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On July 5th, the "Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Coordinated Development 10th Anniversary Exhibition Season" jointly planned by the Chengde Municipal Bureau of Cultural Relics, the Chengde Summer Resort Museum, the Palace Museum and other units opened in Songhezhai, Chengde Summer Resort. In the "Xi Wu Chongwen - Summer Resort Treasure Seal Exhibition", the Palace Museum displayed the treasured Sifang "Summer Resort" seals for the first time.
The seal of the emperor is called the seal.
The summer resort was built in the 42nd year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1703). Historically, the summer resort was the second political center of the Qing Dynasty.
What does the seal of the "summer resort" look like? What does it have to do with the summer resort? What are the important seals and inscriptions in the summer resort? The reporter will take you to find out.
On July 6th, the treasure of the "Summer Resort" of Jasper Jiaolongniu was exhibited at the "Xi Wu Chongwen - Summer Resort Treasure Seal Exhibition" held in Chengde Summer Resort.
On July 6th, the "Treasure of the Summer Resort" was exhibited at the "Xi Wu Chongwen - Summer Resort Treasure Seal Exhibition" held in Chengde Summer Resort.
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The "top match" in the Qing Dynasty seal
On July 6th, "Xi Wu Chongwen - Summer Resort Treasure Seal Exhibition" was held in the fifteen photo rooms of Songhezhai Summer Resort.
In the display cabinet more than one meter high, seals of different jade materials are displayed.
The seals of the Quartet "Summer Resort" on display this time belong to the collection of the Palace Museum. This is also the first time that the Palace Museum has displayed these four seals to the public.
"Originally, I just came to visit the summer resort, but I didn't expect to be able to feast my eyes and see the legendary mysterious royal jade seal." Ms. Wang, who came to Chengde from Beijing, was pleasantly surprised, and she had to take pictures of each seal first, and then zoom in on the photos to appreciate them carefully.
"How much does a jade seal weigh?" "What are the small animals carved on the jade seal? Why is it called Innew? "Why did Emperor Qianlong like to stamp everywhere?" …… Visitors to the exhibition were curious to ask the docents a variety of questions.
Li Jianhong, a museum research librarian at the Chengde Summer Resort Museum, has been paying attention to the seal of the summer resort for many years.
"In feudal society, the use of seals has clear hierarchical regulations from the size of the seal, the shape of the button, the font, the printing material, to the color of the ribbon worn on the seal." Li Jianhong said.
The highest level of seal is the emperor's special seal, called "treasure" or "seal".
There is such a sentence in "The Treasure Seal of the Emperor and Empress of the Ming and Qing Dynasties": "Who is the treasure seal? The Son of Heaven admires it, so it is believed. This means that the treasure seal, like the emperor's "identity card" or "official seal", represents authority and integrity.
The well-known "Twenty-five Treasures of the Qing Dynasty" is the general name of the 25 imperial national treasures appointed by Emperor Qianlong to represent the state power.
In addition to the "official seals" such as the "Twenty-five Treasures of the Qing Dynasty", the emperor also had exclusive seals for private use, which were divided into various types such as palace seals and collection seals.
The quadripartite seals on display this time are all palace seals, which were specially made by Emperor Qianlong for the summer resort. They are as famous as the "Summer Resort" plaque inscribed by Emperor Kangxi himself, witnessing the historical relationship between the Summer Resort and the Forbidden City.
"From the use of materials to the workmanship, the Sifang seal embodies the majesty of the royal family everywhere, which can be described as the 'top match' in the Qing Dynasty seal." Li Jianhong said.
In terms of size and inscription, the square seal is square, with the smallest side being 5.7 cm long, the largest side being 12.8 cm, and the other two being 10.7 cm and 11.8 cm respectively. Each seal has a custom-made rosewood crate. Among them, the three party seals are "Summer Resort" and one side is "Treasure of Summer Resort", all of which are in Yangwen seal style, and the glyphs are rigorous and standardized, reflecting the significant characteristics of the palace seal.
From the point of view of material and shape, the Sifang seal has three jasper and one green jade, all of which are high-quality jade materials, and the workmanship is exquisite. Three of them are orthodox double-headed dragon buttons, and one side is the double-headed dragon buttons commonly used by the emperor to make seals. There are holes in the button, tied with a bright yellow ribbon, which sets off the preciousness of the seal.
