Serving The Celestial Throne: Court Officials' Robes of Korea and China
Looking at the costume culture of Joseon Dynasty in Korea and Qing Dynasty in China
The Portrait of Park Seunghyun (Korea, 1818) by UnknownSookmyung Women’s University Museum
Court officials in Korea and China are dominated not only politics, but also academics and culture based on their deep knowledge of Confucian classics and the arts. They wore gwanbok as ceremonial robes for national ceremonies and as a daily official clothing. As the officials and their aesthetics strongly influenced material culture, we can gain new perspectives on their lives, times, and artistic influence by examining the relationship between the fashions that they wore and the bureaucratic system in which they served.
Official court robes during the Joseon Dynasty in Korea
Under the influence of the Tang Dynasty of China, government officials have worn gwanbok from the Silla Kingdom until the Joseon Dynasty. Gwanbok also includes a silk gauze hat, belt, and rank badge. Officials would wear different uniforms according to the occasion: gongbok for for attending the royal court, sangbok for everyday wear, and sibok for official events.
Ceremonial Costume (Korea, 19th century) by UnknownSookmyung Women’s University Museum
Ceremonial robe
Jobok, ceremonial robe, is regarded as the most supreme court attire. Officials would wear red silk robes and blue silk inner robes regardless of one’s rank. However, officials wore accessories according to one’s rank.
Ritual Costume (Korea, 19th century) by UnknownSookmyung Women’s University Museum
Ritual robe
Jaebok, ritual robe, was worn at the Royal Ancestral Shrine while performing ancestral services. The basic construction of a ritual robe is similar to that of a ceremonial robe, however, a ritual robe includes an ornamental collar made from white raw-silk, and a black silk robe, which is worn over a white inner silk robe.
Official Robe (Korea, 19th century) by UnknownSookmyung Women’s University Museum
Official uniform
This red round-necked robe called Hongdanreung, which does not have a rank badge, was an ordinary work uniform for a government official. Officials would wear this type of robe everyday when they commute or at official gatherings.
Military Uniform (Korea, 19th century) by UnknownSookmyung Women’s University Museum
Military outer robe
This military uniform was worn during the late Joseon Dynasty. The uniform, which is made from dragon pattern fabric, has a yellow body and red sleeves with blue linings.
Ceremonial Baton (Korea, 19th century) by UnknownSookmyung Women’s University Museum
Ceremonial baton
Court officials would hold tablets called hol with their attire for court ceremonies or ritual services. First to fourth rank officials would hold ivory tablets, while fifth to ninth rank officials would hold wooden tablets.
Belt for the Official Robe (Korea, 19th century) by UnknownSookmyung Women’s University Museum
Official belt
Decorated with sea turtle shells, this belt was worn with a court uniform. Official robes have loops under the arms that secure the belt in front of the chest.
Official court robes of China
According to the official robe system of the Chinese Qing Dynasty, officials would wear jobok as ceremonial robes for national ceremonies or ancestral rites; gilbok as formal wear to attend celebrations for official gatherings; sangbok as a daily official clothing; and haengbok for travelling.
Dragon Robe (Mangpao) (China, Qing dynasty(1644-1911)) by Unknown The Chung Young Yang Embroidery Museum
Mangpao
Mangpo (蟒袍) was the official uniform of a Chinese Qing dynasty. Mangpao was the second important court attire, next to ceremonial robes.
Robes worn by the emperor, empress, and empress dowager were referred to as Longpao(dragon robes), whereas those worn by the royal family and officials were called mangpao. Longpao and mangpao were called differently depending on the person wearing them, and the design and decorative patterns of a mangpao were similar to that of a longpao.
Dragon Robe (Mangpao) (China, Qing dynasty(1644-1911)) by Unknown The Chung Young Yang Embroidery Museum
The waves decorated in the official robes of the Qing Dynasty represented all the seas and waters of the earth; the mountains the entire world; and the dragon the emperor-the Sun of Heaven. The dragon was positioned prominently above all these subsidiary patterns.
Official's Surcoat(補服, bufu) with Woven Rank Badge (China, Qing dynasty(1644-1911)) by Unknown The Chung Young Yang Embroidery Museum
Official's garment (Bufu)
Government officials during the Qing Dynasty wore a bufu with a rank badge over a mangpao.
Ceremonial Armor (China, Qing dynasty(1644-1911)) by Unknown The Chung Young Yang Embroidery Museum
Ceremonial armor
This luxurious armor was worn for ceremonies, rather than for battles, such as royal court meetings, or military parades. Yellow bronze rivets are nailed on a fabric depicting a chainmail armor, which is weaved with gold and black silk thread.
Rank badges
Worn by officials on their attire to show their rank, chest badges visually symbolize the rank system of Korea and China. This rank badge system spread to countries influenced by the Chinese bureaucratic system, such as Korea and Vietnam. The rank badge system ineach country developed based on its political, social and cultural climate.
Rank Badge of Civil Official with Single Crane Design (Korea, 19th century) by UnknownSookmyung Women’s University Museum
Korean rank badges
The rank badge system of the Joseon Dynasty began in 1454 (the second year of King Danjong), when it was declared by statute that royal members and all government officials, including civil officials and military officials, had to wear official clothing that had rank badges. In 1734 (the tenth year of King Youngjo), the rank badge system in Korea began to take a unique approach from the Chinese system, in terms of design and symbols.
