Types of Dresses in Ming Dynasty

The regular dress, also known as the wing good crown dress, that is, the head wearing a silk folding on the scarf (also known as silk wing good crown), wearing a dish collar, narrow sleeves (Ming in the middle and latter part of the sleeve gradually fat), before and after the two shoulders are embroidered with a gold dragon pattern, jade belt and leather boots. This suit has more uses. Ming emperor's regular clothes, clothing to yellow damask, embroidered dragon, Zhai pattern and twelve chapter pattern. Dragon pattern from the ancient development to the Ming Dynasty, has undergone numerous changes. In general, the pre-Qin dragon pattern, the image is relatively simple and rugged, most of the limbs and claws, similar to reptiles. Qin and Han period of the dragon pattern, more beast-shaped, limbs and claws complete, but no scale armor, often painted as walking, giving people a feeling of emptiness. The dragon of the Ming dynasty, the image is more perfect, it concentrates on the local characteristics of various animals, head such as a cow's head, body such as a snake body, horns such as deer horns, eyes such as shrimp eyes, nose such as a lion's nose, mouth such as a donkey's mouth, ear such as a cat's ear, claws such as eagle claws, tail such as fish tail and so on. In the construction and organization of the pattern is also very distinctive, in addition to the traditional rows of dragons, cloud dragons, there are regimental dragons, positive dragons, sitting dragons, ascending dragons, descending dragons and other names. Among the regimental dragons embroidered on the costume of this picture, there are two kinds of ascending and descending dragons.

Figure 1: Hongwu Emperor wore is the pre-Ming emperor regular clothes, style is more simple than the late Ming Dynasty, the Urumqi wing good crown + yellow dragon narrow-sleeved robe + red cross-collar clothing; Figure 2: Wanli Emperor wore regular clothes is typical of the mid- and late-Ming Dynasty style, pattern than the early Ming Dynasty increased, this bust can be seen: the Urumqi wing good crown to increase the ornamentation, the yellow round robe to increase the color and pattern (adding the twelve chapters of the pattern), the two shoulder round pattern of red for the sun pattern, white for the moon pattern, the sleeves become wider, which can be seen on the Chinese worm (red-bellied brocade chicken), the rest of the chapter pattern is seen in other parts of the robe. Officials on weekdays in the Department of the Yamen for official business, then wear regular clothes. The regulation of the regular clothes is: head wearing a black hat, wearing a group collar shirt, belt around the waist. Hongwu twenty-three years, the length of the designated civil and military officials regular clothing: civil officials, white collar to the descent, go to the ground one inch, sleeve length over the hand, back to the elbow, the public, marquis, extra horse harnessed by the side of a team and civil officials with. Military officials to the ground five inches, sleeve length over the hand seven inches. Hongwu twenty-four years, and then formulate the product of the crown filler pattern, and the provisions of the regular clothing material, can only use miscellaneous color storage silk, damask, pick embroidery. Officials clothes and tent, not allowed to use Xuan, yellow, purple color, also not allowed to weave and embroidery dragon and phoenix patterns, such as those who violate the ban, the crime of dyeing and weaving workers.

Wearing a black hat, wearing a disk patch suit is the main dress of the Ming officials to patch to distinguish official positions. This kind of robe is the main clothing style for men in the Ming Dynasty, not only the officials and eunuchs can be used, but also can be worn by the common people, only the color makes a difference. Civilians wear the plate collar clothing must avoid the colors of basalt, purple, green, willow yellow, turmeric and bright yellow, other colors such as blue, ochre, etc. without restriction, commonly known as the "miscellaneous colors plate collar clothing". After the twenty-fifth year of the Ming Dynasty, the court made new provisions for officials, civil and military officials, regardless of rank, must be in the chest and back of the robe decorated with a side of the patch, civil officials with flying birds, military officials with beasts, to show the difference.

Now according to the "Ming History - Public Opinion and Clothing Zhi" and "Ming Hui Yao" Volume 24 "Public Opinion and Clothing" records, will be the Ming Dynasty officials clothing and dress system organized into a brief table as follows: Grade Crown with ribbon Ribbon Wat public service color patch embroidered pattern civil officials military officers one pint of seven beams of jade, cloud and phoenix, the four-color ivory scarlet gowns crane unicorns two six beams of rhinoceros with the first grade of ivory scarlet gowns jinqi Lion three five beams of golden flowers cloud germanium germanium ivory scarlet gowns peacocks tiger and leopard four four four beams of vegetative flower The same as the third grade, ivory and gossamer gowns, wild geese, tigers and leopards, the fifth grade, three beams of silver, germanium and lace, ivory and green gowns, white pheasants and bear fighters, the sixth grade, two beams of silver, the practicing magpies in three colors, the acacia wood and blue gowns, the herons, the piu, the seventh grade, two beams of silver, the same as the sixth grade, acacia wood and blue gowns, the mandarin birds, the piu, the eighth grade, one beam of horn, the mandarin birds, the birds and the mandarin birds in two colors, acacia wood and green gowns, oriole, the rhinoceros, the ninth grade, one beam of horn, the same as the eighth grade, the acacia wood and green gowns, the quails, seahorses, not yet entered into the stream and the same as those of the eighth grade and the lower, practicing magpies The so-called unranked officials in the table refer to those who can not be included in the ninth grade, such as the canonical history, postal ministers and so on.

Ming dynasty officials often dress square patch with the Qing dynasty official clothing square patch compared to the following differences:

Area: Ming general side length of forty centimeters, thirty centimeters of the Qing, and the Qing square patch from the middle of the left and right into two (because the bottom of the clothes for the lapel);

Position: Ming more on the Qing more down;

Color: Ming monochrome patches of the bottom of the color with the same clothes, patches of the bottom color of the clothes, the bottom of the color of the clothes, the bottom of the color of the clothes, the bottom of the clothes, the bottom of the clothes, the bottom of the clothes, the bottom of the clothes, the bottom of the clothes, the bottom of the clothes. Because of the color of the clothes and bright bright, colorful patches and not demonic;

Qing's patches with the bottom of the clothes color dark and dark;

Composition: Ming patches full of composition and harmony of the lines; Qing patches pattern more complex stacked, the lack of aesthetic design (the end of the Qing dynasty, the more the lack of pattern mastery, the beginning of the Qing dynasty due to the legacy of the Ming dynasty, the composition of the harmonies)

Frame: Ming patches simple border, Qing patches thick and wide or wide border. The Qing dynasty complementary border thick and wide or decorated with patterns

Content: the Ming dynasty birds and birds complement more than double, the Qing dynasty birds and birds complement more than a single; the Qing dynasty square complement generally have a red sun on the top. The Ryukyu Kingdom began to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty in the 14th century, and the relationship between Ryukyu and the Fujian area was close, and Ryukyu often sent international students to Fujian to study Chinese culture. After living in Fuzhou for a long time, some foreign students also brought the folk customs of Fujian back to the Ryukyus. Therefore, many Ryukyuan costumes were modeled after those of Fujian at that time.