Figure 1.--A modern artist has created this image of a Manchu boy in his characterictic costume. We do not know enough about Manch costume to assess the accuracy of the depiction. This is not of course would not be how most Chinese or even Manchu boys were dressed. Only a very wealthy boy would have been dressed like this in a beautifully embroidered robe. A HBC reader tells us that this may have been how a Manchu prince was dressed.

We have no information on boys' clothing during the Manchu era. As far as we know at this time, there were no destinctive garmebnts for boys. Boys in the images available to us simply wear scaled down versions of mens clothes. We have just begun to collect information on the Machu and thus we may be mistaken here. We have very few images to go on at this time. Hopefully our Chinese readers will provide us some information on Manchu clothing.

A reader writes, "I happen to be a Chinese culture specialist and have opened a store selling traditional Chinese male clothing. I believe that the boy in this picture is either a prince from the imperial family, or the emperor himself. The style of hat he is wearing, its yellow color, as well as the gorgeous dragon gown, were unlikely (and possibly forbidden) clothing for sons of common people, rich merchants, or even high officials. The setting around the boy, including the architecture, the objects, and to some extent the chair, are reminiscent of the imperial palace in Beijing. If my assessment is correct, then the boy would indeed be a Manchu (the Qing dynasty, which ruled China from 1644 to 1911, was from Manchuria). His face also looks more Manchu than Han (the main ethnic group in China)."

Created: March 8, 2004
Last updated: March 9, 2004