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Since the beginning of the Yongle reign, my humble self has the north, and to Beijing in 1413. To record the two journeys,
served as an official during this time. The white elephant came; the emperor commissioned Wang to paint the Eight Views of
the mystical tortoise appeared; the Yellow River turned clear; Beijing (Beijing bajing tu 北京八景圖), now in the National
zouyu appeared twice, and qilin was offered twice, as well as Museum of China (Pl. 14.9a–h).
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other auspicious signs, such as the appearance of white deer, The frontispiece to the painting is inscribed by Hu
auspicious grain and sweet dew. All this I could personally Guang in 1414. At the end of the scroll, there are odes
witness, because painters were ordered to paint their image.
written in the Eminent Court Official Style (Taige ti 台閣體)
自永樂改元以來，忝官侍從其間。白象至，神龜見，黃河清，騶 – a graceful writing style developed by scholars in the Yongle
虞兩出，麒麟再獻。以至白鹿、嘉禾、甘露之瑞，皆得身親見之， and Xuande reigns used to describe an age of peace and
因命繪事者圖其形象。
prosperity. The odes were written by 13 officials during a
According to Zeng’s preface, the painting was produced literary gathering. They include Hu Guang, Hu Yan, Yang
in the tenth month of 1414. There are five sections in the Rong, Jin Youzi, Zeng Qi, Lin Huan, Liang Qian, Wang
painting (Pl. 14.8a–e). From right to left they depict a white Hong, Wang Ying and Wang Fu. One of the inscriptions
elephant, the Yellow River with its muddy water turning reads:
clear, a qilin, a white deer and auspicious grains with more The Saintly Son of Heaven arrived here like a soaring dragon.
than one ear of grain on each stem. An ode is inscribed after He commanded the construction of Beijing as the capital where
each image. Zeng, a native of Jiangxi, was the top people from myriad directions convened. Carriages patrolled
metropolitan graduate of 1404, and the Deputy Chief Editor and hunted in the surrounding areas; scholarly officials lined in
of the Yongle da dian 永樂大典 (Great Canon of the Yongle Reign). procession … The roads in all four directions were even and
As Zeng’s preface suggests, there should be eight rather than straight, enabling the control of all regions. This is a firm
five scenes depicted in the scroll: divine tortoise, zouyu and foundation for imperial descendants to reign for ten thousand
generations.
sweet dew are mentioned but not shown. These sections may
have been lost over time and the scroll subsequently 聖天子龍飛於兹，肇建北京為萬方會同之都，車駕幾載廵狩，而
remounted. The white elephant depicted commemorates the 文學之臣多列扈從。…東南西北道里適均直，足以控制萬方，而
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tribute from Annam in 1404; the river scene records the 為聖子神孫萬世磐石之基也。
Yellow River turning clear in the winter of 1404; the qilin The eight views of Beijing that are depicted are: ‘Sunset
documents the giraffe arriving from Bengal in 1414; the at Jintai’ (Jintai xizhao 金台夕照), ‘Clear Waves at Taiye
white deer relates to a command from the Yongle emperor in Pond’ (Taiye qingbo 太液晴波), ‘Spring Clouds at Qionghua
1406 ordering officials to compose odes about the topic. Island’ (Qiongdao chunyun 瓊島春雲), ‘Cascading Rainbow at
According to the Veritable Records, the people of Miyun Mount Yuquan’ (Yuquan chuihong 玉泉垂虹), ‘Layered Shades
county 密雲縣, Shuntian prefecture 順天府 (today’s Beijing of Green at Juyong Pass’ (Juyong diecui 居庸疊翠), ‘Misty
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municipality) presented auspicious grain as tribute in 1409. Trees at Jimen’ (Jimen yanshu 薊門煙樹), ‘Dawn Moonlight at
As a means of communication, painting could express a Lugou Bridge’ (Lugou xiaoyue 盧溝曉月) and ‘Clearing Snow
consistent theme through the repetition of an established on West Mountain’ (Xishan jixue 西山霽雪). Each scene is
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formula. This painting, like others discussed above, is a followed by an inscription celebrating the grand
symbolic celebration of a prosperous society and a just ruler, achievements of the Yongle emperor. The scroll with its
which held significance in reality. From a Ming perspective, combination of paintings and poems may be interpreted as
such paintings and odes represented the voice of an era. an attempt to generate interest for Beijing among officials in
the south. It expresses the attitude of officials in support of
Celebrating the new capital the Yongle emperor’s decision to move the capital from
After assuming the throne, the Yongle emperor promoted Nanjing to Beijing.
officials and scholars from the previous reign, appointing Officials celebrated the construction of the new imperial
them to positions in the imperial library. Seven men made palace in Beijing by writing odes with reference to auspicious
up the Grand Secretariat, five of whom were from Jiangxi, signs. For instance, Ode to Imperial Virtues and Auspicious
including Xie Jin, Hu Guang, Yang Shiqi, Jin Youzi and Hu Responses (Shengde ruiying song 聖德瑞應頌) mentions unusual
Yan. Only Yang Rong 楊榮 (1371–1440) and Huang Huai radiance, grains with multiple ears, lingzhi 靈芝 fungus,
were not from Jiangxi. Instead they were from Jian’an 建安 sweet springs and dew, rabbits, qilin, zouyu and phoenixes.
in Fujian 福建 province, and Yongjia 永嘉 in Zhejiang 浙江 This work is part of Odes Presented by Scholarly Officials of the Yongle
province, respectively. These officials played a particularly Reign (Ming Yongle chao cichen xiansong 明永樂朝詞臣獻頌),
important role in recommending and promoting painters dated 1417, written by Hu Guang, Yang Rong and Jin Youzi,
from their native towns. Hanlin officials were closely and now in the First Historical Archives of China. As the
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connected with court painters. Court painters served the title of the ode suggests, these signs were evidence that the
imperial household, while Hanlin officials were attendants Yongle emperor was a wise and capable ruler, whose actions,
of the emperor, so their positions paralleled each other’s. On including the transfer of the capital, accorded with the will
occasion, a Hanlin official could be asked to paint for the of Heaven.
emperor. An example of this is Wang Fu 王紱 (1362–1416)
who worked at the imperial library during the early Yongle Auspicious symbols in flower-and-bird paintings
reign, later reaching the position of Secretariat Drafter Bian Wenjin 邊文進 (c. 1356–c. 1428) was an important court
because of his talent as a calligrapher. In 1409, Wang painter of flower-and-bird paintings (Pl. 14.10) who was
accompanied the Yongle emperor on his inspection trip to active during the Yongle to Xuande reigns, and was

Gifts of Good Fortune and Praise-Songs for Peace: Images of Auspicious Portents and Panegyrics from the Yongle Period | 129