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Buzi is a team referring to animal patterns embroidered
with silk thread in yellow and other colours on the front and back of robes
worn by officials during the Ming and Qing. In Chinese feudal hierarchy such
animal patterns were status symbols for government officials.
In 1393, or the 26th year of the Hongwu reign of the Ming, the imperial
court set strict rules on the robes the officials wore: Civil officials and
army officers alike should have buzi embroidered on either the front or the
back of the robes they wore. The buzi for civil officials features a flying
bird to symbolize literary grace; and that for army officers was a beast to
symbolize valour. The crane was for a top-rank civil official; yellow
pheasant, second rank; peacock, third rank; mail wild goose, fourth rank;
white silver pheasant, fifth rank; egret, sixth rank; mandarin duck, seventh
rank; quail, eightn rank; and long-tailed fly-catcher, ninth rank. For army
officers, kylin (or unicorn, an auspicious legendary animal with a horn and
scales all over its body) was for the first rank; lion for second rank;
leopard for third rank; tiger for fourth rank; bear for fifth rank; young
tiger for sixth and seventh rank; rhinoceros for eighth rank; and sea horse
for ninth rank. The Censor-in-chef and the Surveillance Commissioner were
required to wear robes with the pattern of a xiezhi (legendary animal
credited with the ability to distinguish between right and wrong).
The Qing Dynasty inherited the buzi system of the Ming, but there were some
differences between the two dynasties. Firstly, the patch of embroidery was
made for robes during the Ming but it was for mandarin jackets during the
Qing; secondly, during the Ming the buzi on the front of an official robe
was a whole patch of embroidery, whereas during the Qing, the patch on the
front of a mandarin jacket was cut in two because the jacket was buttoned
down the middle; third, during the Ming buzi appeared either on the front or
the back of a robe, while during the Qing it also appeared on the shoulders.
Moreover, during the Qing, buzi was round in shape for members of the
imperial clan and square for officials in various ranks.
Historical documents indicate that prior to the Tang (618-907), the rank of
the official robes in China was marked by colour and the quantity of
ornaments an official was supposed to wear. It was not until Empress Wu of
the Tang that animal and bird patterns were adopted to distinguish the ranks
of court officials and generals. This innovation rendered graphic images to
a hierarchical system whose complicated symbolism made it mind-boggling to
tell the rank of a court official. The patterns of embroidery on the
costumes of the Chinese opera are mostly derived from the buzi
ornamentation. |
