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The chain continued with aesthetic revisions to enhance the vessels’ individual patterns. The line drawing seems to have been followed by woodblock prints made by mimicking ‘composite ink rubbings’ (quanxing ta) — the traditional Chinese method

Figure 6 The chain continued with aesthetic revisions to enhance the vessels’ individual patterns. The line drawing seems to have been followed by woodblock prints made by mimicking ‘composite ink rubbings’ (quanxing ta) — the traditional Chinese method

Related Figures (15)

Figure 1. Unknown photographer, ‘Portrait of Duanfang and colleagues with bronze altar’, 1900s. Gelatine silver print, 17.5 x 23 cm. Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, Gift from Thomas Lawton. FSA. A2003.
Figure 1. Unknown photographer, ‘Portrait of Duanfang and colleagues with bronze altar’, 1900s. Gelatine silver print, 17.5 x 23 cm. Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, Gift from Thomas Lawton. FSA. A2003.
Figure 4. Unknown photographer, “The Wuchang Bronzes [Reverse]’, 1903. East of Asia Magazine, 2 (1903), before 99. collecting and scholarly activities, see Zhang Huaixiang 5 HES#, Qingdai piling mingren xiaozhuan Yt WML A AA ein [The Renowned Figures in Piling During the Qing Dynasty], Vol. 9, 24-25; and Xie Zuoquanil 74s, ‘Fei Nianci xinzha wu tong’ Hear ze (a AL Til [Five Correspondences of Fei Nianci], Wen Xian, 1 (2011), 76-83. goblets of varied shapes and sizes were attentively placed in between. ‘Obverse’ and ‘Reverse’ were understandably provisional titles for the photographs, and a careful reader would have noticed the pair’s incoherence - for example, the small beaker biji gu in the former view is missing in the latter.** Later, it was the ‘Reverse’ look that was chosen as the preliminary prototype to launch the
Figure 4. Unknown photographer, “The Wuchang Bronzes [Reverse]’, 1903. East of Asia Magazine, 2 (1903), before 99. collecting and scholarly activities, see Zhang Huaixiang 5 HES#, Qingdai piling mingren xiaozhuan Yt WML A AA ein [The Renowned Figures in Piling During the Qing Dynasty], Vol. 9, 24-25; and Xie Zuoquanil 74s, ‘Fei Nianci xinzha wu tong’ Hear ze (a AL Til [Five Correspondences of Fei Nianci], Wen Xian, 1 (2011), 76-83. goblets of varied shapes and sizes were attentively placed in between. ‘Obverse’ and ‘Reverse’ were understandably provisional titles for the photographs, and a careful reader would have noticed the pair’s incoherence - for example, the small beaker biji gu in the former view is missing in the latter.** Later, it was the ‘Reverse’ look that was chosen as the preliminary prototype to launch the
Figure 3. Unknown photographer, “The Wuchang Bronzes [Obverse]’, 1903. East of Asia Magazine, 2 (1903), after 98.
Figure 3. Unknown photographer, “The Wuchang Bronzes [Obverse]’, 1903. East of Asia Magazine, 2 (1903), after 98.
