Chapter 6 3. Jiaotai Seal

The Jiaotai Hall stores twenty-five seals from the Qing Dynasty.The so-called Baoxi is a seal and a symbol of national power. Let me talk about national treasures first.In the early Qing Dynasty, the seals were not standardized, and Nurhachi engraved two seals in old Manchu script, "The Treasure of the Destiny Jin Kingdom Khan" and "The Emperor of the Destiny of the Later Jin Kingdom".After the Qing Dynasty entered the customs, it followed the Ming system, but it was not perfect.In the early Qing Dynasty, except for the sapphire "Emperor's Treasure", which was in Manchu seal characters, the other seals were both Manchu and Han scripts.Its quantity, storage, use, and seal cutting are not standardized and uniform.Emperor Qianlong integrated and standardized the existing seals.

Qianlong integration.In the thirteenth year of Qianlong (1748), the twenty-five square seals of the Qing Dynasty were collected in Jiaotai Hall.Each seal has a different name, purpose, size, material, button, and style.Size, the big one is six inches square, and the small one is two inches and one minute square.The characters are unified in seal cutting.Except for the "Emperor's Treasure, Qingshu Seal Style" left outside the pass, the styles are mostly Manchu and Chinese seal characters, with Manchu seal script on the left and Han seal script on the right.Materials include jade, gold, and sandalwood, and jade includes white jade, sapphire, jasper, and black jade.Baoxi's dragon nipples include crossing dragons, coiling dragons, and squatting dragons. The niu height is three inches and five cents. (Hongli's "Jiaotai Palace Baopu·Xu") Baoxi is different, each has its own special purpose.Among them, the most commonly used is the "Emperor's Treasure" of the fifth sandalwood, which is used when issuing imperial edicts and recruiting Jinshi;These twenty-five square seals are all packed in a treasure box, covered with yellow silk.The twenty-five square seals of the Qing Dynasty have been stored in the cultural relics library of the Palace Museum, and the treasure box containing the seals is displayed in the Jiaotai Hall.

Why is Baoxi twenty-five square?It turns out that there are records of the twenty-nine squares and thirty-nine squares of the seal.Emperor Qianlong quoted "Book of Changes Xici 1" and said: "The number of days is twenty and five." Therefore, the norm is twenty-five squares.In history, the Eastern Tuesday and Fifteen Kings lasted for five hundred and fifteen years.He also said in "Xia Yan Ji": "I have a number of twenty-five in the Qing Dynasty, and I can also grant my wish!" That is to say, if the Qing Dynasty can pass on twenty-five generations, it will be a gift from heaven Fu is a luxury!Here, Emperor Qianlong did not mention the "hundreds of millions of years" of the Qing Dynasty!

Baoxi management.The management of Baoxi was in charge of the female official Shang Baojian in the Ming Dynasty, and the eunuch who held the seal in the Qing Dynasty.When using the seal, the cabinet first went to Shang Baojian, and after Shang Baojian asked for an order, he went to get the seal, and then stamped the seal. Sealing and opening treasures.At the end of each year, to seal the treasure, it is a seal.Before sealing the treasure, wash the treasure first——the university scholar will play in advance. During the period, relevant officials will go to the Qianqing Gate to notify the internal supervisor to invite the treasure to come out. Clean the seal.After the treasure was cleaned, the leader of the Jiaotai Palace still held the treasure seal and stored it respectfully in the box.On the day of opening and sealing of treasures, offerings of apples, autumn pears, etc. must be made in Jiaotai Hall, incense will be burned and the seals will be opened and pasted.The etiquette of opening treasure and sealing treasure is the same.

a story.As mentioned above, during the time of Huang Taiji, he obtained the national treasure seal - "the treasure of imperial edict".Where is Fang Baoxi now?become a historical mystery.According to records: "The treasure of making patents" was passed down from generation to generation, but was lost later.More than 200 years later, a shepherd was grazing sheep in the mountains. He found that the sheep would not eat grass for three days and would always run around in one place. Khan hands.In the ninth year of Tiancong (1635), Dorgon led an army to conquer Hal and returned to the court. He reported that he had obtained Lin Danhan's seal—jade quality, Jiaolongniu, and the Chinese seal character "the treasure of making patents".Huang Taiji held a grand treasure receiving ceremony for this.For this reason, a grand ceremony was held to change the family name "Zhushen" (Jurchen) to "Manchuria", the year name "Tiancong" to "Chongde", and the country name "Dajin" to "Daqing".Since then, many documents have used this "treasure of making patents".After the Qing Dynasty entered the customs, it switched to the "Treasure of Zhigao" written in Manchu and Han Biwen.The strange thing is that when Emperor Qianlong had twenty-five treasures in the imperial palace, he didn't even have this "legal treasure" of the national treasure seal.Where did Fang Baoxi go?In the eleventh year of Qianlong's reign (1746), all the seals from the early Qing Dynasty that had been cleared out of the original palace were sent to the Phoenix Tower of the Imperial Palace in Shengjing for collection, but this "legal treasure" was not found.Soon, Emperor Qianlong decreed to remove the treasure of "Dan Fu from the Quartet" from the Shengjing Treasure Seal, and replaced it with a piece of sapphire "Treasure of Entitlement".

