Dresses and Badges of Rank

Civil

Military

Dresses and Badges of Rank

Like in the Ming and Qing empires the State officials of the Nguyen Empire were divided into Civil and Military officials.

Both were divided into ranks each having a rank badge, for the military offcials conisting of a mammal, and for the civil officials of a bird. These badges were borrowed from the Chinese Ming and Qing imperial systems of rank badges.

Examples of rank badges from the Lê-era are scarce but they exist and confirm that the system was in existence in Vietnam.

From 18th century European sources a few pictures of Tonkinese officials are known and these show the Chinese mandarin squares on ther official dresses. Another source are the 18th century patron saints of Vietnamese communities, probably the (former) local mandarins, who are dressed and crowned in Chinese fashion. [1]

According to the regulations of the 5th year of the reign of Gia Long (1806), every civil and military official received two court dresses: on for stately audiences and one for ordinary audiences. These regulations were precised by the Emperor Thieu Tri in 1845.

The full dress consisted of a court dress, a cap (quan) with two wings and decorated with gold, a belt (đái) of bamboo inlaid with jade, an ivory or wooden plaque (hốt) and a pair of felt boots.

The court dress consisted of two parts: a tunica (thường) and a robe with wide sleeves (bào).

The caps of the civil and military officials were identical but for the difference that those of the civil officials had wings with round ends and those of the military officials had rectangular ends.

The full dress was only provided to civil officials of the first six ranks and to military officials of the first three ranks. Officials of lower ranks had to dress in their ordinary dress.

The full and the ordinary dress of both military and civil officials of all ranks was decorated with a badge of rank, the military badges of rank displaying a mammal, the civil badges a bird.

The badges of rank on the ordinary dress were embroidered on square patches or mandarin squares

Also, the caps of the ordinary dress of the military and civil ranks were different from the caps of the full dress.

An important part of the official dress was a jewel in the form of a flower set with a precious stone. This device was common for all civil and military ranks.

The flower has the form of a lotus which is the symbol of the administration in Hindu and Buddhist symbolism. The precious stone is white and round and represents the moon, the symbol of state. On the caps of the highest ranking officials this flower-and-moon is ‘supported’ by two dragons passant, thus making the achievement of the imperial administration of the state.

Such an achievement is known from North Vietnam under 17th century Lê rule.

 Golden kim bác sơn cap-plaque showing the lotus-moon-dragons achievement  [2]

Civil

The civil hierarchy of the Nguyen Empire was of nine ranks. The official dress of the first four grades was a large robe with wide sleeves completed with a headdress of gauze, with golden embroidery and with long wings with round ends. The lower five grades were dressed in black or blue silk robes

All ranks bore mandarin squares on their ordinary dress. The mandarin squares were embroidered with a crane, a golden pheasant, a peacock etcetera, resembling the badges of rank of the Chinese Qing military hierarchy. [3]

This system was used at least from Ming times (1368-1644) until the end of the Empire in WWII.

Full Dress Caps & Colors

1.1.The cap of mandarins of the 1st rank 1st class was decorated on top with a golden plaque called  kim bác sơn and with a smaller one in front of it called kim ngạch tường “golden façade” of 16 mm heigh. It had dragons passant ont its wings.

1.2 The cap of  mandarins of the 1 rank 2nd class was the same as the preceding with the difference that the kim ngạch tường plaque is lower (12 mm) and decorated with flowers only

2 The cap of  mandarins of the 2nd rank had no kim ngạch tường plaque

3 The cap of mandarins of the 3rd rank was similar to the preceding  but had no dragons on its wings.

4 The cap of mandarins of the 4th rank had a plaque bác sơn of silver (ngân bác sơn). The other decorations like the flower kim ba, the lateral plaques kim khóa nhãn and the plaques on the wings were of gold. But these officials had no right on dragons passant.

5 The cap of mandarins of the 5th rank was the same as the one of the 4th rank  but all decorations were of silver

6 The cap of mandarins of the 6th rank was decorated at the front and at the back with a silver flower and the two wings were surrounded with silver.

