Page 140 - Bonhams Chinese Works of Art June 2015 Hong Kong

The important and rare spinach green jade ‘shui mu zhan qing hua’
seal belongs to a set of three imperial jade seals, with the other two
bearing the inscriptions 清暉閣 Qinghuige and 雲日相暉映 yun ri xiang
hui ying. This set of seals is recorded in The Palace Museum, 清代帝
后璽印譜Qingdai dihou xiyin pu [Catalogue of Imperial Seals of the
Qing Dynasty], vol.9, Jiaqing section 2, Beijing, 2005, p.150.
This set of seals was used for and within the Qinghuige, a summer
retreat located in the western part of the 九州清晏 Jiuzhouqingyan, a
tranquil and scenic island within the Yuanmingyuan.
First constructed during the Kangxi period, the Qinghuige was
purposefully built as part of the imperial family’s living and leisure
quarters. It was also the designated place for the celebration of
the Lantern Festival during the Yongzheng and Qianlong periods.
Extremely private and secluded, this highly secured area was reserved
solely for the use of the emperor and members of the imperial family.
Special permits were required for officials and servants to enter;
see He Yan, ‘再現圓明園－九洲清晏（下）Zaixian yuanmingyuan-
Jiuzhouqingyan (Third)’, 《紫禁城》Zijincheng, Beijing, Jan 2012,
pp.26 and 37.
Similarly to the Sanxitang (‘Hall of Three Rarities’), the Qinghuige
was another imperial space of personal importance to the Qianlong
emperor. He enjoyed playing musical instruments and performing
tea ceremonies there. His clear affection for the retreat is evident in
the emperor’s special commissioning of several imperial paintings
recording the scenery of the summer retreat in the Palace Museum,
Beijing, illustrated by by Liao Baoxiu, 茶韻茗事－故宮茶話 Chayun
mingshi-Gugong chahua, Taipei, 2010, pp.156 and 159. These
include:
Two paintings by Zhang Zongcang 張宗蒼, the first titled 弘曆松蔭揮
筆圖Hongli songyin huibi tu [Hongli writing under pine trees] and the
second titled 弦曆撫琴圖 Hongli fuqian tu [Hongli Playing Qin], both
cyclically dated to 癸酉 guiyou, corresponding to 1753;
A painting by Dong Bangda 董邦達, titled 弘曆松蔭消夏圖(山靜日長
圖) Hongli songyin xiaoxia tu (shan jing ri zhang tu) [Hongli spending
summer under pine trees], cyclically dated to 甲子 jiazi, corresponding
to 1744.
Following in his father’s footsteps, the Qinghuige continued to be a
preferred favourite of the Jiaqing emperor. The emperor recorded his
personal fondness and affection for the pavilion in an imperial poem,
cyclically dated to 甲子 jiazi, corresponding to 1804, titled 《清暉閣
晚坐吟》 Qinghuige wanzuo yin (‘Recitation While Sitting in the Night
at the Qinghuige’); see 清仁宗御制詩 Qing Renzong Imperial Poetry,
vol.3, Haikou, 2000, p.19.
The first seven verses may be translated as follows:
‘Unsurpassed imperial garden for retreat during the hot summer
Dense pine trees overshadowing the blazing sunlight
Grand and tall where the air is fresh
Gusts of light breeze flow through the long corridors
In good spirits with heart at peace,
Visiting occasionally to recite at this artistic haven
A place where one would find contentment’
A further recording of his time spent in the retreat whilst reading
the first two chapters of a book on politics titled 《資治通鑑》Zizhi
tongjian, provides us with a priceless and intimate insight into the
emperor’s state of mind and the importance of the Qinghuige to him.
The record begins with a description of the pavilion and his fondness
for it, and is followed by his thoughts on governance, noting his
insights on qualities a leader should have. This record, cyclically dated Compare a related imperial spinach green jade ‘hui qi you ji’ seal,
wuchen zhongfu ri, 戌辰中伏日, corresponding to 28 July 1808, is
included in the imperial manuscript 《清暉閣觀書記》 Qinghuige
guanshu ji [Reading at Qinghuige], published in 秘殿珠林石渠寶笈
三編 Midian zhulin shiqu baoji sanbian, vol.8, Taipei, 1969, pp.3636-
3637.
138 | BONHAMS
The first seven verses may be translated as follows:
‘Qinghuige, west of the sleeping chambers
Standing grand and tall, both air and incense flows
Far reaching views through many layers
Sitting quietly for a few moments
Viewing the serene landscapes, anxiety dissipates
Entering a tranquil realm
Mind and body become one’
The eloquent prose and the evocative record of the Jiaqing emperor’s
thoughts reflect the lifelong relentless duty he felt towards his people,
that laid heavily on the shoulders, and his continuous perseverance
to improve his rule. It also demonstrates the importance of the retreat
as one of few places where he could take a pause, ‘sit quietly for a
few moments’ and enter a spiritual place of tranquillity, though even
in those few treasured moments the emperor’s mind was not far from
his duty.
The phrase 水木湛清華 shui mu zhan qing hua, inscribed on the
present jade seal, which may be translated as ‘Tranquil water and
luxuriant trees in the garden’, are an allusion to the landscape scenery
of the Qinghuige. The phrase originates in an Eastern Jin dynasty
poem by Xie hun, entitled, 遊西池詩 You xichi si. The poem addresses
the temporality of life through describing the surrounding scenery:
悟彼蟋蟀唱，信此勞者歌。
有來豈不疾，良遊常蹉跎。
逍遙越城肆，願言屢經過。
迴阡被陵闕，高台眺飛霞。
惠風盪繁囿，白雲屯曾阿。
景昃鳴禽集，水木湛清華。
褰裳順蘭沚，徙倚引芳柯。
美人愆歲月，遲暮獨如何？
無為牽所思，南榮戒其多。
The Qinghuige was demolished during the early Daoguang period and
the area was reconstructed into new pavilions. It is therefore likely that
the seal would have been removed for safe keeping, probably within
the Forbidden City.
A unique work of art, the present seal is one of the few surviving
imperial artefacts that documents the existence and beauty of the
Qinghuige, a personal space of tranquillity for the Qianlong and
Jiaqing emperors.
The continuation of artistic styles and decorative designs on imperial
artefacts from the Qianlong period, such as the present lot, expresses
the Jiaqing emperor’s reverence and filial duty to his father’s reign.
This direct visual continuation from the former to the latter reign
is demonstrated in seals of similar form and design dated to the
Qianlong reign period: see from the Qing Court Collection, an imperial
green jade ‘Xin qing wen miao xiang’ seal, Qianlong (6.7cm high),
illustrated in Classics of the Forbidden City: Imperial Seals of the Ming
and Qing Dynasties, Beijing, 2008, pl.193; for another imperial greyish-
green seal, Qing dynasty, of similar design of crouching dragon with
its feet pointing in different directions, inscribed ‘Chizheng wanmin
zhi bao’ (12.6cm long x 10.4cm high), see The Complete Collection
of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Ancient Seals, Shanghai, 2008,
pl.394. Compare also, from the British Museum, an imperial grey jade
‘zi qian bu xi’ seal, 18th century (5.7cm wide x 8.8cm high; museum
ref.no.1885,1227.65), which entered the museum’s collection in 1885.
Sets of three imperial seals were particularly favoured during the late
Qianlong period, especially for his 80th birthday, with this style of
grouping continuing onto the Jiaqing period.
Jiaqing, (7cm high), sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong on 5 October 2011,
lot 1910.