AN INSCRIBED 'PRUNUS' WRISTREST MADE FOR TANG YIFEN, QING DYNASTY, JIAQING – DAOGUANG PERIOD

carved on the convex surface with a flowering prunus branch, the right margin with a dedication Yusheng dudu daren jiao zheng ('may Commander-in-chief Yusheng critique and correct'), signed Erqiao Wangyu xie ('written by Erqiao Wangyu') and Shousheng ke ('carved by Shousheng') followed by seals of the writer and carver, respectively Erqiao and Erzhi, further incised with poetic verses terminating in Yushengti ('written by Yusheng') with a seal, Yusheng, the underside of the wristrest engraved with a seal reading Wushi zhencang ('treasured collection of the Wu family')

The poem may be freely translated as such:
     
Moonlight so bright its frosty traces form layers,
And so lights the stream it casts moon shadows aslant.
In lonely mountains lives Reclusive Scholar Lin,
His cottage encircled by plum blossoms without end.

'Reclusive Scholar Lin’ refers to Lin Bu (967-1028), personal name Junfu, a native of Qiantang, a famous poet known for his finely crafted regulated verses. He was also known for his passion for plum blossoms. The poetic inscriptions here make allusions to the poem Shanyuan xiaomei (“Little Plums in a Mountain Garden”) written by Lin Bu.

The current wristrest was made as a gift for Tang Yifen (1778-1853), sobriquet Yusheng ('Rain Life'), who became a vice-general known by his title Dudu ('Commander-in-chief'). When Taiping rebels sacked Nanjing, Tang committed suicide to show his loyalty to the Qing court and was given the posthumous title Zhenmin ('loyalty and grief') by the Xianfeng Emperor. Tang’s biography is included in the Qing shigao ['Draft history of the Qing dynasty'], vol. 399.

Wang Yu (dates unknown), personal Erqiao, is mentioned in Guangxu Guian xian zhi ('Local Gazettes of Gui'an Composed in the Era of Emperor Guangxu'), vol. 37, as a contemporary of the artist Xi Yi (1771-1854), and a recognised painter, poet and calligrapher. Chen Shousheng (1779-1828), sobriquet Shousheng ('Receiving a Wind-Pipe'), a native of Haining of Zhejiang Province, was a poet and painter known for his calligraphy and seal carving. This wristrest would likely have been made in the early 19th century while Tang and both artists were alive, with 1828 as the latest possible date.