Page 75 - Sotheby's Fine Chinese Art NYC September 2023

THE IMPERIAL GREEN

JADE SEAL FOR

EMPRESS XIAOZHENXIAN

GUO FUXIANG

mongst the various types of imperial seals, there is well established during the time of the Zhou dynasty. Before
one type that performed no function and could not then, only the founding ruler of a state had the right to have a
Abe impressed on documents, books, or works of art. posthumous title, while everyone else had the same name in
Furthermore, these seals were not even in the possession of life as in death. During the Zhou dynasty, posthumous titles
emperors and empresses during their lifetimes, but rather had became widespread: “In life [one] had a name (ming), and in
to have these assigned to them only after their passing. This death a posthumous title (yi). Names are to identify the living,
type of seals is known as shibao, or posthumous seals. This posthumous titles, the dead.” As ritual systems became more
season, Sotheby’s New York is offering an Imperial green jade sophisticated, posthumous naming also evolved, ultimately
posthumous seal for the Empress Xiaozhenxian (also known leading to the worship of deceased rulers and patriarchs with
as Dowager Empress Ci’an) (1837-1881). Made during the the same diligence as if they were alive, and to the widespread
Guangxu Emperor’s reign and documenting the conferring of adoption of posthumous names across different strata of
a posthumous title to the empress of the Xianfeng Emperor, society. In Chinese history, the worship and posthumous
this green jade seal is carved with a finial worked in the form naming of emperors and empresses were an important
of entwined dragons. The seal face measures 12.8 cm on each component of court rules governed by explicit and strict rules
side while the seal measures 11.3 cm in height. The seal face and imperial posthumous seals were an important class of
is carved with seal-script Chinese and regular-script Manchu, artifacts created for these important ritual acts.
each occupying three columns, reading Xiaozhen Ci’an yuqing Let us first consider the rules of conferring posthumous titles
hejing yitian zuosheng xianhuanghou zhi bao. As the seal to emperors and empresses during the Qing dynasty.
relates to the details of Qing court rituals of ancestral worship The Qing use of posthumous titles began with Hong Taiji,
and rules of conferring posthumous names, a summary of
Emperor Taizong of Qing. In the first year of the Chongde
both presented below will thus help us understand this work of reign (1636), Hong Taiji adopted the title of Taizong and
art better.
posthumously canonized his great-great-great-grandfather
A posthumous seal was an object created to document the King Ze, his great-great-grandfather King Qing, his great-
conferring of posthumous titles by a reigning emperor to grandfather King Chang, his grandfather King Fu, and
preceding emperors and empresses - a direct product of an Nurhaci, the founding emperor of the Qing dynasty, Taizu
1
elaborate system of ritual rites involving ancestral temples Wuhuangdi, and Nurhaci’s empress Xiaoci Wuhuanghou. The
and posthumous naming in ancient China. In these ancestral posthumous titles of Qing emperors and empresses followed
temples built for emperors, rulers of states, nobles, and fixed formats. An emperor’s posthumous title was generally
officials to worship their ancestors, there would be spirit a concatenation of his temple name, followed by laudatory
tablets, symbolic clothing and other means related to the eulogy and a posthumous title proper. For example, the
worshipped placed within. Each worshipped ancestor within Qianlong Emperor’s posthumous title was Gaozong fatian
these temples were assigned a respected title, also known as longyun zhicheng xianjue tiyuan liji fuwen fenwu qinming
the posthumous name, generally laudatory and eulogizing his xiaoci shensheng chunhuangdi, in which ‘Gaozong’ is his
or her deeds and virtues in life. The system of posthumous temple name, ‘chun’ (pure) is his posthumous title proper,
naming in China has a very long history, having already been and the phrase between them a laudatory eulogy in praise

146 SOTHEBY’S COMPLETE CATALOGUING AVAILABLE AT SOTHEBYS.COM/N11275 147