Page 65 - Chiense TExtiles, MET MUSEUM Pub 1934

CHINESE TEXTILES
lower garment. I wish to see all these displayed with the five
colors, so as to form the official robe.l 2
These twelve symbols have best been described in a
memorial on regulations for official costumes, by Yang
Chiung, quoted in the T'u Shu Chi Ch'eng ("Encyclo-
paedia of K'ang Hsi"). 13 They are as follows:
r, 2, and 3· The Sun, the Moon, and the Constellation,
which symbolize the light of the good and wise king
shining upon the world.
4· The Mountain, which distributes cloud and rain
and thus symbolizes the beneficence of the good and
wise king to his people.
5· The Dragon, ever infinite in its changes, which
symbolizes the adaptability of the good and wise king,
who publishes his laws and instructions according to the
needs of the time.
6. The Flowery Bird, with the five colors on its body,
which symbolizes the cultural accomplishments of the
good and wise king.
7· The Cups, with the representation of the tiger and
the long-tailed monkey, which symbolize the fact that
the good and wise king pacifies rebellions with super-
natural force as the tiger overpowers things with cour-
age and forcefulness. u
12
Legge, Chinese Classics, vol. III (Shu Ching), part r, p. 8o.
13
Summarized by Mr. Wang Chi-chen.
liThe original was vague- the writer grouped the tiger and
the monkey together as if they signified the same quality, but
according to other writers the monkey symbolizes cleverness or

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