f the bronzes were at the centre of Duanfang’s social networks, photography was his new tool for fashioning their gatherings.*° As soon as the first batch arrived in 1902, Duanfang held a connoisseurs’ meeting for a small group of epigraphy experts and arranged a group photograph to commemorate it.*' His guests included Huang Shaoji (1854-1908)°*, Wang Kaiyun (1833-1916) and Li Baoxun (1859-1915), who had long been his consultants in collecting. Li was the main editor of the Catalogue. Huang, a high-profile antiquarian and the former director of the Imperial Academy in Beijing, was temporarily in Wuchang on bereavement leave, and was regularly called upon by Duanfang to evaluate his collected antiquities and inscribe on their rubbings.*?’ Unfortunately, this 1902 group photograph does not survive. It might have resembled the Commenting on Qin Weights in Tao Studio (Taozhai pingquan tu) taken in Wuchang at the end of 1901 under similar circumstances (figure 7). Here, Duanfang
f the bronzes were at the centre of Duanfang’s social networks, photography was his new tool for fashioning their gatherings.*° As soon as the first batch arrived in 1902, Duanfang held a connoisseurs’ meeting for a small group of epigraphy experts and arranged a group photograph to commemorate it.*' His guests included Huang Shaoji (1854-1908)°*, Wang Kaiyun (1833-1916) and Li Baoxun (1859-1915), who had long been his consultants in collecting. Li was the main editor of the Catalogue. Huang, a high-profile antiquarian and the former director of the Imperial Academy in Beijing, was temporarily in Wuchang on bereavement leave, and was regularly called upon by Duanfang to evaluate his collected antiquities and inscribe on their rubbings.*?’ Unfortunately, this 1902 group photograph does not survive. It might have resembled the Commenting on Qin Weights in Tao Studio (Taozhai pingquan tu) taken in Wuchang at the end of 1901 under similar circumstances (figure 7). Here, Duanfang
24 - The biji gu is also catalogued as ‘the gu with faotie mask and chi dragon pattern’ in Umehara, Henkin no kékogakuteki kosatsu, PL V and PL XVII. 25 - Both painters specialised in drawing and rubbings of antiquarian objects. Taozhai jijin lu Bilag FH AER [Catalogue of Bronzes in the Studio Tao of Duanfang], ed. Duanfang, Vol. 1, Jinling: unknown publisher 1908, 6. 26 — Hackmann, ‘Wuchang Bronzes’, 180. is seated, relaxing next to his collected weights of the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC). Standing attentively across the table is Li Baoxun, his hand on the large weight in front of him. Squeezed between them are three local officials, scholars who had contributed to the study of these weights. Besides such private connoisseurs’ parties, group photographs were also arranged for large public events such as the celebration of the Guangxu Emperor’s (1871-1908) birthday in July 1902 (figure 8).°° In this photograph, a crowd of Chinese officials and foreign diplomats is arranged into five rows. In the Figure 8. Unknown photographer, ‘Celebration of the Birthday of the Kwang Hsu [Guangxu] Emperor at Wuchang, Hupeh [Hubei], on July 30, 1902’. East of Asia Magazine, 1 (1902), between 272 and 273.
24 - The biji gu is also catalogued as ‘the gu with faotie mask and chi dragon pattern’ in Umehara, Henkin no kékogakuteki kosatsu, PL V and PL XVII. 25 - Both painters specialised in drawing and rubbings of antiquarian objects. Taozhai jijin lu Bilag FH AER [Catalogue of Bronzes in the Studio Tao of Duanfang], ed. Duanfang, Vol. 1, Jinling: unknown publisher 1908, 6. 26 — Hackmann, ‘Wuchang Bronzes’, 180. is seated, relaxing next to his collected weights of the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC). Standing attentively across the table is Li Baoxun, his hand on the large weight in front of him. Squeezed between them are three local officials, scholars who had contributed to the study of these weights. Besides such private connoisseurs’ parties, group photographs were also arranged for large public events such as the celebration of the Guangxu Emperor’s (1871-1908) birthday in July 1902 (figure 8).°° In this photograph, a crowd of Chinese officials and foreign diplomats is arranged into five rows. In the Figure 8. Unknown photographer, ‘Celebration of the Birthday of the Kwang Hsu [Guangxu] Emperor at Wuchang, Hupeh [Hubei], on July 30, 1902’. East of Asia Magazine, 1 (1902), between 272 and 273.
