View source for Mandarin square

{{Short description|Large badge sewn onto the surcoat of an official}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2014}}

{{Infobox Chinese
| t = {{linktext|補子}}
| s = 补子
| p = bŭzi
|l=[[Chinese_titles#Men|Master]]'s [[Embroidered patch|patch]]
| w = putzŭ
| pic = Qing Dynasty Mandarin square.jpg
| piccap = [[Qing dynasty]] mandarin square, 6th civil rank, about 30 cm square.
| lang1 = English
| lang1_content = Mandarin square/ rank badge
| qn=Bổ tử
| chuhan=補子
| hangul=흉배
| hanja             =胸背 |rr= hyungbae|| mnc ={{ManchuSibeUnicode|ᠰᠠᠪᡳᡵᡤᡳ}}|| mnc_v  =sabirgi}}

A '''mandarin square''' ({{lang-zh|t=補子}}), also known as a '''rank badge''', was a large embroidered badge sewn onto the [[surcoat]] of [[Mandarin (bureaucrat)|officials]] in [[History of China#Imperial China|Imperial China]] (decorating {{Transliteration|zh|[[hanfu]]}} and {{Transliteration|zh|[[qizhuang]]}}), [[Korea]] (decorating the {{Transliteration|zh|[[gwanbok]]}} of the Joseon dynasty), in [[Vietnam]], and the [[Ryukyu Kingdom]]. It was embroidered with detailed, colourful animal or bird insignia indicating the rank of the official wearing it. Despite its name, the mandarin square ({{Transliteration|zh|buzi}}) falls into two categories: round {{Transliteration|zh|buzi}} and square {{Transliteration|zh|buzi}}.<ref>{{Cite book |title=A history of Chinese science and technology. Volume 2 |date=2014 |others=Yongxiang Lu, Chuijun Qian, Hui He |isbn=978-3-662-44166-4 |location=Heidelberg |oclc=893557979}}</ref>{{Rp|page=396}} Clothing decorated with {{Transliteration|zh|buzi}} is known as {{Transliteration|zh|[[bufu]]}} ({{Lang-zh|c=|s=补服|t=補服}}) in China.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-04-04 |title=Guide to Hanfu Types Summary & Dress Codes (Ming Dynasty) |url=https://www.newhanfu.com/13840.html |access-date=2022-08-27 |website=www.newhanfu.com |language=en-US}}</ref> In the 21st century, the use of {{Transliteration|zh|buzi}} on {{Transliteration|zh|[[hanfu]]}} was revived following the [[Hanfu Movement|Hanfu movement]].

== China ==
The history of the square-shaped {{Transliteration|zh|buzi}} is unclear. However, in the [[Yuan dynasty]] encyclopaedia ''[[Shilin Guangji]]'' ({{Lang-zh|c=事林廣記|labels=no}}), as well as contemporary Persian paintings of the Mongol court, there are pictures showing officials wearing clothing with squares on the back, decorated with flora, animals and birds.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=University College London|journal = Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies|volume = 8|issue = 2|pages = 71–130|jstor = 2717953|last1 = Cammann|first1 = Schuyler|year = 1944|doi = 10.2307/2717953}}</ref> By the [[Yuan dynasty]], the square-shaped {{Transliteration|zh|buzi}} was already worn as clothing ornaments.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Sullivan |first=Michael |title=The arts of China |date=1999 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=0-520-21876-0 |edition=4th expanded and rev |location=Berkeley, California |oclc=40200406}}</ref>{{Rp|page=235}}

=== Ming dynasty ===
[[File:Liu Daxia.jpg|thumb|A 15th-century portrait of the [[Ming dynasty|Ming]] minister [[Liu Daxia]]. His mandarin square indicates that he was a civil official of the first rank.]]

