Official's Surcoat(補服, bufu) with Woven Rank Badge

Although bufu ("patch garments") were worn at the court of the first Qing emperor, costume regulations issued in 1759 required all courtiers to wear dark blue or black bufu over their brilliantly polychrome semiformal robes. Typically fitted with an insignia badge on the front and back, the bufu focused the viewer's attention on the wearer's rank rather than the opulence of his dragon robe.