Page 98 - Chiense TExtiles, MET MUSEUM Pub 1934

THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART
a collar, so that when it is worn, the effect is like that of
the old-fashioned army poncho. The shape of the Taoist
robe imitates that of the Lamaist. The robe of the ortho-
dox Buddhist priest, while it may employ the most gor-
geous materials, either is actually composed of small
pieces sewed together or is woven to simulate pieces-
a symbolic representation of the rags which Buddha
wore. The example in the Paul Bequest is of a tapestry
weave, and the five-clawed dragon indicates that the
wearer must have been of the imperial family or at least
employed in one of the imperial temples. One is tempt-
ed to associate this robe with the Emperor Shun Chih,
who is commonly believed not to have died in r66r,
as history records, but to have quietly abdicated and
retired to be the abbot of T'ien T'ai Shan, a small but
rich temple which stands in the hills west of Peking.
The Lama robes are gorgeous, many of them entirely
covered with rich embroidery and strips of Bat gold pa-
per. The dating of these Lama robes is difficult, and there
is also the question of what was done in Tibet and what
in China. The answer to the latter question is, we think,
r that most of them were done in China, and though we
1
are tempted to date both Dr. Hammond s and the Paul
robe (details in figs. 39, 40) in the Ming dynasty, it is
more logical to believe that they are no older than the
reign of K'ang Hsi, because the rise of the Lamaist Bud-
dhist church in China is associated definitely with the
Ch'ing dynasty and especially with K'ang Hsi. The
Lamaist hierarchy had been a political power in Tibet
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