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| TREASURES OF THE SONS OF HEAVEN | |
The Imperial Collection
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Han to Sung Dynasties (206 v.Chr.—1279
n.Chr.) Whether the first emperor of China, Ch’in Shih-huang-ti, owned an art collection is not known. Emperor Wu-ti (ruled 140–87 B.C.), on whose order Ssu-ma Ch’ien (ca. 145–86 B.C.) wrote the first comprehensive historical work (Shih-chi), collected calligraphy, painting and ancient bronzes, had their authenticity verified and an exhibition hall (Pi-ko) built. Emperor Yüan-ti (ruled 49–33 B.C.) was one of those rulers who is said to have neglected state affairs over his enthusiasm for collecting. Artists in their own right were Emperor Ming-huang (ruled 705–756) and the second ruler of the Sung dynasty (960–1279), Emperor T’ai-tsung (ruled 976–997). The latter had the entire empire searched for paintings and calligraphies of famous masters. Under Emperor Jen-tsung (ruled 1023–1063) the collection comprised only ten antique bronzes. |
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Das National Palace Museums (Taipeh), |
| Emperor Hui-tsung
(ruled 1101–1125) had these searched for country-wide. He was
a poet, painter and calligrapher as well as a collector of calligraphy
and painting. The inventory of paintings, calligraphies and antique
bronzes commissioned by him are the oldest systematic records of the
Imperial Collection preserved; they are partly annotated with measurements
and inscriptions. According to this inventory the collection contained
over 7,000 paintings and calligraphies of which less than 100 pieces
are extant. With the establishment of the Imperial Painting Academy
he promoted contemporary painting and patronized the ceramic production
of Ju ware made to his specifications. The Chin Tatars, who overran
K’ai-feng in 1127 and carried the emperor off, captured the
north of the empire and brought his collection to Peking, where, regardless
of this rich tradition, it was temporarily dispersed on the art market
or into private hands. |
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| Southern Sung to the
Ming Dynasties (1127 – 1644) Emperor Kao-tsung (ruled 1127–1162) of the Southern Sung ordered a search for the lost collection and acquired the recovered masterpieces; some were returned as gifts. The re-establishment of the Imperial Painting Academy and the Imperial Porcelain Factory promoted the contemporary art scene. Emperor Ning-tsung and his son Li-tsung also entered into history as patrons of the arts. When the Southern Sung surrendered to the Mongols in 1279, the collection was transferred to the Yüan court unimpaired by Emperor Shih-tsu (Kublai Khan, ruled 1260–94) where, not much later, an inventory of (among other artworks) over 200 paintings was registered. Emperor Wen-tsung (ruled 1328–29 and 1330–32), himself a painter and calligrapher, acquired additional works and built the exhibition hall K’uei-chang-ko in 1329. He and his mother-in-law, Princess Sen-ge (ca. 1283–1331), had their scrolls appraised by scholars before they stamped them with their collector’s mark. After the Mongols had been ousted, the Imperial Collection came into the possession of the Ming (1368–1644) whose first ruler, Chu Yüan-chang, had the scrolls documented with a half-seal. His successors appointed painters and craftsmen to the court and had paintings, porcelains, lacquers, cloisonné works and religious art produced in large number and of exquisite quality. The Emperors Hsüan-tsung (ruled 1426–35) and Hsien-tsung (ruled 1465–87) added their paintings. Ambassadors and citizens donated works of art to the throne as a token of gratitude, the throne, in turn, bestowed them as a sign of appreciation. Emperor Hsiao-tsung (ruled 1488–1505) had the collection examined and sometime later in the financial crisis it was reduced by melting bronzes into coins and by emergency sales. The reconstruction and extension of the collection took place under the Ch’ing dynasty (1644-1911). |
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| The Imperial
Collection in the Ch’ing Dynasty Three great rulers of the Ch’ing dynasty (1644–1911), themselves highly sophisticated artists active as painters and calligraphers, further expanded the Imperial Collection. While Emperor Shun-chih (ruled 1644–61) had acquired predominantly paintings by Tung Ch’i-ch’ang , the ruler of the K’ang-hsi period (1662–1722) patronized mostly antique and contemporary art. Between 1680–96 the imperial factories produced traditionally precious objects and innovative novelties made of enamel and glass. Emissaries, especially from France, informed the emperor who developed an appreciation for Western painting, graphic art and clocks. In 1681 the re-opened kilns of Ching-te-chen produced exquisite masterpieces of porcelain art, especially under the rule of his son, Emperor Shih-tsung (ruled 1723–35). In the Ch’ien-lung period (1736–95) the collection of antique and contemporary works had reached the stock, which is representative of the collection today. Emperor Kao-tsung composed art-critical inscriptions and had antiques reproduced or decorated with his poems. Through acquisitions, gifts, tributes, and commissioned works an enormous inventory, also including books, manuscripts and documents, had accumulated. Among the inventories of the collection prepared in 1744 –93, the Shih-ch’ü pao-chi, named after his library “Stone Canal Treasure House”, is the most complete of its kind extant. The ascetic ruler of the Chia-ch’ing period (1796–1820) had it completed in 1817. After that, the collection grew only through confiscations in connection with punitive measures. Following years of political turbulence, British and French invading troops deported art works into European museums in 1860. By 1900 a large number of works had been destroyed through fire or war activities. After the founding of the Chinese Republic in 1912 the collection was made accessible to the general public in the Palace Museum of the Forbidden City. |
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