Mandarin squares were first authorized for the wear of officials in the [[Sumptuary law|sumptuary laws]] of 1391 of the [[Ming dynasty]].<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=235}} The use of squares depicting birds for civil officials and animals for military officials was an outgrowth of the use of similar squares, apparently for decorative use, in the [[Yuan dynasty]].<ref>[[Schuyler V. Cammann|Cammann, Schuyler]]: "Birds and Animals as Ming and Ch'ing Badges of Rank", ''Arts of Asia'' (May to June 1991), page 89.</ref> The original court dress regulations of the Ming dynasty were published in 1368, but did not refer to badges as rank insignia.<ref>{{cite Q|Q117360120|pages =75–76}}</ref> These badges continued to be used through the remainder of the Ming and the subsequent [[Qing dynasty]] until the imperial system fell in 1912.

Ming nobles and officials wore their rank badges on full-cut red robes with the design stretching from side to side, completely covering the chest and back. This caused the badges to be slightly trapezoidal with the tops narrower than the bottom.<ref>Cammann, Schuyler: "Chinese Mandarin Squares, Brief Catalogue of the Letcher Collection", ''University Museum Bulletin'' Vol 17, No 3 (June 1953), pages 8–9.</ref> The Ming [[statute]]s never refer to the number of birds or animals that should appear on the badges. In the beginning, two or three were used. In a typical example of paired birds, they were shown in flight on a background of bright cloud streamers on a gold background. Others showed one bird on the ground with the second in flight. The addition of flowers produced an idealized naturalism.<ref>Cammann, Schuyler: "Chinese Mandarin Squares, Brief Catalogue of the Letcher Collection", ''University Museum Bulletin'' Vol 17, No 3 (June 1953), page 9.</ref><ref>{{cite Q|Q117360120| pages=95}}</ref>

=== Qing dynasty ===
[[File:Qing Dynasty Mandarin.jpg|thumb|A Qing dynasty photograph of a [[Mandarin (bureaucrat)|government official]] with mandarin square on the chest.]]

There was a sharp difference between the Ming and Qing styles of badges: the Qing badges were smaller with a decorative border.<ref>Cammann, Schuyler, "Birds and Animals as Ming and Ch’ing Badges of Rank", ''Arts of Asia'' (May–June 1991), page 90.</ref> And, while the specific birds and animals did not change much throughout their use, the design of the squares underwent an almost continual evolution.<ref>Jackson, Beverley & Hugus, David, ''Ladder to the Clouds'', Berkeley: Ten Speed Press, 1999, Chapter 15, pages 215–289.</ref> According to rank, [[Chinese nobility|Qing-dynasty nobles]] had their respective official clothes. Princes, including ''Qin Wang'' and ''Jun Wang'', usually wore black robes as opposed to the blue robes in court, and had four circular designs, one on each shoulder, front, and back, as opposed to the usual front-and-back design. Specifically, [[Prince du sang|princes of the blood]] used four front-facing dragons, ''Qin Wang'' had two front-facing and two side-facing dragons, and ''Jun Wang'' had four side-facing ones; all had five claws on each foot. ''Beile'' and ''Beizi'' had a circular design on their official clothing, the former having two front-facing dragons, the latter two side-facing ones; these dragons had only four claws on each foot, and are referred to as "drakes" or "great serpents" (巨蟒 jù-mǎng). National duke, general, ''efu'', "commoner" [[duke]], [[marquis]] and [[count]] had two front-facing, four-clawed dragons on square designs, whereas [[viscount]] and [[baron]] had cranes and golden pheasants, as for mandarins of the first and second class.
<gallery>
File:Rank Badge (China), mid- 19th century (CH 18563223).jpg|3rd civil rank (peacock). Mid 19th century. [[Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum]]
File:MandarinsRankBadges ArtGalleryNSW-20171107-2.jpg|2nd military rank (lion). Late 18th cent. [[Art Gallery of New South Wales]]
File:Military rank badge with leopard (CBL C 3312).jpg|3rd military rank (leopard). 19th or early 20th century. [[Chester Beatty Library]]
File:Chinese painting Ancestors gallery 19th century.jpg|Members of two generations of a lineage are shown in Qing mandarin attire, complete with mandarin squares. The bottom row is likely the wife/concubines of those on the middle row.
</gallery>

