A comparison of capes and their weights for the empresses, imperial consorts, Mingfu and related content 

The color, texture and design of the capes and their weights for the empresses and imperial consorts in the Ming Dynasty were subject to strict rules. According to Volume 60 of the Collected Statutes of the Ming Dynasty, “in the third year of Emperor Yongle’s reign, the wife of a prince shall wear a grand robe and a cape. The grand robe shall be in the color of bright red. The texture of the cape shall be in the color of dark blue embroidered with patterns of golden rosy clouds and phoenix. The gold cape weight shall be decorated with phoenix pattern.” It was stipulated in Volume 61 of the Collected Statutes of the Ming Dynasty that “the cape weight shall be decorated with one bird surrounded by rosy cloud pattern. The type of the bird shall be based on the ranks, as the rule for the cape. The empress shall use the jade weight with dragon pattern; the imperial consorts of the emperor and those of the crown prince, the jade weights with phoenix pattern; the wives of the prince of blood and the eldest son of the emperor, the gold weight with phoenix pattern; the wives of prince of the second rank, the gold weight with pattern of long-tailed pheasant.”

As ceremonial costumes and accessories, the capes and their weights for Mingfu (ladies with royally granted titles) varied according to their ranks. As recorded in the History of the Ming Dynasty · Carriages and Costumes, the Mingfu from first rank to the fifth rank shall use gold cape weights; the sixth and seventh ranks, gilded cape weights; the eighth and ninth ranks, silver cape weights. It was stipulated in the 24^th year of Emperor Hongwu’s reign that capes for nobles above the ranks of duke and marquis and for the Mingfu of the first and second ranks shall be embroidered with pattern of long-tailed pheasant, those for the third and fourth ranks with peacock pattern, those for the fifth rank with mandarin duck pattern, and those for the sixth and seventh ranks with magpie pattern.

As ceremonial costumes and accessories, the capes and their weights have been unearthed from tombs of Song, Yuan and Ming Dynasties. However, they have not been discovered from tombs of the Qing Dynasty due to the change in costumes, why?

The cape weights made of gold, silver, gilded silver, or jade unearthed from tombs of the Song, Yuan and Ming Dynasties were kept intact while the capes made of silk were hard to preserve. Most of the cape weights of the Song and Yuan Dynasties were shaped like chicken heart, and some were round. In the Ming Dynasty, cape weights were mainly in the shape of chicken heart, and other shapes such as hexagon or horse-hoof appeared. The cape weights of the Song and Yuan Dynasties mostly featured design of birds in pairs or flowers, and this practice remained in the Ming Dynasty. In the Song Dynasty, the cape weights were usually tied up to the bottom of the capes, while in the Ming Dynasty they were mostly suspended to the lower part of the capes, and sometimes tied to the upper or lower parts or the bottom of the capes.

1. Cape weights of the Song Dynasty

The gold cape weight with the phoenix-amidst-peony design unearthed from a tomb of the Northern Song Dynasty in Mufu Mountain of Nanjing (Fig. 10) is by far the first one of the kind that we have excavated. This chicken-heart-shaped cape weight measures 8.5 cm in height and 5.7 cm in width, and is formed by joining two gold foils with openwork pattern. The other cape weights excavated later are similar to it in both shape and size. Although real examples of cape weights appeared as early as the Northern Song Dynasty, it was not until the Southern Song Dynasty when they became common. Such examples include the gold cape weight with classic scroll pattern unearthed from a tomb of the Southern Song Dynasty in Santianmen at Longxi of Huzhou, Zhejiang Province (Fig. 11) and the gold cape weight with double-dragon design unearthed from a tomb of the Southern Song Dynasty in Xixiaochang of Xuancheng, Anhui Province (Fig.12)

                                                                       Fig.10                             Fig.11                          Fig.12

Fig. 10 The gold cape weight with phoenix-amidst-peony design unearthed from a tomb of the Northern Song Dynasty in Mufu Mountain of Nanjing

