Official Attire and Ornaments of the Sui and Tang Dynasties

Sui Dynasty Attire

During the Sui and Tang periods, China transitioned from fragmentation to unification, from turmoil to stability, and witnessed economic and cultural prosperity. The development of clothing, both in materials and styles, reached an unprecedented splendor. After Yang Jian, Emperor Wen of Sui, unified China, he promoted frugality and simplicity in dress, placing little emphasis on distinctions of rank in attire. Following two decades of recuperation, the economy was restored. Upon ascending the throne, Emperor Yang of Sui favored luxury and extravagance, and to reinforce imperial authority, he reinstated the ceremonial dress system of the Qin and Han dynasties, laying the foundation for the evolution of Tang dynasty clothing.

With the unification of the country, both Sui and Tang courts, referencing previous dynasties, reformed the system of official attire. The emperor and all officials had their ranks distinguished by colors and patterns in their official garments. In the Sui, scarlet was preferred for court dress, yellow for military attire, and various other colors for everyday wear. In the Tang, the color hierarchy placed ochre-yellow at the pinnacle, followed by red-purple, blue-green, black-brown, and others, with white holding no rank.

The twelve emblems on the ceremonial robes, established in the Zhou dynasty, were inherited by subsequent dynasties. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the three emblems of sun, moon, and stars from the twelve were placed on banners, reducing the number to nine. Under Emperor Yang of Sui, inspired by the phrase “bearing the sun and moon on the shoulders and the stars on the back,” the sun and moon emblems were set on the shoulders, stars on the back, and the three returned to the ceremonial robe, restoring the original twelve. Thereafter, this style became the standard for imperial ceremonial robes throughout successive dynasties.

Complementing the ceremonial robe was the ceremonial crown. Emperor Wen usually wore a black gauze cap, while Emperor Yang wore the lofty crown, the traveling crown, the martial crown, or the leather cap according to the occasion. The ceremonial crown was adorned with strings of blue beads at the front and back, signifying rank—the more strings, the higher the status. The emperor’s crown bore twelve strings, princes nine, marquises eight, earls seven, third-rank officials seven, fourth-rank six, fifth-rank five, and none for those below sixth rank.

The lofty crown’s status was also indicated by the number of beads. Emperor Yang’s crown was embellished with golden decorations. His leather cap was decorated with twelve beads; crown princes and first-rank officials had nine, decreasing by one for each lower rank, with none below sixth rank. The “Virtue-Advancing” crown’s rank was marked by the number of beams: above third rank, three beams; above fifth rank, two; below fifth, one. The “High Mountain” crown was worn by protocol officials, and the “Unicorn” crown by censors and supervisors.

The official court attire for civil and military officials consisted of a crimson gauze single-layer robe, a white gauze inner garment, a crimson gauze skirt, white socks, and black shoes. Men’s official attire featured a semicircular stiff collar known as the “Yong collar.” Military attire for ranks above fifth was purple; below sixth, crimson or green; minor officials wore blue, soldiers yellow, and merchants black.

The empress’s attire, as prescribed by Emperor Yang, included the embroidered robe, court dress, blue dress, and vermilion dress. Noblewomen wore wide-sleeved robes with capes or narrow-sleeved outer garments, often with turned-down collars. Attendants and musicians wore narrow-sleeved blouses and high-waisted long skirts with sashes hanging down and shawls over their shoulders. During the Daye era (605–617), palace women favored short-sleeved outer garments over long-sleeved robes and pleated skirts known as “immortal skirts,” which were long and full. Common women wore blue skirts. When going out, women covered their faces with veils.

Men’s official attire generally included a black gauze headscarf, known as a “turban” or “scarf,” which replaced hats for restraining long hair. The scarf had four bands, two tied atop the head, hence the name “four-footed” or “folded scarf.” They wore round-collared, narrow-sleeved robes reaching below the knee but above the ankle, with a horizontal seam at the knee called the “horizontal border.” At the waist, a red leather belt was fastened, adorned with simplified ornaments such as jade squares or gold flowers. Black leather boots completed the ensemble. From emperor to official, the style was virtually the same, differing only in materials, colors, and belt ornaments.

Landowners and recluses without official positions preferred high-collared, wide-edged straight robes, signifying their adherence to the Confucian tradition of broad-sleeved, deep garments. Commoners could only wear short split tunics to the knee with trousers, in subdued colors. Servants often wore pointed hats and hempen shoes, and when working, tucked up their skirts at the waist. Only cloth or straw shoes were permitted.

Tang Dynasty Uniforms and Colors

The color hierarchy, from highest to lowest, was: purple, crimson, green, and finally blue (later changed to cyan). The order of belt ornaments was: jade, gold, silver, and then brass.

Before the Tang, yellow could be worn by all, as seen in the yellow uniforms of Sui soldiers. However, in the Tang, ochre-yellow was reserved exclusively for the emperor, as its resemblance to the sun symbolized imperial authority—“There are not two suns in the sky, nor two rulers in the land.” Ochre-yellow was thus decreed the exclusive color for imperial attire. In the early reign of Emperor Gaozong, lower-ranking officials and commoners could still wear ordinary yellow, such as lemon yellow. By the first year of the Zongzhang era (668), to avoid confusion with imperial ochre, all officials and commoners were forbidden to wear yellow. From then on, yellow became a lasting symbol of the emperor.

It is noteworthy that the color regulations of the Tang were not strictly enforced in daily life. In the fifth year of the Xianheng era (674), another decree was issued because external officials and commoners were found wearing short jackets of red, purple, blue, or green beneath their robes, or openly donning such colored robes in the countryside.

Ceremonial Dress System

The ceremonial dress system evolved from everyday attire, introducing the custom of officials carrying fish or tortoise-shaped pouches. According to the “Old Book of Tang, Treatise on Attire”: “From the ninth year of Kaiyuan (721), those granted crimson or purple attire were also given fish pouches, known as ceremonial dress.” The pouch served as an official credential for court audiences and as a symbol of rank and status.

The custom of wearing the fish pouch began in the Sui and saw interesting developments in the Tang. In the first year of Wude (618), Emperor Gaozu replaced the previous silver-shaped tally with a silver fish tally, issued to fourth and fifth ranking officials, to be returned upon retirement. Three years later, Emperor Gaozong allowed officials above fifth rank to retain their pouches upon death. In the third year of Xianheng (672), capital officials of the fourth and fifth ranks were ordered to wear silver fish. During Empress Wu’s reign, the custom was extended to regional governors, and in the first year of Tianshou (690), the fish pouches were changed to tortoise shapes, with gold, silver, or copper ornaments denoting rank.

During Emperor Zhongzong’s reign, the fish pouch system was restored and extended to honorary officials, who, however, surrendered their pouches upon retirement. In Emperor Ruizong’s time, the color of the attire and the decoration of the pouch were linked: those in purple had gold fittings, those in crimson had silver.

Under Emperor Xuanzong, the privilege of wearing the fish pouch was broadened, and later allowed for life: “In the early Kaiyuan period, officials of fifth rank granted honorary purple attire received gold fish pouches; for lower-ranking governors, crimson and fish pouches. All inspectors, commissioners, and judges of fifth rank and above wore fish pouches. Minister Zhang Jiazhen petitioned that retired officials be permitted to wear the fish pouch for life. Thus, all officials granted crimson or purple attire also received fish pouches, known as ceremonial dress.” The system became fully established and formalized.

Once codified, officials could only be granted crimson or purple attire after strict imperial examination and according to their qualifications. In later Tang, to address confusion over the granting of ceremonial dress, the system was further regulated.