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18 octobre 2016

An imperial pale celadon jade 'ziqiang buxi' seal, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period (1736-1795)

An imperial pale celadon jade 'ziqiang buxi' seal, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period

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Lot 8. An imperial pale celadon jade 'ziqiang buxi' seal, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period (1736-1795). Estimate 500,000 — 700,000 GBP. Photo: Sotheby's.

of square form, surmounted with a ferocious dragon with bulging eyes and flaring nostrils above long curling whiskers, the body, detailed with scales and flowing mane, tightly coiled and crouching on its haunches, with a 'flaming pearl' below its jaws, surrounded by dense cloud scrolls, the seal face deeply and crisply carved with the characters Ziqiang buxi ('[The gentleman] never ceases to improve himself'), the translucent stone of an even pale celadon tone with areas of small brown mottling to the reverse; 4.9 by 4.9 by 6.5 cm., 1 7/8  by 1 7/8  by 2 5/8  in.

Provenance:  Spink and Son, London, January 1954.
John Sparks Ltd., London, 21st May 1955 (£38).

On the Qianlong Emperor’s Ziqiang buxi jade seal. Guo Fuxiang

A characteristic of the Qianlong Emperor’s seals is the recurrence of the same seal texts across seals of different materials. A representative text among them is Ziqiang buxi (“[The gentleman] never ceases to improve himself”). A partial survey indicates at least 45 seals belonging to Qianlong bearing this text, including the present seal. Made of white jade and with a knob in the shape of coiled dragons, this seal is carved in intaglio with the four characters Ziqiang buxi. The seal was originally part of a set of three seals, the other two being respectively a header seal (yinshou yin) reading Xiangyong wufu(“By heaven’s granting we enjoy the five blessings”) and Bazheng maonian zhibao (“Eighty-year-old Man Mindful of the Eighth Principle”). In its script style and composition, this set matches exactly the corresponding entry in Qianlong Baosou, the emperor’s seal catalogue (Fig. 1 and Fig. 2). 

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Fig. 1. Detail of Qianlong Baosou

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Fig.2. Seal Impression of 'ziqiang buxi' seal

The Qianlong Emperor (1711-1799) took great care in commemorating the major events of his life, such as his 70th and 80th birthdays in 1780 and 1790, the birth of his great-great-grandson in 1784, and his abdication from the throne to become Emperor Emeritus in 1795. Each of these events resulted in a large amount of documents and artefacts, including imperial seals that expressed the emperor’s feelings and state of mind at the time. The lot on offer is one of the numerous artefacts commemorating Qianlong’s 80th birthday.

In 1790—the 55th year of the Qianlong reign—the elderly emperor celebrated his 80th birthday. For Qianlong, the coincidence of 55 and 80 was of special significance and a sign of Heaven-bestowed good fortune, necessitating special celebration and commemoration. Qianlong began planning the commemorative events as early as Mid-Autumn of the previous year, deciding on the venue for receiving his birthday gifts, the provinces and vassal states required to send them, and the scale of the ceremonies. The creation of related imperial seals was an indispensable part of this planning.

On this occasion, Qianlong was drawn to the important Confucian classic Shangshu. According to the Hongfan (“The Great Plan”) chapter of Shangshu, after King Wu conquered the Shang, he inquired with Qizi of the meaning of the Way of Heaven. Qizi told him the Nine Principles of Hongfan. Qianlong believed that Qizi’s Nine Principles were “the origin of the imperial system that persisted throughout the ages… All connected to the single body and heart of the ruler”. The Eighth Principle, “Remembering the Welfare of the Common People”, resonated with Qianlong’s belief that his subjects’ well-being was of utmost importance. He thus selected the text Bazheng maonian zhibao for his seals. He elaborated his reasons in Bazheng maonian zhibao ji: “The various seals I ordered made to commemorate the celebrations of my eightieth birthday and to impress on my various writings were all connected to the idea of Bazheng in the Hongfan chapter. Moreover, I intend to retire from ruling at eighty-five years, after completing six decades of the Qianlong reign. Although I am currently eighty years old, I am still six years away from retirement. As long as I bear the burden of emperorship, I always have the millions of my subjects in mind. How can I not be mindful of the Eighth Principle about regard for commoners? Regard for commoners is regard for the millions of subjects. According to Quli, “an eighty-year-old person is called mao because intelligence fades in old age. I have now reached eighty. Due to good fortune bestowed by Heaven, my body remains healthy. Handling ten thousand affairs every day, I do not show signs of mental deterioration. I must continue to motivate myself”. Thus, the Bazheng maonian zhibao seals were not only commemorations of Qianlong’s eightieth birthday, but also self-admonishments. The earliest imperial seal bearing this text dates from the winter of the 54th year of his reign, and was put to use on the spring solstice of the following year.

