Court Hats of Ranked Officials

Headwear in state ritual

The court hat (*chaoguan*) was worn by qualifying Qing civil and military officials during formal ceremonies. Although the overall function was shared, the finial and other features were specified by rank. Juan 5 of the *Illustrated Regulations for the Ceremonial Paraphernalia of the Imperial Court* lists the winter court hats of civil grades from first to ninth.

The winter hat of a first-rank civil official included an eastern pearl in its upper ornament and a ruby above it. The corresponding finial for the second rank used carved coral, for the third sapphire, for the fifth crystal, for the sixth tridacna shell, and for the ninth patterned silver. Summer hats generally retained the corresponding finial rank while changing the main body of the hat to suit the season. Military grades were governed by their own provisions or explicit equivalences; it would be inaccurate to impose every civil-grade specification on military officials without checking the text.

Identifying hats in images

Court hats must be distinguished from auspicious-dress hats, whose ceremonial functions and finial arrangements differed. In portrait analysis, a finial should be considered together with any feather, the embroidered rank badge, other garments, and the sitter's documented position. A similarly colored stone cannot, by itself, identify the rank of its wearer. The regulations provide a comparative framework, not an automatic identification procedure for every surviving hat.

Related encyclopedia entry: Auspicious-Dress Hats of Ranked Officials.

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