41 - Thanks to Daisy Yiyou Wang for sharing her expertise in the customs of Qing officials with me; see Zong Fengying ARIELSE, Qing dai gong ting fu shi HAVE JIkfti, Beijing: Zijincheng chubanshe 2004, 72 and 106. delighted, people celebrated this auspicious rain. The whole country was rejoicing’. Ever since, specially commissioned bronzes became essential in worship ceremo- nies. Fangmei Chen points out that the thirteenth-century revivalists advocated that ritual bronzes in the Confucius Temple should ‘share the same style with those used by the ancient sages of the Three Dynasties’, and standardised sets of vessels of the required numbers, type and dimensions were produced nationwide.*” These standards fell into obsolescence during the turbulent dynastic transitions between the thirteenth and seventeenth centuries. But the antiquarian fervour remerged in Qing. Emulating the Chinese emperors of previous dynasties, the High Qing Manchu emperors Kangxi (1654-1722), Yongzheng (1678-1735) and Qianlong (1711-99) were each devoted to Confucius worship to legitimise their rule. They hosted worship ceremonies in Qufu and made bequests of ritual vessels to the site. Instead of making new vessels, the High Qing court repurposed authentic ancient bronzes to endorse their ritual ceremonies. This shift was fuelled by the flourishing of bronze connoisseurship and epigraphic studies in the eight- eenth and nineteenth centuries.” Records notes these changes in the convention. 42 - As no ladle is included in his sketch, it is more likely that he came before the arri- val of the second batch of vessels. This also suggests that the second batch arrived at Wuchang later than February 1903. Ito Chita’s sketch and travel notes are repro- duced in Its Chita, Shinkoku, 98-99; see also Chen Zhaorong, Baoji Daijiawan, 28. Otani K6zui (1876-1948) also visited Wuchang in 1903; see Otani kozui shi no shogai KA HeSmlili © EYE, ed. Otani | Kozui Geika KinenkaiK (650d Fates, Tokyo: Kashiwa Shobo 1990, 134-45.
41 - Thanks to Daisy Yiyou Wang for sharing her expertise in the customs of Qing officials with me; see Zong Fengying ARIELSE, Qing dai gong ting fu shi HAVE JIkfti, Beijing: Zijincheng chubanshe 2004, 72 and 106. delighted, people celebrated this auspicious rain. The whole country was rejoicing’. Ever since, specially commissioned bronzes became essential in worship ceremo- nies. Fangmei Chen points out that the thirteenth-century revivalists advocated that ritual bronzes in the Confucius Temple should ‘share the same style with those used by the ancient sages of the Three Dynasties’, and standardised sets of vessels of the required numbers, type and dimensions were produced nationwide.*” These standards fell into obsolescence during the turbulent dynastic transitions between the thirteenth and seventeenth centuries. But the antiquarian fervour remerged in Qing. Emulating the Chinese emperors of previous dynasties, the High Qing Manchu emperors Kangxi (1654-1722), Yongzheng (1678-1735) and Qianlong (1711-99) were each devoted to Confucius worship to legitimise their rule. They hosted worship ceremonies in Qufu and made bequests of ritual vessels to the site. Instead of making new vessels, the High Qing court repurposed authentic ancient bronzes to endorse their ritual ceremonies. This shift was fuelled by the flourishing of bronze connoisseurship and epigraphic studies in the eight- eenth and nineteenth centuries.” Records notes these changes in the convention. 42 - As no ladle is included in his sketch, it is more likely that he came before the arri- val of the second batch of vessels. This also suggests that the second batch arrived at Wuchang later than February 1903. Ito Chita’s sketch and travel notes are repro- duced in Its Chita, Shinkoku, 98-99; see also Chen Zhaorong, Baoji Daijiawan, 28. Otani K6zui (1876-1948) also visited Wuchang in 1903; see Otani kozui shi no shogai KA HeSmlili © EYE, ed. Otani | Kozui Geika KinenkaiK (650d Fates, Tokyo: Kashiwa Shobo 1990, 134-45.
