Abstract：The Yuan dynasty is the first grand unification empire founded by a northern nomadic people in Chinese history. A huge number of ancient sources have proven that in this dynasty, Mongol people’s distinctive clothing style characteristic of their nomadic identity exerted an influence upon the Chinese fashion style of that period. Even after the collapse of the Yuan dynasty, the Mongol styled costumes did not disappear but became even more popular in various forms throughout the following Ming dynasty. This paper, main on the basis of examining a large number of historical written materials, takes an in-depth study on the various styles and application of the Mongol clothing style in the Ming dynasty. As a panoramic survey, it attempts to outline the use and evolution of the style in this dynasty and do some representative case studies in detail. Thus, this paper, besides discussing the traditional question on the history of clothing, such as the use, changed designs and abandonment of Mongol clothing in the Ming dynasty, initiates a series of researches from sociological perspective. It offers a preliminary study on the people wearing Mongol-styled clothing in the Ming dynasty, their occupations, why they used these clothing and how those clothing influenced social psychology in this period. It also attempts to, via clothing, discuss the changes of Chinese society transition which have been caused by the migration of nomadic ethnic groups in northern China to the hinterland. And this is another question this paper intends to raise.

Keywords: the Ming dynasty, the Yuan dynasty, Mongol, Costume, Clothing.

 

 

INTRODUCTION

The Yuan dynasty established by Mongol ethnic group was the first great unified empire founded by an ethnic minority in Chinese history. The Mongol costumes in 13-14 century had typical nomadic features of northern or inner Asian ethnic group, and the costumes is totally different from the classical clothes and hats of the Han ethnic group of the Tang dynasty唐 and the Song dynasty宋. Though the Yuan dynasty lasted just for a short period, a huge number of objects, paintings and historical archives show that, in the Yuan dynasty, the different style and form of Mongol costumes, characteristic of nomadic ethnic group, exerts influence upon contemporary Chinese costumes. Moreover, Mongol costumes have not disappeared as Mongol empire and the Yuan dynasty collapsed. On the contrary, with different forms and styles, they became even much more popular in society of the Ming dynasty. This paper shall do a general study on the use of various styles of the costume of the Mongol - Yuan dynasty in the Ming dynasty, and attempts to analyze presumptively issues like the users of those clothings, the reason and social psychology of their use.  

For the topic “costumes of Mongol empire and the Yuan dynasty available in the Ming dynasty”, there is no special study or book discussing or analyzing it. However, papers and monographs on the costume of ancient China are rich in contents and numerous in categories, and studies on the costumes of the Yuan dynasty and the Ming dynasty have also been fruitful[2]. Some studies on the costume of the Yuan and Ming dynasties take a general view upon the costumes, and some of them include brief accounts on particular designs of the costumes that continued to be used in the Ming dynasty[3]. From the quotation in the note, we can see that most of the studies are introductory and sporadic. So there is a need for a systematic investigation.

Before taking detailed analysis on the costumes of the Ming dynasty under the influence of Mongol empire and the Yuan Dynasty, it is essential to have a general view on the overall situation of the said impact. This is done through an investigation into historical archives.

Historical archives from the late Yuan dynasty to the mid-and-late Ming Dynasty, include general accounts on the impact of the costumes of the Mongol empire and the Yuan dynasty. Scholar-officials living from the end of the Yuan dynasty to the establishment of the Ming dynasty spared no energy in accounting the impacts. As Song Lian宋濂(1310-1381)writes, “when the Song dynasty collapsed and the Yuan dynasty has been founded, people’s wear has changed to square and conical straw hat, and clothes with narrow sleeves. 会宋亡为元，更易方笠窄袖衫.” [4] Fang Xiaoru方孝孺(1357-1402)writes:

The Yuan dynasty has ruled the land to the south of the Yangtse River…and in less than ten years… habits and customs of the Song dynasty have all disappeared. Scholars no longer wear ancient Chinese robe, and they imitated the language, wear and makeup of the rulers for quick promotion. Otherwise people would laugh at them as if they were backward or low-brow. Only those very much confident of themselves and their beliefs remained unchanged; others would definitely change their clothes. 元既有江南……未数十年……宋之遗习消灭尽矣。为士者不服深衣，效其语言容饰，以附于上，异速获仕进。否则诎笑以为鄙怯，非确然自信者，鲜不为之变[5].

 

As early as the establishment of the Ming dynasty, in the first year of the emperor Hongwu 洪武reign（1368），Emperor Taizu明太祖朱元璋 immediately promulgated an imperial edict, requiring to restoration the clothes and hats of the Tang-style诏复衣冠如唐制. A Veritable Record of the Ming Dynasty明实录records that:

Khubilai Khan used nomadic customs to substitute the systems of the Han Chinese in China. Members of all social classes shared the braided hairstyle, awl-like topknot and long-brim nomadic hat. Their clothes include pleated trousers, narrow sleeves, plait-line robe with pleats on the waist. Women wore short garments with narrow sleeves and inflated skirt. The old tradition of the Chinese costume disappeared…and all the nomadic clothes, nomadic language and nomadic surnames are all banned. 元世祖…悉以胡俗变易中国之制，士庶咸辫发椎髻、深檐胡帽 ，衣服则为裤褶窄袖及辫线腰褶，妇女衣窄袖短衣、下服裙囊，无复中国衣冠之旧……胡服、胡语、胡姓一切禁止[6].

