Page 68 - Sotheby's Jie Rui Tang Collection Part II Kangxi Porcelain March 2019

FEAST OR FAMINE:

A MORALITY TALE

盛宴的背後

This resplendent depiction of a lavish banquet for one constitutes a 本盤紋飾富麗非凡，據學者倪亦斌論述，所刻劃
warning of the dangers of imperial decadence. Yibin Ni has identified the 宴會情境相信出自褚人獲著《隋唐演義》。該書
present dish as most likely representing a scene from the historical novel 講述隋朝覆滅、唐代立國之經歷，最鮮明之反派
Romance of the Sui and Tang Dynasties by Chu Renhuo (c. 1635) which 角色乃隋煬帝。煬帝窮奢極欲，不聽諫言，大興
describes the downfall of the Sui and the rise of the Tang. One of the most 土木設三都，其中洛陽宮殿築人工湖，湖內有
memorable villains of the story is the second Sui emperor, Yangdi (r. 604- 島，殿堂樓觀，極盡華麗，冬天葉落則以綾羅纏
617), whose opulence and decadence is well documented. His later years 樹，更兼窮兵黷武，三征高句麗（今韓國）而敗，
were marked by excess, despite protests, and ignoring the advice of his 終致隋國覆亡。煬帝奢侈，失利高麗，國力疲弱，
ministers, he indulged his every whim, surrounding himself with beautiful 唐朝取而代之。歷史評價隋煬帝為昏君，警示後
women and splendor. Ann Paludan in her book, Chronicle of the Chinese 人以之為鑑，與商朝紂王同樣不配天子聖位，以
Emperors, London, 1998, p. 87, notes that he maintained three capitals, 致唐高祖李淵一統天下。
the second of which, Luoyang, he ordered rebuilt with ‘huge artificial
lakes with pavilion-studded islands’, and a pleasure park which ‘when he 康熙帝深明清朝立國未久，必須鞏固權位，內
rode there in winter the bare branches were decked with silk flowers and 亂未靖，直至1681年三藩之亂平定方止。時局動
leaves’. Emperor Yang also launched costly military campaigns, including 盪，影響書畫戲曲、小說故事風格，求安穩過渡，
three failed attempts to conquer Goguryeo, a kingdom of Korea, which 倡儒家忠義。其中流傳最廣之作，則迅速出現於
eventually led to the collapse of the Sui dynasty. Profligate spending and 裝飾工藝如漆器及瓷器等，本品正屬佳例。十七
botched foreign affairs created the vulnerability that allowed the ascent of 世紀印刷技術取得進展，歷史小說因而流行，讀
the Tang dynasty. Emperor Yang of Sui was quickly vilified and relegated 者眾多。此外，多部著作改編成戲曲，因此流傳
to history as a cautionary tale of lapsed ethics and loss. Similar to the 更廣。《隋唐演義》流行於十七世紀，本盤紋飾亦
famous legends surrounding the last emperor of the Shang dynasty, 應廣為人知，並以之為鑑。
Emperor Yang of Sui proved himself unworthy of the ‘Mandate of Heaven’
and Li Yuan, Emperor Gaozu of the Tang dynasty, became the rightful ruler
of China.
Themes involving dynastic change and the ‘Mandate of Heaven’ resonated
strongly in the early years of the Qing dynasty. As the young emperor of a
newly established dynasty, the Kangxi emperor was acutely aware of the
importance of consolidating his right to rule. There remained considerable
unrest in the country and it was not until 1681, when the Revolt of the Three
Feudatories was finally quashed, that the emperor could focus completely
on establishing his reign. The years of social and political upheaval found
expression in the arts which, in paintings, poetry, plays and novels,
sought to both reassure and navigate the transition of power with themes
promoting Confucian ideals of loyalty and duty. The most popular imagery
from these works was quickly adapted to the decorative arts, carved into
lacquer or painted onto porcelains such as the present dish. Historical
novels enjoyed great popularity in the 17th century largely due to the ease

66 SOTHEBY’S