A SUPERB AND RARE CARVED JADE BOOK OF THE SIXTEEN LOHAN, AFTER DING GUAN PENG QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD

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comprising eight rectangular jade plaques of translucent celadon-white tone, the nanmu softwood covers finely carved with scrolling lotus blooms, the front cover inscribed with the title Yu Zhi Shiliu Lohan zan in deep blue, the jade plaques finely incised in meticulous detail and gilt with the sixteen Lohan, each side with a figure of a Lohan accompanied by a four-column inscription written in caoshu, the front page with the Buddha seated on an elaborate lotus pedestal, and the back page with a heavenly guardian rising up above billowing clouds, the endsheets with a ferocious dragon amid swirling clouds, all carefully bound and framed within finely pencilled gilt borders of feathery acanthus and lotus scrolls against a deep blue ground, with its original folding hard-board brocade box

From the Collection of Cornelius J. Hauck. 

The Qianlong Imperial Poem in Praise of the Sixteen Lohan Celadon Jade Book
Guo Fuxiang
Associate Researcher, Department of Palace History
The Palace Museum, Beijing

During the Qianlong period, the making of jade books entered an era of unprecedented development. This was due to the emperor’s initiative and interest and to the sudden increase in the supply of raw material. However, the majority of jade books produced at the time were poetry books with few of them carved with illustrations. This was possibly due to fact that it was very difficult to incise vividly the superb and delicate inner rhythm of paintings on a material like jade. It is therefore extremely rare to find jade books such as the one offered at Sotheby's Hong Kong with the title Yuzhi shiliu lohan zan’ (Imperial Poem in Praise of the Sixteen Lohan).

The present jade book comprises of eight jade plaques with each plaque incised with an image of a lohan and an inscription of Qianlong’s poem. In total there are sixteen images and imperial poems. The eight jade plaques are bound together to form a book. Each plaque forms a page in the book. To make the jade book, first a piece of thick board is cut in the middle according to the size of the jade plaque, then the jade plaque is inserted into the board. Around the jade plaque, a china green colored paper is pasted, on which very fine palm tree leaves and lily flowers are hand-painted with gold and silver powder. All the inner lines of the front and back of the jade book are   mounted with the china green color paper with hand painted clouds and dragons. The upper and lower sides of the plaques are decorated with sandalwood carved with branches of flowers. In the centre of the flower branches, inside the frame of the rectangular jade green plaque the seven-character title Yuzhi shiliu lohan zan is inscribed in lishu (clerical script). The whole jade book is placed in a hexagonal shaped case of yellow brocade with six sides in blue color decorated with red shou design. The case is of six-fold, but the exterior shape does not betray it being a 'hexagonal case'. The opening of the case is formed into a shape of the character 'ten thousand'. When closing the case, all lines are precisely allined. From the mounting technique used and its decoration the present jade book is a typical example of imperial jade books made in the Palace workshops.

The poems inscribed in this book are compiled in the 30^th volume of the Qing Gaozong yuzhi wen chuji (Collection of Imperial Poems by Gaozong of the Qing Dynasty). The original title of these poems is Ding Guanpeng hua shiliu yinzheng (In Praise of the Drawings of the Sixteen Yinzhen by Ding Guanpeng). Yinzhen are the same as lohan. It is evident that the Qianlong emperor’s poems were written in praise of Ding Guanpeng’s drawings of the sixteen lohan. Ding Guanpeng was a famous figure painter of the Qing dynasty from Shuntian (present Beijing). He was especially skilled in painting Daoist and Buddhist figures in the Song narrative painting style. He studied the technique of Ming dynasty painter Ding Yunpeng. He worked in the Gongting hua yuan (Imperial Palace Painting Workshop) for over fifty years and was one of Qianlong’s favourite court artists. During his career in the Palace he gained the support of the Qianlong emperor and produced over eighty paintings such as the Bi dian zhu lin and the Shi Qubao ji. Qianlong often wrote colophons on his paintings, especially on the lohan and Buddha portraits. From this one can see the emperor’s appreciation of Ding’s work.

Lohan is the abridged name of Alohan in Sanskrit, meaning yinzhen (the true being). In the conception of Mahayana of Buddhism, lohan had great wisdom and were on earth to save and help the masses. Buddhism was the state religion during the Qing dynasty, and reached its peak under the reign of the Qianlong emperor. Because of the emperor’s enthusiasm for lohan, various forms of art associated with lohan were produced in the Palace workshops, especially that of paintings. Ding Guanpeng was one of the most famous painters of lohan images. Qianlong often wrote colophons on his paintings which were then copied and incised on jade books. During the last years of Qianlong’s reign, among the tribute offerings by high ranking officials, one could find copies of jade books inscribed with the emperor’s praise of lohan. Qing Palace archival materials show that on the 25^th day of the seventh month of the 59^th year of the Qianlong’s reign, Feng Guangxiong, Governor of Guizhou, sent a jade book titled Imperial Poem in Praise of the Sixteen Lohan. On the 10th day of the twelfths month,  the Governor of Yunan, Fei Chunjin, also sent a jade book with a similar title. This form of jade book appears to have become a frequent tribute gift to the emperor. The Qing Court collection has several sets of jade books in praise of lohan.  

The Qianlong emperor's poems and the images of lohan, as seen in this example, are especially harmonious. It is evident that the emperor wrote his poems after seeing the paintings of the sixteen lohan. Although we are not able to compare this book with the original painting by Ding, it is clear that it reflects the popularity of works depicting images of lohan during the Qianlong period. However, we can compare this jade book with other books of this type. It is worth noting that this book contains both illustration and calligraphy. Because the language of such praise is often rather obscure it is generally written on the painting of the lohan. This way one can understand it more easily. Possibly this is the reason why the present book contains both illustration and calligraphy. Furthermore, the calligraphy is in the emperor’s handwriting. The illustration found in this book is also generously spaced. The front and back lining and the four sides around the frame of the jade plaque on each page is mounted with china green paper. The china green paper is the material frequently used for writing religious books and for mounting paintings in the Palace. The paper  is covered with very fine and delicate patterns and designs all painted by hand with clouds, dragons and Buddha figures. Furthermore, the present jade book is in excellent condition, complete with its mounting and packaging which makes it a rarity among jade books found of the Qianlong period.