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AN INTRODUCTION TO QIANLONG'S SOAPSTONE 'HANWEI JINGJI' SEALby Guo FuxiangThe Emperor’s leisure seals have distinct characteristics reflecting his personality and the zeitgeist of his reign. They represent a sanctuary where the Emperor could escape from daily burdens and express his personal taste, ideals and scholarly prowess. The majority of the leisure seals of the Qing Emperors have been well preserved, serving as important historic materials illustrating the personal lives of the Emperors. The Shoushan Hanwei jingji seal to be offered at Christie’s Hong Kong is a leisure seal of the Qianlong Emperor, testifying to his scholarly pursuits.The current seal is made of Shoushan soapstone with a lion-form finial. The seal face measures 2.9 cm. long, 1.9 cm. wide, and 5 cm. high, with a four-character inscription in relief, Hanwei jingji, ‘Ruminating over the Classics’. The material, size, and inscription of the current seal correspond exactly to those recorded in the Qianlong Baosou, Jiaqing Baosou, and Daoguang Baosou, and is undoubtedly a genuine seal of the Qianlong Emperor.An admirer of Han culture, the Qianlong Emperor was a cultivated Confucian scholar well versed in ancient texts. The inscriptions on his leisure seals thus often came from such sources, with those related to state policy and cultivation of ethics borrowing from Confucian Classics such as the Analects, Book of Poetry, Book of Documents, Book of Changes, and Book of Rites; while others drew from sources such as past imperial adjudications or anecdotes. The Qianlong Emperor perceived his leisure seals as an embodiment of his character, and insisted that they be commissioned with a clear intent. He once said, “The inscriptions on the seals of the son of Heaven need to be carefully selected in order to provide admonishment; those that are poetic in nature do not carry the same weight and are more like playthings.” He further cited a few examples belonging to the first category such as: the (To abstain in order to gain) seal of the Kangxi Emperor, the (Be diligent in the morning and vigilant at night) seal of the Yongzheng Emperor, and his own (Be persistently conscientious) seal.1The Hanwei jingji seal serves a similar purpose of admonishment. The phrase is extracted from “Biographies of Langyi and Xiangkai” in Book of the Later Han, where it is used to describe the depth of knowledge possessed by a Grand Master named Huang Qiong. As a learned scholar well aware of its history, the Qianlong Emperor deliberately chose this phrase to be the seal inscription as a tool of admonishment to discipline himself from sluggishness.The Hanwei jingji seal belongs to a group of small seals commissioned by the Qianlong Emperor during the early part of his reign. These seals were made in a variety of forms and materials, although most of them were carved from soapstone. The Hanwei jingji seal was used frequently by the Qianlong Emperor. More than 65 paintings and calligraphies recorded in the Shiqu baoji series and Midian zhulin bear the impression of the Hanwei jingji seal. The Hanwei jingji seal had three primary uses: as a frontispiece seal before an imperial colophon, as in the case of Odes of Bin by the Song-dynasty painter Ma Hezhi in the Palace Museum, Beijing, where it was used as a group seal with two corner seals (fig. 1)2; as a corner seal used individually or part of a group seal after an imperial colophon, see an album leaf painting titled ‘Jade Mirror Pool’ from the set Lion’s Grove Garden by Ming-dynasty painter Xu Ben in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, where the Hanwei jingji seal was used as a group seal with two other seals (fig. 2)3; as a cross-page seal, see Eight Steeds by the Qing dynasty painter Jia Quan in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, where the Hanwei jingji seal was impressed on the seam joining the end of the painting and the colophon in Manchu (fig. 3)4. The impression of Hanwei jingji seal also appears on Qianlong Emperor’s collection albums, including one depicting a Ming-dynasty ge-type bowl and cover from the ceramic albums Jingtao yungu (fig. 4), and another illustrating a Han-dynasty bell from the bronze albums Guanxiang zairong. The position of the Hanwei jingji seal impression on collection albums does not follow any strict pattern.The Hanwei jingji seal is made of Shoushan soapstone of unctuous texture. The carver worked the rougher part of the stone into a lively lion of white tone with finely incised manes and strong limbs, serving as a strong contrast to the rest of the stone. The inscription is precisely and deeply carved. Both the carving of the finial and the inscription are of the highest quality.1. Yuzhiwen sanji [Imperially composed literature vol. 3] , juan 8, ‘Jiajing yuyin ji’2. The All Complete Qianlong: A Special Exhibition on the Aesthetic Tastes of the Qing Emperor Gaozong, Taipei, 2013, pp. 266-2673. Story of A Brand Name: The Collection and Packaging Aesthetics of Emperor Qianlong in the Eighteenth Century, Taipei, 2017, p. 1834. Obtaining Refined Enjoyment: The Qianlong Emperor’s Taste in Ceramics, Taipei, 2012, pp. 229, 268THE PROPERTY OF A GENTLEMAN
AN IMPERIAL ‘HANWEI JINGJI’ SOAPSTONE SEAL
QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795)
Details
AN IMPERIAL ‘HANWEI JINGJI’ SOAPSTONE SEAL
QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795)
The rectangular seal is surmounted by a mythical beast carved in the round standing on a mound, animatedly grasping a branch of lingzhi in its mouth which extends and intertwines with one tip of its bifurcated tail. The seal face is carved with a four-character inscription in seal script in relief, Hanwei jingji, ‘Ruminating over the Classics’.
2 in. (5 cm.) high, 57g, box
QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795)
The rectangular seal is surmounted by a mythical beast carved in the round standing on a mound, animatedly grasping a branch of lingzhi in its mouth which extends and intertwines with one tip of its bifurcated tail. The seal face is carved with a four-character inscription in seal script in relief, Hanwei jingji, ‘Ruminating over the Classics’.
2 in. (5 cm.) high, 57g, box
Provenance
A French private collection, acquired in 2005
Brought to you by
Priscilla Kong