Bu
The Bo (袍, bo) is a sleeved garment with a round neckline, opening at the front
Colours
Some time between the Meng restoration in Themiclesia in 543 and 581, the bo was sanctioned by the royal court as a regulated quotidian garment worn by men of rank, who were required to wear the correct colour that corresponded to their pem (品) rank, numbered 1st (highest) through 9th (lowest). Officials of 1st through 5th pem, adding those who served in the palace at the 6th pem, had a deep purple bo robe; those of the 6th pem outside the palace and 7th pem crimson; 8th pem green; 9th pem blue. Colours are reconstructed as follows from surviving examples, allowing for dye fade and degredation.
The pem system, separate from the lrit pay grade, was imported from Menghe and ranked offices by their relative prestige rather than strictly their position in the hierarchy. To be appointed to an office of a given pem rank, the candidate had to possess the same pem rank or higher, and this was conferred by aristocarcy. It was quite possible for an office to have a high pem rank and few or no subordinates or influence in public policy. While all public officials by the 6th century received pay via a lrit pay grade, the pem rank was only accorded to offices deemed to be within the sphere of gentry. In 581, there were 572 offices and their holders that had a pem rank out of possibly 10,000 – 15,000 who drew salaries according to a lrit pay grade.
Ensembles
From the middle of the 7th century, there were separate orders of dress based on the bo garment, varying chiefly in the arrangement of the inner layers but also the cutting design of the robe itself.
Three main cuts were used for the bo robe:
- The gwar-bo (完袍) featured no vents and a broad bottom hem reaching from mid-thigh to roughly calf-level.
- The kwat-ran-bo (闕襴袍) had pleats on the two sides set into the hem, permitting easier movement of the legs.
- The kwat-ke-bo (闕胯袍) had no hem and vents up the two sides to waist level; the front and back panels vary in length from mid-thigh to calf level.
As for full outfits, the following were more or less recognized by 700:
- dang-bek (常服), which used the bo
Military uniform
Most military officers were royal bureaucrats called to command troops on the eve of battle, and as such, military posts normally did not have a separate pem rank or colours associated with them. There were a few peace-time military posts with pem, and their holders were also ordinary bureaucrats expecting promotion to a different and likely non-military office. Of the permanent positions known, both a "1000-commander" (commanding c. 1,600 troops) and a "500-commander" (c. 400 infantry or 120 cavalry) held a 9th pem, the lowest possible rank on the pem scale. Historians know that "petty minor officers" existed under them, but such went almost completely unrecorded, not being selected from the gentry and leaving no "list of offices held" in recorded eulogies. It is through these "lists" that much about ancient government is known.
According to the colour laid out above, 1000- and 500-commanders would have worn a deep blue bo vis-à-vis the bottom rank. Petty officers down to the rank and file seem to have wore pale blue, green, yellow, or home-brought clothes. A new ranking scheme emerged in the late 6th and early 7th centuries based on metal pieces worn on soldiers' belts, which seems to have recorded both battle records and minor position. These makeshift insignia seem to have emerged out of necessity as all the major colours, as well as the right to wear brocade, embroidery, and jewellery, had been assigned to officials by strict sumptuary laws. There are many surviving examples of such decorated belts, and most such insignia are small nail-like pieces of metals hammered into the leather belt, while some took the shape of semi-circular or circular loops. A bas-relief design could be further applied on the metals.
In history, soldiers were often said to "look at their belts" when boasting about their experiences. While the re-discovery of these insignia-laden belts has grounded that expression, it has proven very difficult to interpret the meaning of these insignia, owing to poor condition, geographic variation, and ignorance of how small units were organized. Rand proposes that the nail-like medallions signified battle records, while rings puncturing the belt signified office, noting that only one example has been found of belts with 13 metal rings, and it seems to have been intentionally preserved in a leather pouch at burial, with the text "left flank" (左官首). Most belts had anywhere from 5 to 7 rings for suspending utilities, but those with more than this number often show better workmanship. He is therefore led to conclude that 9 rings or more signified a petty officer of some kind.