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ON EMPEROR QIANLONG'S FURONG SOAPSTONE QIN SHU DAO QU SHENG SEALGuo FuxiangThe majority of imperial seals of Qing Emperors have been well preserved. They reflect the Emperors' personalities, interests and cultural aspirations from various perspectives, serve as precious historic materials and chronicle the history of the imperial court. Among them, the imperial seals of Emperor Qianlong can be said to be the most representative. One thing noteworthy is that Emperor Qianlong produced a considerable quantity of three-seal sets during his reign. Classified into two categories, these sets consist of one yinshou (opening) and two yajiao (ending) seals. The first category is where the yinshou seal indicates the name of a palace and the two yajiao seals are carved with poetic lines illuminating the meaning of the palace. The second category is where all three seals are carved with idiomatic phrases that complement one another(1). The present qin shu dao qu sheng seal on offer by Christie's Hong Kong belongs to the former. This seal is made of furong soapstone with a finial depicting horses. The seal face is 2.8 centimetres square, measures 7.5 cm in height and is carved with a five-character inscription in relief: qin shu dao qu sheng (delight from the dao of music and literature). A clear record of this seal is documented in Qianlong baosou (Qianlong Treasures: A Catalogue of Impressions of the Qianlong Emperor’s Seals), matching in all particulars, including the material, size, and inscription. Hence, we can be certain that this seal is indeed an authentic Qianlong imperial seal. According to Qianlong baosou, this seal was one of the yajiao seals of a three-seal set that included another yajiao seal reading fei yue tian ji shi (taking a leap to the cosmos) and the yinshou seal reading si mei ju (gathering of the Four Beauties), suggesting the seal set was specially carved for the Simeiju chamber, a well-known treasure-trove of art collection in the imperial palace. It was by no means arbitrary that Emperor Qianlong selected qin shu dao qu sheng, si mei ju and fei yue tian ji shi in the same set of seals. To understand his true intention, we need to examine his relationship with simeiju. It was said that the Ming collector Gu Congyi had once the following paintings in his collection: Gu Kaizhi’s Nushizhen tu (Admonitions of the Court Instructress) and Li Gonglin’s Xiaoxiang woyou tu (Dream Journey along the Xiao and Xiang Rivers), Shuchuan tu (The Shu River), and Jiuge tu (The Nine Songs). These masterpieces were recognised and postscripted by the distinguished connoisseur Dong Qichang, and thus consigned these paintings to a famous chapter in the history of collecting Chinese painting and calligraphy. In 1746, when Emperor Qianlong was appreciating the Xiaoxiang woyou tu, he saw Dong Qichang's colophon on the "Four Beauties", and surprisingly discovered that all of the four famous scrolls had been reunited in the palace. Delighted by this discovery, Emperor Qianlong ordered Dong Bangda to illustrate the simeijuhefu collection album. Following the example of Sanxitang (Hall of the Three Rarities), these four scrolls were placed in the west wing of Jingyi Building at Jianfogong (Garden of the Palace of Established Happiness) and the chamber was named Simeiju. Afterwards, Emperor Qianlong ordered Dong Bangda to illustrate the Simeijuhefutu (Praise of the Four Beauties Complete) to document the significance of this discovery, making this a famous collection story during Qianlong's reign. Since then, the name Simeiju began to appear in Qianlong's massive imperial collection. In 1784, during his sixth tour to the south, he was gifted four seals made by master craftsmen in Hangzhou. Enamoured with these seals, he named them the "Four Beauties" and wrote a poem Timinyinsimei (Four Beauteous Ming Dynasty Seals) to celebrate the occasion (2). After the four seals were brought back to the palace, Emperor Qianlong ordered the seals to be stored in Jingyi Building, thus further enriching the collection at the Simeiju chamber.Based on the aforementioned history of Simeiju, I will attempt to shed light on the qin shu dao qu sheng seal to the best of my knowledge.First, the inscriptions of this seal in a seal set typify Qianlong’s use of imperial seals. Widely known as a highly cultivated man, Emperor Qianlong enjoyed reciting and writing poetry. Some 40,000 imperial poems were published in his name, comparable to the entire corpus of Tang poetry. With no shortage of poems and verses that flow right off the tongue, Emperor Qianlong's poetic prowess naturally provided materials for imperial seal inscriptions. One unique feature of Qianlong Emperor’s seals is that many of the inscriptions were selected from his own poems, which had not been the case with imperial seals before his time. Overflowing with poetic charm, picturesque imagery and profound meaning, these inscriptions reflected the elegant and serene inner world of Emperor Qianlong. The poems selected for seal inscriptions were perhaps also verses for self-promotion. Both the qin shu dao qu sheng seal and the fei yue tian ji shi seal were selected from his own imperial poems. In 1745, as his leisurely tradition the Emperor Qianlong visited the Yuanmingyuan Imperial Garden and the various imperial gardens west of Beijing. During his visit to Jingming Garden in early March, he wrote a series of poems entitled Muchun jingmingyuan zayong (Poems from the Jingming Garden in Late Spring) (3). The verse "fei yue tian ji shi, qin shu dao qu sheng" appeared in the first poems that he wrote. Evidently content with this particular verse, he chose it to be used as the yajiao seal inscriptions in the simeiju seal set. This verse must have been quite special to be included in a simeiju seal set. Simeiju comes from Wang Bo's Tengwang Ge Xu (Preface to the Prince Teng's Pavilion): "simeiju, ernanbing." In the original classics, simeiju (gathering of the four beauties) refers to "good time", "beautiful scenery", "delightful mood" and "delightful things", while ernan refers to good hosts and honoured guests. The phrase generally means two or four beautiful