AN IMPORTANT IMPERIAL WHITE JADE 'ZIQIANG BUXI' SEAL QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD

of square form, surmounted by a ferocious dragon powerfully worked in meticulous precision with bulging eyes and flaring nostrils above long curling whiskers, the scaly, tightly coiled body depicted crouching on its haunches with a 'flaming pearl' below its jaws and surrounded by dense cloud swirls, the scales and flowing mane finely incised with its long tail coiled on its rear left side, the seal face deeply and crisply carved with the characters Ziqiang buxi ('[The gentleman] never ceases to improve himself'), the translucent white stone of an even colour with natural veining

A private European collection, acquired in the 1960s, thence by descent.
Bonhams London, 11th November 2010, lot 55.

The overall condition is otherwise extremely good. The extremities have some expected minute bruises and nibbles, with a few tiny reticulated areas appear to have very slightly polished.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The Qianlong Emperor’s White Jade Imperial Seal Reading Ziqiang buxi 
Guo Fuxiang

An important characteristic of the Qianlong Emperor’s imperial seals is that he had multiple seals of various materials bearing the same inscriptions. In particular, Ziqiang buxi ([The gentleman] never ceases to improve himself) is one of his favourite seal inscriptions. At least 45 of his seals bear this phrase,¹ including the current lot on offer at Sotheby’s. The present seal is worked from white jade, with a coiled dragon on top and the four characters reading Ziqiang buxi incised in seal script on the seal face. The seal originally belonged to a set of three seals, alongside one reading Yanchun ge (Pavilion of Prolonged Spring) and another reading Bazhengmao nian (Eighty-Year-Old Man Mindful of the Eighth Principle). This set is clearly documented in the Qianlong Baoshu (fig. 1).

The Qianlong Emperor carefully orchestrated the significant events of his life—including his 70th birthday in 1780, the birth of his great-great-grandson in 1784, his 80th birthday in 1790 and his abdication from the throne to become Emperor Emeritus in 1795—and left a great amount of material evidence and textual documentation of them. As products of these special moments and a reflection of his state of mind, his imperial seals deserve our attention. The present Ziqiang buxi seal is an artefact of the Qianlong Emperor 80th birthday celebrations.

His 80th birthday coincided with the 55th year of his reign. He regarded this as a highly auspicious event and a sign of heavenly blessing, one requiring a major celebration. A year beforehand, on the Mid-Autumn Festival in 1789,  he had already begun planning the festivities, including the consideration of what tribute he would receive from the various provinces and vassal states, in addition to the venue and scale of their presentation. The manufacture of seals was an indispensable part of these festivities.

The Qianlong Emperor focused his attention on the important Confucian classic Shangshu [The Most Venerable Books]. According to the Hongfan [The Great Plan] chapter of Shangshu, after King Wu conquered the Shang, he sought Qizi’s instruction on the way of heaven. Qizi responded with nine principles of emperorship, the eighth being Nianyong shuzheng ('Think as do the common people'), which was consistent with the Qianlong Emperor’s own populist ideas ideology. He thus ordered seals made with the phrase Bazhengmao nian zhi bao (Treasure of the Eighty-Year-Old Man Mindful of the Eighth Principle 'The Seal of the Eighty-Year-Old Man Mindful of the Eighth Principle'). As he explained in his record of this seal, he found resonance between his eightieth birthday and the eighth principle. The seal did not only commemorate his age, it but also reminded him not to neglect the well-being of the common people. The earliest Bazhengmao nian zhi bao seal was made in the winter of 1789 and first used in the spring of the following year.

Bazhengmao nian zhi bao was a primary seal in sets that also included a secondary seal reading Ziqiang buxi (Self-Strengthening Never Ceases). The latter phrase is an excerpted from a famous line in the Book of Changes, another important Confucian classic: “As heaven’s movement is ever vigorous, so must a gentleman ceaselessly strive along.” How did the Qianlong Emperor arrive at the pairing of these phrases? As he explained, he  had habitually used secondary seals with self-admonitory texts, and he had meant for Ziqiang buxi to be a reminder for himself to persevere in his duties as Emperor and in his concern for his subjects. Elsewhere he also expressed that being a good ruler was constantly taxing. One can thus sense in the Ziqiang buxi seal both self-encouragement and the melancholy of an elderly man aware of his limitations.

After deciding on the pairing of the Bazhengmao nian zhi bao and Ziqiang buxi seals in 1789, Qianlong he began to order their large-scale reproduction. As many as 140 imperial seals in sets featuring bearing the phrase Bazhengmao nian zhi bao were created without interruption between the winter of 1789 and 1794. The current lot dates from this period and is well documented in court records.

According to an entry in the records of the Workshops of the Imperial Household Department, in the winter of 1792-3, Qianlong ordered the imperial workshops in Suzhou to create three seals from white jade: a frontispiece seal reading Yanchun ge and two seals reading respectively Baozhengmao nian zhi bao and Ziqiang buxi. The workshops returned the completed seals to the court in the summer of 1793.² This entry gives us three pieces of information:

First, the present Ziqiang buxi seal was created in Suzhou during the first half of 1793.

Second, it was part of a set of three, a common format in his imperial seals commemorating his 80th birthday. Moreover, the workshop records clearly indicate the material as "white jade".

Third, the seal was intended for and initially housed in the Yanchunge palace, as indicated by the frontispiece seal bearing the latter’s name. Yanchunge was one of the primary structures in the Palace of Established Happiness on the western side of the Forbidden City. Constructed in 1742, it was a rectangular three-storey pavilion with a two-storey façade. It was thoughtfully designed and furnished, and featured a complex interplay between the different storeys. Consequently it was known as the “mystery pavilion.” The Qianlong Emperor stored many of his treasures here, including the present Ziqiang buxi seal.

After the Jiaqing Emperor ascended the throne (1799), following court precedence he organised the Qianlong Emperor’s imperial seals and consolidated them in storage. The present seal is likely to have been extracted from Yanchun ge during this time and placed in Qianlong’s great treasury. It is not known when it left the palace altogether.

Reflecting the sophistication of high-Qing Suzhou jade craftsmen, the dragon sculpture on this seal is very intricate, and the carving of the text is fluent, confident, and orderly.

¹ Guo Fuxiang, Ming Qing di hou xiyin [Imperial seals of the Ming and Qing dynasties], Beijing, 2003, p. 154.
² ‘Official communications’, in the twelfth month, 57th year of Qianlong, First Historical Archives of China and Art Museum of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, eds., Qinggong Neiwufu Zaobanchu huoji dang’an zonghui [Documents in the Archives of the Workshop of the Qing Palace Imperial Household Department], Beijing, 2005, vol. 53, p. 128.