Among the four seals, one of the seal pads is obviously higher than the other three parties, and there are inscriptions on the side of the seal pads, which are engraved with the Qianlong Emperor's "Summer Resort Hundred Rhyme Poems". The rosewood box where the seal is stored is also engraved with Emperor Qianlong's "Hundred Rhymes of the Summer Resort", which explains the reason why the Kangxi Emperor built the summer resort - "not for one's own Yu Tour, but for the creation of the eternal world", and admonished his children, grandchildren and courtiers to "Heaven is strong, and the gentleman is constantly striving for self-improvement".
Due to the incomplete historical data, it is difficult to verify the exact production date of most Qing Dynasty seals, and the approximate period can only be judged through the imperial seals.
The seals of the emperors of the Qing Dynasty have a seal spectrum, called "Baoxu". Later generations referred to the Qianlong Baoxu when the seal of the Sifang "Summer Resort" was made, which recorded the seal of the "Summer Resort" Sifang seal, while there was no relevant record in the seal of other emperors of the Qing Dynasty.
Where are these seals used?
Today, in the collection of the Palace Museum, we can see the inscription of "Summer Resort" in the calligraphy and painting works such as "Hongli Re-imitation of Ni Zan Lion Forest Scroll" and "Hongli Summer Resort Yanyu Building Picture Scroll".
These seals and inscriptions record the deep roots of the Forbidden City and the summer resort, a "winter palace" and a "summer palace" in the long history.
On July 6th, the treasure of the "Summer Resort" of Jasper Jiaolongniu was exhibited at the "Xi Wu Chongwen - Summer Resort Treasure Seal Exhibition" held in Chengde Summer Resort.
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Imperial "traces" all over the lodge
In addition to the seals from the Palace Museum, the Summer Resort Museum also has five seals, namely the "Four Knowledgeable Books" seal, the "Smoke and Waves Zhishuang" seal, the "Wenjin Pavilion Treasure" seal, the "Yanxun Mountain Pavilion Treasure" seal and the "Summer Resort Qinzheng Palace Treasure" seal.
These five seals were originally hidden in the five important halls in the summer resort.
Although there are only five existing seals in the summer resort, if you count the many plaques, inscriptions, couplets, calligraphy and painting on the seals, you will find that the "traces" left by the emperors of the Qing Dynasty in the summer resort are everywhere.
In the 80s of the 20th century, Feng Chunjiang, a researcher of the seal of the summer resort, edited the book "Annotation of the Seal of the Summer Resort of the Qing Emperor" according to the historical materials of the Qing Dynasty such as "Qianlong Baoxu". Some of the seals recorded in the book have not been handed down, and this book has become an important source for understanding the seals of the summer resort today.
According to the "Annotations on the Inscriptions of the Qing Emperor's Summer Resort", the summer resort left the seals of four Qing emperors, namely Kangxi, Qianlong, Jiaqing and Xianfeng.
Among them, Emperor Qianlong inscribed the most steles, plaques and couplets in the summer resort. He carved more than 1,800 square seals in his life, and there are more than 120 relevant seals preserved in the summer resort, including more than 30 "Qianlong imperial pens".
Combing through the seals of these emperors in the summer resort, you will find some seals with unique shapes and functions.
Emperor Kangxi and the summer resort related to the seal of a total of five parties, one of the "body yuan master" seal, is a rare circular shape in the seal, very special. "Tiyuan Master" is the name of Emperor Kangxi, and this seal appears in the "Records of the Imperial Summer Resort of the Holy Ancestor" written in the 56th year of Kangxi (1717).
There is a "Qian" with a gossip pattern above the four-character seal inscription of "Tiyuan Master", and below is the "Kun" with a gossip pattern, and there is a dragon pattern on each side, and the dragon head is facing one up and down. From the content to the pattern design, the inscription has a deep connotation, and the Kangxi Emperor used this to show his ambition to be a Ming monarch who conforms to the will of heaven and implements moral politics.
Emperor Qianlong also has a unique seal, to be precise, two seals. In the "Annotation on the Seal of the Summer Resort of the Qing Emperor", the seal of these two seals is recorded.
The circular seal is the symbol of "Qian" in the Bagua, representing the sky, and it also happens to be the word "Qian" of Qianlong. There are two dragons on both sides, the seal carving lines are smooth, and the two dragons appear vivid and lively.
The square seal is the word "Long" in the seal body. "Long" has the meaning of prosperity and grandeur. There are also two dragons on both sides of the word "Long", which are not as unrestrained as the former, and are more regular and serious.
Together, the two seals are the word "Qianlong".
