Patches of Embroidery on Official Robes
(Buzi)
 Buzi
is a term 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, eighth 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 Com-missioner 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Historical documents indicate that prior to the Tang (618-907), the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 I the Chinese opera are mostly derived
from the buzi ornamentation.
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