7 The cap of mandarains of the 7th rank had a silver flower on the front and the back only, without any other decorations.

Ordinary Dress Caps, Colors and Rank Badges

Military

A third version of the imperial dragon shows the head and forefeet only. This is a Vietnamese interpretation of the kirtimuka, a monstruous head symbolizing the supreme command of the armed forces.  In Hué the dragon’s head can be found on several places in the citadel.

Dragon’s head on the tomb of the Emperor Dong Khan (†1889).  [4]

On several other places the dragon’s head is supported by two dragons, thus making the emblem of the Office of the Supreme Commander.

Hierarchy

The Lê System  of Military Rank Badges

A system of rank badges has existed in Vietnam at least from the 16th century. This is demonstrated by the seal of a high military official showing a qilin (unicorn), the badge of rank of a (Ming) military official of the first rank, dating from 1515 AD.

Bronze seal, dated 1515

9Í12Í12 cm. Museum of History of Vietnam, Hanoi. Inv. nr. LSB 19435.

This may have been the seal of Mạc Đăng Dung, the commander of the Imperial Guard of Emperor Lê Tương Dực (1510 - ‘16) and founder of the Mac-Dynasty.  [5]

Other emblems of military rank are on the 16th century sculptures of Vietnamese generals in full military dress. Probably generals of the Mac dynasty, which played an important role in 16th century Dai Viet, are portrayed.

Two Dai Viet Generals, 16th c.

H.: 67 & 64 cm. Museum of Art of Vietnam. Hanoi. Inv. nrs. 131 DK 324a3; 133 DK 326a3

The suns on their helmets and the dragons on their bellies make them Generals of the Imperial army or -guard. The lions make them military officials of the second rank. The mask on their knees make them the supreme commanders of the (imperial) armed forces.

Seal with lion-handle, 1709

Made for Nguyên Phuc Chu (1691-1725) master of the State of Annam.

Gold, 108 Í 108 Í 63 mm.

On the left side the legend: Kê bát thập kim, lục hốt tứ lạng tứ tiền tâm phân (80% pure gold, weighing 6 lingots, 4 and 4/10 and 3/100 taël (= 64,43 taëls = 2364 g)

On the right: Vĩnh Thịnh ngũ niên thập nhị nguyệt sơ lực nhật tạo, (created the 6th day of the 12th month of the 5th year of the Vinh Thinh era (1709).

The inscription on the seal reads: Đại Việt quốc Nguyễn Chúa vĩnh trấn chi bảo, (Seal of the eternal government of the Nguyen Lords of the Great kingdom of Viêt).

This seal classifies Nguyên Phuc Chu as a mandarin of the 2nd military rank. [6]

The Nguyen Military Hierarchy

The military hierarchy of the Nguyen Empire was of nine ranks. The full dress was the same as for the civil officials completed with a headdress of gauze, with golden embroidery and with long wings but with rectangular ends. Full dress was only provided for the first three ranks. For the lower ranks the full dress and the ordinary dress were the same. They had a cap without wings, folded backwards.

All ranks bore mandarin squares on their ordinary dress. The mandarin squares were embroidered with a qilin, a lion, a tiger etcetera, resembling the badges of rank of the Chinese Qing military hierarchy. [7]

This system was also in vigour at least from Ming times (1368-1644) until the end of the Empire in WWII.

The caps of the Full Dress of the military officials had wings with rectangular ends. Their decorations were similar to the decorations of the caps of the civil officials.

Besides these caps there was another one reserved for the presidents, the director and the censors of the Censorate (the Đô Ngự Sử and Phố-Đô-Ngự-Sử, the Chương-Ấn and the Ngự-Sử respectively, of the Đô Sát Viện).

By Royal Decree  of the 18th year of the reign of Minh Mang (1837) two small horns were added on the caps. These horns symbolize a Kỳ lân (Qilin= unicorn).