In the Summer Palace Museum, I saw the bonsai gift received on the sixtieth birthday of Cixi

In the court of the Qing Dynasty, the craft bonsai derived from natural bonsai became an indispensable decoration and treasure in the life of the empress. The craft bonsai in the Summer Palace are mainly from the late Qing Dynasty, mainly from the Qing Palace Internal Affairs Office Yangxin Hall Manufacturing Office, local tributes and princes and ministers.

During the Guangxu period, the palace manuscript "Inventory of Decorations of the New Year" can be seen as many as 250 pieces of various crafts, accounting for a relatively high proportion of all items.

In the Summer Palace Museum, I saw the bonsai gift received on the sixtieth birthday of Cixi

List of tributes to the 60th longevity celebration of Empress Dowager Cixi in the 20th year of Guangxu

According to records, the twentieth year of Guangxu (1894) was cixi's sixtieth birthday, and this year she was supposed to hold a birthday celebration ceremony at the Summer Palace, but due to the disastrous defeat in China in the Sino-Japanese War, she had to issue an edict on August 16 of this year to annul the previous decision to celebrate her birthday, which was less than two months after her tenth birthday in October, and the "celebration silver" of 5.4 million taels had been spent, and the birthday gifts prepared by the ministers were also paying tribute.

The general preparation of "Evergreen" bonsai for Cixi's sixtieth birthday includes: the forehead of Princess Rong'an Gulun, the eldest daughter of the Xianfeng Emperor, the first-class Xiongyong Gongfu Zhen, Belle Yimo, Ronglu's cousin, Zasak and Shuo Prince Nayantu, etc., which shows the popularity of "Wannian Qing" bonsai among the high-ranking officials and nobles of the Qing Dynasty, and it is also the common first choice for gift-giving.

Clear red and white coral branches evergreen bonsai

This bonsai was once displayed in the Leshou Hall and is one of Cixi's birthday gifts.

The evergreen planted in the pot is glazed with green glaze throughout, and the leaves are porcelain plastic, with a wide and fat shape, but it is tall and flexible. There are three tangled stems in the middle of the leaf cluster, and there are three clusters of evergreen seeds made of white coral and red coral beads on the stem, most of which are white corals, and the top beads are a red coral. On both sides, there is a red coral tree and a white coral tree, and there is a tooth bone Ganoderma lucidum, which is made of "Ruyi Head" shape, which is juxtaposed with Evergreen to mean "Ten Thousand Years of Ruyi". Planting evergreen in the tube means "unification for ten thousand years".

When the Yongzheng Emperor was a prince, he often presented the craft bonsai as a birthday gift to the Kangxi Emperor, and it is recorded in the "Longevity Ceremony" that details the celebration of the 60th birthday of the Kangxi Emperor, and 5 of the 28 gifts yongzheng offered were bonsai works. And each piece has a name that means auspicious, what group of immortals celebrate Shou Shou Shan enamel bonsai, Wanshou Ten Brocade auspicious four hours bonsai, Xian Shan coral color stone bonsai.

Why do so many imperial relatives and civil and military officials offer bonsai as precious gifts?

First, the craft bonsai is well selected and listed treasures, although the volume is not large, but it is worth a lot, and it is a symbol of royal power and wealth. Most of them are made of gold and silver, jade, tooth horns, pearls, corals and other precious materials modeled on natural landscapes, and the pots are mostly made of enamel, wood or metal, with different shapes, ingenious layouts and realistic forms.

Qing copper tire enamel full of flowers floor light phoenix pattern multi-treasure flower basket (a pair)

However, it is worth noting that in the archival materials on the production of bonsai, even in the Qianlong Shengshi, there is no lack of instructions such as "no need to use ivory in the bonsai, do not spend money and grain", it can be seen that not all the process production areas do not count the cost, the vast majority of the use of copper gilding, glass and other materials, that is, the use of jade, jade, red sapphire, pen washing, lapis lazuli, etc., is often general in color, and even sometimes false and true.

The second is to integrate ornamental and artistic, which is both a handicraft and an everyday decoration. They will not be shelved, and when they see them, they will naturally think of the officials who have made offerings. Therefore, offering bonsai is a clever way to please.

Qing Guangxu enamel pot white coral bonsai

Third, the flowers, fruits, plants and trees of the craft bonsai are always bright and dripping all year round, not only getting rid of the limitations of natural bonsai, but also the rosewood that always remains brilliant, beyond the restrictions of time and life, giving people psychological hints.

Clear material Huashan stone enamel bonsai

Fourth, the pattern and theme of the craft bonsai contain auspicious meanings, and the addition of such bonsai to the celebration in the palace can increase the festive and peaceful atmosphere. It reflects the worldly desire for "auspiciousness" in the court life of the Qing Dynasty, and is more in line with Cixi's expectations and attachments for this life.

Clear copper tire enamel full of flowers floor bonsai

Fifth, most of the rulers of the Qing Dynasty believed in Buddhism, and the treasures used in the craft bonsai were originally the offerings of the Buddha, and the placement of such bonsai more or less had the meaning of "borrowing flowers to offer Buddha".

Bonsai furnishings in the Paiyun Hall

Cixi spent her 65 and 70th birthdays in the Summer Palace, and received considerable birthday gifts from officials at all levels, and most of the gifts of the birthday ceremony were stored in the Paiyun Hall, which was the main place of the Cixi Birthday Ceremony, where Cixi received hundreds of officials to celebrate the birthday. According to the archives of the 28th year of Guangxu (1902), the Paiyun Hall was the most decorated hall in the Summer Palace, including a considerable number of bonsai.

