Why do honest officials hang beads around their necks? What is the function?

This string of beads has two functions, one is to symbolize the position of officials, and the other is to bow down to the emperor conveniently. Let's talk about beads first. Regarding the hanging of beads around officials' necks, only the Qing Dynasty was the most popular. Now we often see many officials wearing beads around their necks when they go to court. Maybe we will find it funny, but in the Qing Dynasty, beads were of great significance.

The first function is a status symbol. This kind of bead is actually called "Zhu Chao", and ministers should wear it when they go to court or work. Moreover, this bead is made of very precious materials. The higher the rank of an official, the more valuable the beads he wears. And the number of beads also increases with the rise of official rank. Of course, not every official can hang beads. It is said that only military commanders above level 4 and officials above level 5 can own Buddha beads, and junior officials and ordinary people can't. So people can judge the level of officials by the quantity and quality of beads.

The second function is that ministers need to bow down when they see the emperor, and it will be much more convenient to have beads. Why? Because bowing down to the emperor is generally kowtowing, and kowtowing requires the forehead to touch the ground. Hang a string of beads around your neck, and the beads will land first. When the beads touch the ground, people don't have to touch the ground with their foreheads. This is also a kind of welfare given by the Qing emperor to officials. The higher the rank, the easier it is to kowtow, and the easier it is to use.

But then again, the Qing dynasty was really special, and it was really interesting to distinguish the ranks of officials with beads.