The headwear of an official during the Manchu Qing Dynasty in China consisted of a black velvet cap, or a hat woven in rattan or similar materials, both with a finial on top. Red tassels extended down from the finial, and a large peacock feather or pheasant feather could be attached to the back of the cap.
The colour and shape of the finial depended on the wearer's grade. The royalty and nobility used various numbers of pearls. An officer of the first grade wore a translucent red ball ; second grade, solid red ball ; third grade, translucent blue ball ; fourth grade, solid blue ball; fifth grade, translucent white ball ; sixth grade, solid white ball . Officers of the seventh to ninth grade wore gold or clear amber balls of varied designs.
The Qing official also wore a mandarin square.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Mandarin collar
A mandarin collar is a short unfolded stand-up style on a shirt or jacket. Mandarin collars start at the neckline and typically rise vertically two to five centimeters. The style originated from Western interpretation of Manchurian dresses.
The length along a mandarin collar is straight, with either straight or rounded edges at top of the centre front. The edges of the collar either barely meet at the centre front or overlap slightly. Overlapping mandarin collars are often a continuation of a shirt's placket and have a button on the collar to secure the two sides of the shirt together.
A nearly identical style known as the Nehru collar is also found in some modern Indian men's clothing, such as the Nehru jacket.
A band collar is often a mandarin collar. This term is also used for shirts that have only a flat finishing around the neckline; originally such garments were designed for use with a detachable collar, a largely-forgotten usage.
In contemporary Western dress, mandarin collars are found in fashion-forward oriental-style and minimalist-style clothing. Women's mandarin-collared jackets often include other vaguely oriental elements, such as silk knots as closures instead of buttons.
Since mandarin collars are short and do not fold over, neckties are not worn with mandarin-collared dress shirts. It is socially acceptable to wear a mandarin-collared shirt with a at many moderately formal occasions — even though no tie is worn. This lack of ties has led to the recent rising popularity of mandarin collars in the post-dotcom casual era.
Mandarin collars are also utilised heavily in modern-day military combat uniforms like the US Army's Army Combat Uniform and the US Marine Corps' MARPAT uniforms. The presence of the mandarin collar on the Army Combat Uniform and the MARPAT uniforms makes the wearing of body armor more comfortable by lifting the collar up while the wearer is wearing body armor.
Mandarin collars are also the proper shape for a single- breasted Greek cassock, or anterri, for Eastern Catholic and Eastern Orthodox clergy. Russians and other Slavic Churches typically have a high, band-style collar, buttoning to the side or on the shoulder, while Greeks have the "notched" Mandarin pattern with a closing loop or hook at the bottom of the "V" in the collar. This is different from the more stereotypical square, "Roman" collar of the western cassock seen on clergy of the Latin Rite and some Eastern Churches, such as the Syriac Catholic Church and Ethiopic Catholic Church.
Lastly, mandarin collars feature in costumes in some notable films, where they are employed either as a futuristic style fashion or to create a distinctive appearance for sinister characters. For example, the title character in the 1962 film '''', parodied by Doctor Evil in the Austin Powers series of films. Ichigo from the Japanese anime series Bleach wears a Mandarin collar as his school uniform.
During the in the early 20th century of China, Sun Yat-Sen wanted to create a clothing representating the identity of the people, he made a suit named after him "Zhong Shan Suit" or better known in as Mao suit. This suit still retained the mandarin collar.
The length along a mandarin collar is straight, with either straight or rounded edges at top of the centre front. The edges of the collar either barely meet at the centre front or overlap slightly. Overlapping mandarin collars are often a continuation of a shirt's placket and have a button on the collar to secure the two sides of the shirt together.
Related nomenclature
A nearly identical style known as the Nehru collar is also found in some modern Indian men's clothing, such as the Nehru jacket.
A band collar is often a mandarin collar. This term is also used for shirts that have only a flat finishing around the neckline; originally such garments were designed for use with a detachable collar, a largely-forgotten usage.
Usage
In contemporary Western dress, mandarin collars are found in fashion-forward oriental-style and minimalist-style clothing. Women's mandarin-collared jackets often include other vaguely oriental elements, such as silk knots as closures instead of buttons.
Since mandarin collars are short and do not fold over, neckties are not worn with mandarin-collared dress shirts. It is socially acceptable to wear a mandarin-collared shirt with a at many moderately formal occasions — even though no tie is worn. This lack of ties has led to the recent rising popularity of mandarin collars in the post-dotcom casual era.
