Page 265 - Trang Phục Việt Nam

cổ cap, were allowed to wear the cao sơn cap. Sons and daughters of high officials, as well as
civil and military officials were prohibited from wearing black or yellow clothing, but an
exception applied to yellowish green. In terms of soldiers’ dress codes, leather caps came
into being, which were still in use three hundred years later during Tây Sơn resistance period.
Under King Lê Thánh Tông’s reign, colors for the clothing of military mandarins were
established. Mandarins from the highest rank to the third rank wore pink garments, from fourth
to fifth, green. The rest wore green clothing. According to the rules, only trustworthy soldiers
were allowed to wear the thủy ma hats and red-painted hats.

Under the reign of the Lê Dynasty, dress styles of the doctors were set as follows: the three
first candidates (first doctoral candidate, second doctoral candidate, and third doctoral
candidate of the first rank) and second-rank doctors were allowed to wear the two-winged
phác đầu cap, adorned with brass tam sơn banyan leaves. Doctors sharing the same title
wore phác đầu cap without wings but having straps, which were then removed. Their
waistbands were made of buffaloes’ horns, covered with dark blue silk and brass. The tunics
were all made of gauze. The three first candidates’ waistbands were all made of tốc hương
wood, covered with dark blue silk, inlaid with silver. Waistbands of higher-ranking candidates
were inlaid with much more silver. The court dress was made of black satin.
Under the Hồng Đức’s reign, loyal soldiers from five districts would wear purple caps, while
old soldiers would wear black caps.

The royal court also established dress codes for welcoming the Ming envoys. The dukes,
marquis, counts, prince consorts and civil officials had to wear a tunic with green hemmed,
silken, gauze collar. The fringe of the tunic should be about 3.3cm away from the ground. The
sleeves should be 40cm. Negotiating officials had to wear imperial clothes, which had a fringe
of 30cm higher from the ground, with narrow sleeves. These people all had to wear a coat with
design, put on shoes, use light colored clothing instead of old and worn garments.

Under Lê Hiến Tông’s reign, a seasonal dress code was established. From October
onwards, clothes made of hemp fiber and fine silk should be worn. After February, gauze
clothing was decreed.
After the restoration, King Lê acceded the throne and celebrated a big ceremony to sacrifice
to Heaven and Earth. He wore a xung thiên cap and black court robe. Students of the State
College, young students, pupils, high school graduates, landowner and officials all used fine
silks. In particular, the headgear and clothes of the inner royal palace guards were made of
hemp-silk, which was one of our nation’s treasured hand-woven products. This kind of
product came in red and blue, and was once offered as gifts to the Chinese envoys. Some
kinds of headgear and clothes made for guards outside the royal palace were produced using
red dyed buffalo skin.
Under Lê Thần Tông’s reign, a new dress code set some variations in size and width for
each class. Civil officials from the Religious Council up, as well as military officials from
dukes upward, wore the thanh cát tunic. Others were not allowed to wear this clothing. Under
Lê Chân Tông’s reign, clearer rules were made for the dress code of royal family members
including children, as well as the royal officials in the King’s audience. They all had to wear a
gauze cap when meeting with the monarch.