Page 173 - Deydier UNDERSTANDING CHINESE ARCHAIC BRONZES

of this subject, their work was much less rigorous and accurate than and described in detail, and its measurements, weight, etc. as well
that of the Song 宋 dynasty antiquarians. Some scholars think that one as, in the case of inscribed vessels, a sketch of its inscription and a
reason for this lack of interest and attention to details was the paucity translation were provided.
of suitable bronze vessels to study firsthand, since during the Southern
Song 南宋 dynasty (960 – 1127 A.D.) as well as during the Ming The complete 96-volume Xiqing Sijian 西清四鑒 is composed of
明 dynasty (1368 – 1644 A.D.) itself, the government carried out, at the following books:
various intervals, the melting down of ancient bronze vessels, Buddhist
statues, etc. in order to obtain raw material for the manufacture of ■ The Xiqing Gujian 西清古鑒, which consists of 40 volumes in which
weapons and coins, especially at times when the survival of the central were listed among other antiquities, 1,529 bronze vessels from the
government of the empire was under serious threat from invading Shang 商 to Tang 唐 dynasties conserved in the Imperial Collections
nomadic groups from the north. in the Beijing Imperial Palace 北京皇宮. The book was compiled
between 1749 and 1755 A.D. by the scholar, calligrapher and
member of the Hanlin 翰林 or Imperial Academy, Liang Shizheng
4. Qing 清 studies and the first collectors 梁詩正 (1697 – 1763) and other scholars on Emperor Qianlong’s
乾隆 instructions. Unfortunately, half or more of these pieces are
During the Qing 清 dynasty (1644 – 1911 A.D.) and especially during today considered to be later reproductions, many of them produced
the reign of the great antiquarian, Emperor Qianlong 乾隆 (1736 – in the Song 宋 dynasty.
1796) the interest in ancient ritual bronzes was rekindled, creating a
new impetus for the study of them and their inscriptions. It was also ■ Almost 38 years later, in 1793, the first sequels to the Xiqing Gujian
a time when many important private collections were formed and 西清古鑒, two 20-volume works entitled respectively the Xiqing
numerous specialised books and catalogues were published, including Xujian Jiabian 西清續鑒甲篇 and the Xiqing Xujian Yibian 西清
the following: 續鑒乙篇 or ‘Sequels A & B to the Xiqing Gujian’ were completed
by the scholar and high government official Wang Jie王杰 (1725 –
■ The Xiqing Sijian 西清四鑒, or the “Four Books of Appreciation 1805 A.D.) and others on the command of the Emperor Qianlong
and Appraisal of the Xiqing Study” were compiled on the command 乾隆. In the 20-volume Sequel A, 944 additional unrecorded
of the great antiquarian, connoisseur and collector, Emperor bronzes purported to be from the Shang 商 and Zhou 周 to Tang
Qianlong 乾隆 (1736 – 1796), between the years 1749 and 1779 in 唐 periods and kept in the Beijing Imperial Palace 北京皇宮 were
an attempt to emulate the Northern Song 北宋 Emperor Huizong’s recorded, sketched, described, etc. as had been done in the original
徽宗 renowned classic, the Xuan He Bogu Tu 宣和博古圖. Xiqing Gujian 西清古鑒 compiled by Liang Shizheng 梁詩正 some
38 years earlier. In Sequel B, Wang Jie 王杰 and his assistants
The term xiqing or ‘Western Purity’ in the title of this set of books recorded, sketched, described, etc. yet another 900 bronzes from
was derived from the name of the Study/Private Library located in the Imperial Collections, but which were housed in the Mukden
the southern part of the Qing Imperial Palace 清宮南書房 where Imperial Palace 盛京(奉天)皇宮/盛京行宮 in present-day Shenyang
the books were compiled. The final word in the Chinese title, i.e. 瀋陽 in Liaoning 遼寧 province, north-eastern China.
jian 鑒 literally means an ‘appreciation’ 鑒賞 or an ‘appraisal’ 鑒定,
or both together. ■ The final 16-volume book of the series, which was called the
Ningshou Gujian 寧壽古鑒 and which was compiled at about the
In the 4 multi-volumed books that make up the Xiqing Sijian 西清 same time as Sequels A and B ,recorded, sketched, described,
四鑒, each of the 4074 Shang 商, Zhou 周, etc. up to Tang 唐 period etc. a total of 701 purportedly Shang 商, Zhou 周, etc. up to Tang
bronzes in the Qing Imperial Collection was numbered, sketched 唐 previously unrecorded bronzes from the Imperial Collections

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