Mandarin collars are also utilised heavily in modern-day military combat uniforms like the US Army's Army Combat Uniform and the US Marine Corps' MARPAT uniforms. The presence of the mandarin collar on the Army Combat Uniform and the MARPAT uniforms makes the wearing of body armor more comfortable by lifting the collar up while the wearer is wearing body armor.
Mandarin collars are also the proper shape for a single- breasted Greek cassock, or anterri, for Eastern Catholic and Eastern Orthodox clergy. Russians and other Slavic Churches typically have a high, band-style collar, buttoning to the side or on the shoulder, while Greeks have the "notched" Mandarin pattern with a closing loop or hook at the bottom of the "V" in the collar. This is different from the more stereotypical square, "Roman" collar of the western cassock seen on clergy of the Latin Rite and some Eastern Churches, such as the Syriac Catholic Church and Ethiopic Catholic Church.
Lastly, mandarin collars feature in costumes in some notable films, where they are employed either as a futuristic style fashion or to create a distinctive appearance for sinister characters. For example, the title character in the 1962 film '''', parodied by Doctor Evil in the Austin Powers series of films. Ichigo from the Japanese anime series Bleach wears a Mandarin collar as his school uniform.
During the in the early 20th century of China, Sun Yat-Sen wanted to create a clothing representating the identity of the people, he made a suit named after him "Zhong Shan Suit" or better known in as Mao suit. This suit still retained the mandarin collar.
Mandarin square
A Mandarin square , also known as a rank badge, was a large embroidered badge sewn onto the surcoat of an in Imperial China. It was embroidered with detailed, colourful animal or bird insignia indicating the rank of the official wearing it.
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. The original court dress regulations of the Ming Dynasty were published in 1368, but did not refer to badges as rank insignia. 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. 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.
There was a sharp difference between the Ming and Qing styles of badges: the Qing badges were smaller with a decorative border. And, while the specific birds and animals did not change much throughout their use, the design of the squares underwent an almost continual evolution. According to rank, 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. 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.
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.
Musicians used the Oriole.
Ming Dynasty
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. The original court dress regulations of the Ming Dynasty were published in 1368, but did not refer to badges as rank insignia. 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. 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.
Qing Dynasty
There was a sharp difference between the Ming and Qing styles of badges: the Qing badges were smaller with a decorative border. And, while the specific birds and animals did not change much throughout their use, the design of the squares underwent an almost continual evolution. According to rank, 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. 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.
Tables
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.
Musicians used the Oriole.
Military
Civilian
Mao suit
The modern Chinese tunic suit is a style of male attire known in China as the Chungshan suit or Zhongshan suit , and known in the West as the Mao suit . Sun Zhongshan introduced the style shortly after the founding of the Republic of China as a form of national dress although with a distinctly political and later governmental implication.
When the Republic was founded in 1912, the style of dress worn in China was based on Manchu dress imposed by the Qing Dynasty as a form of social control. The majority-Han Chinese revolutionaries who overthrew the Qing were fueled by failure of the Qing to defend China against western imperialists and the low standing of the Qing in terms of technology and science compared to the west. Combined with the influx of Western ideas of race, this led to ethnic hatred against the Manchus. Even before the founding of the Republic, older forms of Chinese dress were becoming unpopular among the elite and led to the development of Chinese dress which combined the cheongsam and the Western hat to form a new dress. The Zhongshan suit is similar development which combined Western and Eastern fashions. It should be noted that until 1949 on the mainland and the 1980s in Taiwan, the civilian, non-
political attire for males in China was not this tunic suit but a gown and over-jacket.
The Zhongshan suit was an attempt to cater to "modern" sensibilities without completely adopting Western styles wholesale. Dr. Sun Yat-sen was personally involved, providing inputs based on his life experience in Japan: the Japanese cadet uniform became the basis of Zhongshan suit. There were other modifications as well: instead of the three hidden pockets in Western suits, the Zhongshan suit had four outside pockets to adhere to Chinese concepts of balance and symmetry. Over time, minor stylistic changes developed. The suit originally had seven buttons, later reduced to five.
After repeated attempts to win support and recognition from Western countries failed, the Nationalist Party government in Canton led by Dr. Sun gained help from Soviet Russia, which viewed it as a likely revolutionary ally against Western interests in the Far East; Chinese nationalism at the time was naturally heavily infected with resentment against the West. As a result of this geopolitical alignment, Dr. Sun agreed to permit the nascent Chinese Communist Party to join the Nationalist Party -- as individual members -- not as a party-party union, combination or alliance. As a result, early Communist Party members adopted the attire as a mark of joining the Nationalist Party. Ironically, from that practice during an attenuated political marriage of convenience which would soon be divorced in blood , Asian Marxist movements and governments henceforth would all consider this attire as a standard of political coloration, and it would continue to be appropriate dress for both sides of the bitter Chinese civil wars lasting decades.