Bonsai furnishings in the Paiyun Hall

After careful observation of the middle bonsai in the bonsai furnishings in the Paiyun Hall above, it was found that it was quite similar to the Qing Guangxu Gold Lacquer Duobao Flower Enamel Bonsai in the picture below.

Qing Guangxu Gold lacquer multi-treasure flower enamel bonsai

The pot is a floral enamel texture, decorated on all sides with tangled lotus patterns and passionflower patterns, and the patterns of "Danfeng Chaoyang" and "Fengqi Peony" are painted at the front and back openings, and the pine bamboo plum is also painted, implying that when the sages meet the Ming, the wealth is endless. The pots are made of gold lacquer as branches, stones, corals, etc. are made of peonies and chrysanthemums, and the leaves are made by the dotting technique. Although there is a certain amount of dust, it is well preserved, and the texture and natural feeling of the feathers can still be seen.

Craft bonsai as a display object, the shaping of "scenery" is not just a simple natural scene, sometimes also pursue the combination of imagery and artistic conception, through a variety of harmonic combinations, the abstract meaning becomes vivid and intimate.

Qing DuoBao Heron Pond Boxwood Carved Bonsai

This Qingduobao Heron Pond Boxwood Carved Bonsai is carved from boxwood into sticks, lotus flowers, and lotuses. In addition to the blooming lotus flowers, there are also flower buds waiting to be released, the lotus leaves are curled, the lotus canopy symbolizes the multiplicity, and the lotus leaves represent the night. The lower dwarf is a daffodil, using tooth bone material to make daffodils and roots, in line with the reputation of "Lingbo fairy", the bottom of the stone to make a number of herons, the basin is black lacquer inlaid with screws and tungsten. Boxwood is slow to grow, the texture is fine, it is difficult to have large materials, and it is mostly used for decoration of exquisite small pieces.

Qing DuoBao Heron Pond Boxwood Carved Bonsai

In addition, the craftsmen will also skillfully express the natural mountain stones, grasses, trees, flowers, birds, fish and insects according to the texture, texture, color, etc. of various materials, and can also be equipped with pavilions, pavilions, characters and other elements of life, if there are eight tones, storage and other functions, it is more practical.

The gold lacquer plum blossom tree eight immortals across the sea maple shaped bonsai pictured below is a pair. With plum blossoms as the background, the trunk wood is coated with gold paint, and the white plums are made of stone, and the plum blossoms are also inlaid with pearls.

Clear gold lacquer plum blossom tree eight immortals across the sea maple shaped bonsai

The eight immortals under the plum tree, the shrimp soldier crab general, the sea beast and other characters are all made of ivory, but the picture is exquisite, the aluminum sheet makes the waves, and the gold and silver colors are contrasting.

Clear gold lacquer plum blossom tree eight immortals across the sea maple shaped bonsai

It is said that the Eight Immortals crossed the sea for the peach festival of the Queen Mother's Mother, and cixi's female image was mostly metaphorically attached to the Queen Mother's Niangniang, so this theme was mostly used for the Cixi Birthday Ceremony.

In this pair of bonsai, this eight immortals are no longer complete

This white ape dedication shou eight-tone water method hardwood small standing cabinet, the music cabinet is divided into two parts, the upper part is a landscape box, the lower part is hidden behind two rosewood hollow swastika jindi opposite doors are eight-tone water method mechanical components.

Qing Bai Ape Dedication Shou Eight Sound Water Method Hardwood Small Standing Cabinet

When enjoying, the mechanical winding is first, in the background of the eight tones, the upper landscape box is babbling, the magpie spreads its wings, the peach held by two white apes is automatically opened, and the dynamic picture of the "Qilin Dedication Book" is presented at the back of the rockery, which is a scene of vitality, auspicious birthday, and saints.

Qing Bai Ape Dedication Shou Eight Sound Water Method Hardwood Small Standing Cabinet

According to the "List of Displays of the Palaces of the Summer Palace in the Guangxu Period", this small standing cabinet was stored in the Leshou Hall during the Guangxu period, or because Cixi loved this clever plaything, it was placed next to it for daily play.

During the restoration of cultural relics, it was found that the rockery was made of stacked ivory in akane color, and the Suzhou yard was used as a stacking mark. The craftsmen use Suzhou yards to mark the ivory used in the dark, indicating that the rockery stacking should have drawings or recipes, which shows the fine workmanship and the high degree of specialization.

The following piece of inlaid enamel vine rose flower bird landscape hardwood cabinet is used for daily furnishings, the upper part is a wisteria rose flower landscape box, and the lower part is a single-storey storage space.

Clear inlaid enamel vine rose flower bird landscape hardwood standing cabinet

Painted with white jade as a daffodil, the upper wisteria rosettes are luxuriant and drooping, the flower color is single-eyed, and there are colorful butterflies flying in the sun-shading vine roses. "Flower butterfly" is pronounced "melon", that is, the melon is continuous.

Clear inlaid enamel vine rose flower bird landscape hardwood standing cabinet

The lower part is painted with an enamel cabinet door, which is painted with the pattern of "Fu (bat) Qing (謦) Youyu". The stand cabinet bracket is made of rosewood as a bamboo knot pattern, which means "rising high", and the circular carved inserts around it are boxwood carvings, and the patterns are "Fuqing Youyu" and "Liuyun Baifu". The larger overall relief insert "Liuyun Baifuku" is accompanied by bats and cloud patterns, and the cloud pattern seems to be ruyi, indicating that the blessings fall from the sky and the blessings continue.

Clear inlaid enamel vine rose flower bird landscape hardwood standing cabinet