Introduction
Qing dynasty emperor Gaozong’s (1711-1799) name in Manchu, the native language of the imperial family, was Aisin-Gioro Hongli. Gaozong, who held the throne for sixty years, is often referred to as Qianlong, the title of his reign period. The Qing dynasty saw successes in both civil governance and military exploits under his rule. Naturally gifted with intelligence and creativity, Qianlong was a capable poet, calligrapher, and painter, as well as an avid collector of artworks and curios. When not involved in the affairs of government, he often amused himself with writing and calligraphy. The fact that Emperor Qianlong employed scribes to ghostwrite calligraphy on his behalf is not breaking news. During his years as crown prince (1733-1735) he was assisted by the scribe Liang Shizheng (1697-1763). After Qianlong ascended to the throne, Liang was replaced by Zhang Zhao (1691-1745), who became the emperor’s foremost calligraphic ghostwriter. Zhang Zhao passed away in the tenth year of Qianlong’s reign, and he was succeeded by various other scholar-attendants who passed the baton to one another. From the calligraphic styles in extant works of calligraphy written in the emperor’s name, we’re able to identify the work of Wang Youdun (1692-1758) and Yu Minzhong (1714-1779). Past knowledge of these three calligraphers’ engagement as ghostwriters was quite incomplete, and numerous of their works were mistakenly blended in amid authentic examples of Qianlong’s calligraphy. Towards the end of his life, Qianlong relied heavily upon Dong Gao (1740-1818), who primarily wrote calligraphy on imperial commission, leaving less room for doubt about authorship. Of all of these scholar-attendants, Zhang Zhao was the one most highly esteemed by the emperor. After Zhang’s passing, the “Heavenly Vase Studio Calligraphy Modelbooks Compiled at the Emperor’s Behest” were engraved in his honor, and Qianlong heralded him as being the finest calligrapher since Wang Xizhi (303-361). These overtures lay the foundation for the style that court calligraphers would follow for the remainder of Qianlong’s reign.
This exhibition presents Qianlong’s own calligraphy, works written in his name by ghostwriters, and calligraphy written by his scholar-attendants in their own names. This side-by-side presentation allows NPM visitors to perceive inconsistencies in style as well as differences in the various calligraphers’ learning and cultivation. Moreover, it lets us get acquainted with the calligraphic ghostwriters who served the emperor at each stage of his life, just as we recover the long-lost knowledge of what calligraphy written in Qianlong’s own hand actually looked like. In the past, our understanding of these ghostwriters was limited by the fact that the higher quality works of calligraphy attributed to Qianlong were generally seen as being his own authentic works. This gave a skewed impression of Qianlong’s having reached quite a high level of calligraphic skill, and at the same time, it indirectly led to misconceptions about his abilities as a connoisseur of antiques and the arts. This was due to the fact that many of his scholar-attendants’ personal opinions are hidden in calligraphic inscriptions appraising artworks and curios that were attributed to Qianlong . Facing centuries of confusion regarding “Qianlong’s authentic calligraphy,” our only hope of rediscovering the true appearance and flavor of the emperor’s actual calligraphic works lies in carefully clarifying the facts about his scholar-attendants’ involvement and influence.