The poems of the Qianlong Emperor were badly written—this is not my opinion, but the public opinion of many literary and art critics.
Qian Zhongshu, a modern Chinese writer and literary researcher, commented on the qianlong emperor's poetry in his "Record of Tan Yi": "Emperor Gaozong of the Qing Dynasty also used literature as poetry, and the language aided and procrastinated, which was disgusting... Both sour and rotten, the ugly state of the extremely literary poetry is the sixth episode of The Qing Gaozong. "Emperor Gaozong of the Qing Dynasty was the Qianlong Emperor.
Qian Zhongshu was a humble gentleman, commenting on a man's poetry in such a fierce tone, and as far as I know, it was the only time.
However, the qianlong emperor's level of calligraphy and painting seems to be quite clever.
Emperors of the Qing Dynasty have always attached great importance to the education of their princes. When the Qianlong Emperor was still the crown prince, his father, the Yongzheng Emperor, invited Zhu Shi, Xu Yuanmeng, Zhang Tingyu, Ji Zengjun, Cai Shiyuan and other famous Hanchens as teachers to guide him to learn cultural knowledge and Confucian classics. Therefore, in just a few years, the Hongli calendar has been both Manchu and Chinese.
Later, the Qianlong Emperor studied calligraphy and painting diligently. He was always surrounded by a group of top calligraphers and painters, such as Dong Bangda, Jiang Tingxi, Zhang Zongcang and other court painters, as well as Western painters such as Lang Shining. His uncles, Yunxi and Yunluren, were also masters of painting.
At the same time, the Qianlong Emperor collected masterpieces of calligraphy and painting from all over the ages, reaching tens of thousands of pieces, and almost all the surviving works of famous calligraphers and painters of the Jin, Tang, Song and Yuan dynasties were collected. The Qianlong Emperor improved his artistic appreciation and creation level by observing and studying these masterpieces of calligraphy and painting. The level of calligraphy and painting creation of the Qianlong Emperor should be among the best among the emperors of the Qing Dynasty.
In addition to going to work and visiting the garden every day, the Qianlong Emperor's greatest hobby was to write, paint and paint. As long as the inspiration comes, you can write and paint anytime and anywhere, so that you leave a large number of calligraphy and painting works.
According to the "Shiqu Baodi" and "Records of Calligraphy and Paintings of the Shengjing Forbidden City", the Qianlong Emperor worked tirelessly throughout his life, painting at least more than 1,400 paintings and writing more than 10,000 calligraphy. Quite a few works of calligraphy and painting have been preserved. The Palace Museum in Beijing alone treasures more than 2,000 ink treasures of the Qianlong Emperor, and he inscribed no less than 10,000 poems in the paintings of ancient masters, surpassing any calligrapher and painter in history. Therefore, the Qianlong Emperor must have been the emperor with the most preserved paintings and calligraphy in Chinese history.
So, what is the market situation of the Qianlong Emperor's calligraphy and painting works?
On December 2, 2014, at the Autumn Auction of Poly in Beijing, a calligraphy work by the Qianlong Emperor, "The Record of the White Pagoda Mountain", appeared. This is a hand scroll written by the Qianlong Emperor in 1774 after visiting Baita Mountain in Beihai Park, and the style of the article imitates the Tang Dynasty essay liu Zongyuan's "Eight Records of Yongzhou". The original work consists of 5 volumes, divided into "The General Record of the Imperial White Pagoda Mountain", "The Record of the East Face of the Tower Mountain", "The Record of the South Side of the Tower Mountain", "The Record of the West Side of the Tower Mountain", and the "Record of the North Face of the Tower Mountain", which is hidden in the Yong'an Temple of Beihai Park, and later scattered everywhere. The "White Tower Mountain Record" that appeared at the Beijing Poly Autumn Auction this time has only 4 volumes, missing the "East Side of the Tower Mountain", adding up to only 1700 words, which is not complete, but it still attracts collectors' enthusiasm.
After several rounds of bidding, "The Tale of the White Pagoda Mountain" finally fell with a hammer of 101 million yuan, plus commission of 116.15 million yuan, which was the highest auction price of Chinese paintings and calligraphy in the world that year.
In fact, the qianlong emperor's calligraphy and painting works have long become a sought-after commodity in the art market.
On June 5, 2010, at the "Ancient Calligraphy Special Session" of the Kuangshi Spring Auction in Beijing, Qianlong's calligraphy work "Yushu HongZhi Chuan Chunqiu on hidden public hypocrisy" was auctioned for 57.12 million yuan.
On December 4, 2010, at the Poly Auction in Beijing, the Qianlong Emperor's painting "Imperial Pen HanbaiTu Vertical Axis" sold for 87.36 million yuan.
On November 20, 2010, at the Auction of China Guardian, the Qianlong Emperor's painting "Panlong Pine Vertical Axis" was auctioned for 45.36 million yuan.
According to the statistics of Artron Art Network, from 2000 to 2011, a total of 65 Qianlong calligraphy and painting works were auctioned, and 51 pieces were sold, with a total turnover rate of 78%, a total turnover of about 316.5 million yuan, and an average price of about 5 million yuan per piece of calligraphy and painting.
[References: Qianlong Yubi Hand Scroll "The Record of Baita Mountain" auctioned for 101 million yuan" "Artron Art Network", etc.]