Ceremonial Dress of a Xiangjun

Status and ceremonial clothing

The ceremonial dress of a *xiangjun* belonged to the regulated clothing of Qing imperial-clan women awarded that title. A *xiangjun* was a title within the system of female imperial-clan ranks, not a local administrative office. Nor could every woman of the imperial lineage properly be described as a *xiangjun*. The entitlement could be associated with the daughters of particular princely ranks and, under relevant conditions, daughters born to secondary consorts; the historical circumstances of birth and formal investiture must be established in individual cases.

The *Huangchao liqi tushi* (Illustrated Regulations for the Ritual Paraphernalia of the Imperial Dynasty), volume 6, gives specific prescriptions for the *xiangjun* court crown. Its winter form used dark fur, carried red tasselled ornament, and had a two-tier openwork gold finial decorated with three eastern pearls and surmounted by a red gemstone. The summer crown used blue velvet and retained three eastern pearls on the finial. The same volume directs readers to related specifications for the court jacket, court robe and ceremonial beads, and provides a separate comparison for the winter court skirt.

Reading the hierarchy

The full outfit comprised several coordinated objects—crown, robe, outer jacket, skirt and accessories—not one garment in isolation. The distinction between three eastern pearls on the *xiangjun* finial and four for the wife of a *fuguo gong* exemplifies the numerical signals of rank embodied in Qing ceremonial clothing. These are normative provisions, however; attribution of a surviving outfit to an individual woman still requires dated documentation and provenance.

For related historical context and vocabulary, consult Festive Dress (Jifu) in the Qing Dynasty.

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