Buddhist Sutra Cover from China

The Indian tradition of Buddhism reached China in the Han dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE) and gradually took hold as one of China’s leading belief systems, alongside Confucianism and Taoism.

A vertical textile with Chinese calligraphy at the top and floral designs.

Sutras and other sacred Buddhist texts were transcribed in Chinese and accordion-bound in volumes with paper or silk covers. This cover for Great, Upright, and Broad: The Buddha’s Flower Ornament Sutra, Volume 51 was repurposed from a silk brocade rank badge worn by a first-rank military officer or censor during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644).

Rank badges were powerful status symbols, and this official would have worn his sewn on the front and back of a surcoat when he was in the imperial court. Each badge was made for a specific individual and would feature a bird or animal design indicating their rank and branch of service. After the official’s death, their badge was repurposed for another use.

Buddhist teachings emphasize the renunciation of worldly wealth and possessions. Donating a valuable object — such as this costly embroidery in silk and gold-wrapped yarns — to a Buddhist temple for storage or reuse was a way to earn karmic merit.

A blue textile with a cat-like animal in the middle. — *Rank badge of a fourth-rank military official, China, 19th century, The Textile Museum Collection 2010.12.2A.*

*“Portrait of an imperial censor and his wife” (detail), China, late 18th/early 19th century. The Metropolitan Museum of Art 2015.75. Purchase, Friends of Asian Art Gifts, 2015.*

Researched by Ruth McDiarmid

Ruth McDiarmid has been a docent with the museum since 2010. She was a research scientist at the National Institutes of Health and is now also a docent at the National Museum of Asian Art.