=== Comparative table across dynasties ===
[[File:Adam Schall (detail).jpg|thumb|180px|Jesuit missionary [[Adam Schall]] wearing a robe with civilian mandarin badge of the first rank]]

The specific birds and animals used to represent rank varied only slightly from the inception of mandarin squares until the end of the Qing dynasty. Officials who held a lower position or did odd jobs used the [[magpie]] during the Ming dynasty. Supervising officials used [[xiezhi]]. Musicians used the [[Old World oriole|oriole]]. The following tables<ref>{{Cite Q|Q117360068}}</ref> show this evolution:

==== Military ====
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Rank!! Ming (1391–1526) !! Ming and Qing (1527–1662) !! Late Qing (1662–1911)!! Image
|-
| 1 || Lion || Lion || [[Qilin]] (after 1662)|| [[File:Zha La Feng A.jpg|100px]]
|-
| 2 || Lion || Lion || Lion
|-
| 3 ||Tiger or leopard || Tiger || [[Leopard]] (after 1664) ||
|-
| 4 ||Tiger or leopard || Leopard || Tiger (after 1664) ||
|-
| 5 ||Bear || Bear || Bear ||
|-
| 6 || Panther || Panther || [[Panthera|Panther]] ||
|-
| 7 || Panther || Panther || [[Rhinoceros]] (after 1759)<ref>Note that the rhinoceros is depicted as a [[Bovinae|buffalo]], rather than as a [[rhinoceros]].</ref> ||
|-
| 8 || Rhinoceros || Rhinoceros || [[Rhinoceros]] ||
|-
| 9 ||Rhinoceros || Sea horse<ref>Note that the sea horse is depicted as a horse living under water, rather than as a [[seahorse]].</ref> || Sea [[horse]]<ref>Jackson, Beverley & Hugus, David, ''Ladder to the Clouds'', Berkeley: Ten Speed Press, 1999, Table 4, page 133;</ref> ||
|}

==== Civil ====
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Rank!! Ming (1391–1526) !! Ming and Qing (1527–1662) !! Late Qing (1662–1911) !! Image
|-
| 1 || Crane or golden pheasant || Crane || [[Crane (bird)|Crane]] || [[File:顧璘.jpg|100px]]
|-
| 2 || Crane or golden pheasant || Golden pheasant || [[Golden pheasant]] || [[File:Zhao Bingzhong.jpg|100px]]
|-
| 3 ||Peacock or wild goose || Peacock || [[Peacock]] || [[File:徐如珂.jpg|100px]]
|-
| 4 ||Peacock or wild goose || Wild goose || [[Greylag goose|Wild goose]] || [[File:Li Kaixian.jpg|100px]]
|-
| 5 ||Silver pheasant|| Silver pheasant || [[Silver pheasant]] || [[File:Ni Yuanlu.jpg|100px]]
|-
| 6 || Egret or mandarin duck || Egret || [[Egret]] || [[File:江韶宗.jpg|100px]]
|-
| 7 || Egret or mandarin duck || Mandarin duck || [[Mandarin duck]]<ref name=artinpl/> || [[File:Weng Pu Portrait of a young official.jpg|100px]]
|-
| 8 || Oriole, quail or paradise flycatcher || Oriole || [[Quail]] || [[File:忠靖冠服容像.jpg|100px]]
|-
| 9 ||Oriole, quail or paradise flycatcher || Quail || [[Paradise flycatcher]]<ref>Jackson, Beverley & Hugus, David, ''Ladder to the clouds'', Berkeley: Ten Speed Press, 1999, Table 3, page 133.</ref> ||
|}

=== 21st century ===
The use of the round-shaped and square-shaped {{Transliteration|zh|buzi}} has been revived in China following the [[Hanfu Movement|Hanfu movement]].

