In the feudal dynasties of China, the Emperor was the most respected and had a noble status, so all the things the Emperor used were precious. In particular, the Emperor's dragon robe was the most noble clothing in the world, symbolizing the authority of the emperor.
The Emperor's dragon robe is the most noble garment in the world.
The reason it is called a dragon robe is because the robe has an image of a dragon embroidered on it, the symbol of the Emperor. The dragon robe has 9 dragons embroidered on it: 2 dragons on the shoulders, 1 dragon on the back, 1 dragon covering the chest of the robe, 1 dragon covering the hem of the robe, and 4 small dragons embroidered on the bottom of the robe.
Regarding this issue, experts and scientists explain that ancient people often called emperors “true dragon, the emperor of the nine fives”. Calling the Emperor “nine fives” is because in ancient numerology, numbers were divided into negative and positive numbers, even numbers were negative, odd numbers were positive. In the positive numbers, the number 9 is the largest, the number 5 is in the middle. The word “nine” (number 9) has a harmonious sound with the word “nine” (long-lasting), meaning eternal, eternal. Therefore, the word “nine fives” was used to indicate the supreme nobility of the emperor, the righteous emperor, eternal life.
In addition to the nine dragons above, there are also small dragons on the collar, waist and sleeves, and countless curved lines under the dragon robe called “water feet”, which not only symbolize endless luck but also mean “unifying the country” and “forever peaceful”.
With these meanings, the dragon robe was only worn by the Emperor during important national ceremonies such as the coronation ceremony, the Nam Giao altar ceremony (heavenly worship ceremony), the Xa Tac altar ceremony (earthly worship ceremony), the Tong Mieu ceremony (ancestral worship ceremony), the reception of ambassadors...
Most dragon robes are yellow, however, each dynasty will base on the yin and yang and the five elements to determine which color is the most noble. During the Qin and Western Han dynasties, the dragon robe was black; during the Han Dynasty, the dragon robe turned yellow; during the Jin, Song, and Ming dynasties, the dragon robe was red... Many later dynasties also used yellow as their symbolic color. The image of the yellow dragon robe has become familiar through ancient costume films.
Chinese emperors in movies.
Because it is the Emperor’s noble robe, the process of making it is very elaborate. The materials used to make the dragon robe must be of the best quality, soft and comfortable, such as silk, brocade, etc., and are usually high-class fabrics. The design and the folds must be approved by the Emperor and the mandarins in the court before the design is completed and then transferred to the silk craftsmen.
Once the fabric is finished, one craftsman will cut it and send it to the next tailor to complete the rough part of the dragon robe. Finally, the robe will be embroidered with many elaborate motifs using the finest thread, and even made from real gold, precious stones, pearls and priceless night pearls.
Because it is mainly handmade and involves many steps, it takes craftsmen 3 years to complete a royal robe. There is even a tailor shop in the royal court dedicated to making clothes for the king and the royal family.
Chinese emperors wore dragon robes on important occasions. (Photo from the movie Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace).
The Emperor's royal robe has strict preservation regulations. The storage and changing of the robe are all done by specialists, so it can be avoided if it is not carefully preserved and damaged or worn out.
One of the strictest rules in preserving the royal robes was that they were not allowed to be washed with water. In the Imperial Palace, all the clothes and items in the palace were brought to the Huan Yi Bureau for washing. The laundry workers at the Huan Yi Bureau were all people of extremely low status.
Meanwhile, the king's dragon robe is the most precious garment, and cannot be casually washed by people of "inappropriate" status, which is tantamount to insulting the dignity of the royal family.
Furthermore, the process of making a dragon robe is extremely complicated. Although the designs and embroidery on the robes vary from dynasty to dynasty, they all have one thing in common: they use extremely rare materials. Therefore, you cannot just wash them with water, as it will easily damage the robe.
The dragon robe is embroidered with a special thread, so when it comes into contact with water, it will be washed away and completely lose its shine, no longer bright and brilliant. In addition, the dragon embroidery patterns are easily deformed after washing. Therefore, the method used by the royal palace to clean the dragon robe is to use incense to avoid damage and keep the robe clean. However, this method can only remove the bad smell but cannot remove some stains on the dragon robe.
Basically, the dragon robe does not get dirty because it is used infrequently. The emperor only wears it on important occasions. Normally, when attending court, it is not necessary to wear the dragon robe. The everyday robe used for attending court is called the bian robe. Therefore, in a year, the emperor may only wear the dragon robe a few times.
Furthermore, the dragon robe is an outer garment, the Emperor must wear another garment underneath. Therefore, the lifespan of a dragon robe is very long because it uses high-quality materials and the low frequency of use means that a dragon robe can be worn for many years.
In many dynasties, to show the utmost respect, if the dragon robe was dirty, it would not be used anymore, but would be replaced with a new one. In the palace, there were usually more than 2000 servants weaving dragon robes for the Emperor all year round. Therefore, the Emperor did not have only one dragon robe. Dragon robes were also divided into many types and had strict regulations on their use. In each fixed case, the Emperor wore a certain type of dragon robe, and sometimes even changed several sets of dragon robes in a day.
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