Page 156 - Sotheby's October 3 2017 Chinese Art

mourning his father. From then on, for the rest of his period
of mourning, he used the Xianfu Palace as his interim sleeping
quarters. During his ten months of residence at the Xianfu
Palace, the Jiaqing Emperor conducted government business
and met court officials there. One can thus say that the Jiaqing
Emperor’s personal control of the reins of government began
at the Xianfu Palace. Here he no doubt thought about how to
govern as emperor, and how to consolidate imperial power.
For this reason, he wrote the following antithetical couplet: “In him, ‘I see that Emperor Yang of the Sui dynasty accumulated
one day, a myriad opportunities, and each happy result has an
effect. Blessings bestowed among the commoners reap virtue
without limit”.2 This antithetical couplet not only contains the
characters of the name of the Xianfu Palace (‘each’ = xian;
‘blessings’ = fu) but also expresses what the Jiaqing Emperor
thought to be the ideal necessary qualities for carrying out
affairs of state and exercising imperial power, namely, the
moral cultivation and qualities that the Emperor himself should
possess. If we consider this antithetical couplet together with
the two back seals of the present set—Hui qi you ji and Xu yi
shou ren—we can see that these seals reveal how the Jiaqing
Emperor thought that he should govern the empire.
The phrase Hui qi you ji (‘Maintain one’s standards’) comes
from the Hongfan (‘Grand Standards’) chapter of the Shangshu
(‘Classic of History’, sixth century BCE), in which King Wu of
Zhou, after he vanquished the Shang dynasty in 1046 BCE,
asked Jizi about the justice of the Way of Heaven. Jizi then
explained to him the Grand Standards in Nine Categories,
that is, the nine important standards for governing. Jizi’s
Grand Standards in Nine Categories was later elevated as a
paradigm for governing for rulers across the centuries and
has been revered by rulers throughout the ages. The fifth of
Jizi’s nine standards was “Establishing imperial standards.”
Jizi’s elaboration includes the following: “Without partiality
or favouritism, follow kingly righteousness. Without personal
likes, follow the kingly way. Without personal dislikes, follow
the kingly path. Lacking partiality and factionalism, the kingly
way is spacious to accommodate all. Lacking factionalism and
partiality, the kingly way is equitable. Lacking rebelliousness,
the kingly way is upright. Maintain one’s standards as to make
others follow the one who exemplifies the norms.” As for
154 SOTHEBY’S 蘇富比
Xu yi shou ren (‘Encounter others with an open mind’), this
comes from the explanation of the xian hexagram in the Book
of Changes: “The gentleman encounters others with an open
mind.” The Jiaqing Emperor was perhaps also familiar with
the passage in Zizhi tongjian [Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in
Government] where Emperor Taizong of the Tang dynasty and
Wei Zheng discuss the behavior of Emperor Yang of the Sui
dynasty: In 628 A.D. “the emperor said to the official attending
meritorious achievements, that his writing was profound
and erudite, and that he realized he should approve of Yao
and Shun and disapprove of Jie and Zhou. Yet in conducting
affairs, how he violated the norms!’ Wei Zheng replied, ‘If a
ruler, though he is wise, still encounters others with an open
mind, the clever offer their schemes, and the brave exhaust
their energy. Emperor Yang relied on their talent, but was too
proud and conceited. Hence, he recited the words of Yao and
Shun, but he followed Jie and Zhou in behavior. He never knew
that this would lead to his downfall.’ The emperor said, ‘These
events are not long past. I will learn from them.’” 3 From these
source materials, we can see that the inscriptions of these two
back seals are both about how to rule. The hui of Hui qi you ji
literally means to gather, and ji means rule or standard. Hence,
hui qi you ji means to gather the norms of the empire into one’s
person, or more idiomatically, to maintain one’s standards. In
this way, the ruler makes the commoners of the empire follow
him, follow his example, and by logical extension, he becomes
a model for the nation. As for Xu yi shou ren (‘Encounter
others with an open mind’), the meaning here is that no matter
how wise the emperor, he cannot view himself too highly and
be too stubborn. Rather, he should treat those under him
with courtesy and respect, should deal with others with an
open mind, and should listen to the opinions of officials and
commoners without harbouring preconceptions. Here we can
see the Jiaqing Emperor, as supreme ruler, placing demands
on himself, namely, to listen to officials’ and commoners’ views
with an open mind, to improve himself morally, and to make
himself a standard for the nation to follow.
When we browse through the Jiaqing Emperor’s writings and
inspect his behavior, we find that the import of the inscriptions