Chinese rank badges were woven or embroidered emblems that indicated the rank and status of Chinese officials. The utilization of rank badges was initially introduced during the Ming Dynasty, though the idea could have been inspired by ornamental plaques worn by nobles of the Yuan dynasty. Early Ming rank badges were made in one piece and lacked definite borders, while later Ming badges were woven with the wearer’s robe. When the Qing dynasty was established in 1644, rank badges were altered to fit the clothing of the new Manchu rulers. Rank badges became smaller and were displayed on both the back and chest of their robes, with the front badge split down the middle for the robe opening.
Rank badges were used for imperial nobility, civic officials, and military officers, and civic and military ranks each consisted of nine levels represented by nine different birds or animals. If an individual occupied both offices, they would wear the badge of the higher rank; they would not wear both badges at the same time.
The wives of Qing officials were required to wear badges indicating their husband’s rank. Concubines could also wear the badges of their consort’s rank [DL emphasis]. However, they wore them with simple dark robes and regulation Manchu jackets as opposed to the wives, who were also required to wear ceremonial robes that were identical to their husbands. Over the course of the Qing dynasty, the women’s badges evolved to have the creature within the badge face the opposite direction of her husband’s. When the couple sat together, the creatures on the badges would face each other. The law also required that parents of Chinese officials wear clothing and badges that conformed to the rank of their son.
The emperor presided over the appointment of ranks, and when officials were appointed a rank, it was their job to have their own badges made. This accounts for the variation across rank badges, as each one was personally tailored to a specific individual. Although there were requirements for what the badge needed to contain based on rank, officials still had the power to personalize their badges, illustrating both their status and creative expression.
Title: Rank badge (buzi) of a prince of the third rank
Material/Medium: embroidered silk
Period: Qing Dynasty (1644-1912)
Date: 19th century
Culture: China
Location/Provenance: University of Michigan Museum of Archaeological Anthropology
Source:https://exchange.umma.umich.edu/resources/26228
At the top of China’s ruling hierarchy was the emperor, and the dragon emblem was set as the symbol of the imperial family and the upper ranks of Qing nobility, outranking civil officials and military officers. The dragon was a symbol of goodness, blessings, and strength, and it had long been used as the symbol of China’s ruler. Imperial badges were given based on one’s degree of nobility, and their status could be identified through the number of claws on the dragon, the dragon’s profile, and the shape of the badge. The number of claws indicated the type of dragon on the badge, with the five-clawed long dragon representing the upper ranks of nobility, while the four-clawed mang dragon indicated a lesser rank. Front-facing dragons indicated higher ranks, and rank status was also shown if the wearer wore a circular or square badge. Round shapes had heavenly associations, as the circle embodied notions of the superior, the central, and the heavenly. The first two degrees of nobility, which included the emperor, his heir, and second-degree princes, were marked with a circular badge depicting a five-clawed (long), front-facing dragon. Third and fourth-degree princes wore badges with four-clawed (mang) dragons. This badge depicts a front-facing dragon and has a circular shape, which indicates that the wearer was of a higher rank, however, the dragon appears to be a mang dragon due to its four claws. Because of this, the wearer of this badge was likely a prince of the third rank.
Civil Official Badges
Chinese scholar officials held one of the most prestigious positions in the Chinese imperial bureaucracy. The Qing dynasty had reinstated and refined a multi-tiered examination system which was based on the Confucian learning system, and the reinstitution of these exams in the 1670s supplied the Chinese government with scholar officials that could fill the administrative positions required to govern the empire. Boys prepared for these examinations from a very young age, which were open to nearly all males in China. It could take years to obtain an appointment, and officials were divided into nine ranks based on merit. The badges of these officials depicted various types of birds, which could possibly have been intended to symbolize literary elegance. It is also possible that the specific order of the birds by rank could have had symbolic reasoning as well, but there is no record of any Chinese official explaining the order of the badge ranks. Civil officials of the highest rank wore an emblem of the Manchurian crane. Second-rank officials wore a golden pheasant; third-rank officials wore a peacock; fourth-rank officials wore a wild goose; fifth-rank officials wore a silver pheasant; sixth-rank officials wore an egret; seventh-rank officials wore a mandarin duck; eighth-rank officials wore a quail, and ninth-rank officials wore a paradise flycatcher. Each distinct bird on the hierarchical badges of the Qing scholar officials wordlessly narrated their merit, ambition, and honorable status as high-ranking officials of the empire.
