The biggest feature of Ming Dynasty official clothes is Buzi. Different levels of ministers have different patterns of brocade.
Group portraits of ten important court officials during the Hongzhi period of the Ming Dynasty in China
Zhu Yuanzhang promulgated an edict in the second year of his ascension. The costumes of hundreds of military commanders in the imperial court followed the rules of Tang and Song Dynasty official uniforms. Robes, hats, and accessories can reflect differences in taste. The front and back of official uniforms are decorated with square patterns with various animal patterns embroidered with gold threads and colored silks. This is called “Buzi”, also known as “Guanbu” or “Back Chest”, or “Bu” for short.
Buzi on the official uniform is a mark to identify the rank of an official. Buzi exists with official positions, and is restricted by the court, and cannot be produced in large quantities. Therefore, it has extremely high craft value and historical value. Today, it has become a precious collection of cultural relics.
According to the “Ming Huidian” records, the twenty-fourth year of Hongwu (1391) stipulated that Gongzi, Hou, FuMa, Bo have the patterns of Qilin and Baize were made up; civil officials embroidered poultry to show civilization. Among them, the first grade is Xianhe ,the second grade Golden pheasant, third-class peacock, fourth-class cloud goose, fifth-class white pheasant, sixth-class heron, seventh-class owl, eight-class yellow oriole, and nine-class quail; military officer embroidered beasts to demonstrate fiercely, among them, first-class, second-class lion, third-class, fourth-class Product tigers and leopards, fifth-grade brown-and-white bear, sixth-grade, seventh-grade biao, eight-grade rhinoceros, and ninth-grade hippocampus; There are also the emperor’s special gift as a gift to a specific person. There are two types of bullfighting and flying fish.
The Ming and Qing Dynasties endowed the Red Crowned Crane with the cultural connotation of loyalty, uprightness and noble morality. Red Crowned Crane is embroidered on the clothes of a civil servant. It is listed as an important symbol next only to the Loong and Fenghuang used by the royal family. Therefore, people also regard the crane as a symbol of a high official.
References
Wikipedia:补子 https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%A1%A5%E5%AD%90
Red-crowned crane https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-crowned_crane#China
