Daoism, one of China’s major belief systems, envisions a universe guided by harmony and natural order, and a heavenly paradise. Together with Confucianism and Buddhism, it is one of China’s three major belief systems. Emerging as an organised religion some time after AD 100, Daoism developed sacred texts and temples and quickly developed the trappings of a religion: a supreme god, a set of scriptures, temples, priests, and ritual practices. As Daoism evolved, it drew hundreds of gods and immortals into its pantheon, such as the Jade Emperor (Yu Huang), The Three Pure Ones (Sanqing), and the god of war, Guan Yu, who is especially popular in Hong Kong.
By the 12th century, Daoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism, known as the three doctrines, were seen as mutually complementary, although at times they competed for influence at court. And from that time forward, the pantheons of these doctrines often overlapped, and their rituals, architecture, and art appeared similar. Among Daoism’s accessories to their vivid rituals are embroidered priestly robes. These garments, rich in cosmic symbolism, feature diagrams of paradise, sacred mountains, phoenixes, and zodiac animals. Worn during various rituals, they transform priests into living embodiments of the cosmos.
Unlike Buddhism, which was established in India and spread to China along the Silk Roads, Daoism developed within China itself. It seems to have first originated as a philosophy and evolved into a religion comprising numerous deities and profound texts, with worship linked to elaborate rituals. Jackie Menzies, in her essay Daoist Textiles from 2004, writes, ‘Two of the most familiar symbols recognisable as Daoism are the taiji (supreme ultimate) circle comprising interlocking black and white comma shapes that represents a cosmological state of the universe. Now known universally as the “ying and yang” symbol.
The second is the Eight Trigrams, or bagua, eight sets of three horizontal lines in different combinations of broken and unbroken lines. Both symbols are diagrammatic representations of the Daoist belief in the unending, cyclical, cosmic flux that constitutes the Dao, the vast void from which the energy (qi) of all phenomena emerges. The taiji circle illustrates the changing balance of two complementary forces of yin and yang. Yin is the feminine – dark, winter, the moon. Yang is the male – light, summer, the sun. All phenomena are a constantly changing balance of these two forces. The waxing and waning of yin and yang is chartered in the Eight Trigrams, where the three unbroken horizontal lines represent the yang and the three broken lines the yin’.
To further order the chaos of the universe, Daoism developed the concept of the Five Elements, Wu Xing (Earth, Wood, Fire, Metal, and Water), believed to have been produced from the interaction of yin and yang, and the basis of all phenomena. By extension, the universe could be ordered into Five Directions, each associated with China’s great mountains – The Five Sacred Mountains, or wuyue: Mount Tai, East; Mount Hua, West; Mount Heng (Hunan), South; Mount Song, Centre; and Mount Heng (Shanxi), North. There is also a group of Five Colours (black, red, green/blue-green, yellow, and white). The Five Beasts of the directions are the Azure Dragon (East); Vermilion Bird (South); White Tiger (West), Black Tortoise (North); and Yellow Dragon (Centre). These mythical creatures represent the five cardinal directions and are also associated with the Five Elements (Wu Xing), as well as the group of colours, seasons, and various other attributes.
This belief in a cosmic order permeated Chinese beliefs through the centuries and was even adopted by foreign conquerors such as the Manchus and the Qing-dynasty rulers. For example, the Manchu emperors wore yellow dragon robes – as yellow was the colour of the centre (the direction of the emperor, Son of Heaven) and dragons were seen as the beast of the centre direction.
One of the most enduring subjects – and portrayals – in Daoism is the association with immortality and the belief in the Eight Immortals, Baxian. These characters, the majority of whom lived during the Tang dynasty (618-907), have become one of the most well-known groups of all heavenly masters, each having their own unique character and capabilities, and who are revered for their compassion, wisdom, and special powers.
Stars and constellations have always played an important role in Daoism with many of the earliest Daoist deities being celestial deities who live in and relate to different parts of the sky, reflecting a hierarchical structure mirroring the earthly realm. Deities are associated with specific stars and constellations, like the Jade Emperor, Yudi, who is a human-like representation of the God of Heaven. The Queen Mother of the West, Xiwangmu, is associated with the Kunlun Mountains as well as having her own celestial connections. Consequently, in many Taoist meditations, the priest visualises himself either rising to the heavens to meet with these gods or bringing the energies of different celestial bodies down into himself.
Robes worn by Daoist priests represent some of the richest and most symbolic embroidered decoration in Chinese clothing. They take two basic forms: a square, full-length, sleeveless robe with centre-front opening (jiangyi), and a full-length, sleeved garment with centre-front opening fastened with ties (daopao). Elaborate symbolic schemes are common to both. They feature cosmic diagrams representing paradise; the sun and moon; phoenixes (birds with fiery feathers); abstract forms of China’s five sacred mountains; and circles containing the 12 animals of the zodiac. When priests wore such robes, they were symbolically united with the cosmos and able to go beyond the earthly and heavenly realms. Cloud patterns and cloud-and-animal patterns also portray the land of the immortals and spirits and can be considered a visual display of Daoist thought.
The symbolic complexity of the ‘robe of descent’ (jiangyi) makes it an important accessory, so it is usually worn by the highest-ranking Daoist priests and demonstrates how priests used symbols and words to control their environment. These robes were specifically designed for ceremonies where deities were invited to ‘descend’ upon the priest. The complex symbols on their garments were believed to transform the wearer into a ritual participant, who could communicated between the human and spirit worlds. For this ritual, the priest faced the altar to conduct rites, so the robe’s back typically contains the design’s focal point for the participants.
Examples of this complex symbolism can be seen in one jiangyi in the exhibition – it has three small circles representing gates and, on either side, roundels containing symbols for the sun (represented as a three-legged pheasant) and moon (represented as a rabbit pounding a mortar), sitting above a central pagoda surrounded by 28 Lunar Mansions (the coloured discs), on a red background. This robe also features large roundels with five-clawed dragons chasing magic pearls: four on the front and two on the back, surrounded by bats, swastikas, and cranes. The robe’s bottom bands have dragons rising out of the sea, medallions containing carps, turtles, snakes, qilins, and other auspicious symbols. Smaller roundels around the side borders contain the Eight Auspicious Buddhist symbols, and Taoist immortal symbols.
These robes, drawn from Mia’s collection, brilliantly reveal the spiritual depth, artistic brilliance, and ritual significance woven into these rare Daoist robes. Dr Yang Liu, Chair of Asian Art and Curator of Chinese Art at MiA, explains, ‘These magnificent robes are more than ritual dress – they are visual theologies, woven embodiments of Daoist cosmology. Through their vibrant symbols and sacred forms, we see how the priest’s body became a conduit between heaven and earth. By featuring these rarely seen garments, this exhibition invites viewers to experience Daoism not just as belief, but as beauty, performance, and transformation stitched into silk’.
Until 1 February 2026, Minneapolis Institute of Art, new.artsmia.org
