The imperial yellow jacket (Chinese: 黃馬褂; pinyin: Huáng mǎguà) was a symbol of high honour during China's Qing dynasty.[1] As yellow was a forbidden color, representing the Emperor, the jacket was given only to high-ranking officials and to the Emperor's body guards.[2]
A magua (Chinese: 馬褂; lit. 'Riding jacket'; Manchu: ᠣᠯᠪᠣolbo) is a short-sleeved, loose outer garment of Manchu origin, designed for ease to put on and take off by wearers on horseback.
Although persons not of imperial blood were generally prohibited from wearing yellow-coloured clothing, during the Qing dynasty the yellow riding jackets would be worn by the Imperial body guards, albeit as a livery coat, and then only while escorting the Emperor.
The yellow jacket could also be granted by the Emperor (or later Empress Dowager Cixi) to individuals for civil or military merit, especially after 1842 when China was more or less in a constant state of war. Since yellow clothing was normally reserved for the Imperial family, the yellow jacket came to be regarded as the highest honour of the Qing dynasty.
Towards the end of the Qing dynasty the prestige of the yellow jacket had declined somewhat; in one infamous case, a yellow jacket was granted to a train driver for his service to Empress Dowager Cixi.
Ceremoniesedit
Recipients of the imperial yellow jackets would be joined by provincial governors and senior military officials for annual celebrations. Moreover, many recipients would wear their imperial yellow jackets as their funeral attire, which is roughly equivalent to having the national flag draped on the coffin in modern times.
^Chʻên, Chi-tʻung; John Henry Gray (1900). The Chinese Empire, Past and Present. Rand, McNally. p. 103. Imperial Yellow Jacket.
^Dickinson, Gary; Linda Wrigglesworth (2001). Imperial Wardrobe. Ten Speed Press. p. 116. ISBN1-58008-188-6.
October 28, 2023
imperial, yellow, jacket, imperial, yellow, jacket, chinese, 黃馬褂, pinyin, huáng, mǎguà, symbol, high, honour, during, china, qing, dynasty, yellow, forbidden, color, representing, emperor, jacket, given, only, high, ranking, officials, emperor, body, guards, h. The imperial yellow jacket Chinese 黃馬褂 pinyin Huang mǎgua was a symbol of high honour during China s Qing dynasty 1 As yellow was a forbidden color representing the Emperor the jacket was given only to high ranking officials and to the Emperor s body guards 2 Huang maguaChinese nameTraditional Chinese黃馬褂Simplified Chinese黃马褂Literal meaningYellow horse jacketTranscriptionsStandard MandarinHanyu PinyinHuang mǎguaEnglish nameEnglishImperial yellow jacket Contents 1 Wearing the jacket 2 Ceremonies 3 People who were awarded the jacket 4 ReferencesWearing the jacket editA magua Chinese 馬褂 lit Riding jacket Manchu ᠣᠯᠪᠣ olbo is a short sleeved loose outer garment of Manchu origin designed for ease to put on and take off by wearers on horseback Although persons not of imperial blood were generally prohibited from wearing yellow coloured clothing during the Qing dynasty the yellow riding jackets would be worn by the Imperial body guards albeit as a livery coat and then only while escorting the Emperor The yellow jacket could also be granted by the Emperor or later Empress Dowager Cixi to individuals for civil or military merit especially after 1842 when China was more or less in a constant state of war Since yellow clothing was normally reserved for the Imperial family the yellow jacket came to be regarded as the highest honour of the Qing dynasty Towards the end of the Qing dynasty the prestige of the yellow jacket had declined somewhat in one infamous case a yellow jacket was granted to a train driver for his service to Empress Dowager Cixi Ceremonies editRecipients of the imperial yellow jackets would be joined by provincial governors and senior military officials for annual celebrations Moreover many recipients would wear their imperial yellow jackets as their funeral attire which is roughly equivalent to having the national flag draped on the coffin in modern times People who were awarded the jacket editGiuseppe Castiglione Fuk anggan Zeng Guofan Zuo Zongtang Li Hongzhang Cheng Xuechi Zeng Guoquan Xiang Rong after he was KIA Zhang Guoliang in 1857 Feng Zicai Zhu Hongzhang Bao Chao Ding Ruchang Hu Xueyan Charles George Gordon Yuan Shikai Cen ChunxuanReferences edit Chʻen Chi tʻung John Henry Gray 1900 The Chinese Empire Past and Present Rand McNally p 103 Imperial Yellow Jacket Dickinson Gary Linda Wrigglesworth 2001 Imperial Wardrobe Ten Speed Press p 116 ISBN 1 58008 188 6 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Imperial yellow jacket amp oldid 1174346644, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
