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Lot Essay
The inscription carved on the reverse of the present jade table screen reproduces the celebrated Kuaixue Shiqing Tie (Letter After a Snowfall) by Wang Xizhi, as copied by the Qianlong Emperor. The original text, beginning “After the swift snow, the sky has cleared…”, was written by Wang Xizhi to Zhang Hou of Shanyin and has long been regarded as one of the supreme masterpieces of Chinese calligraphy. The authentic manuscript is today preserved in the collection of the National Palace Museum. The Qianlong Emperor deeply admired the work and repeatedly copied and inscribed it, with imperial versions appearing on paintings, jade carvings, model calligraphy albums, and engraved stone stelae produced for the Qing court.
Following the imperial transcription appears the inscription “Respectfully copied by your servant Yu Minzhong”, indicating that the text was transferred onto the jade by the senior official Yu Minzhong under imperial command. Yu Minzhong (1714–1779), styled Shuzi and sobriquet Naipu, attained the rank of zhuangyuan in 1737 and later rose to Grand Secretary of the Wenhua Hall. Renowned for his calligraphy, he was entrusted by the Qianlong Emperor with the compilation of important court catalogues such as the Xiqing Gujian, and frequently participated in imperial artistic projects involving the copying of celebrated calligraphic models for inscriptions, engravings, and works of art. The seals “Chen” and “Zhong” correspond to his characteristic signature format.
The front of the screen depicts Wang Xizhi seating beneath a tree holding a fan, accompanied by attendants carrying geese and offerings, illustrating the celebrated anecdote of Wang Xizhi’s affection for geese recorded in the Jinshu. This subject enjoyed particular popularity in Qing imperial jade carving. Compare, for example, a jade mountain depicting the “Wang Xizhi and Geese” theme in the collection of the Palace Museum (accession no. Gugong 00089951), carved with the scholar and geese on one side and lingzhi and orchids amidst rockwork on the reverse.
Following the imperial transcription appears the inscription “Respectfully copied by your servant Yu Minzhong”, indicating that the text was transferred onto the jade by the senior official Yu Minzhong under imperial command. Yu Minzhong (1714–1779), styled Shuzi and sobriquet Naipu, attained the rank of zhuangyuan in 1737 and later rose to Grand Secretary of the Wenhua Hall. Renowned for his calligraphy, he was entrusted by the Qianlong Emperor with the compilation of important court catalogues such as the Xiqing Gujian, and frequently participated in imperial artistic projects involving the copying of celebrated calligraphic models for inscriptions, engravings, and works of art. The seals “Chen” and “Zhong” correspond to his characteristic signature format.
The front of the screen depicts Wang Xizhi seating beneath a tree holding a fan, accompanied by attendants carrying geese and offerings, illustrating the celebrated anecdote of Wang Xizhi’s affection for geese recorded in the Jinshu. This subject enjoyed particular popularity in Qing imperial jade carving. Compare, for example, a jade mountain depicting the “Wang Xizhi and Geese” theme in the collection of the Palace Museum (accession no. Gugong 00089951), carved with the scholar and geese on one side and lingzhi and orchids amidst rockwork on the reverse.