Life in the Chinese Royal Household, 1890s and The Tea Industry in China

c. 1890

Special Collections N7340 LP922

[China]

‘In China, there is the grandeur of rites and social conduct; that is why it is called Xia (夏). There is the beauty of dress and decoration; this is called Hua (華).’ The result is Huaxia (華夏), which is often used to represent the Chinese civilization nowadays. The Court costumes here depict ensembles worn by emperors, courtiers, and the like, probably of the Qing (1644-1912) dynasty. The clothes were often complex in arrangement, multi-layered and made of silk, in rich brocades or embroidered, featuring bright colours like vermillion and blue. This image, and the others from this volume, are on delicate pith-paper (from the Chinese plant tongcao, generally identified as Tetrapanax papyrifera).