After Sun Yat-sen's death in 1925, popular mythology assigned a revolutionary and patriotic significance to the Zhongshan suit. The four pockets were said to represent the Four Virtues cited in the classic ''''. The five center-front buttons were said to represent the five cited in the constitution of the Republic of China and the three cuff-buttons to symbolize Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles of the People.
In the 1920s and 1930s, civil servants of the Chinese government were required to wear the ''Zhongshan zhuang''. A slightly modified version of the suit, adapted for combat, formed the basis for National Revolutionary Army army uniforms leading up through the Second Sino-Japanese War, although during the 1930s, as German military advice and assistance to the National Government waxed, the formal military uniform in the professional elements and ranks essentially became that of Weimar and then Nazi Germany . After the establishment of the People's Republic of China, and especially during the long initial period marked by intensive Maoist indoctrination and mass oppression through waves of purges and campaigns and "criticism/struggle" culminating with the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution from 1965-76 when Mao himself died, the suit became widely worn by the entire male population, formally as a symbol of proletarian unity, but in fact as a form of personal -- and virtually camouflage -- coloration; it was, of course, regularly worn by cadres until the 1990s when it was largely replaced by the Western business suit.
The Mao suit remained the standard formal dress for the first and second generation of PRC leaders such as Deng Xiaoping. During the 1990s, it began to be worn with decreasing frequency by leaders of Jiang Zemin's generation. Jiang wore it only on special occasions, such as to state dinners, but this practice was almost totally discontinued by his successor Hu Jintao. By the early part of the 21st century, the Mao suit is rarely worn even on formal occasions. The military-green version of the suit is more often worn, usually by civilian officials wishing to demonstrate control over – or camaraderie with – the . In Taiwan, the Zhongshan suit was seldom seen after the 1970s. Moreover, given the subtropical weather much of the year in Taiwan, for a time a modified version became at least semi-standard which dropped the high-collar buttoned up original constriction in favor of a Western style open dress shirt collar, unbuttoned.
Today among the Chinese people, the suit has been largely abandoned by the younger generation in urban areas, but is still regarded as formal attire by many old people. It is also prevalent among Chinese peasants as casual dress. However the suit is becoming more popular amongst young overseas Chinese as a formal or business wear instead of wearing the "generic" Western three piece suit and also as an identity for their Chinese origin.
It is also widely used today in North Korea with the NKPA.
Origins
When the Republic was founded in 1912, the style of dress worn in China was based on Manchu dress imposed by the Qing Dynasty as a form of social control. The majority-Han Chinese revolutionaries who overthrew the Qing were fueled by failure of the Qing to defend China against western imperialists and the low standing of the Qing in terms of technology and science compared to the west. Combined with the influx of Western ideas of race, this led to ethnic hatred against the Manchus. Even before the founding of the Republic, older forms of Chinese dress were becoming unpopular among the elite and led to the development of Chinese dress which combined the cheongsam and the Western hat to form a new dress. The Zhongshan suit is similar development which combined Western and Eastern fashions. It should be noted that until 1949 on the mainland and the 1980s in Taiwan, the civilian, non-
political attire for males in China was not this tunic suit but a gown and over-jacket.
The Zhongshan suit was an attempt to cater to "modern" sensibilities without completely adopting Western styles wholesale. Dr. Sun Yat-sen was personally involved, providing inputs based on his life experience in Japan: the Japanese cadet uniform became the basis of Zhongshan suit. There were other modifications as well: instead of the three hidden pockets in Western suits, the Zhongshan suit had four outside pockets to adhere to Chinese concepts of balance and symmetry. Over time, minor stylistic changes developed. The suit originally had seven buttons, later reduced to five.
After repeated attempts to win support and recognition from Western countries failed, the Nationalist Party government in Canton led by Dr. Sun gained help from Soviet Russia, which viewed it as a likely revolutionary ally against Western interests in the Far East; Chinese nationalism at the time was naturally heavily infected with resentment against the West. As a result of this geopolitical alignment, Dr. Sun agreed to permit the nascent Chinese Communist Party to join the Nationalist Party -- as individual members -- not as a party-party union, combination or alliance. As a result, early Communist Party members adopted the attire as a mark of joining the Nationalist Party. Ironically, from that practice during an attenuated political marriage of convenience which would soon be divorced in blood , Asian Marxist movements and governments henceforth would all consider this attire as a standard of political coloration, and it would continue to be appropriate dress for both sides of the bitter Chinese civil wars lasting decades.
