Page 106 - A Re-examination of Late Qing Dynasty Porcelain, 1850-1920 THESIS

porcelain was still created during this era, though not by the Xuantong Emperor.

Porcelain thrived at a high artistic quality as a result of the leaders of the early republic.

These individuals emulated the established patronage supported by individuals like

Empress Dowager Cixi to create high-quality porcelain that symbolized their power over

China and thus utilize artistic patronage as a means of political authority. These

individuals bridge the successful porcelain production of Cixi’s reign and the wares

produced in the republic, thus establishing a continuation, rather than a decline, of

porcelain patronage.

2.2 Yuan Shikai

The individual who best supports the hypothesis that imperial-caliber porcelain

was created after Puyi’s abdication is Yuan Shikai. Born on September 16, 1859, Yuan

was the fourth of six sons. He was brought up studying classical scholarship in order to

pass the civil service examinations. 114 However, as a young man, Yuan failed the

provincial exams on multiple occasions. 115 Left with few options, he purchased a title

and joined the army in 1880. 116 Despite early indications that Yuan was not an astute

student, he learned quickly within the army, rising in both rank and status throughout his

career. He traveled to Korea in 1882 and was appointed the Chinese emperor’s resident,

114 Stephen R. MacKinnon, Power and Politics in Late Imperial China: Yüan Shih-kai in Beijing
and Tianjin, 1901-1908, Center for Chinese Studies, UC Berkeley, No 24 (Berkeley: University
of California Press, 1980), 14.
115 Some scholars claim these failures, occurring in 1876 and 1879, would be the reason that
Yuan would later support the removal of China’s examination system.
116 Howard Boorman, Joseph K. H. Cheng, and Richard Howard, eds., Biographical Dictionary of
Republican China (New York: Columbia University Press, 1967), 78-89.

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