Title: Rank Badge with Crane
Material/Medium: silk and metallic thread embroidery on silk satin
Size: 13 ½ x 12 ¼ in. (34.3 x 31.1 cm)
Period: Qing dynasty (1644-1911)
Date: late 17th-early 18th century
Culture: China
Location/Provenance: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Source: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/62893
The Manchurian crane represented first-rank civil officials, and they symbolized longevity and wisdom. Generally, civil rank badges depicted Manchurian cranes as white birds with a distinctive red-crowned head and long beak. Along with this, the Manchurian crane can also be spotted in rank badges by analyzing its tail, as the feathers were often depicted as short and spade-shaped with black points separated from each other. In addition, many Manchurian crane badges color the bird’s legs red or green. During the Ming dynasty, there could be one to three cranes depicted on the badge. However, one bird became standard during the Qing dynasty. This badge depicts all the common elements associated with Manchurian crane badges of the time, with its unique red-crowned head and distinctive feathers that flare around the bird similar to its broad wings, which create a circular pose around the bird, reminiscent of the notions of superior or “divine” status present in circular symbolism in Chinese artwork. The crane in this badge also contains the distinguishable green color in both its legs and long beak.
Title: Rank badge (buzi) of civic rank 9, paradise flycatcher
Material/Medium: embroidered silk
Period: Qing dynasty (1644-1912)
Date: 19th century
Culture: China
Location/Provenance: University of Michigan Museum of Anthropological Archaeology
Source: https://exchange.umma.umich.edu/resources/26228
The paradise flycatcher was the most common civil badge, representing ninth-rank (and unclassed) civil officials. This paradise flycatcher symbolizes longevity and good fortune, and the bird can be identified by its all-white body, two long tail feathers, and two red dots, or “eyes” at the ends of each tail feather. Without these red dots, the paradise flycatcher looks very similar to the silver pheasant shown in fifth-rank civil badges. This could allow civil officials to use eye-tricking techniques to lessen the visibility of the distinctive red eyes and imply a higher ranking. Before the Qing dynasty, unclassed civil officials, as in those ranked below the ninth class, wore a badge containing an oriole. However, this practice was discontinued in the Qing dynasty, and unclassed civic officials instead wore the insignia of the ninth rank – the paradise flycatcher. This badge depicts a paradise flycatcher with its recognizable white body and red dots at the end of two long tail feathers. This could imply that the wearer was of the ninth rank. Still, due to the utilization of the paradise flycatcher on the badges of unclassed officials, it is also possible that this was the badge of an unclassed civil official.
Military Officer Badges
The organization of the military remained largely the same as China transitioned from the Ming to the Qing dynasty. Examinations for the military ranks were based on physical ability, though appointment to military office was also often based on family connections or financial considerations. Although military government students did study classic texts on the art of war, a military degree was not required to be appointed to military office, and the emphasis on physical prowess and a lesser emphasis on classical learning made military badges less prestigious than their civil counterparts. Military badges were also split up into nine ranks, with each represented by a real or mythical animal. The highest military rank badge depicts a Qilin. Military officers of the second rank wore a lion; third-rank officers wore a leopard; fourth-rank officers wore a tiger; fifth-rank officers wore a bear; sixth-rank officers wore a panther or tiger-cat; seventh and eighth-rank officers wore a rhinoceros, and ninth-rank officers wore a sea horse (not the aquatic creature, but rather a mythical horse-like creature shown bounding over waves). Military rank badges are much rarer than civil badges, which is likely due to the 1911 Revolution, when military officials would destroy their badges and any recognizable marks of their military status in fear of violent retribution from revolutionaries. Many civic badges survived as the civil officials incorporated themselves with the movement and the new government, allowing them to preserve their property.