Fig. 11 The gold cape weight with classic scroll pattern unearthed from a tomb of the Southern Song Dynasty in Santianmen at Longxi of Huzhou, Zhejiang Province

Fig.12 The gold cape weight with double-dragon design unearthed from a tomb of the Southern Song Dynasty in Xixiaochang of Xuancheng, Anhui Province

Below are more examples: the heart-shaped gilded silver cape weight with openwork floral design and the round gold cape weight with double phoenixes amidst lotus flower design unearthed from Huang Sheng’s tomb of the Southern Song Dynasty in Fucang Mountain of Fuzhou, Fujian Province (Fig. 13); the gold cape weight with Manchijiao pattern (a pond with flowers, birds and fish) unearthed from Li Shuoren’s tomb of the Southern Song Dynasty in Anyi, Jiangxi Province (Fig. 14); the gilded silver cape weight with characters of “Zhuan Guan” unearthed from a Southern Song Dynasty tomb in Chayuan Mountain of Fuzhou, Fujian Province; the cape weight with the character of “Shou” unearthed from Zhou’s tomb of the Southern Song Dynasty in Taoyuan Mountain of De’an, Jiangxi Province; the gilded silver cape weight with mandarin duck design unearthed from the tomb of the Tan’s couple of the Southern Song Dynasty in Yuepu Township of Baoshan, Shanghai (Fig. 15). Through years of popularization, patterns of all these cape weights have been endowed with meanings of happiness, good luck, auspices, wealth, official promotion, and a happy and lasting marriage.

Fig.13                                                 Fig.14

Fig.13 The gilded silver cape weight with openwork floral design and the gold cape weight with double phoenixes amidst lotus flower design unearthed from Huang Sheng’s tomb of the Southern Song Dynasty in Fucang Mountain of Fuzhou, Fujian Province

Fig.14 The gold cape weight with Manchijiao pattern unearthed from Li Shuoren’s tomb of the Southern Song Dynasty in Anyi, Jiangxi Province

Fig. 15 The gilded silver cape weights unearthed respectively from a Southern Song Dynasty tomb in Chayuan Mountain of Fuzhou, Fujian Province, Zhou’s tomb of the Southern Song Dynasty in Taoyuan Mountain of De’an, Jiangxi Province, and the tomb of Tan’s couple of the Southern Song Dynasty in Yuepu Township of Baoshan, Shanghai.

2. Cape weights of the Yuan Dynasty

The chick-heart-shaped and round cape weights and those with Manchijiao design from the Northern and Southern Song Dynasties were inherited by the Yuan Dynasty. Samples include the gold cape weight with Manchijiao design unearthed from the tomb of Lü Shimeng Couple of the early Yuan Dynasty in Huqiu of Suzhou, Jiangsu Province (Fig. 16), the gold cape weight with the design of two dragons playing with a pearl of the Yuan Dynasty unearthed from Huoba Mountain of Changsha, Hunan Province (Fig. 17), and the white jade chicken-heart-shaped cape weight of the Yuan Dynasty unearthed from the tomb of Fan Wenhu’s wife in Qipan Mountain of Anqing, Anhui Province (Fig. 18). The silver cape weight with auspicious pattern from the gold and silver ware hoard of the Yuan Dynasty unearthed from Xinhe of Linli, Hunan Province (Fig. 19) is in the shape of a round box with zimukou (a structure with its the upper part able to be plugged into the lower part).

Fig.16                               Fig.17                                     Fig.18

Fig.16 The gold cape weight with Manchijiao design unearthed from the tomb of Lv Shimeng Couple of the Yuan Dynasty in Huqiu of Suzhou, Jiangsu Province.

Fig. 17 The gold cape weight with the design of two dragons playing with a pearl of the Yuan Dynasty unearthed in Huoba Mountain of Changsha, Hunan Province.