 

From the description above, which quotes the essays engraved on gravestones and political orders of the government of the Ming dynasty, we not only have some knowledge on the features of the Mongol costume, but also feel directly the heavy influence of Mongol costume upon the Han people in the Yuan dynasty. It is worth mentioning that, throughout the Ming dynasty, this prohibition order, which was promulgated in the first year of the reign of Emperor Taizu, is a big and important event in the national political life. The issuance of the edict shows that at least in the early Ming period, the impact of Mongol costume styles was still widespread.

Unsurprisingly, by investigating and analyzing the historical archives of different periods of the Ming dynasty, we still can see the shadow of the Mongol costumes. For instance, A Veritable Record of the Ming Dynasty still records the social situation of the fifth year of the Hongwu reign (1372 ):

Common people did not become civilized, cities, counties, villages, rural neighborhood still followed highly of the customes of the Yuan dynasty…Chinese clothes and hats were destroyed by northern nomadic custom. 民不见化，市乡里闾尚循元俗……中国衣冠坏于胡俗[7]。

An imperial edict issued in the twenty-fourth year of the Hongwu reign (1391) stipulated costume rites. Specificly, gentry women were instructed that:

Daily wear should be in clothes on round collar with colors, no nomadic clothes shall continue to be used.……其常服用颜色圆领衫，不得仍用胡服.[8]

 

It also reads that, in the seventh year of the Zhengtong 正统reign (1442), some officials observed:

Officials of the central and regional government, military leaders and soldiers, and ordinary people, advocated nomadic system in terms of daily clothes and hats…with tassel hanging, feather inserted and pointy hat top and short sleeves or even no sleeves…we suggest the procuratorate is required to issue an order and make the procurators patrolling tour to ban all these habits strictly. Emperor agreed it. 中外官舍军民戴帽穿衣习尚胡制……垂缨插翎尖顶秃袖……请令都察院出榜俾巡按监察御史严禁，从之[9].

 

A Compilation of My Learning吾学编records that: “in January of the Spring of the 4^th year in the reign of Emperor Hongzhi弘治（1491）, nomadic clothes and nomadic languages were prohibited. 弘治四年春正月,禁胡服胡语”[10].

 

A Sequel to the Book Well Kept续藏书writes,

In the begining of the reign of Emperor Hongzhi, He Qiaoxin何乔新, has been promoted to Minister of the Ministry of Punishments, and made an essay beseeching to prohibit nomadic clothes and nomadic languages in the empire capital. 泰陵初，召公(何乔新)为刑部尚书，上书乞禁京师胡服胡语。[11]

Even in the late Ming dynasty, Mongol style costume was still in use. Wang Tonggui王同轨, a Ming literati, still wrote:

Nevertheless, to the north of the Yellow River, it is not rare to see people wearing the hat with long brim, clothes of pleated waist and women wearing clothes with narrow sleeves and short garments…Customs are long-lasting and hard to be altered. People were willing to be degraded and not to forget its real origin.然常见河以北帽犹深檐，服犹腰褶，妇女衣窄袖短衫……习久而难变，甘陋而相忘耳。[12].

 

Although the authorities of the Ming dynasty reiterated the prohibition on Mongol style costumes, the remaining impact of costumes of Mongol Empire and the Yuan dynasty continues and shows much stronger in the northern China[13].

 

 

CASE ANALYSIS ON THE MONGOL STYLE COSTUME IN THE MING DYNASTY

     Late Yuan and early Ming scholar Ye Ziqi叶子奇(1327-1390) commented the clothes of the Yuan dynasty “ were suitable to both upper and lower classes, and it is hard to tell the difference between the superior and the subordinates merely from their dress上下均可服，等威不甚辨也。”[14]. Archaeological studies and historical paintings also supports the argument that different styles of the costume of both Mongol-Yuan dynasty had been shared and widely used by different social classes,helping to creat a long-lasting influence. This paper choosen some representative and typical Mongol style costumes in Ming time to make case study in below.

 

I. The Boli Hat

     The Boli hat钹笠帽 was one of the most popular hats used by Mongols in the Yuan dynasty. Its body is round with a crown, its brim extendings outwards and going down. Because it is like a cymbal, which in the Chinese language is Boli, it received the name. It is worn by emperors, officials and male civilians of Yuan dynasty. It was recorded that “both the officials and common people put on the (Boli) hat whose brim is a little round官民皆带帽，其檐或圆”[15]. The most precious and luxurious Boli Hat belonged to the Yuan emperor. According to the Yuan shi Yufu zhi (元史·舆服志Chapter of Clothes, A History of the Yuan dynasty), this hat had numerous designs, such as Baoxiang jinfeng boli (宝项金凤钹笠, Boli hat decorated with precious stones and golden phoenix), Zhu yuan bian boli (珠缘边钹笠,Boli hat with its brims decorated by jewels), Jinfeng ding boli (金凤顶笠,Boli Hat Topped with a Golden Phoenix). The most luxurious one is the Qibao chongding guan (七宝重顶冠,Boli Double Crown of Seven Treasuries)[16]. We can see this hat from historical paintings of the Yuan emperors.

