Most of the emperors of the Qing Dynasty were diligent in government affairs. Today, in the National Palace Museum in Taipei alone, there are more than 400,000 various government affairs documents of the Qing Dynasty. Many of them have been left with comments written by the emperor himself. In addition to this high-intensity work, the emperor also needs to relax and rest in time. At this time, the ubiquitous Dobaoge became the emperor's favorite.
In the early years of the Forbidden City, there was no figure of Doburg in the palace. It is a variety of furniture that has only arisen since the Qing Dynasty and is gradually popular, and the Duobao Pavilion is the most common furnishing in the palace of the Forbidden City. In the archival records, the amount of production is also very large.
(Wood carved bone inlay book several types of multi-treasure grid)
Multi-borgs are mostly regular sizes, but there are also large multi-bulwarks that can cover one wall, as well as pocket-sized multi-borgs that can be placed on a table or hung on a wall.
These small multi-treasures can also be said to be the "toy boxes" of the emperors.
Judging from the Qing Palace's "Work Calculation of the Internal Affairs Office", the treasures collected in the court will be divided into grades, with the first class received in the "Multi-Treasure Grid", and the inferior or inferior placed in the "Hundred Pieces" and the "Treasure Chest".
Therefore, the pieces collected in the multi-treasure grid are veritable treasures.
The richness of the content implied by Duobaoge can be described as "five thousand years up and down, and 100,000 miles of east and west" are all in it.
The emperor was deeply interested in Duobaoge, not only because the treasures in the collection were extremely valuable, but more importantly, the design of Duobaoge played a "smart" word to the fullest.
This "bamboo wire tangled passionflower multi-treasure box" uses the principle of machine shaft to divide the cylindrical box into four fan shapes.
180° unfolding can become a small one-shaped screen, and 360° flip can become a square cylinder.
Each sector is divided into many lattice layers, of which the cylindrical lattice layer is not only divided into several lattices, but can also be rotated 360°.
The whole equipment is ingenious and designed to the fullest.
By accurately calculating the volume, the craftsmen will make a space with uneven horizontal and vertical, uneven height and jagged within each multi-pog.
Open to see, different spaces are placed with treasures of different sizes, tightly sewn together, and do not waste a trace of space;
Some of the opening and closing mechanisms are hidden in the lower layers of the object, just like the game, only by picking things up can you "break the level".
When the Doborg is closed, it's a box that can't be more disciplined, and when you open it, it's like a magic box, hiding unexpected discoveries and surprises everywhere.
(Rosewood Multi-Treasure Pavilion Box)
When opened, this small multi-treasure box has 11 symmetrical drawers of different sizes, and a total of 56 cultural relics, which often causes the viewer to be amazed.
Most of the artifacts are smaller than 10 centimeters in size and range from jade, calligraphy, enamel, and bronze from dynasties, as well as imported items from Japan and the West.
Duobaoge has a complex combination of logic, must be patiently groped, in order to find out, often looking for confusing fun.
Locks, compartments, dark drawers, partitions, virtual reality, fun.
Often a multi-treasure cabinet, there is a box in the lid, a box in the box, a drawer in the box, vaguely, tossing and turning, sometimes a knob, you see the door, after the door, there is another world.
It is said that there are some cleverly designed multi-treasure boxes, so that even if people see treasures in the grid, drawers or partitions, they can't get them because they can't find the mechanism.
And each artifact has a fixed position, the emperor wants to take it out one by one to appreciate, and then return to the original position one by one, before and after it takes a lot of time.
This "Rosewood Cloud Dragon Pattern Multi-Pog Square Box" contains 47 treasures. Open the box, and the top tray contains jade from the Spring and Autumn Warring States period to the Liao, Jin, Ming and Qing dynasties.
Removing this tray, you can see eight or nine boxes of different sizes, in addition to the porcelain bowls, jade vases, calligraphy and paintings of the past dynasties, as well as painting boxes from Japan.
It is worth mentioning that the jade selected in the tray is flaky, and the bottom of the tray is dug out of the groove according to the external contour of each jade.
In this way, the jade can be placed intact and tightly and just right, greatly reducing the chance of damage that may be caused by shaking.
This preservation method can also be seen in some other multi-treasure grids.
The Qianlong Emperor was very interested in Duobaoge, and he was involved in the design and placement of some treasure boxes.
(Gold painting paint dragon phoenix pattern multi-treasure box)
He had asked the office to show him the unfinished multi-treasure grid that had not yet been assembled every five days. He can be said to be the biggest player in China.
Although at the beginning of the birth of Duobaoge, it was only to please the emperor, but under the promotion and advocacy of Qianlong, the collection was classified, labeled, and archived, which was not the precedent for opening a modern museum.
Experts at the National Palace in Taipei jokingly referred to the Qianlong Emperor as "the first president of the Palace Museum."
From a contemporary perspective, Qianlong has a diverse and rich artistic niche, and can be said to be an outstanding collector and connoisseur.
The Qianlong Duobao Pavilion, like the epitome of the Forbidden City, a huge treasure house of cultural relics, has the same significance as a small museum.