Daoist ceremonial robe

Chinese Daoism developed an elaborate cosmology, which can be seen in the decoration on ceremonial robes such as the one shown here. When wearing this type of robe, the priest officiating the ceremony becomes an intermediary between the divine and mundane and can give commands to supernatural forces. He also symbolizes the structure of the cosmos as represented in the Dao (Way), a pattern of ceaseless changes that pervades all creation and determines the course of events in the world.

This simply cut square cape, which opens at the front, is displayed from the back. Because the crowd mainly sees the priest’s back in a ceremony, this side is sumptuously embroidered with Daoist cosmic diagrams. The large disk in the center contains a depiction of the Palace of the Jade Emperor surrounded by the twenty-eight lunar mansions in Chinese astronomy. Above this are three disks representing the three Daoist heavens. To the left of these disks is the sun with a three-legged bird, and to the right is the moon with a hare pounding the elixir of immortality. Below the central disk are talismanic symbols of the five sacred peaks of China. On the remaining surface are white cranes, phoenixes, magical fungus (lingzhi), and cloud formations above ocean waves.