This "Qianlong" inscription coexists in 6 places in the summer resort and the outer eight temples, including the red sandalwood cabinet of the Jingcheng Hall of the summer resort, the couplet of the Mahayana Pavilion of Puning Temple and the Daxiong Treasure Palace, and the stone tablet of the temple of Putuo Zongcheng "Tuerhut All Returns to Shunji".
In addition to some unique shapes, there are also some unique seals in the summer resort, such as the "Wenjin Pavilion Treasure" seal.
"Wenjin Pavilion Treasure" seal is made of green jade, and the seal is a double-headed dragon button, and there is a bright yellow ribbon decoration on the button.
Wenjin Pavilion is a library of summer resorts. Emperor Qianlong built seven library buildings in order to collect the "Four Library Books", and Wenjin Pavilion was one of them.
Each volume of the "Four Libraries Quanshu" collected by Wenjin Pavilion is printed with "Wenjin Pavilion Treasure". From this point of view, the seal of "Wenjin Gebao" is similar to the "book stamp" of the library.
On July 6, the "Xi Wu Chongwen - Summer Resort Treasure Seal Exhibition" held in Chengde Summer Resort exhibited the green jade double claw button "Summer Resort" seal.
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Historical testimony "with feelings".
In addition to the production process of "top matching", many seals in the summer resort are also "emotional", and they reflect the character and thoughts of the Qing emperor. There are also seals that have become witnesses to many important historical events.
On July 6th, in the permanent exhibition hall of the palace area of the summer resort, the exhibition hall of the cultural relics "hanging screen" of the jade carving couplet "Qing Qianlong red sandalwood edge inlaid jade character hanging screen", there was an endless stream of visitors.
The upper part of this couplet is "Fan Li Yan Dai Yue", and the lower couplet is "Changyang Praise Shen Gao". There are three jade medals on the couplet, and an oval chapter is at the beginning of the couplet, which is "De Rixin". There are two square corner stamps in the signing position, which are "Yu Ri Zizi" and "Treasure of the Ancient Son of Heaven".
"Virtue and renewal" and "still diligent" are the Qianlong Emperor, who is past his prime, encouraging himself to improve his good moral character every day, be diligent in government affairs, work tirelessly, and work hard.
"This kind of inscription is more like the emperor's 'motto', which is usually an implicit expression of encouragement and hope." Li Jianhong said.
Emperor Qianlong's imperial seals also include "respect for victory", "self-improvement", "treasures and virtuous", etc., all of which are reminded of himself to defeat laziness, strive for self-improvement, and cherish virtuous people.
There is also a seal, which records the happiness of the fifth emperor of Qianlong in the same hall - the seal of "Five Blessings and Five Generations of Tang Ancient Rare Heavenly Son Treasure".
In the forty-ninth year of Qianlong (1784), the 74-year-old Qianlong Emperor was happy to have a great-great-grandson, and the fifth generation was in the same house. Three years later, the 77-year-old Qianlong Emperor hung the plaque of "Wufu Wudaitang" in the summer resort with the imperial inscription "Wufu Wudaitang" in the East Palace of the summer resort, and at the same time engraved the seal of "Wufu Wudaitang Ancient Rare Heavenly Son Treasure".
Nowadays, we can also find the only remaining inscription of "Wufu Wudaitang Ancient Rare Son of Heaven" on the plaque of the Sizhi Book House in the summer resort.
The seal records not only self-encouragement and family life, but also fierce court struggles.
The two seals left by Emperor Xianfeng, who died in the summer resort, witnessed the power struggle in the late Qing court.
In the summer of the eleventh year of Xianfeng (1861), Emperor Xianfeng left three edicts before his death: first, he established the six-year-old Zaichun as the crown prince; the second is to appoint Zaiyuan and other eight ministers as the eight ministers of Zanxiang; The third is to give the Empress Ci'an the "Imperial Reward" seal, and the crown prince Zaichun "Tongdaotang" seal, and stipulate that all future decrees must use these two seals as evidence.
After Zaichun succeeded to the throne, due to his young age, the seal of "Tongdaotang" was controlled by his biological mother Cixi, who used the seal on his behalf. However, after a series of palace struggles, Cixi finally controlled the right to use the seals of the "Tongdaotang" and "Imperial Reward".
The seals of the "Tongdaotang" and the "Imperial Reward" have also witnessed the signing of a number of treaties that humiliate the country in the history since then.
Why are some of the seals related to the summer resort stored in the summer resort and some in the Palace Museum?
