The Emperor’s old clothes - Part 3
Another distinguishing feature of the garments is that many of the robes would have some of the 12 symbols but only the emperor could wear all of them. The 12 symbols include the sun and the moon on the shoulders, an axe head and a back-to-back G character, which is a shape that you find on the vessels that the Chinese use for worshipping. On all formal robes there is also the image known as 'standing water' this is seen at the bottom of a robe, pictured.
Prince's festive robe: Apricot yellow silk with tapestry-weave pattern, Jiaqing reign period (1796-1820) © The Palace Museum, Beijing