It should be noted that Bazheng maonian zhibao was a primary seal in the set, which included also a secondary seal reading Ziqiang buxi. The latter’s text originates in the Book of Changes, another Confucian classic. The section on the Qian trigram contains the phrase, “As Heaven's movement is ever vigorous, so must a gentleman ceaselessly strive to strengthen himself”. Why did Qianlong select Ziqiang buxi to accompany Bazheng maonian zhibao? He explained, “I have always impressed my own writings with Ziqiang buxi. During the gengzi year, I had made a primary seal reading guxi tianzi zhibao(“Treasure of the son of heaven at age seventy”) and an accompanying secondary seal reading youri zizi (“Still diligent every day”). To commemorate my impending eightieth birthday, I have ordered a seal reading Bazheng maonian zhibao and an accompanying secondary seal reading again Ziqiang buxi. Although there are many self-motivational phrases in the classics, none is most important than this one connected to the first trigram of the Book of Changes”. “After having the Bazheng maonian zhibao seal made, I had a Ziqiang buxi seal made to accompany it. This was similar to the pairing of the Guxi tianzi zhibao and youri zizi seals created to celebrate my seventieth birthday. All these phrases are to motivate myself”. The phrase Ziqiang buxi as accompaniment to Bazheng maonian zhibao expressed Qianlong’s resolution to keep his subjects’ well-being in mind and to attend to affairs of state diligently. Although he had reached an old age, his “body remains healthy. Handling ten thousand affairs every day, I do not show signs of mental deterioration”. As the Son of Heaven, how could he become lax? “As long as I bear the burden of emperorship, I always have the millions of my subjects in mind”. He must understand Heaven, love his subjects, and devote himself sincerely to politics. He “must not fail to attend personally to the rituals of the altars and temples; must not fail to examine frequently the times of rain and sun; must not fail to be diligent every day in political affairs both internal and external; must not fail to be mindful of the sustenance of the subjects and materials of the realm”. In such expressions, it is not difficult to sense the inchoate anxieties behind Qianlong’s happiness about reaching his 80th year. The self-admonishment Ziqiang buxi was an oblique manifestation of these anxieties.

After deciding on the pairing of Bazheng maonian zhibao and Ziqiang buxi in the 54th year of his reign (1789), Qianlong commenced the large-scale production of these seals. Sets of seals centred on Bazheng maonian zhibao were produced from the 54th through the 59th year of his reign without interruption, resulting in over 140 individual seals. The primary seals Bazheng maonian zhibao were combined with various secondary seals. Most commonly, a Bazheng maonian zhibao seal was accompanied by a secondary seal reading Ziqiang buxi and another header seal, forming a set of three. The three seals had to be identical in material, colour, and size, and housed together in the same case. The combination of Bazheng maonian zhibaoZiqiang buxi, and the header seal reading Xiangyong wufu was probably chosen by Qianlong himself. In his preface to Bazheng maonian zhibao lianju, Qianlong specified that the secondary seal read Ziqiang buxi and that the header seal read Xiangyong wufu. The latter phrase was excerpted from the ninth principle in the Hongfan chapter, “For enjoyment use the Five Fortunes; for authority use the Six Extremes”. Reflecting the emperor’s joy and anxieties at the same time, over a dozen such sets of three seals were produced between the winter of the 54th year and the beginning of the 55th year of the Qianlong reign. The Ziqiang buxi seal presently on offer belonged to one of these sets of three seals.

The records of the workshops of the Imperial Household Department help us date the creation of this set of seals precisely. On the 10th day of the 10th month of the 54th year of the Qianlong reign, “the eunuch Eluli conveyed the following imperial decree: Qixianggong is tasked with selecting two sets of white jade seals, each set containing two seals and one header seal. So it was decreed. A piece of shanliao jade weighing 10 jin was procured, and was divided into two sets of seals. A drawing on paper of Song-dynasty-style dragon seals was made and handed for inspection to the eunuch Eluli, who received the decree that the seals be made according to it: a drawing on paper of a Song-dynasty header seal would be handed to the Mouqin Palace, which would then create the seal text; afterwards, the drawing and seal text would be handed to the Suzhou Manufactory for production. So it was decreed. On the 26th day of the 10th month, samples of Song-dynasty-style dragon-knop seal were created in wood for inspection. It was decreed that actual seals be created according to the samples, and that the Suzhou Manufactory be tasked with this. So it was decreed. On the 25th day of the 3rd month of the 55th year [of the Qianlong reign], Suzhou sent two sets of jade header seals, which were presented to the Mouqin Palace”. Although this particular record does not specify the texts of the two sets of header seals produced, other records of the same period indicate clearly that the sets of three header seals made by the Suzhou Manufactory during the 10th month of this year all read Xiangyong wufu, Bazheng maonian zhibao, and Ziqiang buxi respectively. The seal in question is made from greenish white jade whose colours vary subtly, corresponding to the shanliao jade mentioned in the record quoted above. Moreover, the dragon above it has a powerful upturned head, a thin and sinuous body, and dense scales, matching the characterization of “Song-dynasty-style dragon-knop seal”. Thus we can conclude that the record quoted above refers to the set of three imperial seals to which the lot on offer once belonged, and that the lot on offer was created between the 10th month of the 44th year and the 3rd month of the 45th year of the Qianlong reign. It was designed by the Imperial Workshops and produced by the Suzhou Manufactory. The refined carving of the seal and the fluency and polite elegance of its text indicate the superlative jade craftsmanship of the Suzhou Manufactory.

After ascending the throne in 1799, the Jiaqing Emperor gathered Qianlong’s seals from their various locations and housed them together. The set of three seals in question was likely housed in Qianlong’s Dabaoxiang [Treasury Box]. It is unknown when it left the court. The two other seals in the set have previously appeared in the auction market. The Xiangyong wufuheader seal was sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 23rd April 2003, lot 27. The Bazheng maonian zhibao seal was sold on 26th April 2004 at Christie’s Hong Kong, lot 1012, for HKD 2.86 million to the Capital Museum, Beijing. The remarkable appearance of the Ziqiang buxi seal gives us another opportunity to reflect on the emperor’s experiences and feelings late in his reign.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Jades from the Thompson-Schwab Collection, Londres, 09 nov. 2016, 10:00 AM
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