Explore the tombs of the prestigious Li family of Meili in Jiaxing and witness a luxurious Ming Dynasty fashion show!

Jiaxing Wangdian, also known as Meili or Meihui Li, is a family of distinction. The Li family of Meixi is a prominent clan, on par with the Zhu family represented by Zhu Yizun. The ancestors of the Meili Li family migrated from the end of the Yuan Dynasty and flourished at the end of the Ming Dynasty. The Li family produced many scholars, with Li Xiang being known for his loyal and righteous writings in early Jiangnan, famous for poetry and rites after the early Qing Dynasty, and renowned for classical studies by the mid-Qing Dynasty. Using glutinous rice paste and rammed earth to seal tombs was a major feature of Ming Dynasty burials. The Li family's tomb is a four-chambered joint burial, with M1 being a brick vaulted tomb and the other three being brick chamber tombs with stone slabs, the main chamber being a double burial. Li Xiang also engaged in agriculture and commerce, valued family harmony, and was charitable and generous. His son Li Fang, born to a concubine Chen, later became a successful imperial scholar, achieving remarkable results in capturing bandits, managing farmland, setting corvée duties, and dredging rivers. The attire of Li Xiang and his wives and concubines after their death was extremely luxurious. Li Xiang wore a Zhongjing crown, which is a rank official's swallow-tailed dress, aimed at encouraging officials to be loyal and to reflect on their mistakes when retreating. He wore a wide-sleeved robe, a cross-collared embroidered robe, and a lined garment. The sleeves and the length of the garment were two feet and two inches, with silk being the main fabric, and the patterns were cloud or crane motifs. After being posthumously awarded the title of Seventh Rank Wenlin Lang, his principal wife, Lady Li, was decreed the title of Ruiren, and her embroidered shoes featured ring braiding. Ming Dynasty clothing regulations stipulated that officials of the third rank and above wore cloud patterns, while those below the fourth rank wore plain fabrics with blue-green edges, decorated with original patterns on the front and back. In the first year of Hongwu, the official uniform was set as 'black gauze cap, round-necked robe, sash, and black boots.' The use of patches was an important symbol of the development of the Ming Dynasty's official clothing system, with civil officials using birds and military officials using beasts. Ming Dynasty court attire was uniformly red. Public service uniforms used a spread-footed cap, with crimson for ranks one to four. Ranks five to seven commonly used blue, while ranks eight to nine used green. According to 'Ming History, Carriage and Dress Records,' the patch patterns for dukes, marquises, sons-in-law, and earls were qilin and bai ze; civil officials embroidered birds to symbolize culture and enlightenment; military officials embroidered beasts to show fierceness; miscellaneous officials used magpies; and the wind and constitution officials used xiezhi. Damask originated in the Song Dynasty and began to replace brocade's traditional status in the Ming Dynasty. The Ming system stipulated that plain silk could be worn by ordinary merchants. In the sixteenth year of Jiajing (1537), it was decreed that only officials of the fourth rank and above, as well as fifth-rank officials and lecturers at the imperial banquet, were allowed to wear gauze, silk gauze, and spun silk. The highest-ranking phoenix crown of the Ming Dynasty was the gold-inlaid, pearl-studded, kingfisher-feathered dragon and phoenix crown, which was part of the empress's ceremonial attire.