Court Hats of Imperial Princes

Distinction from the heir apparent

The court hat of an imperial son (*huangzi chaoguan*) belonged to the Qing hierarchy of ceremonial headwear. The status of a son of the emperor should not be confused with that of the formally designated crown prince. The *Illustrated Regulations for the Ceremonial Paraphernalia of the Imperial Court*, juan 4, describes the winter court hat for an imperial son as made primarily from smoked sable, with blue-fox fur used between the first day of the eleventh lunar month and the Lantern Festival. Its upper ornament featured two tiers of gold dragons, ten eastern pearls, and a ruby at the summit. The rules for a prince of the first rank (*qinwang*) followed the same level.

The summer version used lightweight plant material such as rattan, bamboo fiber, or the material called *yucao*. It carried a front decoration with five eastern pearls and a rear gold ornament with four, while the upper finial followed the winter prescription. Seasonal changes in fabric thus coexisted with durable rank distinctions in the ornaments.

Interpreting a prince's rank

Being the emperor's son was a kinship status, not proof of appointment to a civil or military office. A man subsequently granted a princely title must be evaluated in relation to the rank held at the date depicted. In particular, the three-tier dragon ornament specified for a crown prince must not be assigned to an ordinary imperial son's court hat.

Related encyclopedia entry: Court Beads of Imperial Princes.

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