Fig.18 The white jade chicken-heart-shaped cape weight of the Yuan Dynasty unearthed from the tomb of Fan Wenhu’s wife in Qipan Mountain of Anqing, Anhui Province

Fig. 19 The silver cape weight with auspicious pattern from the gold and silver ware hoard of the Yuan Dynasty unearthed from Xinhe of Linli, Hunan Province

3. Cape weights of the Ming Dynasty

The cape weights of the Ming Dynasty feature one-bird pattern. Any cape weight with birds in pairs or other non-bird patterns was not used by the imperial family. The gold cape weights unearthed from joint tombs of the prince and his wife of the Ming Dynasty were made for ceremonial purposes with characters such as “Nei Zao” (made by the imperial household department) engraved on the interior side of the hooks or hanging rings. They were produced in batch by the imperial workshop for making gold and silver wares to satisfy the needs of imperial ceremonies and for occasions of conferring titles of nobility or granting awards. Examples include the gold cape weight with design of phoenix flying in clouds unearthed from the Ming tomb at the site of Huangshan Instrument Factory in She County, Anhui Province (Fig. 20) and the gold cape weight with phoenix pattern unearthed from the joint tomb of Zhu Zhanji, Prince Liangzhuang of the Ming Dynasty, and his Consort Wei in Zhongxiang, Hubei Province (Fig.21) and the gold cape weights with phoenix pattern respectively dating from Emperor Yongle’s reign and Emperor Hongzhi’s reign of the Ming Dynasty unearthed in Beijing (Fig. 22). They all consisted of the hook, chain, and weight with inscriptions engraved on the interior surface of the hook.

                                 Fig. 20                     Fig. 21                       Fig. 22

Fig.20 The gold cape weight unearthed from the Ming tomb at the site of Huangshan Instrument Factory in She County, Anhui Province

Fig. 21 The gold cape weight with phoenix pattern and inscription engraved on the interior surface of the hook unearthed from the tomb of Prince Liangzhuang of the Ming Dynasty in Zhongxiang, Hubei Province

Fig. 22 The gold cape weights with phoenix pattern respectively dating from Emperor Yongle’s reign and Emperor Hongzhi’s reign of the Ming Dynasty unearthed in Beijing

The gold cape weight in the shape of a peach with jewel inlay (Fig.23), the highest level of the kind so far discovered, was unearthed from the Dingling Tomb of Zhu Yijun, Emperor Wanli or Shenzong of the Ming Dynasty, in Changping County of Beijing, also the burial site of Empress Xiaoduan and Empress Xiaojing, both surnamed Wang. The cape weight measures 16.5 cm in total height (the body of the weight being 9.4 cm high), 19.1 cm in the length of handle, and weighs 172.5 g. It is in the shape of a peach, with the two halves made separately and engraved respectively with the patterns of double dragons playing with a pearl and sea waves, cliff and clouds. A pearl symbolizing the flaming ball is inlaid in the center of the weight, while ruby and sapphire are inlaid in each center of the four leaves which serve as a receptacle and are made with filigree technique on top of the cape weight. A gold hook-shaped slender pole is linked with the top of the weight by a gold chain and is used to fix it to the cape.

Fig.23 The gold cape weight in the shape of a peach with jewel inlay unearthed from the Dingling Tomb in Changping of Beijing, and drawings of its pattern

In summary, as ceremonial costumes and accessories, the capes and their weights were not only used as ornaments, but also symbolized identity, social status and hierarchy in the Song, Yuan and Ming Dynasties.

Xiapei (pink cloud cape) refers to capes worn by the ancient Chinese women, and derived the name for the design as beautiful as pink clouds. It originated in the Southern and Northern Dynasties and got popular in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. It was included into the category of ceremonial costume in the Song Dynasty and was granted only to Mingfu (ladies with royally granted titles) in the Ming Dynasty. Weights were attached to the bottom of the capes in order to make them droop smoothly. Out of the two cape weights unearthed from the tomb of Huang Sheng of the Southern Song Dynasty in Fucang Mountain of Fuzhou, Fujian Province, the perforation on the tip of one gilded silver heart-shaped cape weight of floral pattern had remains of silk thread. Another one, a round gold cape weight with double phoenixes amidst lotus flower design, was tied up by silk thread to the bottom of a brown cape embroidered with four-season flowers (Fig. 5). The gilded silver cape weight unearthed from the Zhou’s tomb of the Southern Song Dynasty in Taoyuan Mountain of De’an, Jiangxi Province, was also tied up to the bottom of the plain cape at the time of excavation (Fig. 6).

