JIAQING PERIOD (1796-1820)

Imperial noblewomen wore surcoats called longgua or 'dragon coats' with semi-formal court dress. Eighteenth century sumptuary laws specified two distinct styles. The first was decorated on the body with eight roundels and a rainbow-striped hem. A second style was decorated with up to eight roundels, but had no striped hem. The primary means of identifying the wearer's rank were the number and portrayal of the dragons; front-facing being superior to profile dragons. The first style was restricted to the empress and imperial consorts of the highest ranks. Imperial consorts of the fourth and lowest rank had front-facing dragons on the upper body but highly conventionalized kui dragons in the lower four roundels, and were not permitted to have the striped hem.