Page 67 - Chiense TExtiles, MET MUSEUM Pub 1934

CHINESE TEXTILES
waves and are sometimes scattered about in the clouds.
The Ta Ch'ing Hui Tien gives elaborate but incom-
plete regulations for the imperial and court costumes,
with illustrations of different types, and one finds much
evidence-often conflicting-in the robes themselves. For
instance, the pearl-embroidered five-clawed-dragon robe,
the gift to the Museum of Robert E. Tod, fits the illus-
tration and description of a ceremonial robe of the em-
press in every respect save one- the color. Where the
Ta Ch'ing Hui Tien prescribed yellow, this robe is blue.
Is it possible that this robe belonged to that very great
lady, T'zii Hsi, whom the modern Occidental always
thinks of as "the Empress of China," who is usually re-
ferred to as "the Empress Dowager," but who in reality,
with all her power, never received the title of empress
until after her death? And is it possible that with her
title of "West Palace" she was entitled only to the blue
ground? Suffice it to say that it is not well to be too dog-
matic about the regulations of official dress. We have it·
on the verbal testimony of one of the former officials in
the palace that, in general, the reds, oranges, yellows,
and purples were colors reserved for the imperial house-
hold, but there are exceptions to this. Red is used by all
classes for weddings and in funeral catafalques; very
small children may wear red and wives for the first
year after their marriage; and the priests, both Bud-
dhist and Taoist, wear it in ceremonial robes. Yellow is
used extensively by the Buddhist church and appears
also in some of the Taoist robes. There is also the ques-
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