Page 200 - 2018 Hong Kong Important Chieese Art

ON THE SHOUSHAN STONE YUQINGGONG

SEAL OF THE JIAQING PERIOD

GUO FUXIANG

Seals are an important and distinctive aspect of the China’s a period fraught with complex, inchoate emotions. This is
glorious civilisation. The study of seals, and especially the exemplified by Jiaqing’s relationship with the Yuqing Palace.
seals of emperors, is crucial to understanding the politics,
The Yuqing Palace is located north of Jingyun Gate on the
economics, and intellectual and cultural history of China’s two-
eastern part of the Forbidden City, and southeast of the
millennia-long imperial period. Few Ming and pre-Ming imperial
Qianqing Palace. It was constructed in 1679 by the Kangxi
seals have survived the privations of time, and it is difficult to
Emperor specifically for the prince Yunreng, who was then Heir
reconstruct their history. By contrast, many seals used by the
Apparent. Later, Yunreng’s unsavoury personality led to his
Qing emperors are extant today, enabling us to research and
abolishment as heir, exile from the palace, and imprisonment.
understand their use and context in a systematic manner.
Thereupon the Yuqing Palace became a residence for the
A common feature of Qing imperial seals is that the frequency Qing princes. The Qianlong Emperor lived here for five years,
of a seal text’s appearance was closely related to an emperor’s beginning at age 12, and left for the Chonghua Palace only
thoughts, interests, and personal experiences. If the name of after his marriage. During Qianlong’s reign, the Yuqing Palace
a building appears repeatedly in an emperor’s seals, then that was a communal residence for young princes. Prince Yongyan
building must have held a special significance for him. A prime lived for ten years with his imperial siblings and cousins until
example is Qianlong’s Sanxitang or Hall of Three Rarities. The his marriage, whereupon he moved to the Qiandong wusuo
thirteen extant Sanxitang seals make clear to us that this was and then to the Yufang Palace. This was the first connection
the palace where the cultivated Qianlong Emperor roamed between Jiaqing and the Yuqing Palace.
imaginatively through history and art, and where he lodged the
In 1795, the sixtieth anniversary of Qianlong’s ascent to the
aspirations of a lifetime. The same can be said for his son the throne, the emperor gathered the princes and high officials
Jiaqing Emperor’s Yuqing Palace. During his reign, Jiaqing had
and had a secret edict extracted from the back side of the
eight imperial seals made carved with the text Yuqinggong,
plaque reading Guangming zhengda at Qianqing Palace. This
indicating the special importance of his palace. Among these
edict announced Yongyan as Heir Apparent, and a ceremony
eight seals is the Shoushan stone Yuqing Palace seal presently was decided for the following year confirming this status.
on offer at Sotheby’s.
The grand ceremony took place on the first day of the first
Carved from Shoushan stone, the seal stands 4.5 cm in height month of the following year, which was the first year of the
and has a face that measures 3 cm on each side. Its knob Jiaqing reign. On this occasion Qianlong passed to his son the
is in the form of a lionness and her cub. In seal script, the emperor’s seal reading Huangdi zhibao, thus ending his six-
embossed seal text reads Yuqinggong bao (Seal of the Yuqing decade career as emperor and becoming the only Emperor
Palace). The seal is clearly documented in Jiaqing baosou Emeritus of the Qing dynasty. By rights, after his abdicacy
[Catalogue of the Jiaqing Emperor’s Seals], exactly matching Qianlong should have moved into the Ningshou Palace and
the corresponding record in material, form, dimensions, and allowed his successor to enter the Hall of Mental Cultivation,
the script and composition of the seal text. The lot on offer is but he had become too comfortable in the Hall of Mental
doubtlessly the authentic seal used by the Jiaqing Emperor. Cultivation and used to receiving officials there. As a result
Qianlong asked the new Jiaqing Emperor moved back into
The Jiaqing Emperor, whose personal name was Yongyan,
Yuqing Palace and gave it the title Jidetang (Hall of Continued
was the fifth ruler of the Qing dynasty after its conquest of the
Virtue). Soon after becoming Heir Apparent, on the 18th day of
Chinese mainland. His 25th-year reign represented both the
the 11th month of the 60th year of the Qianlong reign, Jiaqing
continuation of the Golden Age of the Kangxi and Qianlong
moved from the Xiefang Palace into the Yuqing Palace, where
emperors and the decline of the Qing empire. It was thus
he lived until Qianlong’s death on the third day of the first

198 SOTHEBY’S 蘇富比