In 1913, some people of insight called for the centralized protection and management of the treasures of the Qing Palace and displayed them. The Beiyang government decided to build the Baoyun Building in the Xihua Gate of the Forbidden City to preserve the cultural relics of the Chengde Summer Resort and the Shenyang Forbidden City. Since then, a large number of cultural relics, including the seal of the summer resort, have been shipped to Beijing. In 1925, the Palace Museum was established, and these cultural relics were stored in it.
More than 200 years have passed, and today we can still see these seals through the clouds of history and feel the vivid stories hidden behind them. (Hebei Daily reporter Li Dongyun)
Related
What is the "long" of the five-party seal hidden in the summer resort
On July 6th, at the "Xi Wu Chongwen - Summer Resort Treasure Seal Exhibition" held in Chengde Summer Resort, several tourists were attracted by the seal of "Summer Resort". Photo by reporter Li Dongyun
The Chengde Summer Resort Museum has a collection of five seals, namely the "Sizhi Book House" seal, the "Smoke Wave Zhishuang" seal, the "Summer Resort Qinzheng Palace Treasure" seal, the "Yanxun Mountain Pavilion Treasure" seal, and the "Wenjin Pavilion Treasure" seal. Since they are not currently on display, many visitors are curious about what they "look like".
"Sizhi Book House" print, 7 cm high, 9.5 cm long on the side of the printing surface, 3 cm thick on the printing pad.
Sizhi Book House is an important building in the palace area of the summer resort, the Kangxi Emperor had the title "Yi Qing Kuang", and the title of "Sizhi Book House" was added in the 51st year of Qianlong (1786). This is the place where the Qing emperor changed his clothes and rested and met with important officials.
"Sizhi Book House" seal, is the Qianlong Emperor inscription "Si Zhi Shuwu" plaque carved after the white jade seal, exquisite carving, the seal is a double-headed dragon button, the seal is the Yang text seal.
"Four Knowledge" originates from "The Gentleman Knows the Subtle, Knows the Manifest, Knows the Soft, and Knows the Rigid" in the "I Ching · System Words".
In addition to the existing seals, experts deduce from the seals that there are several seals related to the "Four Knowledgeable Books". One side is rectangular, the printing surface is smaller than this side, and the inscription is also "Sizhi Shuwu"; There is also a group of two small seals, the inscriptions are "know the micro and know the zhang" and "know the soft and know the rigid".
"Smoke wave to cool" print, 10 cm high, 12.7 cm long on the side of the printing surface, 4.7 cm thick on the printing pad.
The seal is made of jasper, double-headed dragon buttons, tied with bright yellow ribbons, and the seal is Yangwen seal body, which is engraved in the Qianlong period.
Yanbo Zhishuang Hall is the sleeping palace of the Qing Emperor in the summer resort, and it is also the place where the Xinyou coup d'état took place. The four emperors of the Qing Dynasty, Kangxi, Qianlong, Jiaqing, and Xianfeng, all lived in the Yanbo Zhishuang Palace.
"Summer Resort Diligent Government Palace" seal, 10.5 cm high, 13 cm long on the side of the print. This seal is made of blue jade, double-headed dragon buttons, and the seal is Yangwen seal style, which is engraved in the Qianlong period.
Qinzheng Palace is a building group in the Dehui Gate of the summer resort, because many royal gardens in Beijing have built Qinzheng Palace, such as Jingyi Garden, Qingyi Garden, Yuanmingyuan, etc., so the inscription adds the words "Summer Resort" before "Qinzheng Palace" to show the difference.
"The Treasure of Yanxun Mountain Pavilion" seal, 10 centimeters high, 12.6 centimeters long on the side of the printing surface, 5 centimeters thick on the printing pad, is a green jade seal, the seal is a double-headed dragon button, the seal is the Yangwen seal book "The Treasure of the Yanxun Mountain Pavilion", engraved for the Qianlong period.
Yanxun Mountain Pavilion was once the office place for the emperor to review the medals and meet with the princes and ministers. "Yanxun" refers to the continuous blowing of the aroma of flowers and plants. "Mountain Pavilion" refers to this hall without carving, and has the wild interest of the annex of the Mountain Wild Library.
"Wenjin Pavilion Treasure" seal, 9.5 cm high, 9.6 cm long on the side of the printing surface, 4.7 cm thick on the ink pad, green jade material, double-headed dragon button, the seal is Yangwen seal.
Wenjin Pavilion is a library pavilion that stores the "Four Libraries of the Whole Book" in the summer resort, which was built in the 39th year of Qianlong (1774) and completed in the 40th year of Qianlong (1775).
Text/Hebei Daily reporter Li Dongyun
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