk Road. Accessed November 6, 2023 http://www.silk-road.com/artl/silkhistory.shtml/

“Collecting Guide: Chinese Robes.” Christies. 2023 Accessed October 30, 2023.  https://www.christies.com/en/stories/chinese-robes-collecting-guide-fe2dc4625607402dac039311320a3700