Rank Badge with Bear

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The bear represents the fifth military rank. While the birds used in Chinese rank badges correspond to actual species, the animals usually do not. Instead, many are fantastic animals, and all were chosen for their supernatural power. Bears on rank badges do not resemble bears in nature. Instead, they often feature an upswept mane, an emphasis on the paws (very long in this example), and an extended tail.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.

Metropolitan Museum of Art