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BOWL FOR THE TEMPLE OF AWAKENING
ROSEMARY SCOTT
INTERNATIONAL ACADEMIC DIRECTOR ASIAN ART
This rare and historically significant imperial bowl bears an interesting four-character inscription, arranged with one character at each of the four corners of the normal six-character Yongzheng mark on its base. The four characters read: Jue sheng chang zhu, and these provide a clue both to the precise date of the bowl within the Yongzheng reign, and the location for which the bowl was intended. Literally jue sheng may be translated as 'awakening' or 'consciousness', while chang zhu can either refer to a Buddhist priest who does not leave his monastery, or simply mean 'to stay in one place for a long time'. In this case the reference is to the Juesheng Temple (the Temple of Awakening), the building of which was commissioned by the Yongzheng emperor in the 11th year of his reign (AD 1733). The temple was completed in 1735, and a stone tablet above the main gate to the temple, edged with dragons rising from water and flying through clouds, is inscribed by the Yongzheng emperor 'The Juesheng Temple Built by Imperial Order'. The temple was located in what was then Zengjiazhuang village - a place of rural tranquillity just outside the Xizhi Gate of the city wall surrounding Beijing.
The Yongzheng emperor was a devout Buddhist, and from an early age engaged in meditations lasting several days in order to achieve a higher level of consciousness. He also wrote a discourse, in which he defined his understanding of 'awakening', which can be seen in Yongzheng yuzhi fujiao dadian. Part of this was carved on a large stone stele in the Juesheng Temple. The temple was only completed shortly before the Yongzheng emperor's death, but his successor, the Qianlong emperor, also wrote an essay, which was carved on the other side of the stele. Interestingly, in the same year in which he commissioned the building of the Juesheng Temple, the Qing tongjian records that the Yongzheng emperor convened a large meeting of Buddhist dignitaries, at which he personally undertook teaching sessions. Indeed in the latter years of his life the Yongzheng emperor convened several such meetings of Buddhist scholars in order to produce collections of Buddhist scriptures, one of which, Yuxuan yulu, he personally edited, writing introductions for each of the chapters.
The Juesheng temple was an important temple during the Qing dynasty where, from the time of the Qianlong emperor onwards, the emperor himself and other members of the imperial family and the court came to pray for rain in ceremonies that could last several days. In 1783 an imperial order was sent to have nine Buddhist monks chant the 'Great cloud requesting rain sutra' for seven continuous days (Evelyn S. Rawski, The Last Emperors - A Social History of Qing Imperial Institutions, Berkeley/Los Angeles/London, 1998, p. 225), while in 1787 the temple was officially designated as a site at which to pray for rain.
This beautiful bowl, therefore, represents an important imperial project close to the heart of the Yongzheng emperor, which was to become part of court life and worship during a major part of the Qing dynasty.
THE PROPERTY OF A GENTLEMAN
A RARE INSCRIBED BLUE AND WHITE BOWL
YONGZHENG SIX-CHARACTER AND JUESHENG CHANGZHU MARKS WITHIN DOUBLE-CIRCLES AND OF THE PERIOD (1723-1735)
Details
A RARE INSCRIBED BLUE AND WHITE BOWL
YONGZHENG SIX-CHARACTER AND JUESHENG CHANGZHU MARKS WITHIN DOUBLE-CIRCLES AND OF THE PERIOD (1723-1735)
The bowl with rounded sides rising to steeply flared sides to the upright mouth rims, finely painted around the sides in vibrant tones of colbalt-blue with simulated 'heaping and piling' to depict a band of scrolling lotus flowers borne on a undulating vines, growing foliage to the sides, above a band of lappets surrounding the ring foot, the interior medallion with a single lotus spray emerging from a ruyi fungus, bordered by double-circles, repeated on the inner and outer mouth rim, the underside base with the six-character reign mark written in three lines and additional four characters, Juesheng Changzhu on the four corners double-circles
6 3/4 in. (17.1 cm.) diam.
YONGZHENG SIX-CHARACTER AND JUESHENG CHANGZHU MARKS WITHIN DOUBLE-CIRCLES AND OF THE PERIOD (1723-1735)
The bowl with rounded sides rising to steeply flared sides to the upright mouth rims, finely painted around the sides in vibrant tones of colbalt-blue with simulated 'heaping and piling' to depict a band of scrolling lotus flowers borne on a undulating vines, growing foliage to the sides, above a band of lappets surrounding the ring foot, the interior medallion with a single lotus spray emerging from a ruyi fungus, bordered by double-circles, repeated on the inner and outer mouth rim, the underside base with the six-character reign mark written in three lines and additional four characters, Juesheng Changzhu on the four corners double-circles
6 3/4 in. (17.1 cm.) diam.
Provenance
Previously sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 24 November 1987, lot 60 and sold again 15 May 1990, lot 137
Brought to you by
Aster Ng
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