things are only brought together by a rare chance. A cultured man himself, Emperor Qianlong was definitely no stranger to Wang Bo's famous works, and fully understood the underlying meaning of the verse. The four famous scrolls mentioned above being united in the imperial palace no doubt put Emperor Qianlong in a delightful mood (4). Isn't it providence that such a grand occasion would transpire? Isn't the re-gathering of the four scrolls in the palace the result of a coincidence by the will of heaven? The verse "fei yue tian ji shi, qin shu dao qu sheng" was precisely talking about the delightful stroke of serendipity and the joys of life, resonating with the historical context of the reunion of the four ancient scrolls. This apt harmony with the classic verse "simeiju, ernanbing" was beautifully fitting as Emperor Qianlong infused new historical implications to the classics. Second, the specific time for the production of this seal can be determined. According to seal-making precedents during the Qianlong period, the seal set to which the qin shu dao qu sheng seal belongs should have been specially made shortly after the naming of the Simeiju chamber. Fortunately, the following record is found in the Qing palace archives. “On May 22nd, 1746, treasurer Bai Shixiu came and said that Palace Eunuch Hu Shijie would hand over two soapstone seals and one yinshou soapstone seal, and convey the imperial instructions, which were to follow what was done for Sanxitang and later place them in Simeiju chamber. On June 4th, Rank Seven Staff Supervisor Samuha handed one soapstone seal to Palace Eunuch Hu Shijie for the emperor to inspect. On June 29th, treasurer Bai Shixiu took the two soapstone seals and one yinshou seal to Palace Eunuch Hu Shijie to present to the emperor.” (5) There is only one set of seals on simeiju recorded in Qianlong baosou. This record was not only close in time to the naming of the Simeiju chamber, but the material, composition, and storage location were also highly consistent with the simeiju seal set recorded in Qianlong baoyao. It can thus be inferred that three seals mentioned in the record are indeed the simeiju seal set. It can be concluded that this qin shu dao qu sheng seal was produced in the early summer of the eleventh year of Qianlong (1746), when Emperor Qianlong established the Simeiju collection. Third, the use of this seal is relatively clear. Since the seal set to which the qin shu dao qu sheng seal belongs was specially made for the simeiju collection, the objects that bear its impression should be quite specific, that is, on each of the famous scrolls in the simeiju collection. This was exactly the case. The impression of this set of seals can be found in the Shu River scroll in the Freer Gallery of Art (fig. 1), USA; the Imaginary Tour through Xiaoxiang scroll in the Tokyo National Museum, Japan (fig. 2); and the Admonitions scroll in the British Museum, UK (fig. 3). It should be noted that the three seals in this set were not used in close proximity of each other but their seals were impressed on different parts of the seam as cross-page seals. For example, in the Shu River scroll, fei yue tian ji shi and qin shu dao qu sheng seals were impressed on the front seam of the vertical strip after the frontispiece, while the simeiju seal was impressed on the seam of the back strip. In the Imaginary Tour through Xiaoxiang scroll, fei yue tian ji shi and qin shu dao qu sheng seals were impressed on the seam before Emperor Qianlong's frontispiece, while the simeiju seal was impressed on Dong Qichang's colophon and the seam joining the end of the painting. In the Admonitions scroll, qin shu dao qu sheng seal was impressed on the seam before Emperor Qianlong's frontispiece, and fei yue tian ji shi and simeiju seals were impressed on the seam after the frontispiece. In addition, this present seal was also used as an imperial seal on a number of paintings. For example, its appearance can be found after Emperor Qianlong's imperial poem in the Dangbo ningjing painting in the Yuanmingyuan sishi jing tuce (Album of the Fourty Scenes of the Yuanmingyuan)(fig. 4). Other paintings, such as in the Pingding wushenzhan tuce (Album of Quelling the Rebels at Wushenzhan), recorded in the Shiqu baoji (Treasured Cases of Art in the Palaces) also bore the impression of this seal. Fourth, the selection of material and the carving technique embody the exquisite craftsmanship of an imperial seal. This current seal is made of shoushan soapstone, one of the three best stone materials for seal making in China. Rich in varieties and colours, it was much favoured by seal makers as a very important material for making imperial seals in the Qing Dynasty. A considerable amount of Emperor Qianlong's imperial seals was carved with shoushan stone. The present qin shu dao qu sheng seal was made from the furong variety of excellent quality, lustrous and vibrant. The inscription was precisely carved, complemented by the boulders and horses fashioned from following the shape of the stone. The carver skilfully worked the horses on the slope by using the natural red colour of the stone to sculpt a pair of recumbent horses. At the top of the boulders, superbly carved in high relief were the three lively horses grazing down or gazing up into the sky. Strong in shape, agile in posture, and natural in appearance, the expressive horses were testament to the consummate skill of the carver. 1. Guo Fuxiang, Ming Qing dihou xiyin [The Seals of Ming and Qing Dynasty Emperors and Empresses], Beijing: International Culture Publishing Corporation, 2003, p. 169. 2. Qing Gaozong yuzhi shi wuji [Poems of the Qianlong Emperor, Collection 5], vol. 7. 3. Yuzhiwen chuji [Imperially composed literature collection 1], vol. 25. 4. Yuzhiwen chuji [Imperially composed literature collection 1], vol. 32. 5. "Qing gong nei wu fu zao ban chu dang an zong hui'" (Comprehensive Archival Records from the Qing Imperial Household Department's Workshops), ed. First Historical Archives of China and the Art Museum of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, vol. 14, p. 619: "Guangmu zuo" Qianlong shiyinian jiuwuyue, Beijing: People's Publishing House, 2005.

