The imperial yellow jacket () was a symbol of high honour during

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

. As yellow was a forbidden color, representing the Emperor, the jacket was given only to high-ranking officials and to the Emperor's body guards.

Wearing the jacket

A ''

magua Magua is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the 1826 novel ''The Last of the Mohicans'' by James Fenimore Cooper. This historical novel is set at the time of the French and Indian War. A Huron Indian chief, he is also known by the F ...

'' (; Manchu: ''olbo)'' is a short-sleeved, loose outer garment of

Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...

origin, designed for ease to put on and take off by wearers on horseback. Although persons not of imperial blood were generally prohibited from wearing yellow-coloured clothing, during the Qing dynasty the yellow riding jackets would be worn by the Imperial

body guard A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects a person or a group of people — usually witnesses, high-ranking public officials or officers, w ...

s, albeit as a

livery A livery is an identifying design, such as a uniform, ornament, symbol or insignia that designates ownership or affiliation, often found on an individual or vehicle. Livery will often have elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or ...

coat, and then only while escorting the Emperor. The yellow jacket could also be granted by the Emperor (or later

Empress Dowager Cixi Empress Dowager Cixi ( ; mnc, Tsysi taiheo; formerly Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Empress Dowager T'zu-hsi; 29 November 1835 – 15 November 1908), of the Manchu people, Manchu Nara (clan)#Yehe Nara, Yehe Nara clan, was a Chinese nob ...

) to individuals for civil or military merit, especially after 1842 when China was more or less in a constant state of war. Since yellow clothing was normally reserved for the Imperial family, the yellow jacket came to be regarded as the highest honour of the Qing dynasty. Towards the end of the Qing dynasty the prestige of the yellow jacket had declined somewhat; in one infamous case, a yellow jacket was granted to a

train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and Passenger train, transport people or Rail freight transport, freight. Trains are typically pul ...

driver for his service to

Ceremonies

Recipients of the imperial yellow jackets would be joined by provincial governors and senior military officials for annual celebrations. Moreover, many recipients would wear their imperial yellow jackets as their funeral attire, which is roughly equivalent to having the national flag draped on the coffin in modern times.

People who were awarded the jacket

* Giuseppe Castiglione *

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(after he was

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) *

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(in 1857) *

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* Tsen Chun Hsuan/Cen Chunxuan/Sam Sun Suen

References

{{reflist Orders, decorations, and medals of Imperial China Qing clothing