At the same time, the Boli hat was also a hat used by ordinary Mongol people in their daily lives in the Yuan dynasty, and this actually influenced the Han ethnic group. The wide use of the Boli hat among commoners can be proven by excavated materials from tombs of the Yuan dynasty across China[17].

     Actually in the Ming dynasty, the Boli Hat still existed and was used more widely among many social classes. The most obvious users are Xuli(胥吏, governmental clerk), Jiapu (家仆, familial servants). The Boli Hat they worn are usually called damao(大帽, big hat) in historical documents of Ming, possibly it is because the Boli Hat is much rounder and bigger than the traditional Futou(幞头headwrap) worn by the Han ethnic group. We can see it from the pictures cited above.

     Xuli胥吏, (or lixu吏胥, or liyuan吏员), were the governmental clerks at all levels of in the traditional Chinese bureaucratic system. They were subordinate to governmental officials. Many notes and novels from the Ming dynasty keep some records about them wearing the Boli hat. Jinglin zaji (泾林杂记, Miscellaneous Records of Jinglin) records that, “one day at leisure, the gatekeeper reports that there are government clerks who deliver a letter. [The master] call them in. Both of them wear big hats and tough silk clothes, seeming to be on official duty一日闲居，阍者报有宦仆投书,呼之入,两人俱大帽绢衣若承差状. ”[18] Literary works also have portrayals of governmental clerks wearing big hat. In Pai’an jingqi（拍案惊奇，Amazing Tales）, it has, “a group of people in big hat and in green clothes… are clerks of the chief examiner”一伙青衣大帽人……乃是大主考的书办[19]. Yujiao Li玉娇梨 reads that, “a person in green and in big hat…is a clerk of the authorities”一个青衣大帽……是按院承差。[20].

Compared with officials, Xuli in the Ming dynasty are a relatively huge social and political group with the remarkable social influence. Ming literati had numerous comments on Xuli in their writings. Hou Fangyu侯方域(1618-1655), leader of the Fushe（复社，Restoration Society）in the late Ming Dynasty, writed: “ Each day, clerks go in group. In each county the total number is no less than one thousand…thus there are 300,000 clerks in one thousand countries吏胥日以伙，每县殆不止千人矣。……今天下大县以千数……是千县则三十万矣”[21]. The famous scholar-official Gu Yanwu顾炎武(1613-1682) states that, “all power actually has been reaped from officials to the clerks, and so called officials merely have their titles. Clerks are the de facto governors of the country今夺百官之权而一切归之吏胥，所谓百官者虚名，而柄国者吏胥而已”[22]. These viewpoints prove that clerks in the Ming dynasty were a social group with a large population and strong political impact. Thus this social group used the Boli hats, which were inheriting from the Yuan dynasty. Thereby we can not ignore its influence upon the costume of the Ming dynasty.

Another group of users wearing Boli hat were familial servants of bureaucratic and royal families of the Ming dynasty. In archives and documents, they are referred to as Yuanzi院子or Jiaren家人. The Chapter 14 of the Erke Pai’an jingqi（二刻拍案惊奇，Amazing Stories: Second Series,）records that, “Monsieur Zhao...called some Jiaren who came here just now with big hat and Yisa to go to the opposite gate赵大夫……叫几个方才随来家的戴大帽穿一撒的家人押了过对门”[23]. Xingshi hengyan (醒世恒言, Stories to Awaken the Society) said that: “these friends are fairly happy and bring with them some Jiaren...and the followers are each in eye-catching clothes and the big hat”这几个朋友好不高兴，带了五六个家人上路……跟随人役个个鲜衣大帽[24].

Familial servants undoubtedly spread the use of the Boli Hat, and thereby this hat has become a symbol of the lower-ranking servants. Stories to Awaken the Society reads:

That man laughed and said, “actually you did not recognize me, and I am servant Hu’er from Guo’s family...if you are suspicious of this, you can go onto the city gate and ask the keeper whether I am really well-known or not”. And the owner, seeing his big hat, just trusted him那人笑道：‘原来你不认得我，我就是郭令公家丁胡二……你若疑惑，明早同到城门上去，问那管门的，谁个不认得我。这主人家被他把大帽儿一磕，便信以为真[25].”

 

Yishi（役使，Postmen）are another professionals wearing Boli hat. They are are in charge of the delivery of files and letters in the Ming dynasty. Shouguan man lu（守官漫录，Miscellaneous Records of the Governor）records that the postmen’s clothes include a small pockets and conical hat小囊笠帽[26]. The conical hat was Boli hat actually.

