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, 12:06, 17 May 2016
*''Chinese'': 補子 ''(bǔzi)''
''Buzi'', also known as chest badges, rank badges, or mandarin squares, were embroidered squares worn on the robes of [[scholar-officials]] in [[Ming Dynasty|Ming]] and [[Qing Dynasty]] China, indicating the wearer's [[Court ranks in China|court rank]]. Such badges were also worn by officials in [[Joseon Dynasty]] Korea, where they were known as ''hyungbae'',<ref>"Rank Badges (Hyungbae)," gallery labels, Metropolitan Museum of Art.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/26493415596/in/dateposted-public/]</ref> and in the [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryûkyû Kingdom]], up until [[1663]], when they were abandoned in favor of a system of [[hachimaki|colored court caps]].<ref>''Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion'', Volume 6: East Asia. Oxford University Press (2010), 423.</ref>
Badges for civil officials typically featured a pair of birds, one in flight and one on the ground. This represented the [[yin-yang]] dualism present in all things, including the dualisms of masculine and feminine, and of civil and martial. The symbols ranged from the noblest of birds, a pair of cranes soaring above the clouds, on the badge of a First Rank official, down to ground-pecking quails or orioles on the badges of officials of the Ninth Rank.
Military officials' ''buzi'' bore images of animals or mythological beasts, such as lions, bears, panthers, or ''[[kirin|qilin]]''. A select few officials bore badges featuring images of flying fish or a python, indicating a status above First Rank. Finally, Imperial Censors wore badges bearing images of the ''[[xiezhi]]'', a mythical creature said to be able to smell lies, or immorality.
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==References==
*Ray Huang, ''1587: A Year of No Significance'', Yale University Press (1981), 53-54.
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[[Category:Edo Period]]
[[Category:Muromachi Period]]
[[Category:Ranks and Titles]]