A mandarin square ( zh, t=補子, s=补子, hp=bŭzi, w=putzŭ; mnc, m=, v=sabirgi; vi, Bổ tử; Chữ Nho: 補子; ko, 흉배/胸背, hyungbae), also known as a rank badge, was a large embroidered badge sewn onto the surcoat of officials in

Imperial China The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the '' Book of Documents'' (early chapte ...

(decorating and ), Korea (decorating the of the Joseon dynasty), in Vietnam, and the Ryukyu Kingdom. It was embroidered with detailed, colourful animal or bird insignia indicating the rank of the official wearing it. Despite its name, the mandarin square () falls into two categories: round and square . Clothing decorated with is known as () in China. In the 21st century, the use of on was revived following the Hanfu movement.

China

The history of the square-shaped is unclear. However, in the Song dynasty ''Encyclopaedia Shi Lin Guang Ji''《》, there are pictures showing officials wearing clothing with squares on the back, decorated with birds. By the Yuan dynasty, the square-shaped was already worn as clothing ornaments.

Ming dynasty

Mandarin squares were first authorized for the wear of officials in the sumptuary laws of 1391 of the Ming dynasty. The use of squares depicting birds for civil officials and animals for military officials was an outgrowth of the use of similar squares, apparently for decorative use, in the Yuan dynasty. The original court dress regulations of the Ming dynasty were published in 1368, but did not refer to badges as rank insignia. These badges continued to be used through the remainder of the Ming and the subsequent Qing dynasty until the imperial system fell in 1912. Ming nobles and officials wore their rank badges on full-cut red robes with the design stretching from side to side, completely covering the chest and back. This caused the badges to be slightly trapezoidal with the tops narrower than the bottom. The Ming

statute A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made by le ...

s never refer to the number of birds or animals that should appear on the badges. In the beginning, two or three were used. In a typical example of paired birds, they were shown in flight on a background of bright cloud streamers on a gold background. Others showed one bird on the ground with the second in flight. The addition of flowers produced an idealized naturalism.

Qing dynasty

There was a sharp difference between the Ming and Qing styles of badges: the Qing badges were smaller with a decorative border. And, while the specific birds and animals did not change much throughout their use, the design of the squares underwent an almost continual evolution. According to rank, Qing-dynasty nobles had their respective official clothes. Princes, including ''Qin Wang'' and ''Jun Wang'', usually wore black robes as opposed to the blue robes in court, and had four circular designs, one on each shoulder, front, and back, as opposed to the usual front-and-back design. Specifically, princes of the blood used four front-facing dragons, ''Qin Wang'' had two front-facing and two side-facing dragons, and ''Jun Wang'' had four side-facing ones; all had five claws on each foot. ''Beile'' and ''Beizi'' had a circular design on their official clothing, the former having two front-facing dragons, the latter two side-facing ones; these dragons had only four claws on each foot, and are referred to as "drakes" or "great serpents" (巨蟒 jù-mǎng). National duke, general, ''efu'', "commoner" duke,

marquis A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...

and count had two front-facing, four-clawed dragons on square designs, whereas viscount and

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

had cranes and golden pheasants, as for mandarins of the first and second class. File:Rank Badge (China), mid- 19th century (CH 18563223).jpg, 3rd civil rank (peacock). Mid 19th century. Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum File:MandarinsRankBadges ArtGalleryNSW-20171107-2.jpg, 2nd military rank (lion). Late 18th cent.

Art Gallery of New South Wales The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most importa ...

File:Military rank badge with leopard (CBL C 3312).jpg, 3rd military rank (leopard). 19th or early 20th century. Chester Beatty Library File:Chinese painting Ancestors gallery 19th century.jpg, Members of three generations of a lineage are shown in Qing mandarin attire, complete with mandarin squares

Comparative table across dynasties

The specific birds and animals used to represent rank varied only slightly from the inception of mandarin squares until the end of the Qing dynasty. Officials who held a lower position or did odd jobs used the

magpie Magpies are birds of the Corvidae family. Like other members of their family, they are widely considered to be intelligent creatures. The Eurasian magpie, for instance, is thought to rank among the world's most intelligent creatures, and is one ...

during the Ming dynasty. Supervising officials used xiezhi. Musicians used the

oriole Oriole or Orioles may refer to: Animals * Old World oriole, colorful passerine birds in the family Oriolidae * New World oriole, a group of birds in the family Icteridae Music * The Orioles, an R&B and doo-wop group of the late 1940s and earl ...

. The following tables show this evolution:

Military

Civil

21st century

The use of the round-shaped and square-shaped has been revived in China following the Hanfu movement.

Korea

Korean rank badge (흉배 in Korean) is a small panel of embroidery that would have served to indicate the status of a government official in the Choson dynasty Korea (1392–1910). Made in the nineteenth century, it shows a pair of black and white

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, a ...

s, one above the other in opposing stance, surrounded by stylised cloud patterns in pink, purple and pale green upon a blue background. It would have been worn by a military official from the first to third ranks. Leopards and tigers, respected for their strength and courage in Korea, were used for the dress of military officials while civil officials wore crane motifs. This badge shows the distinctively spotted animals among rocks, waves and clouds in a pattern which remained virtually unchanged for 300 years. Image:Rank_badge.jpg, Korean rank badge, 1850-1900, Victoria & Albert Museum (no. FE.272-1995)

Vietnam

File:Annam MandarinRankBadge ArtGalleryNSW-20171107.jpg, Annamite (Vietnamese) badge, Nguyễn dynasty (19th century), civilian 8th rank. File:Quan phuc nha Nguyen.gif, Mandarins of the Nguyen dynasty (circa 1820). The Mandarin on the left is a "man of letters", with a stork on his chest and the one on the right is a military Mandarin, signified by a boar.

References

External links

* {{Types of Han Chinese clothing Chinese traditional clothing Chinese inventions History of Imperial China Insignia Korean embroidery Orders, decorations, and medals of Imperial China Vietnamese culture Vietnamese clothing