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Date(s)： 2025/06/10
Time： 15:00~17:00
Venue： Archives 3rd Conference Hall
Host： Prof.巫仁恕（本所研究員兼副所長）
Speaker：Prof. 仇乙彤（Lecturer/Assistant Professor Modern East Asia Department of History, University College London）
Organizer： Urban History Research Group
Abstract, This article investigates the material culture and ethnic identity of the ruling elite in the Qing Empire. Using confiscation inventories as primary sources, it analyzes clothing, furnishings, and scholarly items to reconstruct the cultural practices and lifestyle choices of senior Manchu, Mongol, and Han officials. The hybrid culture was especially evident in two domains: clothing and the imperial reward system. The Qing court established a hierarchical dress code by layering northern styles and religious motifs onto existing Han clothing traditions, thereby regulating the visual display of power. High officials were rewarded with rare items—furs, python robes, foreign artifacts—creating a distinctive high culture shaped by diversity and imperial favor. Confiscation records show that officials of the third rank and above typically possessed luxury goods from various cultural origins. These patterns of accumulation were shaped by the Manchu-Han co-governance system, rotational appointments across regions, and the elites’ access to economic and cultural capital. In contrast, lower-ranking officials and commoners lacked the resources to participate in this luxury culture. Most continued to adhere to material traditions shaped by geography, lineage, and occupation. Han elites preferred porcelain, silk, and jade, developing an antiquarian aesthetic rooted in classical taste. Less wealthy Manchu and Mongol bannermen retained traditional preferences for cotton and fur clothing, animal motifs, martial arts, and equestrian life. Mongol bannermen, in particular, preserved a distinct military-aristocratic identity, maintaining clear cultural boundaries from other elite groups.