Whereas Yongzheng had requested that the imperial workshop produce a set of enamelled vessels for his donation, modelled on typologies of ancient bronzes but covered in ornamental decoration (figure 11), this showy imperial luxury did not interest his son Qianlong, who was a keen collector of ancient bronzes. On a visit to Qufu in 1771, Qianlong complained that the ritual vessels in the temple were ‘made no earlier than the Han Dynasty’ and ‘lacked the graceful colour and luster of vessels from antiquity’.’' Making a crucial turn away from the practices of his father and grandfather, he selected ‘a group of ten authentic Zhou Dynasty bronze vessels from the imperial collection’ to ‘glorify the ceremonial offering’ and ‘show the deepest respect to Confucius’. Complementing the bronzes was an accom- panying illustrated catalogue that portrays the vessels with notes on their dimen- sions and exegetical studies of their inscriptions. It was given to the temple along with the bronzes as commemoration. Known as “The Qianlong Emperor’s Ten Bronzes of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties’, the set consists of two wine containers, one drinking cup, three cauldrons and four food containers — an assembly of items
Whereas Yongzheng had requested that the imperial workshop produce a set of enamelled vessels for his donation, modelled on typologies of ancient bronzes but covered in ornamental decoration (figure 11), this showy imperial luxury did not interest his son Qianlong, who was a keen collector of ancient bronzes. On a visit to Qufu in 1771, Qianlong complained that the ritual vessels in the temple were ‘made no earlier than the Han Dynasty’ and ‘lacked the graceful colour and luster of vessels from antiquity’.’' Making a crucial turn away from the practices of his father and grandfather, he selected ‘a group of ten authentic Zhou Dynasty bronze vessels from the imperial collection’ to ‘glorify the ceremonial offering’ and ‘show the deepest respect to Confucius’. Complementing the bronzes was an accom- panying illustrated catalogue that portrays the vessels with notes on their dimen- sions and exegetical studies of their inscriptions. It was given to the temple along with the bronzes as commemoration. Known as “The Qianlong Emperor’s Ten Bronzes of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties’, the set consists of two wine containers, one drinking cup, three cauldrons and four food containers — an assembly of items
China, political venues for the display and performance of power as well as academic venues where antiquities were available for scholarly observation.”° We can see these dual, related roles in action in Feng Yunpeng’s 1821 Index of Bronzes and Stone Tablets (Jin shi suo). In the preface, Feng explains how as an ordinary civilian scholar he had encountered Qianlong’s ten vessels at Qufu. Having glanced at them during the ding-day ceremony in spring 1816, he was able to study them during a second visit in 1832 at the time of the autumn ding- day ceremony, with the help of a local mandarin who kept the vessels tempora- rily in a side hall after the ceremony. Feng was able to spend two full days with the bronzes, make rubbings of the inscriptions, hire a painter to draw a picture of each piece and then publish his notes and images with Qianlong’s related poems in the Index.°’ Feng notes that the imperial bronzes at Qufu were not usually on view, but were ‘exhibited’ during ding-day worship, the two major annual sacrificial ceremonies.°° He also records that in his time, less than a century before Duanfang’s altar bronzes were photographed, Qianlong’s edict specified that during the ceremonies the bronzes in the temple should be placed by ‘the facade of the Hall between two bays’ for public reverence.*’ Indeed, from Han Chi to Qianlong, the insistence on reinstating ancient ritual vessels for Confucius worship was also an insistence on their exhibition. In Han Chi’s
China, political venues for the display and performance of power as well as academic venues where antiquities were available for scholarly observation.”° We can see these dual, related roles in action in Feng Yunpeng’s 1821 Index of Bronzes and Stone Tablets (Jin shi suo). In the preface, Feng explains how as an ordinary civilian scholar he had encountered Qianlong’s ten vessels at Qufu. Having glanced at them during the ding-day ceremony in spring 1816, he was able to study them during a second visit in 1832 at the time of the autumn ding- day ceremony, with the help of a local mandarin who kept the vessels tempora- rily in a side hall after the ceremony. Feng was able to spend two full days with the bronzes, make rubbings of the inscriptions, hire a painter to draw a picture of each piece and then publish his notes and images with Qianlong’s related poems in the Index.°’ Feng notes that the imperial bronzes at Qufu were not usually on view, but were ‘exhibited’ during ding-day worship, the two major annual sacrificial ceremonies.°° He also records that in his time, less than a century before Duanfang’s altar bronzes were photographed, Qianlong’s edict specified that during the ceremonies the bronzes in the temple should be placed by ‘the facade of the Hall between two bays’ for public reverence.*’ Indeed, from Han Chi to Qianlong, the insistence on reinstating ancient ritual vessels for Confucius worship was also an insistence on their exhibition. In Han Chi’s
