Page 14 - May1990

60 NATNONAN, tsUTIION BUN,I,ETNN MAY I99O

Early Mandarin
hat badge worn
sonrctime between
1644 and 1727.

and in cases of treason or other serious crimes the hats of the officials involved were
removed as a mark of shame. The Manchus, who founded the Ch'ing dynasty, felt
equally strongly about the importance of hats, but they changed the old system
somewhat by having similar hats for all, with different badges to mark the distinctions
in rank.
The early Manchu hat badges were long spikes protruding from a red fringe at the
center of the hat crown. (See picture above.) They consisted of a high mount of worked
gold, set with a small stone, supporting a tall upright jewel. The high ranking officials
wore the most expensive jewels, and more of them on their badges. As the rank of the
wearer descended his hat badge was ornamented with cheaperjewels.
Later, in 1730, the four traditional colors for the jewels were subdivided by
introducing a distinction between clear and opaque. According to this, the first eight
ranks were represented by ruby, coral, sapphire, lapis lazuli, crystal, moonstone, plain
gold, and engraved gold, while silver was used for the ninth. This order remained
unchanged until I 9 | I , except that in I 800 the ninth rank was commanded to change to
embossed gold, and the silver was dropped.
During the first part of the Ch'ing dynasty, these tall jewelled spikes formed the
only kind of hat insignia. Worn only for ceremonial occasions they were simply
removed for ordinary wear. This system was not entirely satisfactory, however, so in
1727 the Court prescribed another set for semi-formal wear. These were the round type
which have been miscalled "mandarin buttons."
The laws for both the hat spikes and the spehrical jewels, or "hat knobs" permitted
the use of glass as a substitute for the more precious substances, and those we find
today have the knobs made ofglass.
Imperial bureaucrats were recruited through written civil-service examinations.
Candidates for office had to pass a series of tests requiring extensive knowledge of
Confucian philosophy, literature, and history. Elaborate educational preparation was
required to master classical Chinese, a "dead" language. Those who passed gained a
chance for appointment to office.
In theory, all males were eligible to compete in the examinations. Since the cost of
the elaborate education was great, only the sons of well-off parents could hope to
succeed. Virtually all mandarins came from the landlord upper class.
To prevent the building of personal power bases, mandarins were not permitted to
hold office in their home provinces, and assignments normally were changed every
three years. Moving around the empire, they were less provincial than other Chinese.
The common language and culture of the mandarins functioned to bind the empire
together. The mandarin was not allowed to marry in the province to which he was sent,
nor to acquire property there.
The civil mandarins, and the military mandarins wore the same hat badges,
accordins to their rank. However the civil mandarins wore robes adorned with birds,