Fig. 5 The round cape weight with double phoenixes amidst lotus flower design tied up by silk thread to the bottom of a cape excavated from Huang Sheng’s tomb of the Southern Song Dynasty in Fucang Mountain of Fuzhou, Fujian Province, and the drawing (by Zhou Xun)

Fig.6 The gilded silver cape weight tied up to the bottom of a cape unearthed from the Zhou’s tomb of the Southern Song Dynasty in Taoyuan Mountain of De’an, Jiangxi Province

Other examples include the capes and the weights tied to them depicted in the portrait of the empress of Emperor Xuanzu in the Song Dynasty in the Portraits of Emperors and Empresses of China’s Past Dynasties (Fig.7), the Portrait of Zhu Fonü(Fig.8) in the Collection of Pictures of Artifacts from Prince Qiyang’s Family of the Ming Dynasty, and the Costumes of the Central and Eastern Palaces issued in the Ming Dynasty.

Fig.7 The cape weight that was depicted in the portrait of the empress of Emperor Xuanzu in the Song Dynasty       

Fig. 8 The cape weight that was depicted in the portrait of Zhu Fonü in the Ming Dynasty

·                                 

                                  Front view                                   Rear view

Fig. 9  The way how the cape and the weight were worn depicted in the Costumes of the Central and Eastern Palaces issued in the Ming Dynasty

The gold cape weight with phoenix pattern was unearthed from a Ming tomb at Jinjingwu Village of Shaodian Township in Shangcai County, Henan Province, in the 1970s. According to the epitaph, the tomb was the joint burial site for Prince Shunyang or Zhu Youxuan, who was the grandson of the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty Zhu Yuanzhang, and his Consort Wu. The structure of the tomb is hard to verify due to the unplanned excavation. However, the gold ornaments unearthed from the tomb were made of precious materials in elegant shapes with superb craftsmanship, fully showcasing the level of gold ware production in the early Ming Dynasty.   

 Like a water droplet, the gold cape weight with phoenix pattern is in the shape of an almond, hollow inside. Both sides of the cape weight feature the same pattern. In the center is a phoenix spreading its wings and ready to fly, and surrounded by auspicious clouds. The edge of the cape weight is decorated with triangular sea waves and dotted triangles. Techniques of openwork, carving and engraving, hammering and impressing were adopted in the making of this cape weight. The larger part of the theme pattern was made through openwork technique while the details of the phoenix, auspicious cloud and sea waves were carved carefully, creating an image that is elegantly designed and well structured. On the top of the weight is a perforation that is used to tie it to the cape. (Fig. 1)

Fig. 1 The gold cape weight with phoenix pattern and its side view

The cape weight features a theme pattern of phoenix from the ancient Chinese legend, which suits the identity of the tomb owner. The phoenix pattern looks similar to those on the architectural stone carvings in Emperor Yongle’s reign (Fig.2), those on the imperial architectural stone carvings (Fig. 3), and those on porcelain bowls in Emperor Wanli’s reign of the Ming Dynasty (Fig. 4). Most of them have five long saw-toothed tails and symmetrical feathers. 

Fig. 2 The decorative phoenix pattern on the architectural stone carving in Emperor Yongle’s reign of the Ming Dynasty

Fig. 3 The phoenix pattern on the imperial architectural stone carving in the Ming Dynasty

Fig. 4 The phoenix pattern on the porcelain bowl in Emperor Wanli’s reign of the Ming Dynasty