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Lot Essay
Jade books were highly sumptuous items made only for the most important rituals or investitures of emperors. During the Qianlong period, a large quantity of jade books was made for the pleasure of the Qianlong Emperor, partly out of his fascination with jades and partly due to the increase in supply of the material following the successful conquest of the Xinjiang area in 1759.
This group of Qianlong jade books bears inscriptions primarily in three different categories. The first category involves the conferment of special titles to imperial members, such as a celadon jade book documenting the conferment of the title Empress Dowager Chongqing to the Qianlong Emperor's mother in 1771, in the Beijing Palace Museum Collection, and illustrated in "Life in the Forbidden City of Qing Dynasty," Beijing, 2007, no. 19. The second type is inscribed with Buddhist sutras and texts. The third type of jade book records essays or poems by the Qianlong Emperor himself, sometimes to express his views on certain subjects or to commemorate his glorious achievements, such as our current jade album, which is inscribed with the text about different functions of hunting during the four seasons of the year,Yuzhi Sou Miao Xian Shou Shuo, calligraphed and signed by Dong Gao (1740-1818).
The theory of Sou Miao Xian Shou originated from the Zhou Dynasty, the activities of Sou Miao Xian Shou refer to the four seasonal hunting practices throughout the year. Spring hunting, known as chunsou, corresponds to the spring season when all living things proliferate. During this time, hunting involves sparing pregnant wild animals. Summer hunting, called xiamiao, focuses on capturing wild animals that trample newly planted crops. Autumn hunting, termed qiuxian, takes place during the season of growth and reproduction for poultry and livestock, necessitating the hunting of predators that pose a threat to them. Winter hunting, known as dongshou, occurs during the withering of all things in winter, allowing indiscriminate hunting of wild animals for human survival. During the Qing dynasty, the imperial hunts evolved into increasingly intricate and ceremonial affairs, especially during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor. He organized a large number of hunts and even entertained foreign dignitaries in Chengde. The formalization of the hunt transformed it into a symbolic display, a stylized tribute to bygone customs that had ceased to be part of everyday life for most Manchus. Inspired by this ancient theory, the emperor Qianlong wrote this text Yuzhi Sou Miao Xian Shou Shuo which is recorded in the Qinding Siku Quanshu, the Complete Library of the Four Treasures, volume 2, roll 6.
Dong Gao, the son of Dong Bangda (1699-1769) and a jinshi degree holder since 1763, emerged as a prominent and respected government official, serving Emperors Qianlong and Jiaqing for over four decades. Throughout his career, he occupied prestigious positions and oversaw the compilation of several imperial histories and anthologies. Emperor Qianlong held great admiration for Dong Gao's calligraphy and paintings, many of which found their place in the palace collection, including our current jade book. A note from the Zaobanchu Archives of the Qing imperial household department describes that on the sixth day of the eighth month of the Qianlong forty-fourth year (1779), an album of Yuzhi Sou Miao Xian Shuo was brought to Beijing from Rehe and was included in Qianlong’s treasure boxes. In 1787, a red lacquer circular box was ordered to hold the album and a celadon jade undecorated bi disc.
The only other jade book bearing the same text of a larger size (18.9 x 12 cm), signed by Jin Shisong (1730-1800), with a silk cover and a zitan box and stand, is in the collection of the Palace Museum of Beijing under the inventory number Gu00104042.
This group of Qianlong jade books bears inscriptions primarily in three different categories. The first category involves the conferment of special titles to imperial members, such as a celadon jade book documenting the conferment of the title Empress Dowager Chongqing to the Qianlong Emperor's mother in 1771, in the Beijing Palace Museum Collection, and illustrated in "Life in the Forbidden City of Qing Dynasty," Beijing, 2007, no. 19. The second type is inscribed with Buddhist sutras and texts. The third type of jade book records essays or poems by the Qianlong Emperor himself, sometimes to express his views on certain subjects or to commemorate his glorious achievements, such as our current jade album, which is inscribed with the text about different functions of hunting during the four seasons of the year,Yuzhi Sou Miao Xian Shou Shuo, calligraphed and signed by Dong Gao (1740-1818).
The theory of Sou Miao Xian Shou originated from the Zhou Dynasty, the activities of Sou Miao Xian Shou refer to the four seasonal hunting practices throughout the year. Spring hunting, known as chunsou, corresponds to the spring season when all living things proliferate. During this time, hunting involves sparing pregnant wild animals. Summer hunting, called xiamiao, focuses on capturing wild animals that trample newly planted crops. Autumn hunting, termed qiuxian, takes place during the season of growth and reproduction for poultry and livestock, necessitating the hunting of predators that pose a threat to them. Winter hunting, known as dongshou, occurs during the withering of all things in winter, allowing indiscriminate hunting of wild animals for human survival. During the Qing dynasty, the imperial hunts evolved into increasingly intricate and ceremonial affairs, especially during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor. He organized a large number of hunts and even entertained foreign dignitaries in Chengde. The formalization of the hunt transformed it into a symbolic display, a stylized tribute to bygone customs that had ceased to be part of everyday life for most Manchus. Inspired by this ancient theory, the emperor Qianlong wrote this text Yuzhi Sou Miao Xian Shou Shuo which is recorded in the Qinding Siku Quanshu, the Complete Library of the Four Treasures, volume 2, roll 6.
Dong Gao, the son of Dong Bangda (1699-1769) and a jinshi degree holder since 1763, emerged as a prominent and respected government official, serving Emperors Qianlong and Jiaqing for over four decades. Throughout his career, he occupied prestigious positions and oversaw the compilation of several imperial histories and anthologies. Emperor Qianlong held great admiration for Dong Gao's calligraphy and paintings, many of which found their place in the palace collection, including our current jade book. A note from the Zaobanchu Archives of the Qing imperial household department describes that on the sixth day of the eighth month of the Qianlong forty-fourth year (1779), an album of Yuzhi Sou Miao Xian Shuo was brought to Beijing from Rehe and was included in Qianlong’s treasure boxes. In 1787, a red lacquer circular box was ordered to hold the album and a celadon jade undecorated bi disc.
The only other jade book bearing the same text of a larger size (18.9 x 12 cm), signed by Jin Shisong (1730-1800), with a silk cover and a zitan box and stand, is in the collection of the Palace Museum of Beijing under the inventory number Gu00104042.