Rank and Style: Power Dressing in Imperial China is an educational and interactive exploration of how the Chinese elite in the Ming and Qing dynasties expressed status through insignia of rank and the robes and accessories that went with them. It draws on the extensive collections of the USC Pacific Asia Museum as well as several private collections. This page includes links to HTML versions of Flash content as well as teaching ideas and resources for educators. PLEASE NOTE that RANK AND STYLE is only available as an online exhibit (only some works may be found on display in the museum galleries).
HTML PAGES
- PDFs of each Section: viewable online, printable, and with selectable text.
(These PDFs require Adobe Reader)
Intro: Rank and Style: Power Dressing in Imperial China [121KB]
Section 1: Dragons and Phoenixes: Badges for the Imperial Family [882KB]
Section 2: Cranes and Peacocks: Rank Badges for Civil Officials [925KB]
Section 3: Lions and Tigers: Rank Badges for Military Officers [527KB]
Section 4: Peonies and Lanterns: Badges for Festivals and Ceremonies [615KB]
Section 5: Beyond the Forbidden City: The Badge as Icon [438KB]
- Image Credits
- Textile Terms: A glossary of Rank and Style's textile-related terms. This glossary can be adapted by teachers as a vocabulary list.
- Symbols: Also in glossary format.
- Chronology
- Discussion Questions
- Reading List & Links
- Site Credits and Terms of Use
FLASH MODULE
The Rank and Style Flash module includes all of the above content, plus the ability to zoom in all images to inspect detail.
The Flash module requires the Flash plug-in; you can click here to download it from Macromedia.
About This Exhibit
Rank and Style: Power Dressing in Imperial China was supported in part by a generous grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and Washington Mutual. Digital images of the museum's permanent collection were made possible in part by a grant funded by the Getty Foundation's Los Angeles Electronic Cataloguing Initiative.This web presentation was inspired by an exhibition of the same title curated by Dale Carolyn Gluckman.
