Court Belt of a Non-Imperial Duke

Prescription and component terms

The court belt of a *mingong* was worn around the waist as part of the ceremonial dress of a non-imperial Qing duke. It helped secure the ensemble while also displaying rank through its plaques, fittings and inset stones. Volume 5 of the *Huangchao liqi tushi* permits a dark-blue or blue belt with four circular jade plaques held by openwork gold fittings. Each plaque carried one cat's-eye stone; the accompanying ceremonial pendant, referred to in the source as *peifen*, had a lower end that broadened and came to a point.

“Four circular plaques” denotes four principal decorative elements on one belt, not four belts. The *peifen* is likewise a ceremonial accessory, not simply a modern fastening mechanism. The code extends comparable belt-colour provisions to other officials, but this does not mean that officials of differing ranks shared identical plaques and gems.

Distinguishing status systems

The *mingong* belonged to the non-imperial system of nobility, unlike a princely *beile* or *beizi* whose court belt could involve golden-yellow fabric and eastern pearls. Identification therefore requires simultaneous attention to belt colour, plaque shape, inset stones, accessory arrangement and the ceremony involved. The surviving materials of a particular belt must still be assessed for provenance, loss or later alteration before a confident attribution can be made.

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

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