After Sun Yat-sen's death in 1925, popular mythology assigned a revolutionary and patriotic significance to the Zhongshan suit. The four pockets were said to represent the Four Virtues cited in the classic ''''. The five center-front buttons were said to represent the five cited in the constitution of the Republic of China and the three cuff-buttons to symbolize Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles of the People.
Historical development
In the 1920s and 1930s, civil servants of the Chinese government were required to wear the ''Zhongshan zhuang''. A slightly modified version of the suit, adapted for combat, formed the basis for National Revolutionary Army army uniforms leading up through the Second Sino-Japanese War, although during the 1930s, as German military advice and assistance to the National Government waxed, the formal military uniform in the professional elements and ranks essentially became that of Weimar and then Nazi Germany . After the establishment of the People's Republic of China, and especially during the long initial period marked by intensive Maoist indoctrination and mass oppression through waves of purges and campaigns and "criticism/struggle" culminating with the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution from 1965-76 when Mao himself died, the suit became widely worn by the entire male population, formally as a symbol of proletarian unity, but in fact as a form of personal -- and virtually camouflage -- coloration; it was, of course, regularly worn by cadres until the 1990s when it was largely replaced by the Western business suit.
The Mao suit remained the standard formal dress for the first and second generation of PRC leaders such as Deng Xiaoping. During the 1990s, it began to be worn with decreasing frequency by leaders of Jiang Zemin's generation. Jiang wore it only on special occasions, such as to state dinners, but this practice was almost totally discontinued by his successor Hu Jintao. By the early part of the 21st century, the Mao suit is rarely worn even on formal occasions. The military-green version of the suit is more often worn, usually by civilian officials wishing to demonstrate control over – or camaraderie with – the . In Taiwan, the Zhongshan suit was seldom seen after the 1970s. Moreover, given the subtropical weather much of the year in Taiwan, for a time a modified version became at least semi-standard which dropped the high-collar buttoned up original constriction in favor of a Western style open dress shirt collar, unbuttoned.
Today among the Chinese people, the suit has been largely abandoned by the younger generation in urban areas, but is still regarded as formal attire by many old people. It is also prevalent among Chinese peasants as casual dress. However the suit is becoming more popular amongst young overseas Chinese as a formal or business wear instead of wearing the "generic" Western three piece suit and also as an identity for their Chinese origin.
It is also widely used today in North Korea with the NKPA.
Ming official headwear
The headwear of a Han Chinese official during Ming Dynasty China consisted of a black hat with two wing-like flaps on each side called the ''wushamao'' .
The wings were clipped off following the death of a member of the royal family in order to express sorrow.
The wings were clipped off following the death of a member of the royal family in order to express sorrow.
Nankeen
Nankeen, also called Nankeen cloth or Blue Nankeen, refers to a particular type of cotton cloth, manufacturing of which originated in Nanking region of China. More specifically, the term "blue nankeen" describes hand-printed fabric of artistic refinement and primitive simplicity, which originated on the Silk Road over three thousand years ago.
Hand-carved stencils, originally made from wood but now from heavy paper, are prepared and a mix of soya bean flour and slaked lime is applied through the openings of the stencil onto the 100% cotton fabric. When dry, the fabric is then dipped numerous times into the large tubs containing the indigo dye. After the right color is achieved and the fabric has dried, the paste is scraped off, revealing the white patterns on the blue cloth. The fabric is then washed, dried, and ironed before fabrication into the Nankeen collection. Such fabric represents a fast-disappearing historic art form which embodies ancient Chinese culture and traditions.
Hand-carved stencils, originally made from wood but now from heavy paper, are prepared and a mix of soya bean flour and slaked lime is applied through the openings of the stencil onto the 100% cotton fabric. When dry, the fabric is then dipped numerous times into the large tubs containing the indigo dye. After the right color is achieved and the fabric has dried, the paste is scraped off, revealing the white patterns on the blue cloth. The fabric is then washed, dried, and ironed before fabrication into the Nankeen collection. Such fabric represents a fast-disappearing historic art form which embodies ancient Chinese culture and traditions.
Pien-fu
The Pien-fu is an article of traditional clothing consisting of a knee-length tunic over a skirt or a pair of pants.
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