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拍品专文
Jade books were highly sumptuous items made only for the most important rituals or investitures of emperors. During the Qianlong period, however, jade books were also made for the pleasure of the Qianlong Emperor, in part due to his fascination with jade, and in part due to the increase in supply of the material following the pacification of the Xinjiang area in 1759. This group of Qianlong jade books bear inscriptions of primarily three different categories. The first is 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 of jade book is inscribed with Buddhist sutras and texts, such as a jade sutra book with aloeswood covers, mounted in yellow brocade frames and fitted in a folding hard-board brocade box, incised and gilt with the Foshuo shi jixiang jing sutra. This example, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in The Imperial Packing Art of Qing Dynasty, Beijing, 2007, pp. 132-33. The third type, like the current book, records essays or poems by the Qianlong Emperor himself, sometimes to express his views on certain subjects or to commemorate his glorious achievements.
The present book, which records the Qianlong Emperor's essay Shiquan laoren zhibao shuo (Disquisition on the Seal of An Old Man of Perfect Completion), is particularly important among all jade books. In the 57th year of the Qianlong reign (1792), the Qing army led by general Fu Kangan repelled the Gurkhas’ second invasion of Tibet. This great victory concluded Qianlong’s glorious military career, which he counted as shiquan wugong (ten complete military accomplishments) and which included two campaigns against the Dzungars; the pacification of the revolt of the Muslim tribes; two battles against tribal people in Jinchuan; pacification of Taiwan; a campaign in Burma; a campaign in Vietnam; and twice accepting surrender of the Gurkhas (See Qing Gaozong yuzhi shiwen quanji [An Anthology of Imperial Poetry and Prose Composed by Gaozong of the Qing Period], the third collection, vol. 8, p. 7). Soon thereafter he began calling himself shiquan laoren (The Old Man with Ten Accomplishments). In the same year, Qianlong ordered the imperial workshops to carve the shiquan laoren zhibao seal (Fig. 1) and composed the Shiquan laoren zhibao shuo (Disquisition on the Seal of the Old Man of Perfect Completion). In this essay, the Qianlong Emperor elaborated on the profound meaning of the phrase shiquan. He stated at the beginning that “the term shiquan originally refers to the ten military accomplishments but the words contain a far deeper significance...... The military exploit is but one aspect of the duty of the sovereign.” The character shi, besides its literal meaning of 'ten', also means 'perfect', and the character quan means 'all completion'. By calling himself shiquan laoren, Qianlong not only celebrated his ten military accomplishments but also expressed his ambition of becoming an emperor of perfect completion. Thereafter, the imperial workshops recorded this essay in various medium such as kesi and jade books. In the first year of Jiaqing (1796), after abdicating the throne to his son Yongyan (Jiaqing Emperor), Qianlong announced in an edict that “the Shiquan laoren zhibao shuo jade books will become the precious book conferring him the title of Emperor emeritus.
According to Guo Fuxiang of the Palace Museum, Beijing, there are more than twenty Shiquan laoren zhibao shuo (Disquisition on the Seal of the Old Man of Perfect Completion) jade books in various materials and sizes made during the late Qianlong period. One set made of greyish-white jade and mounted in folding hardwood frames is in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, are illustrated in The All Complete Qianlong: the Aesthetic Tastes of the Qing Emperor Gaozong, Taipei, 2013, pp. 34-45, no. I-1.2.
This present jade book entered the collection of Mr. and Mrs. William D. Gibbs in 1955. Eleanor Gibbs and her husband William developed a deep interest in Chinese culture and art in the 1930s and 1940s. Their profound understanding of Chinese culture made their collection, which had an emphasis on inscription-related works of art such as seals and this jade book, distinct among their fellow collectors. Mrs. Gibbs even had her name carved in Chinese on a soap stone seal. (Fig. 2) Their passion and dedication influenced their acquisition of this highly important jade book from Gump’s in San Francisco in 1955. (Fig. 3) Established during California’s Gold Rush era, Gump’s was a major source of fine Chinese works of art in the early twentieth century.
The present book, which records the Qianlong Emperor's essay Shiquan laoren zhibao shuo (Disquisition on the Seal of An Old Man of Perfect Completion), is particularly important among all jade books. In the 57th year of the Qianlong reign (1792), the Qing army led by general Fu Kangan repelled the Gurkhas’ second invasion of Tibet. This great victory concluded Qianlong’s glorious military career, which he counted as shiquan wugong (ten complete military accomplishments) and which included two campaigns against the Dzungars; the pacification of the revolt of the Muslim tribes; two battles against tribal people in Jinchuan; pacification of Taiwan; a campaign in Burma; a campaign in Vietnam; and twice accepting surrender of the Gurkhas (See Qing Gaozong yuzhi shiwen quanji [An Anthology of Imperial Poetry and Prose Composed by Gaozong of the Qing Period], the third collection, vol. 8, p. 7). Soon thereafter he began calling himself shiquan laoren (The Old Man with Ten Accomplishments). In the same year, Qianlong ordered the imperial workshops to carve the shiquan laoren zhibao seal (Fig. 1) and composed the Shiquan laoren zhibao shuo (Disquisition on the Seal of the Old Man of Perfect Completion). In this essay, the Qianlong Emperor elaborated on the profound meaning of the phrase shiquan. He stated at the beginning that “the term shiquan originally refers to the ten military accomplishments but the words contain a far deeper significance...... The military exploit is but one aspect of the duty of the sovereign.” The character shi, besides its literal meaning of 'ten', also means 'perfect', and the character quan means 'all completion'. By calling himself shiquan laoren, Qianlong not only celebrated his ten military accomplishments but also expressed his ambition of becoming an emperor of perfect completion. Thereafter, the imperial workshops recorded this essay in various medium such as kesi and jade books. In the first year of Jiaqing (1796), after abdicating the throne to his son Yongyan (Jiaqing Emperor), Qianlong announced in an edict that “the Shiquan laoren zhibao shuo jade books will become the precious book conferring him the title of Emperor emeritus.
According to Guo Fuxiang of the Palace Museum, Beijing, there are more than twenty Shiquan laoren zhibao shuo (Disquisition on the Seal of the Old Man of Perfect Completion) jade books in various materials and sizes made during the late Qianlong period. One set made of greyish-white jade and mounted in folding hardwood frames is in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, are illustrated in The All Complete Qianlong: the Aesthetic Tastes of the Qing Emperor Gaozong, Taipei, 2013, pp. 34-45, no. I-1.2.
This present jade book entered the collection of Mr. and Mrs. William D. Gibbs in 1955. Eleanor Gibbs and her husband William developed a deep interest in Chinese culture and art in the 1930s and 1940s. Their profound understanding of Chinese culture made their collection, which had an emphasis on inscription-related works of art such as seals and this jade book, distinct among their fellow collectors. Mrs. Gibbs even had her name carved in Chinese on a soap stone seal. (Fig. 2) Their passion and dedication influenced their acquisition of this highly important jade book from Gump’s in San Francisco in 1955. (Fig. 3) Established during California’s Gold Rush era, Gump’s was a major source of fine Chinese works of art in the early twentieth century.