In ancient Chinese society, Xuli are always despised by the scholar-officials who identify complacently themselves as “pure stream”清流. At the same time, the familial servants further belong to “degraded civilians”. And postmen actually belong to the lower-ranking professionals. Thus in the Ming dynasty, users of Boli hats were lower-ranking professionals and the hat became a symbol of their identities. The reason is the traditiona in the Yuan dynasty, this hat has been widely used by civilians because of its convenience. The Boli hat has a wide and big brim, which are sun-proofing and rain-proofing. In Suo zhui lu(琐缀录, Records of Jade Decoration), Yin Zhi尹直(1431–1511)，a scholar member of the Imperial Academy翰林院, comments that the Boli Hat is“ not a clothes a scholar-official wears非士服”, but it “can prevent sunburn遮日耳”[27]. The feature made it a good choice for postmen and those who had to work outside.

In addition, some records in historical documents provide a political interpretation of the choice of hat-wearing. For instance, in the Ming dynasty, The Ming encyclopedia Sancai Tuhui(三才图会, Collected illustrations of the three powers) describes a hat named Zaoli jin（皂隶巾，Headwrap of servants）. It says that this headwrap “is worn by degraded professionals” and it further says that “this hat was worn by high-graded and decent scholar-officials in the northern nomadic Yuan dynasty, thereby the Emperor Taizu had government runners to wear it, showing an insult against someone此贱役者之服也，相传胡元时为卿大夫之冠，高皇帝以冠隶人，示绌辱人之意云”[28]. This material suggests that the use of the Boli hat among the lower social class in Ming dynasty could have political reasons. But it stands out as the only material making such an argument, so further research is needed to confirm its truthfulness.

Ⅱ. From Waist-Thread Coat of the Yuan Dynasty to Yesa Robe and Pleated Robe in the Ming Dynasty

Yaoxian Ao (腰线袄, The waist-thread coat or Bianxian Ao, 辫线袄, the plait-line coat) was one very important and popular coat style in the Yuan dynasty. It had typical nomadic feature. The past studies have mentioned it frequently[29]. As for its form and style, Xu Ting徐霆, an ambassador to Mongol empire from the Southern Song dynasty wrote in his work:

The waist-thread coat has numerous narrow pleats on the waist… and then people use red and purple thread made of silk to fasten on their waists. That is called a waist-thread. When on horse, it can tighten the waist and is eye-catching and beautiful.（腰线袄）腰间密密打作细折，不计其数，……又用红紫帛捻成线，横在腰，谓之‘腰线’，盖马上腰围紧束突出，彩艳好看[30].

 

From this record we can see that, the waist-thread coat had two typical features: decoration around the waist and the other narrow and dense pleats on the lower hem. Its lower hem is more or less like pleated skirt worn by nowadays ladies. Since the waist thread is usually made by twisting braids. The biggest advantage of this design is to benefit horse-riding, for the rider “when on horse, it can tighten the waist”. Till the Ming dynasty, a literati wrote that the advantage of this coat lies in “denseness and narrowness of the waist pleats and convenience to horse-riding腰褶皆细密，攒束以便上马”[31]. Thus we can see that the waist-thread coat is a special costume produced for the sake of the nomadically horse-riding lifestyle.

The waist-thread coat is basically enjoyed by the upper class during the period of the Mongol Empire. As Xu Ting claimed, “the Mongol Emperor and officials on and above the level of Secretariat used to wear it鞑主及中书向上等人曾着”[32]. In the Yuan dynasty, the use of this coat has been gradually spread. In Yuan Shi, royal guards and swordsmen and imperial followers in the Yuan dynasty wore waist-thread coats decorated with flowers in various colors[33].

Thanks to the ethnic feature and the wide use of the Waist-Thread Coat, the Han people in the Yuan dynasty views the coat as the symbol of the Mongols. In Grass and Wood, it records that “The luxious clothes of the northerners are like this: As for the hat, its top is golden. As for the coat, its waist is decorated with thread. As for the boots, their tops are decorated with goose feather”北人华靡之服，帽则金其顶，袄则线其腰，靴则鹅其顶[34].

This coat was inherited in the Ming dynasty and given special meaning. Da Ming huidian (大明会典, A Collection of the Code of the Great Ming) defined the waist-thread coat as the costume for the officials in charge of royal protocol in the course of a defined period called Keqi刻期[35]. It writes that, “the Keqi wear square headwraps and colourful waist-thread coats decorated with eagle and sparrow-hawk at front and back刻期，冠方顶巾，衣胸背鹰鹞花腰线袄子”[36]. This definitely shows a tradition inherited from the Yuan dynasty. 

As a matter of fact, the significant influence the waist-thread coat exerts upon the costumes of the Ming dynasty is its dense and narrow pleats on the lower hem. This feature gave birth to a series of new coat styles in the Ming dynasty, among which the most popular ones were the Yesa Robe曳撒袍and Pleated Robe褶子衣.

