Mandarin square From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A Mandarin square (traditional Chinese: 補子; simplified Chinese: 补子; pinyin:

bŭzi; Wade-Giles: putzŭ; Manchu: ᠰᠠᠪᡳᡵᡤᡳ sabirgi), also known as a rank badge, was a

large embroidered badge sewn onto the surcoat of an official in Imperial China. It was embroidered with detailed, colourful animal or bird insignia indicating the rank of the official wearing it.

Contents

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1 Ming Dynasty

2 Qing Dynasty

3 Tables

o 3.1 Military

o 3.2 Scholar

4 See also

5 Notes

6 Further reading

Ming Dynasty[edit]

A 15th-century portrait of the Mingofficial Jiang Shunfu. His Mandarin Square indicates that he was a civil

official of the first rank.

Mandarin squares were first authorized for wear in 1391 by the Ming Dynasty. The use of squares depicting birds for civil officials and animals for military officials was an outgrowth of the use of similar squares, apparently for decorative use, in the Yuan Dynasty.[1] The original court dress regulations of the Ming Dynasty were published in 1368, but did not refer to badges as rank insignia.[2] These badges continued to be used through the remainder of the Ming and the subsequent Qing Dynasty until the imperial system fell in 1912.

Ming nobles and officials wore their rank badges on full-cut red robes with the design stretching from side to side, completely covering the chest and back. This caused the badges to be slightly trapezoidal with the tops narrower than the bottom.[3] The Ming statutes never refer to the number of birds or animals that should appear on the badges. In the beginning, two or three were used. In a typical example of paired birds, they were shown in flight on a background of bright cloud streamers on a gold background.

Others showed one bird on the ground with the second in flight. The addition of flowers produced an idealized naturalism.[4][5]

Qing Dynasty[edit]

A Qing Dynasty photograph of agovernment official with Mandarin Square on the chest.

There was a sharp difference between the Ming and Qing styles of badges: the Qing badges were smaller with a decorative border.[6] And, while the specific birds and animals did not change much throughout their use, the design of the squares underwent an almost continual evolution.[7] According to rank, Qing-Dynasty nobles had their respective official clothes. Princes, including Qin Wang and Jun Wang, usually wore black robes as opposed to the blue robes in court, and had four circular designs, one on each shoulder, front, and back, as opposed to the usual front-and-back design. Specifically, Princes of the Blood used four front-facing dragons, Qin Wang had two front-facing and two side-facing dragons, and Jun Wang had four side-facing ones; all had five claws on each foot. Beile and Beizi had a circular design on their official clothing, the former having two front-facing dragons, the latter two side-facing ones; these dragon had only four claws on

each foot, and are referred to as "drakes" or "great serpents" (巨蟒 jù-mǎng). National

Duke, General, Efu, "Commoner" Duke,Marquis and Count had two front-facing, four-clawed dragons on square designs, whereas Viscount and Baron had cranes and golden pheasants, as for Mandarins of the First and Second Class.

3rd Civil Rank (Peacock). Applique. Late 19th century/early 20th century.

5th Military Rank (Bear).Kesi. Circa 1860.

Members of three generations of a lineage are shown in Qing mandarin attire, complete with mandarin squares

Tables[edit]

The specific birds and animals used to represent rank varied only slightly from the inception of mandarin squares until the end of the Qing Dynasty. These tables show this evolution.

Military[edit]

Rank Ming (1391–1526) Ming and Qing (1527–1662) Late Qing (1662–1911)

1 Lion Lion Qilin (after 1662)

2 Lion Lion Lion

3 Tiger or Leopard Tiger Leopard (after 1664)

4 Tiger or Leopard Leopard Tiger (after 1664)

5 Bear Bear Bear

6 Panther Panther Panther

7 Panther Panther Rhinoceros (after 1759)[8]

8 Rhinoceros Rhinoceros Rhinoceros

9 Rhinoceros Sea Horse[9] Sea Horse[10]

Scholar[edit]

Jesuit missionary Adam Schall wearing a robe with civilian mandarin badge of the first rank

Rank Ming (1391–1526) Ming and Qing (1527–

1662)

Late Qing (1662–

1911)

1 Crane or Golden Pheasant Crane Crane

2 Crane or Golden Pheasant Golden Pheasant Golden Pheasant

3 Peacock or Wild Goose Peacock Peacock

4 Peacock or Wild Goose Wild Goose Wild Goose

5 Silver Pheasant Silver Pheasant Silver Pheasant

6 Egret or Mandarin Duck Egret Egret

7 Egret or Mandarin Duck Mandarin Duck Mandarin Duck

8 Oriole, Quail or Paradise

Flycatcher Oriole Quail

9 Oriole, Quail or Paradise

Flycatcher Quail Paradise Flycatcher[11]

Musicians used the Oriole.

See also[edit]

Byzantine dress for the similar "tablion"

Bổ Tử

Chinese hat knob

Hanfu, Gwanbok

Nine-rank system, for an earlier system for ranking officials in China

Rank badge, for the analogous design in Korea

Notes[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has

media related to Mandarin

square.

1. Jump up^ Cammann, Schuyler: Birds and Animals as Ming and Ch’ing Badges of Rank", Arts of Asia (May to June 1991), page 89.

2. Jump up^ Cammann, Schuyler: "Development of the Mandarin Square", Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies Vol VIII, no 2 (1944), pages 75–6.

3. Jump up^ Cammann, Schuyler: "Chinese Mandarin Squares, Brief Catalogue of the Letcher Collection", University Museum Bulletin Vol 17, No 3 (June 1953), pages 8–9.

4. Jump up^ Cammann, Schuyler: "Chinese Mandarin Squares, Brief Catalogue of the Letcher Collection", University Museum Bulletin Vol 17, No 3 (June 1953), page 9.

5. Jump up^ Cammann, Schuyler: "Development of the Mandarin Square", Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies Vol VIII, no 2 (1944), page 95.

6. Jump up^ Cammann, Schuyler, "Birds and Animals as Ming and Ch’ing Badges of Rank", Arts of Asia (May–June 1991), page 90.

7. Jump up^ Jackson, Beverley & Hugus, David, Ladder to the Clouds, Berkeley: Ten Speed Press, 1999, Chapter 15, pages 215–289.

8. Jump up^ Note that the Rhinoceros is depicted as a buffalo, rather than as a rhinoceros.

9. Jump up^ Note that the Sea Horse is depicted as a horse living under water, rather than as a seahorse.

10. Jump up^ Jackson, Beverley & Hugus, David, Ladder to the Clouds, Berkeley: Ten Speed Press, 1999, Table 4, page 133;

11. Jump up^ Jackson, Beverley & Hugus, David, Ladder to the Clouds, Berkeley: Ten Speed Press, 1999, Table 3, page 133.

Further reading[edit]

"Rank insignia for military officers of the imperial court", in: Welch, Patricia Bjaaland (2008), Chinese Art, Tuttle, pp. 110–111, ISBN 0-8048-3864-X

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V

T

E

Types of Hanfu

Hanfu

Diyi

Daxiushan

Ruqun

Zhiduo

Banbi

Beizi

Chang-ao

Daopao

Shenyi

Yuanlingshan

Panling Lanshan

Pien Fu

Headwear

Tang official headwear

Song official headwear

Ming official headwear

Other Phoenix crown

Mandarin square

List of Hanfu

Categories:

Chinese clothing

History of Imperial China

Insignia

Orders, decorations, and medals of Imperial China