Mianfu (Chinese: 冕服; pinyin: miǎnfú; lit. Chinese clothing in hanfu; it was worn by emperors, kings, and princes, and in some instances by the nobles in historical China from the Shang to the Ming dynasty. The mianfu is the highest level of formal dress worn by Chinese monarchs and the ruling families in special ceremonial events such as coronation, morning audience, ancestral rites, worship, new year’s audience and other ceremonial activities. The mianfu was used by every dynasty from Zhou dynasty onward until the collapse of the Ming dynasty. 88 including on the mianfu. These Twelve Ornaments were later adopted in clothing of other ethnic groups; for examples, the Khitan and the Jurchen rulers adopted the Twelve ornaments in 946 AD and in 1140 AD respectively. There were various forms of mianfu, and the mianfu also had its own system of attire called the mianfu system which was developed back in the Western Zhou dynasty. The mianfu is typically a set of clothing, which includes a type of Chinese crown (guan) called mianguan (冕冠), looked like a board which leans forward and had chains of beads at the front and back. Usually, the mianguan has 12 chains; however, it could also vary in numbers (i.e. 9, 7, 5, 3) depending on the importance of an event and in rank difference. 88 where it became known as gujangbok (Korean: 구장복; Hanja: 九章服; RR: gujangbok). To fasten the mianguan to the hair, hairpins are used. The shoes could vary in colour depending on events, and by order of importance, the emperor would wear red, white, or black shoes. 13 The shoes worn by the emperor which goes with the mianfu is made of silk with double-layered wooden soles. All these originated from the primitive clothing worn by the shamans in ancient China. The upper and lower garment are tied with a belt. The upper garment of the emperor’s mianfu is usually black in colour while the lower garment is crimson red in colour in order to symbolize the order of heaven and earth. A pure red coloured bixi, an important component for ceremonial clothing, hangs down under the belt. Twelve Ornaments, including the dragons, are the usual decoration of the mianfu. When decorated with all the Twelve Ornaments, the mianfu can be classified as shierzhangfu (Chinese: 十二章服; pinyin: shíèrzhāngfú) while decorated with nine out of the twelve symbols, it is can be classified as jiuzhangyi (Chinese: 九章衣; pinyin: jiǔzhāngyī) or jiuzhangfu (Chinese: 九章服; pinyin: jiǔzhāngfú). Tang dynasty emperor and officials from Mogao murals from AD 642, located in Cave 220, Dunhuang, Gansu. Tracing of figure wearing mianfu in Yinan Tomb stone-relief in Shandong Province. There are various forms of mianfu which can be classified in five grades and which was worn by the members of the nobility aside from those worn by the Chinese emperor. 14 The difference in forms and appearance was used to distinguish between the ranks of its wearer; these differences were often form in the number of symbols and the tassels which were attached to the headwear worn in the mianfu. Emperor Cheng of Han as depicted on lacquer screen from Northern Wei. 14 The mianfu system was developed in the Western Zhou dynasty. Western Han dynasty, the mianfu and mianguan were later restored by Emperor Ming of Han in the Eastern Han dynasty based on Rites of Zhou and Confucian Classic of Rites. Zhou dynasty. The mianfu was also a strict system of attire which was defined based the social rank of its wearer and had to fulfil requirements based on specific events. In the Song dynasty, the emperor wore mianfu which included: daqiumian and gunmian. 2 The crown prince of the Song dynasty also wore gunmian. After the Manchu conquerors established the Qing dynasty, the new government initiated a policy that forbade Han Chinese to wear Hanfu. 2 The rulers of the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty also created their own carriages and apparel system by adopting the clothing system of the Han people and by imitating the Song dynasty; and the Jin emperors wore gunmian. Vietnam (known as Cổn Miện) during the imperial era. Enthronement ceremony of Emperor Kōmei, benpuku (冕服) was used as ceremonial clothes. Qing emperors did not use Mianfu as the emperor’s official garb, which eventually resulted in this style of clothing disappearing from use. Volume 1, From prehistory to the Tang dynasty. Zhang, Fa (2016). History and spirit of chinese art. Gu, Weilie (2022). A GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO CHINESE CULTURE. Translated by Sun, Lixin. Hua, Mei; 华梅 (2004). Zhongguo fu shi (Di 1 ban ed.). Beijing: Wu zhou chuan bo chu ban she. Kwon, Cheeyun Lilian (2019). Efficacious underworld : the evolution of Ten Kings paintings in medieval China and Korea. Book of Later Han. NATIONAL MUSEUM OF KOREA. Book of Later Han. 显宗遂就大业，初服旒冕，衣裳文章，赤舄絇屦，以祠天地，养三老五更于三雍，于时致治平矣。 Book of Later Han.