Qing+Cour+Attire_Exh

7/26/2019 Qing+Cour+Attire_Exh

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AttireRoyalCostume

CourtQing

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The Splendour

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Introduction

Te early Manchus were nomads living in the cold mountainsin northeast China subsisting on horseback hunting and

ishing. heir costumes were designed to acilitate theirdistinct liestyle. Afer the Manchus ruled over China proper,traditional eatures reflecting their unique customs and habitsstill ound expressions in their costumes. Examples includetight-fitted cut, narrow sleeves, horsehoo-shaped cuffs, flaredcollars and the lavish use o animal ur. On the other hand,traditional Han decorative motis and colour schemes were alsoadopted to give rise to costumes with distinct characteristics.Te Qing costume system was notably the most elaborate and

vast o all dynasties, strictly governing the wa rdrobes o theemperor, the state officials and the male and emale memb ers othe royalty and aristocracy, on all ormal state occasions as wellas during leisure times in the inner court.

Qing court attire was at the core o Qing costume system.It was characterised by having elaborate rules with minutedetails, a strict hierarchy and a usion o Manchu and Hancultural elements, representing the highest standard o Qingcostume production. hese costumes were elaborate, elegant,luxurious and resplendent, exquisitely woven and embroidered,uniquely decorated and displayed a great variety o cratingtechniques. Tey help conjure up a picture o the liestyle and

preerences o the Manchus, and provide an important meansto understand Qing culture.

Official Costumes

hese were costumes worn on

important ceremonial and sacrificialoccasions including the emperorsenthronement, the New Years Day,the emperors birthday, WinterSolstice and oering sacriice toHeaven, Earth, the Sun, the Moonand the God o Silkworm. Oicialcostumes ranked the highest amongall Qing court attires.

Portrait of Emperor Qianlong in official costume

All images are provided by Te Palace Museum


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Wenxiu, the conso rt of Puyi, the last empero r o f t he Qing

dynasty, in official costume during her wedding.

Lined apricot-yellow court robe of Wenxiu, consort of Puyi,

the last emperor of the Qing dynasty

Eastern pearl court necklace of the Xianfeng period

he court necklace was worn along the court robe. Eastern pearls wereharvested rom the Manchu homeland around Songhua River in northeastChina. Tereore they were very precious. Only the emperor, empress andempress dowager were entitled to wear Eastern pearl court necklace.

Emperor Qianlongs bright yellow quilted court

robe

Bright yellow court robe was mainly worn on theNew Years Day, the emperors birthday, WinterSolstice and important sacriicial occasions such aspaying homage to the Altar o Ear th and Grain andthe Imperial Ancestral Shrine.


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Tese costumes were worn on solemn

and staid occasions such as duringthe asting period o importantsacriicial occasions, during estiveoccasions that ell within the nationalmourning periods, and during deathanniversaries o deceased emperorsand empresses that ell within estiveseasons.

hese costumes were worn onimportant estive occasions such asthe Lantern Festival (the iteenthday o the irst lunar month), theDouble-Seventh Festival (the seventhday o the seventh lunar month) andMid-Autumn Festival (the iteenthday o the eighth lunar month) andduring occasions preceding and afermajor sacrificial events.

Emperor Yongzhengs dragon

robe with ermine lining

Te chest, back, lef and right shoulders, lower ront, lower back andinner lapel o the dragon robe are decorated with a total o ninedragons. When viewed rom either the ront or the back, onlyfive dragons can be seen. Nine-five, a term derived rom ancientChinese divination system, was considered the most superior oall numbers, and thus used to represent the emperor.

Emperor Jiaqings lined blue

dragon robe

he emperor and his consorts wereallowed to wear dragon robe o theiravourite colour and decorat ivemotis to suit di erent est iveoccasions. hereore, estive robeswere also called huayi(ornate dress)or caifu(colourul dress).

Emperor Qianlongs reddish brown quilted

regular robe

here were no strict rules governing the colouro regular robes. Tey were mostly plain or sel-patterned.

Emperor Kangxi in regular costume

Emperor Yongzheng in festive robeRegular CostumesFestive Costumes


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Emperor Qianlong in horseback hunting

Emperor Qianlong was in his travel outfit hunting or hare in Nanyuanhunting grounds.

Emperor Qianlong reviewing the

Grand Parade of Troops

Emperor Kangxis quilted ceremonial

armour suit and helmet

his armour suit and helmet were worn byEmperor Kangxi when he inspected the EightBanner troops.

Emperor Kangxis oil-green quilted travel robe

hese costumes were mainly wornon surveying trips and huntingexcursions involving riding andarchery. Most travel costumes were

plain in colour and without elaboratedecorations.

Large-scale military drillswere orga nise d regu larly by

the Qing emperors to conduct a ullinspection o the military equipmentand martial prowess o his army. Teemperor would put on his militaryoutfit (also called Grand InspectionArmour) when attending theseevents.

Travel Costumes Military Costumes


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hese costumes were worn by theQing emperor and his consorts duringleisure times. Since there were no rigidrules among Qing costume regulationsstipulating the speciications o theleisure costumes in the Qing court,these costumes came in many elaboratestyles, vibrant colours and resplendentdecorative motis.

Leisure Costumes

An outer gown of the Guangxu period

his changyi , or outer gown, was among the leisurecostumes worn by the Qing imperial consorts. Since theside slits are quite high, the gown could not be worn singly.It was to be worn over an inormal dress or a leisure robe.

An informal dress of the Empress of Guangxu

Chenyi, inormal dress, was among the leisure costumes worn by theQing imperial consorts. It has no side slits and could either be wornsingly or underneath shorter garments such as maguajacket and vest,or outer garments with longer slits such as the outer gown.

Lined flowerpot-heeled shoes of the Guangxu period

Shoes with raised bottom were worn by the Qing imperial consorts alongwith floor-length leisure robes and tall and arch-like headdress to make thewhole person look taller, more slender and elegant.

Hair ornament

Bianfa ng was a hair ornament used byManchu women to secure the uniquehairstyle called liangbatou, literally two-branch hea d.

An autumn garden filled with joy

Te leisure dresses o Emperor Daoguang and the royal amily memberswith various styles are finely depicted in the painting.


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