The venue for the group photograph here described resonates with ancient Chinese paintings of ‘elegant gatherings’ that normally feature the subjects in a private garden setting.** But unlike the ancient scholarly officials who would drink tea, compose poems and appreciate antiques and paintings during the meeting, this Shanghai group gathered in the garden to compose themselves in a group photograph. The men’s courteous demeanour granted the process a ritualistic politesse and it was this that composed the photographs rather than the photo- grapher. Yan Fu took the lead to sit first, forming the nucleus of the image; the others waited, understood the composition, and ‘settled’ in their own place. The second example is an earlier group photograph that also visualises such a sequence of self-positioning. It was taken approximately in the 1870s, featuring a group of iterati officials gathered in front of a ‘Pavilion [...] holding ceremonial tablets’ zhuhu ting) located possibly in Jiujiang, a city near Wuchang along the Yangtze River (figure 14).°° In the image, a middle-aged official in formal attire - notice the beads - is alone seated, in the centre. Standing attentively on either side are ower ranking officials and possibly his secretaries. The format of one seated person surrounded by standing individuals reappears in a third example: a group photograph titled ‘Ch’é Ta-jén [Che daren, or Mandarin Che], Amban of Khotan, with Local Begs’ [administrators] published in Aurel Stein’s 1912 Ruins of 65 — The ‘Jiang cheng’ in the left couplet possibly refers to Jiujiang.
The venue for the group photograph here described resonates with ancient Chinese paintings of ‘elegant gatherings’ that normally feature the subjects in a private garden setting.** But unlike the ancient scholarly officials who would drink tea, compose poems and appreciate antiques and paintings during the meeting, this Shanghai group gathered in the garden to compose themselves in a group photograph. The men’s courteous demeanour granted the process a ritualistic politesse and it was this that composed the photographs rather than the photo- grapher. Yan Fu took the lead to sit first, forming the nucleus of the image; the others waited, understood the composition, and ‘settled’ in their own place. The second example is an earlier group photograph that also visualises such a sequence of self-positioning. It was taken approximately in the 1870s, featuring a group of iterati officials gathered in front of a ‘Pavilion [...] holding ceremonial tablets’ zhuhu ting) located possibly in Jiujiang, a city near Wuchang along the Yangtze River (figure 14).°° In the image, a middle-aged official in formal attire - notice the beads - is alone seated, in the centre. Standing attentively on either side are ower ranking officials and possibly his secretaries. The format of one seated person surrounded by standing individuals reappears in a third example: a group photograph titled ‘Ch’é Ta-jén [Che daren, or Mandarin Che], Amban of Khotan, with Local Begs’ [administrators] published in Aurel Stein’s 1912 Ruins of 65 — The ‘Jiang cheng’ in the left couplet possibly refers to Jiujiang.
Desert Cathy, recording Ch’é Ta-jén’s second expedition to Chinese Turkestan (figure 15). The photograph was taken by Stein on Che’s request during a welcome feast arranged in the residential garden of the Islam Beg at Khotan.®° Stein describes Che’s dominant manner in front of the lens: 66 — Aurel Stein, ‘A Feast at Khotan’, in Ruins of Desert Cathay: Personal Narrative of Explorations in Central Asia and Westernmost China, London: Macmillan 1912, 214-20.
Desert Cathy, recording Ch’é Ta-jén’s second expedition to Chinese Turkestan (figure 15). The photograph was taken by Stein on Che’s request during a welcome feast arranged in the residential garden of the Islam Beg at Khotan.®° Stein describes Che’s dominant manner in front of the lens: 66 — Aurel Stein, ‘A Feast at Khotan’, in Ruins of Desert Cathay: Personal Narrative of Explorations in Central Asia and Westernmost China, London: Macmillan 1912, 214-20.
Related topics:
History of CollectingLate Imperial ChinaAncient Chinese Bronzes
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