This shows that the original "Treasure of Making Patents" is still there.However, experts believe that this is an imitation of the Yuan Dynasty seal.Why did Emperor Qianlong do this?First, the "Chuan Guoxie" disappeared, and then a fake was produced. According to scholars' research, Huang Taiji's "Chuan Guoxie" was originally a fake.Where did the "treasure of making patents" go?According to the records in the "Working Documents" in the palace: On May 22, the thirteenth year of Qianlong (1748), Samuha, the leader of the seventh rank, said that the eunuch Hu Shijie handed over the white jade "the treasure of imperial edict" (with a brocade box) , a set of golden way albums on magnetic blue paper, and a treasure box with black lacquer painted on gold), which was ordered to be handed over to Qixiang Palace to wear off the words on the treasure.It turned out that Emperor Qianlong erased the handwriting of Huang Taiji's falsified evidence and destroyed it forever. (Hu Zhongliang's "Qing History Not in Textbooks") However, why did Emperor Qianlong grind away one fake "treasure of making patents" and make another fake "treasure of making patents"?Puzzling.The authenticity, whereabouts, preservation, destruction, and changes of the Yuan Dynasty's national treasure seal "the imperial treasure" obtained by Huang Taiji at that time are still a historical mystery.

How to treat the national treasure, Emperor Qianlong said: "It will last forever, in Deye?"In Baoye?Treasures are not treasures, but treasures come from virtue.Therefore, the key to the longevity of the country and the long-term stability of the society lies in virtue, not treasure. Let's talk about idle chapters for the second time.The emperors of the Qing Dynasty had not only national treasures, but also spare seals—all kinds of seals used for the emperor’s usual imperial pens, appreciation of calligraphy and painting, engraving of books, and collection and appreciation.Such as year seals, palace seals, collection seals, appreciation seals, inscription seals, poetry seals, etc.Textures include jade, stone, wood, metal, jade includes sapphire, white jade, topaz, jasper, black jade, stone includes Qingtian stone, Shoushan stone, Chang fossil, and agate, crystal, coral, sandalwood, bamboo root, ivory, rhino horn , gold, silver, copper, etc., reflecting the richness and variety of the emperor's seals in the Qing Dynasty.

Literati taste.The calligraphy and painting of the literati in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, poems, books, paintings, and seals, all of which are equally important and organically combined to form a perfect artistic whole, of which seals are indispensable.The literati in the Ming and Qing dynasties became more and more popular in seal management. They engraved famous sayings, good sentences, poems, personalities, etc. that reflected their inner world through the seal and their own calligraphy, paintings, poems, patterns, etc. Calligraphy, painting, and poetry are combined to achieve an elegant artistic realm.This cultural phenomenon also affected the court, especially the emperors Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty. They hired literati with excellent cultural literacy as masters in the South Study Hall and the Upper Study Room. They also practiced calligraphy and painting, wrote poems and lyrics, collected rare objects, and appreciated famous products. , and also engraved various leisure chapters, a few more for appreciation, and carefully arranged shelves.

Three emperors free chapter.Emperor Kangxi's "Respect the Heaven and Diligence the People" leisure chapter, he regards it as his motto.After Emperor Yongzheng came to the throne, he kept the seals of Emperor Kangxi in a lock box, and kept the treasure of "Respecting Heaven and Diligent People" as an imperial letter with seals, expressing the inheritance of Kangxi's will.During the Qianlong period, following the example of Yongzheng, he left a royal seal of "Respect the Heaven and Diligence the People".As soon as Emperor Yongzheng came to the throne, he sighed that "it is difficult to be a king" (Volume 18 of "Records of Emperor Shizong of the Qing Dynasty"), and made a "difficult to be a king" chapter for this reason.Emperor Qianlong was especially fond of free seals, and carved more than 1,000 free seals, including more than 70 seals of the year and more than 200 seals of palaces and palaces, and compiled "Bao Sou" to record them.When he was 70 years old, he engraved a spare chapter "Ancient Treasure of the Son of Heaven", with a sub-chapter "Still working diligently"; when he was 80 years old, he engraved a spare chapter "The Treasure of Eight Signs and Longing", with a sub-chapter "Self-improvement". "——"Still diligently" and "continuously strive for self-improvement", the spirit is commendable.In particular, on the 80th birthday of Emperor Qianlong, the great scholar Heshen offered 120 square stone seals of Shoushan, each with the character of longevity, in different shapes and fonts.

Idle chapters are not idle.Emperor Daoguang secretly established the decree of the reserve, stamped with the seal of "Shendetang" in Xianzhang, and stored it in a yellow cardboard plywood.Emperor Xianfeng's "Yu Shang" and "Tongdaotang" were originally two spare chapters, which are generally used for appreciation and collection.However, the edict of Emperor Tongzhi must use the "Imperial Reward" stamp at the top and the "Tongdaotang" stamp at the end. Until the pro-government.The above three small leisure chapters play the role of national treasures.

History tells people: Treasures and playthings are used to fill the room with racks, hungry and cold.Appreciation is pleasant, pleasure is cultivated, and cultural relics are appreciated, enough is enough. The Jiaotai Hall between the Qianqing Palace and the Kunning Palace means that the heaven and the earth are peaceful when the heavens and the earth are in harmony, and that the husband and wife are happy when the emperor and empress are in harmony.But looking at history, in the relationship between heaven and earth, yin and yang, and emperors and empresses, there are more unsatisfactory ones and fewer peaceful ones, more restless ones and fewer peaceful ones.Therefore, when there are conflicts between ideals and reality, universal values ​​and objective existence, people pursue the harmony between ideals and reality, and hope that the universe will merge and be peaceful.