What do taoist priests wear

One of the most noteworthy items of the Daoist religion is the Daoist priest robe, or daogongfu. The robe is believed to possess mystical powers when worn by high-ranking Daoist priests in China. For many centuries, the Yao have developed and tailored their unique religion, incorporating Han Chinese-influenced Daoism as well as pre-Daoist folk religion and animism. To the Yao people, Daoism is laced with magic, prophecy and the supernatural.

Since Daoist priests conduct ceremonies for rites of passages and pay tribute to ancestors of the region, they are believed to maintain the order and safety of their respective communities. They mirror the cosmos and represent the energies. Therefore, when Taoist priests are donning these ceremonial robes, they are considered as powerful spiritual intermediaries acting on behalf of their community.

There is also a background of mountains and flames, Yu Huang, the Jade Emporer is enshrined in a pointed arch flanked by pairs of descending dragons on the front and back of the robe.

Rows of attendant duties flank the dragons on the sides. Statistics help you understand how many people have seen your content, and what part was most engaging. This site uses cookies to deliver our services. By using our site, you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Cookie Policy. Your use of ThingLink's Products and Services, is subject to these policies and terms.

Your media can be shared directly to multiple social platforms. Welcome to ThingLink! The white rabbit is a symbol of long life and fertility. The Three Heavens are three circles or roundels containing small pagodas set between the sun and the moon. They represent the abodes of the Three Purities Sanqing , the most important Taoist deities. Below the sun, moon, and Three Heavens is an image of a multi-storey tower surrounded by flying cranes.

The white cranes are emblems of long life and by extension of immortality. As symbols of the cosmos, stars are central to Taoist imagery. Most important are the North Star, the pivot of the world, and the Big Dipper Beidou , which by virtue of its rotation around the pole is considered the clock of the cosmos.

Other prominent star formations are the 28 lunar stations, asterisms used in antiquity to mark the movements of the moon. Below the tower and the constellations, sometimes scattered in different directions, are five symbols resembling archaic Chinese characters that refer to the five sacred mountains of Taoism and to the earthly world. The mountains in turn represent the five traditional directions of east, west, north, south, and center.

The schematic representation of waves at the bottom of Taoist robes represents the cosmic waters. The mountain peaks rising from the waves connote the world axis or, in some cases, the islands of immortality floating on the eastern sea. Search the Collection. Search the rest of site. Sun The sun holds a bird—originally a three-legged crow and sometimes a rooster—in reference to a Chinese myth that describes the sun as carried across the sky by a black crow.