Lot 601
  • 601

AN IMPORTANT IMPERIAL INSCRIBED KHOTAN-GREEN JADE BOOK OF 'SHAN YIN ZHEN MIAN' YUTI MARK AND PERIOD OF QIANLONG, DATED TO THE RENYIN YEAR (CORRESPONDING TO 1782)

Estimate
6,000,000 - 8,000,000 HKD
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Description

THIS IS A PREMIUM LOT.   CLIENTS WHO WISH TO BID ON PREMIUM LOTS ARE REQUESTED TO COMPLETE THE PREMIUM LOT PRE-REGISTRATION 3 WORKING DAYS PRIOR TO THE SALE.




comprising four thin jade plaques of rectangular form, the Khotan green jade of translucent deep sea-green tone, the cover plate delicately incised in gilt with a pair of ferocious dragons in mutual pursuit of a single 'flaming pearl' amid swirling clouds and above crashing waves, flanking a cartouche inscribed with the four-character title Shan Yin Zhen Mian, the back cover decorated with further billowing cloud swirls, the second side incised with the two characters Shan Yin, and the third side with the remaining characters Zhen Mian, the remaining sides neatly incised in gilt with four columns of characters in Qianlong's calligraphy, the characters written in xingshu, ending with the date 'Renyin qiu yuti', followed by two seals 'gu xi tian zi zhi bao'  and 'you ri zi zi'  

Catalogue Note

Shanyin zhenmian - Qianlong's Eulogy to the Lantingxu
Guo Fuxiang
Associate Researcher, Department of Palace History
The Palace Museum, Beijing

Among the many works of art pieces offered at Sotheby’s Hong Kong sale this Spring there is an imperial jade book comprising of four jade plaques. Each side of the four plaques is delicately carved with illustrations and calligraphy in gilt. On the upper part of the front page of the book there is a rectangular frame bearing the title Shanyin zhenmian in li shu (clerical script). The sides of the plaques are decorated with the design of dragons amongst waves. The back page of the book is incised with two large characters shanyin, while the two characters zhenmian are incised on the second page of the jade book. Four seven-character-line poems are inscribed on the second, third and fourth pages. At the end of the poems, the cyclical date 'the Spring of renyin' is written in the hand of the Qianlong Emperor, followed by two seals 'Rare Treasure of the Emperor' and 'Diligence at All Times'. The last page is covered with the cloud design. Apart from the title, all characters are copied after the Qianlong Emperor’s handwriting. During the Qianlong period calligraphy and poems found on jade books can be divided into three categories: those of the Qianlong emperor; those of the princes’; and those of high ranking officials. Jade books bearing the Qianlong emperor’s poems are of the most superior quality as can be seen from the present piece. The Four Volumes of Imperial Poems of Gaozhong of the Qing Dynasty contain the four poems found in this jade book with the title Zhao Mengjian luoshui Lanting. It is evident that the present jade book was made after the Qianlong emperor’s appreciation of the famous calligraphy by Wang Xizhi Lanting xu (Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion).

In the late Spring of the 9th year of Emperor Mu of the Jin dynasty, Wang Xizhi, Xie An and others, in total forty-one renowned scholars, held a cleansing ceremony at Lanting in Shanyin of Huiji (present Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province). After the ceremony, the group sat by the river, drank wine, read literature and wrote poems next to the flowing water. The weather was fine and there was a gentle breeze. The scholars chatted heartedly. Wang Xizhi, in high spirit from drinking wine, wrote a prelude to the poems written by the others. His prelude became what was later called ’the earliest poem under heaven’. Wang Xizhi’s Lanting xu was later kept by the Tang emperor, Taizong, in his palace. After having obtained Lanting xu, the Tang emperor ordered many well known calligraphers to copy the work, and gave the copies as present to his relatives, nobles and subordinates. He even ordered to have it carved on a stone that was placed in the Imperial Academy. It is said that the Lanting xu was buried in Shaoling together with the possessions of the emperor when he died. The original copy of the Lanting xu has never been found, and at present we can only see later copies of this masterpiece. Later copies of the Lanting xu belong to two catagories; those after the Tang dynasty copies and those copying stone rubbings.

Among the stone rubbings, the best known one is the Dingwu Lanting xu. It is said that this version was copied and carved on a stone from the original calligraphy of the great calligrapher Ouyang Xun of the early Tang dynasty. In the last year of Shijin’s reign of the Five Dynasties, the Xiedan tribe invaded and captured Bianliang (present Kaifeng of Henan Province), and the stele carved with the Lanting xu was taken away to the north. Amidst the confusion caused by the death of the tribe leader, the stele got lost while the Xiedan were crossing Dingzhou of Hebei Province. It was later found by a man called Li Xuejiu, of Dingzhou, during the reign of Qing Li of the Northern Song period. Because the stele was recovered at Dingzhou it was re-named Dingwu Lanting. Later the stele was confiscated and kept in the official storehouse of Dingwu. During Xining’s reign, the governor of Dingwu, Xue Xiang’s son named Xue Shaopeng found the stele in the official storehouse. With the intention of keeping it for himself, he ordered the making of a copy to replace the original stele. It is said that the original stele of Dingwu Lanting was presented to Emperor Hui Zong of the Song dynasty, who was fond of paintings and calligraphy, and was kept in the Xuanhe Hall. After the Jin conquered the Song dynasty, the stele was possibly taken to the north and never seen again. When Xue Shaopeng found the original stele in the storerooms, in order to distinguish lithographed copies from the original, he intensionally damaged five characters - duan, liu, dai, you, and tian - on the original stele. Hence, Dingwu Lanting has two existing versions: one version is the copy that includes the five characters and the other is the damaged version without the five characters.

