Chinese Textile & Costume Research Archive

Motif Studies

To be added

Evolution of Dragon Motifs During the Qing Dynasty

清代历朝龙纹的演变

The dragon is the most tightly regulated motif in Qing dress, yet its form changes continuously across more than two centuries. Working from surviving garments, this study sets out the successive characteristics of the Qing dragon under five headings — the proportion of the head, the treatment of the mane, the form of the claw, the movement of the body, and its relation to the surrounding clouds — and considers the limits of using the motif as evidence for dating.

Motif Studies

To be added

Forms and Symbolism of Cloud Motifs in Qing Textiles

清代云纹的形态与象征

Cloud motifs in Qing textiles are at once ornament and structure. Beginning from the basic unit of head and tail, this study examines changes in density, arrangement and interlocking across the dynasty, and describes the work clouds do compositionally — dividing, linking and supporting — together with the shifting relationship between cloud and principal motif.

Papers

To be added

Qing Imperial Costume Regulations Through Surviving Objects

从传世实物看清代宫廷服饰制度

Qing dress regulation set out in writing the forms, motifs and colours available to each rank, yet surviving garments do not always answer to the text. This paper distinguishes three relations between object and regulation — conformity, divergence and adjustment — and argues for the value of material evidence in understanding how the system actually worked.