Title: Rank badge (buzi) of military rank 1, qílín
Material/Medium: embroidered silk
Period: Qing dynasty (1644-1912)
Date: 19th century
Culture: China
Location/Provenance: University of Michigan Museum of Anthropological Archaeology
Source: https://exchange.umma.umich.edu/resources/26228
The Qilin is a Chinese mythical beast comprised of a sheep, wolf, or dragon head, a deer’s body, fish scales, horse hooves, and a bushy ox or lion tail, and it represented the highest military official badge. Unlike the other animals or birds in civil and military rank badges, the Qilin’s head is front-facing, looking straight ahead. This badge appears to have the head of a dragon, and the linework in the Qilin’s mane, back hair, and tail appear like flames, further marking the creature’s status as a mythical beast. The Qilin was also often depicted as a five-colored creature; this badge appears to have brown/tan undertones on the creature’s body that become mostly covered with bright yellow/gold scales, as well as green hair, a bright pink nose, and possibly bright white/cream highlights in the horns, hooves, back, and face. The Qilin was a good omen thought to possess extraordinary wisdom, as well as longevity, grandeur, and happiness.
Title: Rank badge with lion
Creator: unknown
Material/Medium: silk and metallic thread embroidery on silk satin
Size: 12 ½ x 12 ¾ in. (31.8 x 32.4 cm)
Period: Qing dynasty (1644-1911)
Date: 19th century
Culture: China
Location/Provenance: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Source: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/69795
During the Ming dynasty, both first and second-rank military badges were represented with a lion, but with the inception of the Qing dynasty, lions were delegated to just second-rank military badges. Although lions exist as real animals, their depiction in Chinese rank badges was inspired by Chinese mythical folklore rather than real-life examples. The bear depicted in fifth-rank military badges shares many visual similarities with the lion badge, and bears were also relegated to mythical status in rank badges. Many Qing badges represent the lion with a blue body, which was also the color used for bears. Lions can be differentiated from bears by their identifiable curled tail, mane, and back hair, while bears have straight hair – occasionally with tight curls near the base. The lion symbolizes strength, protection, and fortitude.
Rank Badge Decline and Modern Use
Rank badges began to decline in the late 18th century as the Qing government allowed the sale of ranks as a regular means of revenue. Ranks could now be purchased rather than attained through passing difficult civil service examinations or grueling training. The sale of these emblems gradually increased as the Qing dynasty continued to fall, eventually leading to the government’s dependence on revenue from the sale of rank badges. Eventually, with the victory of the 1911 Revolution, the Qing dynasty fell, and rank badges were passed out of use.
The extensive sale of rank badges during the late Qing dynasty likely accounts for the vast number of badges that have passed into Western collections. The sale of rank badges continues to be perpetuated today, though they have been removed from their original country and context and auctioned away to those who can afford them. These badges maintain their application as status symbols today through their popular use as private collector’s items, even while museums and open-access institutions do not have access to these artifacts or even photos of them. I find it ironic that the sale of rank badges, which relatively de-legitimized their use as valid symbols of societal rank and acted as a desperate attempt to salvage an already falling empire is continuing to be perpetuated by Western sellers and collectors that intend to keep them as collectible rare trinkets rather than opening access to pieces of a larger and fascinating history.
Bibliography
- Cammann, Schuyler. “The Development of the Mandarin Square.” Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, vol. 8, no. 2, 1944, pp. 71–130. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/2717953.
- “Qing-Dynasty Rank Badges at the University of Michigan.” Umma Exchange, exchange.umma.umich.edu/resources/26228.
- “Rank and Style: Power Dressing in Imperial China.” USC Pacific Asia Museum, pacificasiamuseum.usc.edu/exhibitions/past/exhibitions-at-usc-pam-prior-to-2011/rank-and-style-power-dressing-in-imperial-china/index-to-resources/.
- “Rank Badge with Crane: China: Qing Dynasty (1644–1911).” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/62893.
- “Rank Badge with Lion: China: Qing Dynasty (1644–1911).” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/69795.
- Vollmer, John E. “Clothed to Rule the Universe.” Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies, vol. 26, no. 2, 2000, pp. 13–105. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/4104402.