Yesa Robe had many other names like Yisa一撒. In one poem composed in the Yuan dynasty, the waist-thread coat is described as “the greenness and goldenness of the Yisa Robe and the greenness of the thread around the wais一撒青金腰线绿”[37].

As for its design, Liu Ruoyu刘若愚(1584-?), a eunuch living in late Ming dynasty, wrote in his palace historical book Zhuozhong zhi (酌中志, Annals on imperial palace) explicitly, “Yesa has an extended long back and two hems at each side. In its front, there are two sections. At its lower hem, it has a horse-shaped pleat which stands from both the left and the right曳撒，其制后襟不断，而两旁有摆，前襟两截，而下有马面褶，往两旁起”[38]. From this record and some archeological objects, we can clearly know the style of the Yesa Robe, that is, a robe with crossed collar, long sleeve, and dense pleats on the lower hem. The middle part of the lower hem was plain without any pleats, and it has hems at each side. Actually this robe was an innovated version of the waist-thread coat of the Yuan dynasty.

The Yesa Robe has became an informal wear of the upper class in the early and middle of the Ming dynasty, ranging from the emperors and princes to royal ministers as well as officials. In Suozhui lu (琐缀录, Records on Jade Decoration), Emperor Xianzong 明宪宗, when touring at the royal backyard, wears “a silk Yesa robe decorated with shining red and golden dragon大红织金龙纱曳撒”, and Emperor Xiaozong 明孝宗in the morning puts on “a Yishan hat and dragon robe with brocade round collar, and changed to Yesa robe and hook-like jade silkbraid after a meal早则翼善冠、衮绣员领，食后则服曳撒、玉钩绦”[39]. Thus we can see that the Ming emperor would wear Yesa robe more in spare time. As for the crown prince, it is said that every day “after lecture and meal... the crown pricnce shall put on Yesa robe and gold or precious stones or hook-like jade silkbraid, and learn to practice a Chinese calligraphy beside the western window讲毕退食后，东宫乃易曳撒、金镶宝石或玉钩绦向西窗下习仿书一张”[40].So Yesa is called “the institution of current Empire and should be followed此时王之制，所宜遵也”.[41]

Many materials record eunuchs’ use of Yesa robes. Accoding to Annals on imperial palace, eunuchs of the Ming court wore official uniforms, such as red Yesa robe with kylin patches, Yesa robe with round collar, light green Yesa robe麟补红曳撒、圆领曳撒、青曳撒. And it also writes that, “ From the commander-in-chief of eunuchs to protocol eunuchs all wear Yesa自提督至写字俱穿曳撒”[42],“only the protocol eunuchs and commander-in-chief of eunuchs and ministers eunuchs of every boards of imperial palace dare wear it惟自司礼监写字以至提督止并各衙门总理、管理方敢服之”[43]. This record demonstrates that the Yesa robe is some knid of uniform of certain eunuch of Ming.

As for the officials wearing Yesa robe, there are many accounts in historical documents. For instance, “during the reign of Emperor Yongle (1403-1424), the Forbidden City was open for a tour on the Dragon-Boat Festival and Double Ninth Festival…literary officials of the Imperial Academy who wore small hat and Yesa robe, followed the royal family to tour永乐间禁中允端午重九时节游赏……翰林儒臣小帽、曳撒侍从以观”[44]. In the reign of Emperor Zhengde正德(1506-1521), Kou Tianxu寇天叙, adjutant of the Yingtian Prefecture应天府丞, “every day put on a small hat and Yesa robe to sit in the hall”每日戴小帽穿一撒坐堂[45]. A History of the Ming Dynasty records that,   

After the reign of Emperor Yongle, eunuchs who followed besides the emperor, must wear a Yesa robe decorated with an embroidered image on boa dragon. The image of the boa dragon constrictor is stitched at both left and right side and fastened with silkbraid.…It is an informal wear...and there is a cloth called Xilan, which is also like Yesa robe...it is convenient for riding a horse. When asked to meet His Excellency at banquet, neither the emperor nor officials wore robes, and they just wear Xilan.

永乐以后，宦官在帝左右，必蟒服，制如曳撒。绣蟒于左右，系以鸾带，此燕闲之服也……又有膝襕者，亦如曳撒……便于乘马也。或召对燕见，君臣皆不用袍，而用此[46].

 

This indicates that Yesa robe is used frequently as an informal wear in royal court, and that it inherits the advantage of facilitating horse-riding activity. Since the middle of the Ming dynasty, Yesa robe has been not only an informal wear, but also a formal uniform on many occasions. For instance, in the 13^th year of the Zhengd正德reign (1518), Emperor Wuzong 明武宗returned from Xuan Fu宣府 to the national capital, today Beijing. All the officials of the imperial court “received an emperor’s order that they should wear Yesa robes, big hats and phoenix belts…and in this day, literary and military officials all wore Yesa robes, big hat, phoenix belts and imperial costumes, welcoming emperor in front of the Desheng Gate得旨用曳撒大帽鸾带……是日文武群臣皆曳撒大帽鸾带服色迎驾于德胜门外.”[47]

In novels written in the Ming dynasty, there are lots of images describing officials wearing Yesa robe as official uniforms. For instance, Chijian shu (斥奸书, Book on Reprimanding the Treacherous), a historical novel about current political affairs during the Ming dynasty, describes the guard of honor of Wei Zhongxian魏忠贤, a rather influential eunuch in the Ming Dynasty, by saying that “the officials dressed in brocade who are in charge of the street...and the commander in charge of the horse stood in the middle, some of whom wore big hat and Yesa robe, while some of whom in military armor提督街道的锦衣官……稍中排列些马导指挥，或是大帽曳撒，或是戎装披挂.”[48].

