#imperialchina

【Historical Reference Artifacts】:

Painted Female Figurine

Tang Dynasty (618–907 CE)

Collection of the Xi’an Museum,China

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📸Photography：@清溪长

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Everyday Court Attire of the Ming Empress: The Yanju Crown and Garment (燕居冠服) and Its Symbolism

The everyday attire of empresses in the Ming dynasty of China was also known as Yanju Crown and Garment（燕居冠服）. Its function ranked only second to formal ceremonial dress and it was used for various ritual occasions. For example, after an empress was officially invested, once she completed the thanksgiving rites in full ceremonial dress, she would return to the palace, change into the Yanju Crown and Garment（燕居冠服）, and then receive congratulatory greetings from her inner-family relatives, as well as from the Six Offices female officials (六尚女官) and the eunuchs of the various supervisory directorates (各监局内使).

The Double-Phoenix Supporting Dragon Crown（双凤翊龙冠） was the Yanju crown of the empress （燕居冠）. The Collected Statutes of the Ming Dynasty (《明会典》) provides a detailed description of its form:

“The Double-Phoenix Supporting Dragon Crown （双凤翊龙冠） was made of black gauze （皂縠）, adorned with kingfisher-feather Boshan ornaments （翠博山）. On the crown was one golden dragon （金龙）, flanked by two pearl-and-kingfisher phoenixes （珠翠凤）, each holding pearl pendants （珠滴） in their beaks. At the front and back were two pearl peony flowers （珠牡丹花）, each with eight stamens （蕊头八个）, thirty-six kingfisher leaves （翠叶三十六叶）, and two side ornaments inlaid with pearls and kingfisher feathers （珠翠穰/镶花鬓）. There were twenty-one pearl-and-kingfisher cloud motifs （珠翠云二十一片）, one pair of kingfisher mouth rings （翠口圈）, and nine golden treasure floral ornaments （金宝钿花九）, each set with one pearl （上饰珠九颗）. A pair of golden phoenixes （金凤一对） held pearl knots （珠结） in their beaks. There were six Boshan side panels （三博鬓，左右共六扇）, decorated with luan and phoenix motifs （鸾凤）, twenty-four golden treasure ornaments （金宝钿二十四）, with pearl pendants hanging from the edges （边垂珠滴）. The crown was also fitted with one pair of golden hairpins （金簪一对） and one pair of coral phoenix beaks （珊瑚凤冠觜/嘴一副）.”

As everyday attire, the Yanju crown （燕居冠） was worn together with the everyday robe （常服大衫） and the ceremonial cape （霞帔）.

As shown in the images above many China Ming dynasty empresses are depicted wearing the Yanju crown （燕居冠） while dressed in bright yellow or nearly orange colours robes reflecting a standardized and recognizable visual representation of empressly attire during the Ming dynasty.Although the Yanju crowns worn by each empress differ in their specific details, this variation reflects the fact that each crown was individually crafted by artisans for a particular empress, and, following the empress's death, was required to be buried together with her as part of the burial goods.

There are also extant crowns excavated from Ming dynasty imperial tombs. Among them below crown belonging to Empress Xiaoduan (孝端皇后), unearthed from a Ming imperial mausoleum, as shown in the following images

Unearthed in 1957 from the Dingling Mausoleum of the Ming Thirteen Tombs in Changping District, Beijing （1957年北京市昌平区明十三陵定陵出土）.

