Page 88 - A Re-examination of Late Qing Dynasty Porcelain, 1850-1920 THESIS

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the empress dowager resided for the majority of her regency over Emperor Tongzhi.
The use of text to form reign marks reveals a clear connection to Cixi as the patron,

utilizing an archaic form of connection between imagery and text.

Having evaluated the painted imagery of the dayazhai porcelain, it is evident that

Cixi maintained a specific aesthetic throughout her porcelain patronage. The main

influence of the porcelain designs was a result of China’s expansion to the West. The

culmination of the first Opium War (1839–1842), forced five ports in China to open to

Britain for trade. Along with trade, these open ports rapidly carried foreign ideas to

China. The modernization promoted by the Western world produced new, innovative

ideas in China, but it unfortunately also led to several uprisings, as previously explained.

By the 1860s these uprisings were predominately quelled, giving rise to what scholars

have called the Qing Restoration. It is quite possible that historic events were the catalyst

for Cixi commissioning some of the unique porcelain wares analyzed in this study. As a

patron, Cixi was influenced by the modernization that was occurring during her reign.

Ronald Longsdorf describes Cixi’s aesthetic as “[l]ush floral designs in a fearless new

color palette, beautifully-organized geometric patterns of colorful and gilded auspicious

symbols, richly managed compositions (often expressive and always symbolic of either

the changing of the seasons, her indisputable power or her wish for perpetual youth,

fortune, prosperity, happiness, or long life) – these are the icons of her personal taste.”

The distinct style that Cixi captured within her paintings is visible in her taste of

porcelain and draws a clear parallel between the empress dowager as an artist and a

patron.

91 Longsdorf, “The Tongzhi Imperial Wedding Porcelain,” 69.

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