In archeological excavations on the Ming dynasty, lots of Yesa robes have been discovered. [49]However, in the Ming dynasty, the use of Yesa robe is not fixed to a group of people. Its use gradually tends to be extended from the upper social class to the middle and lower social classes. In the mid-and-late period of the Ming dynasty, scholar-officials also began to put on it as casual wear and to use it at banquet. Wang Shizhen王世贞(1526-1590), a famous scholar of the Ming dynasty, wrote in his Gubugu lu(觚不觚录, Records on Ancient Goblet or not) that “in recent years... literatis have definitely worn Yesa robes when attending a banquet迩年以来……士大夫宴会必衣曳撤[50]”. As a matter of fact, there are many similiar records amid historical archives. Yin Zhi once wrote that:

 

As I retired and lived at home...and at leisure...I usually wore Yesa robe. Some people asked me to wear ancient Chinese robe called Shenyi Fujin... I answered: “I am person of the present era, so I have to wear clothes of the present people”予休致家居时……燕居则……多服曳撒。或有请服深衣幅巾者……对曰：“某为今世之人，当服今人之服”[51].

The late Ming and early Qing dynasty historian Zha Jizuo查继佐(1601-1676) in Zuiwei lu (罪惟录, Records on Crimes), wrote that “in the early reign of Emperor Longqing...scholars-officials suddenly were proud of wearing Yesa robe, and they were competing for its making and wearing.隆庆初……士大夫忽以曳撒为夸，争相制用”[52].

Kezuo zhuiyu (客座赘语, Superfluous Words in the Parlour) a historical note mainly recording the social customs on the region around Nanjing 南京 in the Ming dynasty, wrote that,

Nanjing had many superb doctors during the reigns of both Emperor Zhengde and Jiajing...most of them were practical, sincere and prudent, and they practiced what a good and righteous literati had to do. They usually wore Yesa Robes made of light green cloth, fastened small and white round hat with silk ribbon, and put on a pair of white leather boots南都在正嘉间医多名家.....其人多笃实纯谨，有士君子之行，常服青布曳撒，系小皂绦顶圆帽，着白皮靴[53].

 

 Amazing Tales: Second Series also writes that, “there is a familial servant wearing Yesa robe穿一撒的家人”. This shows that in the late Ming dynasty, servants also worn Yesa robe. Commoners also wore the robe.

The Pleated robe褶子衣 was another costume of the Ming dynasty which is also under the heavy influence of the waist-thread coat of the Yuan dynasty, Fang Yizhi方以智(1611-1671), a well-known scholar in the late Ming dynasty, wrote it in his representative book Tong ya (通雅, Understanding the Elegance)that, “the Pleated Robe born in recent age...its lower hem has many dense and narrow pleats like skirts”近世褶子衣，……而下幅皆襞积细折如裙[54]. From this we can know that the lower hem of the Pleated Robe has thick pleats and there is not too much space between pleats like Yesa robe. Therefore, compared with the Yesa robe whose changes in design are based upon the waist-thread coat, the Pleated robe keeps many more features of the waist-thread coat. In archeological excavation of the Ming Dynasty, the discovery of the Pleated robe is of rich significance.[55]

From the discussion above, we can see that the Yesa robe and the pleated robe, both of which originate from the waist-thread coat, have been widely used in the Ming dynasty and both of them have been used by the upper ruling class of the Ming dynasty. However, the use of the Yesa robe has been widely spread from the upper class to the lower class. The reason is that, the design of the Yesa robe, inheriting from that of the waist-thread coat, provides more convenience for horse-riding and moving. The pleated robe is confined to be used merely within the upper class and seldom be used in lower class, which is probably because of its flamboyant decoration which civilians hardly afford. Nevertheless, so far I has not read any historical documents which explain why civilians seldom used the Pleated robe. Thus it is a question that necessitates a further study[56].

