AN IMPERIAL CELADON JADE 'ZHI LIANG YONG ZHONG' 'MYTHICAL BEAST' SEAL QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD |

of square section, surmounted by a skilfully worked stylised lion crouching on its four legs and its tail coiled behind, powerfully rendered with bulging eyes above a prominent square jaw, the mane and bushy tail finely detailed with incisions, the seal face worked with a four-character inscription reading Zhi liang yong zhong ('hold to the two aspects, but adopt the objective stand'), the stone of a pale greyish-green colour with white streaks

Acquired by Prosper Bramaud du Boucheron whilst serving as a young naval officer on the French gunboat 'Olry' on the Yangtze river during the early years of the 20th century.
Christie's London, 10th May 2011, lot 88.

In good overall condition with a minor flake to the top right corner of the seal face and minute nibbling to the extremities.
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On the Qianlong Emperor’s Zhi liang yong zhong Jade Seal
Guo Fuxiang The informal seals (xianzhang) of Chinese emperors reflected the characteristics of their times and personalities and were intimately connected to their thoughts and worldviews. The seals were a significant part of Chinese imperial culture. One may say that in many informal seals, the Chinese emperors found a space for intellectual and imaginative freedom. Surviving in great quantity and often as intact sets, the informal seals of the Qing emperors shed important light on their personalities, interests, cultural aspirations, and emotional complexity from various angles. An outstanding example of these precious historical documents is the Qianlong Emperor’s Zhi liang yong zhong ('hold to the two aspects, but adopt the objective stand') jade seal presently on offer at Sotheby’s Hong Kong.

Carved from celadon jade with a lion-shaped knob, this seal measures 5.7 cm in height. The seal face measures 3.8 cm on each side and is carved in relief with the four characters zhi liang yong zhong, which form a phrase translatable as “holding the two extremes and adopting the mean.” In material, size, and text, this seal matches exactly an example recorded in the imperial seal catalogue Qianlong baosou and is without a doubt an authentic Qianlong imperial seal. According to Qianlong baosou, this seal was a yajiao (ending) seal that formed part of a three-seal set with another yajiao seal reading Guxi tianzi and a yinshou (opening) seal reading Jing yi gu Xiang (Hall of the Silent Attainment of Ancient Fragrance) (fig. 1). Since the Emperor began using Guxi tianzi seals only at age 70, the seal on offer must have been made after the 45th year of his reign (1780). Its content and its appearance in a set alike typify Qianlong’s use of imperial seals to express his innermost feelings and thoughts.

Surveying Qianlong’s imperial seals, we see that his reign produced a considerable number of three-seal sets consisting of one yinshou and two yajiao seals. These sets fall generally into two categories. In the first category, the yinshou seal indicates the name of a certain palace and the two yajiao seals are carved with certain poetic lines that explicate the palace’s name.¹ The set in question belongs to this category, as the phrase Jing yi gu xiang is clearly related to the name of a palace. I believe that we can only understand any individual seal in these sets in relationship to the other seals in the set. By the same token, we can only understand the Zhi liang yong zhong seal on offer within the context of its original set, alongside the Jing yi gu xiang and Guxi tianzi seals, and within the context of the Qianlong Emperor’s biography. Therefore, let us now explore the relationship between Qianlong and the phrase Jing yi gu xiang.

According to Guochao gongshi [Court history], compiled during the Qianlong reign, in the western chamber of Yuexindian palace on Qiongdao Island, part of the Xiyuan Garden (now part of Beihai Park), the Emperor could survey the entirety of the Xiyuan Garden and enjoy its beautiful scenery.² The same document records that a plaque reading Jing yi gu xiang hung in the west chamber of Yuexindian. Such plaques often hung in the chambers and halls of Qing imperial palaces to christen them and to set them apart. In other words, the Guochao gongshi record tells us clearly that a chamber named Jingyi Guxiang was located on the west side of Yuexindian.

Also according to Guochao gongshi, Yuexindian was where the Qianlong Emperor handled state affairs during his outings to the Xiyuan Garden. This fact is crucial for understanding the Jingyi Guxiang chamber and the Zhi liang yong zhong seal. Since Yuexindian was a temporary office, the poems that the emperor composed there not only expressed his appreciation for Xiyuan Garden’s scenery but inevitably also bore traces of the important affairs that occupied his mind, including the pacification of the northwest and joyful reports of peace and prosperity from the various provinces. Some of these poems expressed a grand vision of historical vicissitudes and a profound concern for the suffering of ordinary folk. The twofold function of Yuexindian as both a place of leisure and a temporary office explains the phrase zhi liang yong zhong, which relates to Qianlong’s philosophy of rule. 

The phrase Zhi liang yong zhong is derived from Zhongyong [Doctrine of the Mean] chapter in the foundational Confucian classic Book of Rites. Here Confucius argues that the ideal way to rule is to adopt the Doctrine of the Mean (zhongyong zhi dao), that is by avoiding from extremes and maintaining balance and fairness. As the fourth emperor of the Qing dynasty after its conquest of China, Qianlong enjoyed a long reign of six decades and oversaw one of the most prosperous periods in Chinese history. Like other Chinese emperors of the past, Qianlong adhered to the Doctrine of the Mean. During the early period of his reign, he eased the sociopolitical tensions of the late Yongzheng period by reducing harsh policies and alleviating the burden of ordinary people.⁴ Following the Doctrine of the Mean, he based his new policies on the principles of the “politics of the mean” and the “unison between the forgiving and the punitive.”⁵ Thanks in part to his propagation of these principles, his ascendance to the throne was relatively untroubled. Qianlong’s imperial seals often featured mottos related to the notions of the mean and harmony, all reflecting his philosophy of rule. The Zhi liang yong zhong seal on offer is a representative example of these.

As mentioned above, the seal on offer postdates 1780. Stylistically, it is consistent with Qianlong imperial seals of this late period. The knob is in the form of a standing lion with a child-like, non-threatening expression. The seal text is carved in high relief, which corresponds to frequent mentions in late-Qianlong period court records of the emperor’s instructions to his seal carvers to “carve [seals] in extra high relief.” 

Originally part of the same seal set as the present Zhi liang yong zhong seal, the yinshou seal carved with the text Jing yi gu xiang appeared at an auction in Hong Kong in 2013. Highly similar in material, colour, and carving technique, and in the forms of their knobs, the two seals were most likely carved from the same piece of jade.

¹ Guo Fuxiang, Ming Qing dihou xiyin [Imperial seals of the Ming and Qing dynasties], Beijing, 2003, p. 169.
² (Qing dynasty) E'ertai and Zhang Tingyu, eds, Guochao gongshi [Court history], reprint Beijing, 1994, vol. 16.
³ For more about Yuexindian, see ibid. 
⁴ Qing Gaozong shilu [Veritable Records of the Qianlong Reign], vol. 4.
⁵ Ibid., vol. 14.