Clouds collar

If you look below the pearl cape, you will notice a shape that looks like the images above. This pattern is mostly known as a ‘cloud collar’ (Yunjian 雲肩). The vast majority of people recognize it as a part of imperial Qing costumes, however, this cloud collar dates back as far as the Zhou dynasty (1046-256 BCE). The first prototypes were the patterns on the back of the mirrors as is visible in the fourth image. During the Later Han Dynasty (202 BCE-220 CE), fully developed forms of the motif started to appear as patterns on the back of the mirror. From this period onwards the cloud collar motif was made into collars and slowly became part of the cosmic symbolism. According to Chinese cosmology the earth is square and heaven is round. When you lay the cloud collar flat it is circular-shaped and thus becomes part of the cosmic symbolism. [cf].

During the later Ming and Qing dynasties, the cloud collar lost its cosmological use and was seen as mere decoration and a symbol for nobility. Because the original significance was forgotten, the cloud collar not only lost its original purpose but the shape of the collar also started to change.[Cf, p 1-2,6] Cixi’s famous pearl cape is a good example of this.