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📸Photo:@虞小姐古装摄影

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【Historical Artifacts Reference 】:

🔶𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝘆𝗻𝗮𝘀𝘁𝘆 𝗣𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘁: 𝗣𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗟𝗶 𝗬𝗶𝗻𝗴‘𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗫𝘂 𝗫𝗶𝘂 李璿妻许秀画像 ｜National Museum of China Collection

Noble Elegance: The Attire of a Ming Dynasty Lady of Rank

In imperial Ming Dynasty China, a "Gaoming Furen" (诰命夫人)—a titled lady granted honors by the court—was a figure of dignity and authority. Her attire reflected her noble standing, with garments and accessories that clearly distinguished her from commoners. Whether entering the palace or walking among the people, her presence was unmistakable. Here’s a breakdown of her formal ensemble:

👑 Diguān (翟冠) – Pheasant Crown A unique crown reserved for noblewomen below the rank of empress, decorated with “Di” birds—long-tailed pheasants resembling phoenixes. These birds symbolized high status, second only to the phoenix. The number of pheasants and gold ornaments indicated rank:

Dukes’ and top-grade ladies: 5 pearl pheasants + 2 gold pheasants holding pearl tassels

2nd–4th rank: 4 pearl pheasants + 2 gold pheasants

5th–6th rank: 3 pearl pheasants + 2 silver-gilded gold pheasants

7th–9th rank: 2 pearl pheasants + 2 silver-gilded gold pheasants

👘 Xiapèi (霞帔) – Regal Cape Known also as "xiāpī" or "pī bó," this evolved from a shawl-like drape into a vest-like garment by the Qing dynasty. Originally worn by imperial concubines, it became a status symbol for titled women. Embroidered with birds like pheasants, peacocks, or mandarin ducks, the center panel—bǔzi—featured motifs based on the husband’s or son’s official rank. Only military wives or mothers used bird, not beast, patterns.

💎 Zhuìzi (坠子) – Pendant Tassels More than just a way to fix the xiapèi in place, these ornate pendants became a ritualistic emblem of rank. Often crafted from gold, silver, or jade, they took shapes like hearts, circles, hexagons, or horseshoes. Birds and floral motifs dominated, with phoenixes appearing in the tombs of princesses and duchesses. Placement varied—from the lower end of the xiapèi in Song and Yuan, to multiple positions on the garment in the Ming.

🪶 Other Elements:

Yuanlingpao (圆领袍): Round-collar robe worn underneath

Hongdashan (红大衫): A large red outercoat

Gédài (革带): A formal belt

Xiangfu (象笏): An ivory tablet held during court ceremonies

Second Opium War

The Second Opium War, also known as the Second Anglo-Chinese War or Arrow War, was fought between the United Kingdom and France against the Qing dynasty of China between 1856 and 1860.

Dates: 8 Oct 1856 – 18 Oct 1860

First Opium War

The First Opium War, also known as the Anglo-Chinese War, was a series of military engagements fought between the British Empire and the Chinese Qing dynasty between 1839 and 1842.

Dates: 4 Sept 1839 – 29 Aug 1842.

Location: China, Empire of the Great Qing.

Chapter One: Death of a War Maiden -

Blood dripped down from freshly open wounds in the woman’s body.

 Her grey eyes were cloudy, as the blood loss caused her vision to blur. She estimated her body would give out in less than fifteen minutes if she was unable to treat herself.

This was an unfortunate predicament. Clutched in her numb hands was a small flash drive, despite it’s minuscule size it meant more to her than her own life.  

Her head briefly swiveled behind her, below her was an abyss of darkness that ended in a concrete street below. Crowded around her were a group of highly trained mercenaries.

“Hand it over Mei Lin.” In front of her was a masked man, black hair flowing about his shoulders.

So they even knew her name? 

The man set down a military grade medical kit, “I’m only required to retrieve the drive at any cost. Turn it now and I’ll treat you myself. Your skills are too valuable to waste here.”

Hah, so he wanted to take her mentor’s lifework from her and then collect her as his personal reward? What an arrogant man. How could a highly trained war medic, like her, suffer such an insult?

“Haha, sure. You can have me in hell!” she declared, before clicking a button on her toolbelt.

The explosion shook the building, the heat melting skin and obliterating the drive. 

When all was said and done, there was nothing but charred ash and plastic remaining. The masked gentleman shifted through the remains before pulling out a set of metal dog tags.

He pocketed them with cold eyes, before snapping a picture of the scene to report to his employer. And for him that was that.