Cifu (Chinese: 赐服 ; pinyin: cì fú) is a clothing system.
The emperor would reward meritorious people with crowns and clothing to show kindness. The clothes given were usually higher than the rank of the recipient.
It is a great honor to receive such an award.
In the Ming dynasty Cifu system, the highest level pattern is Mang (蟒, python), the second is Feiyu (飞鱼, flying fish), then Douniu (斗牛), and Qilin (麒麟).
So clothes with these patterns are called: Mangfu, Feiyufu, Douniufu, and Qilinfu.
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