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Pearls and buttons

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When arrangements were made, both my father and Yuan Shih Kai dressed in their full ceremonial robes, which is the dragon long robe, with a reddish black three-quarter length coat over it, Chao chu [amber beads], hat with peacock feather and a red coral button...[Cf]

Buttons showed the rank of the official. They were worn on the top of the hat. The materials for the button of each rank were based on rarity, beauty and/or cultural worth. There were nine different ranks at the Qing court and every rank had its own button associated with it. Those without buttons had no rank.

The red coral button mentioned by princess Der Ling belonged to the second rank. Coral has been highly treasured by the Chinese for many dynasties because of its rarity. It was believed red coral took 10.000 years to form. Therefore it was a symbol for longevity. If someone from only the second rank was allowed to wear red coral of 10.000 years, one could only imagine what jewels an emperor would wear… [Cf, p 81-102, 96] and [Cf])

“When the morning of the 25th arrived, the emperor dressed himself in the official robe-yellow gown, embroidered with gold dragons and a coat of reddish black colour. Of course, being the emperor, in place of the usual button on the hat he wore a large pearl. I might mention that the emperor was the only person who could wear this particular pearl in place of a button.[Cf]

Freshwater pearls were the most valuable button to wear in the Qing dynasty and only members of the royal family were allowed to wear them. These pearls were found in northern rivers such as the Sungari, Yalu and Amur. These rivers flowed through the homeland of the Manchus. The Manchus ruled over China from Beijing, but they were very homesick. Everything that reminded them of their homeland and previous lifestyle was of high reverence. So not only were the freshwater pearls rare, they also had high sentimental and nostalgic worth.[Cf, p 100]

The great Imperial Pearl, one of the most precious of the Imperial jewels, formed the button of his hat on his birthday. The seven official ranks of Mandarins are shown by the different colors of the buttons worn on their hats. The color of these buttons denotes the rank acquired by their wearers, those of the Manchu princes, alone, being hereditary. The buttons of the latter are generally of jewels or semi-precious stones. The Emperor, the most simply dressed man I saw in China, wears, as a rule, a plain red silk button, but the Pearl, which can only be worn by a reigning emperor, is used on state occasions.