Ⅲ. Zhisun Robe

The Zhisun robe质孙服is also written in historical documents as只孙, 直孙, Jixun济逊, Jisun 济孙or Zhixun只逊, and it is actually a ceremonial court dress endowed by the emperor to the higher-ranking court officials at the luxurious court banquet in Mongol empire and the Yuan dynasty. It has an important position in the Mongol costume. The past studies on the history of the Yuan dynasty have mentioned it several times[57]. The Zhisun robe seizes a very important position amid the costume of upper class in the Yuan dynasty, thereby Chinese documents and foreign archives on the Yuan dynasty have a lot of records on it. People in the Yuan dynasty wrote that, “both the clothes and the hat for the banquet have the same form and design, and they are called Zhisun燕之服，衣冠同制，谓之质孙”[58], “whenever the royal court held a banquet for Chinese citizens, the participant would each wear a hat and a cloth whose designs and forms are identical, and this dressing is called Zhisun and it is granted by the emperor国家侍内宴者，每宴必各有衣冠，其制如一谓之只孙，悉以赐之”[59], “Zhisun robe is particularly used for distinguished higher-ranking royal officials as they meet and attend a banquet with the Son of Heaven.只孙服者，贵臣见飨于天子则服之”[60].

Yuan Shi summarizes comprehensively all that is related to the Zhisun robe, that is,

Zhisun, in the Chinese language, means a dress of the same color. Participants of the large-scale banquet at inner royal court all wear it. Its design used in winter is different from that of summer, though it does not have a fixed design or form. All the royal relatives, higher-ranking ministers or officials and those who make great contributions and those who serve the emperor, shall wear it if it is royally granted to them by the emperor. As for lower-ranking singers and musicians and safety guards, they all have such a dress. Although these dresses are different in social classes and exquisiteness, they all are named as Zhisun. 质孙，汉言一色服也，内庭大宴则服之。冬夏之服不同，然无定制。凡勋戚大臣近侍，赐则服之。下至于乐工卫士，皆有其服。精粗之制，上下之别，虽不同，总谓之质孙云[61].

 

From the discussion above, we can see that the Zhisun robe, which is worn by the emperor and higher-ranking court officials at banquet, is characteristic of the sameness in its color, design and form, and the difference lies merely in its workmanship or exquisiteness, and it does not have any fixed design of making[62].

Because the Zhisun robe can only be worn “after it is granted by His Excellency必上赐而后服焉” [63], and because its users “can participate in the banquet only when he is granted such a dress, people know those who are favored by emperor and those who are not in close relations with the emperor. 必经赐兹服者方获预斯宴，于以别臣庶疏近之殊”[64], and the grant of the Zhisun robe to an official is naturally a big event in every official’s political life of the Yuan dynasty. And it is viewed as a great honor to the recipient. From the discussion above, we can see the heavy influence of the Zhisun robe upon the upper ruling class of the Yuan dynasty and we can also see the continuously wide use of the said dress in this dynasty. 

Nevertheless, as for the existence or disappearance of the Zhisun robe in the Ming dynasty, there are few studies on it in the past. Materials show that the Zhisun robe is mainly used as a regular costume for the court safety guards and guards of honors. They are also called Xiaowei校尉 in the Ming dynasty. A Collection of the Code of the Great Ming reads that, “in the 6^th year of the reign of Emperor Hongwu (1373), the emperor gave an imperial edict that...lieutenant should wear only Zhisun robe, a fastened belt, a hearwrap and a pair of boots” （洪武）六年令……校尉只孙束带幞头靴鞋[65]. Again according to the book, it says that,

 

Brocade guards of on duty both the East and the West city Road, altogether 500 persons, and other men in charge of lash-throwing, fan-holding and umbrella-like-towel-holding, all wear goose-shaped hat, Zhisun Dress, golden and bronze belt and snow white boots. They all make queue outside the Gate of Wumen.直东西城路锦衣卫校尉五百人，鸣鞭及擎执伞扇仪仗者，鹅帽只孙、抹金铜束带、皂靴列午门内外[66].

 

A Veritable Record of the Ming Dynasty reads that, “lieutenant on duty each has to wear hat of goose feather, Zhisun robe, a copper belt, a pair of boots. They shall wear all these items whenever go to court on duty执事校尉每人鹅帽、只孙衣、铜带、靴履鞋一副，俱全常朝”[67]. Besides the above political records of the authoritative historical writings, people of both the Ming and Qing dynasties do also leave some records on lieutenants’ Zhisun robe in the Ming dynasty. For instance, Chunming mengyu lu (春明梦余录, Writings after a Dream in Shining Spring), written in late Ming or early Qing, noted that,

 

The lieutenants all wore Jixun, and the name of the clothes was still following the tradition of the Yuan dynasty...this clothes used to be a ceremonial dress of the Yuan people, but later it has already become a costume suggesting the poor and the powerless其校尉皆衣济逊,其名仍元旧……此元人礼服,后乃为下役之服[68].

 

Jiayuan zaji(菽园杂记, Miscellaneous Records of the Bean Yard) writes that, “the horse-riding lieutenant in the centre wears a red and green cloth decorated with ground flowers, a golden hat which is named ‘Zhisun goose Hat’直驾校尉着团花红绿衣，戴饰金漆帽，名曰‘只孙鹅帽’[69].

