An imperially inscribed kesi silk 'Gengzhi tu' panel, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period | 清乾隆 緙絲御製詩耕織圖

Collection of Dr Wou Kiuan (1910-1997).

Wou Lien-Pai Museum, coll. no. P49.

吳權博士（1910-1997）收藏

吳蓮伯博物院，編號P49

This vibrant panel, depicting various agricultural scenes commonly known such as the Gengzhi tu, is an impressive example of kesi tapestry, a technique in Chinese silk manufacturing that entails the intricate weaving by hand of decorative designs and brocades, sacred iconography or calligraphy. Originally compiled by the Southern Song (1127-1279) official Lou Shou in 1145, the Gengzhi tu [Pictures of Tilling and Weaving] is an illustration of the different stages of agriculture and sericulture, used as reference material to farming. It was also conceived as a metaphor for a prosperous, ordered society under a magnanimous and benevolent ruler. In the Qing dynasty (1644-1911), this was further developed into an important subject to glorify the golden age under the justified governance of the Manchus. The Kangxi Emperor (r. 1662-1722) commissioned a painted version that became very famous and served as the blueprint for most later illustrations of the theme, Yuzhi gengzhi tu of 1696, preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing. The Qianlong Emperor (r. 1736-95) commissioned another version of this series of illustrations accompanied by his own poems, and in 1769 also the carving of the scenes on forty-eight stone slabs. These steles were then erected in the Yuanmingyuan summer palace; many of which are now destroyed, but two scrolls with ink rubbings of the scenes are known.

The two verses inscribed in gilt on this panel is recorded in Yuzhi leshantang quanji dingben [Definitive edition of the complete works by His Majesty from the Hall of Pleasure in Goodness], vol. 25, p. 11, and Qinding shoushi tongkao [Comprehensive treatises to instruct (the people) during all seasons], Siku quanshu [The Complete Library in Four Sections], vol. 52, p. 48, and can be translated as follows:

The harvest is flat and solid like an earthen wall;

Piled in open air into a small hill, it is most appealing.

Diligent women and children compete to thresh the grain;

A thousand families together make rhythmic music.

Suffering calluses together in the southern fields,

They hope to escape hunger during the New Year.

As the stone mill turns, the grains gleam like pearls;

Every family will be well-fed, joyous and at peace.

Compare a similar panel in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Zhongguo meishu quanji, gongyi meishi bian [The Complete Works of Chinese Art, Crafts], 7, Beijing, 1987, pl. 174; another imperially inscribed kesi panel sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 29th/30th September 1992, lot 960; and a third example, offered in our Hong Kong rooms, 3rd May 1994, lot 357.