Among the documentary records of the various kinds of Dingwu Lanting, the Zhao Mengjian luoshui Lanting has possibly the most extraordinary story behind it. Zhao Mengjian was a famous Song painter and a collector of curio, antiques, calligraphy and paintings. He especially worshipped Wang Xizhi’s Lanting xu. By chance, he saw a copy of the Lanting xu, that included the original five characters, at his friend’s house and thought it a rare treasure. After 13 years of hard work he was finally able to purchase it at a very high price. On his way home his boat was enwrapped in a storm but he managed to save his prized copy which he hurriedly grasped from the river and got it dried in a nearby temple. Although the water stained the paper, fortunately the damage was minimal. From this story, we can see how much this work meant to Zhao Mengjian. Later, Zhao’s copy was called Luoshui Lanting. To this day it is considered the most precious copy amongst all the lithographed copies of Dingwu Lanting.

The reason of my detailed introduction of the Lanting xu, the Dingwu Lanting and the Luoshui Lanting will become evident when I explain how these three versions are related to the present jade book Shanyin zhenmian.

The Qianlong Emperor had great interest in calligraphy and rarities, and had a very high esteem for the Lanting xu. In the 44th year of his reign, he took all the copies of Lanting xu – copies by Tang dynasty calligraphers such as Yu Shinan, Chu Suiliang, and Feng Chengsu – the poem of Lanting written by Liu Gongquan, and the copy written by Dong Qichang, together with his own poems and had them compiled into eight volumes. He ordered the imperial stone masons to carve them on steles and named it Lanting ba zhu (The Eight Pillars of Lanting). This was the greatest compilation work done for all the copies of Lanting xu in the Palace. However, the frequently mentioned copy of the Dingwu Lanting was missing from Qianlong’s Lanting ba zhu because at the time there wasn't a genuine copy in the Palace collection. This was a great regret to the emperor. In the fall of the 47th year of his reign (equivalent to 1782 A.D.) a copy of the Lanting xu was presented to the Emperor. On close inspection, to his surprise, the emperor discovered that this was Zhao Mengjian’s Luoshui Lanting. Thus the emperor’s collection of Lanting xu was now complete. He had the collection copied on jade and wrote the title in four large characters Shanyin zhenmian. Furthermore, he wrote four poems in praise of the collection and ordered Palace artists to carve the title and the poems on jade plaques and make the jade book Shanyin zhenmian.

When was the present jade book made? According to the custom of work order in the Palace workshop, jade books were made by first copying the text on stone in order to ensure that the characters are exact imitations of the original. Artists then transcribed their work on to jade and started making the jade book. When the emperor completed his calligraphy, it was sent to the printers for mounting. In this case, the mounting was done together with the original Luoshui Lanting. Thus the mounting of the emperor’s calligraphy together with the original Luoshui Lanting preceded the making of the jade book. Palace archival records show that a Neiwufu official called Lu Jinzhong handed in a scroll of the Zhao Mengjian luoshui Lanting to be delivered to the Ruyi Hall. The mounting of Qianlong’s calligraphy and the Luoshui Lanting was completed on the 7th  day of the fourth month of the 48th year of Qianlong’s reign. This jade book was therefore made sometime between the fall of the 47th year and the 4th month of the 48th year of the Qianlong reign. This period is considered the peak of imperial jade book making in the Palace workshop.

The material used for making this jade book is smooth and delicate. The carving is extremely fine with a special tool used to gently incise the lines of the dragons, clouds and characters. The workmanship is meticulous and detailed. When the design is completed the process of gilding begins. The beautiful handwriting of the Qianlong emperor appears natural as if it is written directly onto the jade plaque. This jade book vividly shows the grandeur and rich style of the Qianlong period in its artistic design and high technical achievement. The jade book is placed in a gilt-lined case made of nanmu. It is wrapped in a yellow silk brocade with yellow silk cushions placed between the plaques for protection. This type of packaging is also rare.

The title of this jade book Shanyin zhenmian is derived from the emperor’s wish to convey his high regard for the Zhao Mengjian luoshui Lanting. The four characters shanyin zhenmian are taken from a Tang dynasty stele and can be translated as 'the yin or north side of the mountain is the genuine side'. The emperor is possibly referring to the Zhao Mengjian luoshui Lanting as the genuine original work.