Page 157 - Sotheby's October 3 2017 Chinese Art

of the above seals is in keeping with the consistent tenor fig. 1 Seal impression from Jiaqing Baosou
of his thought and actions. Jiaqing was a self-restrained,
benevolent, economical, and practical emperor. As he saw
matters, the example of the emperor was crucial to changing
the temperament of society: “For the emperor serves as a
model for officials and commoners and causes the whole
world to follow. If the emperor establishes standards to rule
the people, then with a single word or a single action, everyone
accords with Heaven.” And most importantly for a model
to have its desired effect is the influence of the emperor’s
personal moral cultivation: “As a general principle, for a ruler to
govern, nothing takes precedence over cultivating virtue.” “If
the ruler has a rectified heart, everyone in the empire will seek
to be rectified. This truly is the essence of the basic way and
intention of governing, and the essence of spreading etiquette
and cultivating morality among the people. One man’s heart
moves the hearts of the entire nation—such a hope leads me
to expect that the multitudes will rise up and believe in their
leader.” “When the ruler faces the empire, his first priority
should be to cultivate himself. As a cultivated ruler, he can
truly govern men. His effectiveness is through influence.”
These perceptions of the Jiaqing Emperor found expression
through his seals. The inscriptions on the three seals of the
present set are what the Jiaqing Emperor took to be the
important tasks of the emperor’s cultivating morality and
carrying out the practice of government. They were also words
of encouragement and discipline for his own governing.

The Emperor’s manufacture of seals for personal use was
a serious business. Inscriptions for seals were not casually
selected. Rather, they directly reflected the thoughts
and perceptions of the emperor himself. We can see this
connection most vividly in the explanation of the Jiaqing seal
Hui qi you ji and its companion seals in this set of three.

1 Guo Fuxiang, Ming Qing dihou xiyin [Ming and Qing Imperial Seals], Beijing,
2003, p. 169.

2 Zhang Naiwei (b. 1880), Qinggong shuwen [Qing Palace Lore], Beijing, 1990,
pp. 755-757.

3 Sima Guang (1019-1086), Zizhi tongjian [Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in
Government], Beijing, 1956, vol. 192.

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