Rank Badge of Civil Official with Double Cranes Embroidered in Couched Gold Threads (Korea, 1815-1848) by UnknownSookmyung Women’s University Museum
During the reign of King Kojong (1863~1907), high-level civil officials wore rank badges with pair of cranes; low-level civil officials wore single crane rank badges; high-level military officials wore pair of tigers rank badges; low-level military officials wore single tiger rank badges.
Rank Badge of Military Official with Single Hopyo Design (Korea, 19th century) by UnknownSookmyung Women’s University Museum
A symbol was designated to each rank: birds symbolizes civil officials, whereas animals identified military officials.The tiger (ho) and leopard (pyo) both appear on Korean rank badges as military symbols, but eventually these were combined as a hybrid creature, the hopyo, which was usually depicted with black spots.
Third Rank Civil Official's Insignia with Peacock Design (China, Qing dynasty(1644-1911)) by Unknown The Chung Young Yang Embroidery Museum
Chinese rank badges
Ming and Qing badges share a distinctively Chinese emphasis on technical perfection, formality, and ordered complexity. Ming badges are large in proportion, and Ming embroiderers and weavers typically depicted their animal and bird subjects against a colorfully striated background clouds. Qing Badges reflected the technical skills perfected by Chinese embroiderers working in the highly commercialized atmosphere of workshop production. The majority of Qing badges are smaller in size than their Ming predecessors. The various animals displayed on rank badges provided the wearer’s status. The sun, which is looking an animal of the Qing badges, symbolizes the emperor.
Fourth Rank Military Official's Insignia with Tiger Woven in Kesi, with Details Painted in Black Ink (China, Qing dynasty(1644-1911)) by Unknown The Chung Young Yang Embroidery Museum
Rank badge with tiger design
The tiger rank badge identifies a fourth rank military official.
First Rank Military Official's Insignia with Qilin Design (China, Qing dynasty(1644-1911)) by Unknown The Chung Young Yang Embroidery Museum
Rank badge with qilin design
The name of the mythical creature, Qilin, is a combination of the two Chinese characters ‘qi (male)’ and ‘lin (female).’ This creature has a face of a dragon, a body of a deer, blue scales, a lion's tail, two horns, and hoofs like a horse. The Qilin rank badge identifies a first rank military official.
First Rank Civil Official's Insignia with Crane Design (China, Qing dynasty(1644-1911)) by Unknown The Chung Young Yang Embroidery Museum
Rank badge with crane design
The Crane rank badge identifies a first rank civil official.
Insignia with Xiezhai Woven in Kesi, with Details Painted in Black Ink (China, Qing dynasty(1644-1911)) by Unknown The Chung Young Yang Embroidery Museum
Rank badge with xiezhai design
Imperial censors wore rank badges with a mythical xiezhai design to identify themselves. Xiezhai is a mythical animal believed to have the ability to distinguish between good and evil.
Court officials robes in portraits
The court officials robes are well described in their portraits. Looking into the portraits, we can understand the period of his or her times and figures' official ranks.
The Portrait of Park Seunghyun (Korea, 1818) by UnknownSookmyung Women’s University Museum
Court official robes in Korean portraits
A typical Joseon Dynasty period portrait of an official would depict him positioned in a slight profile, while sitting in a chair. The official in the portrait would be wear a black silk cap, rank badge, and a belt over a dark green sangbok with his hands together.
He was a senior fifth-rank lecturer at the National Confucian Academy, and the embroidered patch decorated with a single crane also indicates his position as an official below the third rank.
Portrait of Civil Official (China, Qing dynasty(1644-1911)) by Unknown The Chung Young Yang Embroidery Museum
Court official robes in Chinese portraits
Qing Dynasty period portrait of an official would typically portray the official looking straight ahead and wearing a pufu over a gilbok robe, while sitting in a chair that is covered with fancy silk. The official would hold an official necklace in one hand and would lay the other hand on his lap.
A bufu that has badges would be worn as a formal wear. It has a round collar and a front that opens in the center with fasteners on both sides that are facing each other. Since it is shorter than the gilbok worn inside, the wave-design embroidery on the hem of the gilbok is exposed, whereas the sleeves of the gilbok shows below the straight sleeve hem. The Golden Pheasant rank badge identifies a second rank civil official.
Portrait of Military Official (China, Qing dynasty(1644-1911)) by Unknown The Chung Young Yang Embroidery Museum
In this frontal portrait from the Qing Dynasty, a court official is holding a court necklace in his left hand and laying his right hand upon his thigh. He is wearing a surcoat with a rank badge over a blue robe. The tiger rank badge identifies a fourth rank military official.
Portrait of Ninth Rank Civil Official Couple (China, Qing dynasty(1644-1911)) by Unknown The Chung Young Yang Embroidery Museum
This Portrait depicts the Ninth Rank Civil Official's Couple. In China, the wives of officials were permitted to wear clothes decorated with a rank badge indicating her husbands' rank. The rank badge with magpie design decorated in garment worn by the husband represents the ninth civil official.
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