AN IMPERIAL SOAPSTONE SEAL

QIANLONG ELEVENTH YEAR, CORRESPONDING TO 1746 AND OF THE PERIOD

Details

AN IMPERIAL SOAPSTONE SEAL
QIANLONG ELEVENTH YEAR, CORRESPONDING TO 1746 AND OF THE PERIOD
The square columnar seal is surmounted by three well reticulated horses shown standing on a grassy hill above two recumbent horses carved in sunken relief on one vertical side. The seal face is carved with a five-character inscription in relief, qin shu dao qu sheng, ‘leisurely delight from the enjoyment of qin and calligraphy’. The stone has a creamy-white tone with some vermillion inclusions.

2 7/8 in. (7.3 cm.) high, 134g

Lot Essay

The impression of the current seal is included in Qingdai dihou xiyin pu [An Album of Impressions of the Qing-dynasty Emperors and Empresses’ seals], Qianlong juan, no. 1, Beijing 2005, p. 22 (fig. 1); Jiaqing juan, no. 1, p. 38; and Daoguang juan, p. 34.
The impression of the current seal is found on the following paintings: Minxian miaoji album leaves, no. 9, Green Hut and Thatched Pavilions, by Fang Congyi (c. 1302-1393) in The National Palace Museum, Taipei; The Shu River by Li Gonglin (1049-1106) in the Freer and Sackler Galleries, Washingtong D.C.; Imaginary Tour through Xiaoxiang by Li Gonglin (1049-1106) in the Tokyo National Museum; Forty Scenes of the Yuanmingyuan by Tang Dai (1673-1752) and Shen Yuan (active during the Yongzheng and Qianlong periods) in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France; and Battle of Qurman by Jia Quan (active during the Qianlong period).

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