== Korea ==
Korean rank badge (흉배 in [[Korean (language)|Korean]]) is a small panel of [[embroidery]] that would have served to indicate the status of a government official in the [[Choson dynasty]] [[Korea]] (1392–1910). Made in the nineteenth century, it shows a pair of black and white [[leopard]]s, one above the other in opposing stance, surrounded by stylised cloud patterns in pink, purple and pale green upon a blue background. It would have been worn by a military official from the first to third ranks. Leopards and tigers, respected for their strength and courage in Korea, were used for the dress of military officials while civil officials wore crane motifs. This badge shows the distinctively spotted animals among rocks, waves and clouds in a pattern which remained virtually unchanged for 300 years.
<gallery>
Image:Rank_badge.jpg|Korean rank badge, 1850-1900, [[Victoria & Albert Museum]] (no. FE.272-1995)
</gallery>

== Vietnam ==
<gallery>
File:Annam MandarinRankBadge ArtGalleryNSW-20171107.jpg|Annamite (Vietnamese) badge, Nguyễn dynasty (19th century), civilian 8th rank.
File:Quan phuc nha Nguyen.gif|Mandarins of the Nguyen dynasty (circa 1820). The Mandarin on the left is a "man of letters", with a stork on his chest and the one on the right is a military Mandarin, signified by a boar.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Crawfurd |first=John |url=https://seasiavisions.library.cornell.edu/catalog/sea:010 |title=Journal of an embassy from the Governor-General of India to the courts of Siam and Cochin-China : exhibiting a view of the actual state of those kingdoms |publisher=H. Colburn |year=1828 |location=London |pages=262–263}}</ref>
File:Quan phuc Nguyen Tri Phuong.jpg|Sixth ranked mandarin uniform.
File:Huang Qing Zhigong Tu - 013.jpg|A Vietnamese envoy with a mandarin square depicted in the [[Huang Qing Zhigong Tu]] (皇清職貢圖)
File:Phùng Khắc Khoan2.jpg|[[Phùng Khắc Khoan]], his uniform can be seen with a mandarin square.
File:328. TONKIN - Moncay - Le Tri-Chau. Sous-Préfet en costume de cérémonie.jpg|A Vietnamese mandarin wearing his ceremonial uniform.
</gallery>

== See also ==
*[[Tablion]]
*[[Chinese hat knob]]
*[[Hanfu]], [[Gwanbok]], [[Qizhuang]]
*[[Nine-rank system]], for an earlier system for ranking officials in China
*[[Chinese auspicious ornaments in textile and clothing]]

== References ==
{{Reflist
|refs =
<ref name="artinpl">{{cite web |author = Marcin Latka |title = Portrait of a young official |url = https://www.facebook.com/artinpl/photos/a.679825939063270/679826022396595/?type=3&theater |work = artinpl |access-date = 31 July 2019 }}</ref>
}}

== Further reading ==
* "Rank insignia for military officers of the imperial court", in: {{citation |last = Welch |first = Patricia Bjaaland |title = Chinese Art |publisher= Tuttle |year= 2008 |isbn=978-0-8048-3864-1 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=5sgO9BuZQSEC&pg=PA110 |pages=110–111 }}
* Helena Heroldova, "[https://publikace.nm.cz/file/99f2c0c55c3b6f4f0ac3e7083907b6f6/31038/ANpM_2011_7_Heroldova_ocred.pdf Rank badges from the Chinese Collection of the Naprstek Museum]", ''Annals of the [[Náprstek Museum|Naprstek Museum]]'' 32 (2011), pp. 87-138.
* {{citation
 |title       = Rank and Style: Power Dressing in Imperial China
 |publisher   = Pacific Asia Museum
 |date        = 2008
 |url         = http://www.pacificasiamuseum.org/rankandstyle/
 |access-date  = June 19, 2016
 |url-status = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20161007121212/http://www.pacificasiamuseum.org/rankandstyle/
 |archive-date = 7 October 2016
 |df = dmy-all
}}

== External links ==
* {{Commons category-inline}}

{{-}}
{{Types of Han Chinese clothing}}

[[Category:Chinese traditional clothing]]
[[Category:Chinese inventions]]
[[Category:History of Imperial China]]
[[Category:Insignia]]
[[Category:Korean embroidery]]
[[Category:Orders, decorations, and medals of Imperial China]]
[[Category:Culture of Vietnam]]
[[Category:Vietnamese clothing]]