Understanding the Elegance also writes that,

 

Ground flowers which called “Zhixun” came from the “Zhisun” of Yuan dynasty[70]. …The brocade lieutenants, ranging from those who hold the emperor's imperial sedan, those who hold the fans, those who knock the bell, those who hold the streamers and banners, to those who hit the whip on the ground, shall all wear light green and red clothes made from silk which has been woven into flowers of five colors. And the costume of this kind is called ‘Zhixun’...now since they are worn by the lieutenant alone, people just write it down as “Zhixun” 团花曰“只逊”，因元之“只孙”……锦衣校尉自抬辇以至持扇、锽幡幢、鸣鞭者，衣皆红青纺绢地织成团花五彩，名曰‘只逊’……今单以衣校尉而书作‘只逊’[71].  

 

In addition, among the imperial edicts of the emperors of the Ming dynasty, contents on the making of Zhisun robe can be found here and there. For instance, Wanli Yehuo Bian (万历野获编, A Compilation of the Unofficial History in the Reign of Emperor Wanli) says that, “in today’s imperial edicts, numbers of the making of the Zhisun robe can be found time and again. And this dress originates from the Yuan dynasty今圣旨中，时有制造只孙件数，亦起于元”[72].

Chang’an kehua (长安客话, Words of a Visitor in Capital) also writes that,

 

When seeing emperor gave an imperial edict on court, which says to make 800 Zhixun, actually we did not know what Zhixun was. Later, we knew that it was imperial lieutenant’s brocade cloth and hat of goose feather在朝见下工部旨，造‘只逊’八百副。皆不知‘只逊’何物，后乃知为上直校鹅帽锦衣也[73].   

 

Here it shows that as the Ming dynasty has been for too many years, though Zhisun robe was still in use, people have not known clearly its true and concrete denotation. 

By summarizing the discussion above, we can say that, compared with the popularity of the Zhisun robe in the Yuan dynasty, the Zhisun robe in the Ming dynasty, was not as popular as other costumes of Mongol-Yuan dynasty despite its availability in society, and its users in the Ming dynasty are limited to lower-ranking people下役之服. Whether it is similar to that of the Boli hat, that is, the use of both of these two hats shows a denial against the former dynasty, needs our study in the future.

 

 

CONCLUSION

Unlike what Henry Serruys states in Remains of Mongol Customs in China during the Early Ming Period, the influence of the costume style of Mongol - Yuan dynasty exists not only in the early Ming dynasty but widely and continuously throughout the Ming dynasty[74]. Moreover, the spread of its different styles is in a multiple way. Some of them are used only by some professionals, like Zhisun robe. Some of them are mainly used by lower-ranking people, such as the Boli hat. However, as for the Yesa robe, its spread is from the upper class down to the lower class. The reason helped its spread includes the well-established historical tradition in the Yuan dynasty, the adaptability of the features this costume has to the needs of the Ming society, and the political advocacy of the Ming government. What’s more, some remaining designs of the costume of Mongol empire and the Yuan dynasty are given the symbolical meaning of some given identities or professions, and this actually laid a strong imprint upon the social psychology of the Ming dynasty.

It is worth noticing that among the gifts awarded by emperors of the Ming dynasty to the leaders of northern Mongol tribes, costumes with the features of the Yuan dynasty were usually written as a whole set. A Veritable Record of the Ming Dynasty reads, “in the fourth year of the reign of Emperor Zhengtong(1439), Khan Toγtoγa Buqa has been awarded…a golden and floss felt hat with jewels…a Yesa robe ornamented with symmetric lapels and with light and dark green flower…a protective flowery jacket ornamented with gold, kylin and four treasures…and a Bijia jacket（正统四年）赐可汗脱脱不花王……金嵌宝石绒毡帽一顶……青暗花井口对襟曳撒一、织金胸背麒麟并四宝四季花褡护、比甲各一”. It also reads that, “in the sixth year of the reign of Zhengtong(1441), the Khan has been awarded satins of five colors, a protective ramie jacket ornamented with erect lapel and serpent dragon, a Yesa robe, a Bijia jacket and a Tieli（正统六年）赐可汗五色彩段并苎丝蟒龙直领褡护、曳撒、比甲、贴里一套”[75]. All these records probably indicate that those costumes share the same origin, i.e., their adaptability to Mongol lifestyle and their adequacy as award to the nomadic ethnic groups living in northern China.

From the discussion above, we can clearly see that after the large-scale immigration of the northern ethnic groups to the China hinterland during the Jin 金and Yuan 元dynasties era, the costume of the Ming dynasty is quite different from that of the Tang 唐and Song 宋dynasties in some aspects, and to some extent, it shows another kind of social phenomenon.[76].

Yu Shousui虞守随, an individual living in the Ming dynasty, also believed that, wrote in a 1519 memorial to Emperor Wuzong against Mongol costume: “costume is trivial to people but it is related to important aspects服饰在人，其事若小而所系甚大”[77]. It is related to important aspects virtually. If we connect this issue with a historical awareness of further contemplation, from the detailed perspective of costume style, we shall see the changing situation of the Chinese society since the Jin and Yuan dynasties and the imfluence to the Ming dynasty.

 

  

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