carved out of the same stone, each of square section, surmounted by a single-horned mythical beast standing foursquare with its head facing forward, detailed with bulging eyes and a wide snout, its tail raised and bent forward with curled prongs issuing from each side, the seal face worked in the baiwen style, one reading Daoguang yubi ('treasure inscribed in the hand of the Daoguang Emperor'), and the other reading Zhengzai yangmin ('the way of governance lives in nurturing people'), the smoothly polished stone of a soft tone with the brown portion skillfully utilised to depict the finial

Gallery Langweil, Paris, ca. 1907.
Collection of Emile Guimet (1836-1918), and thence by descent.

The seals are in overall good condition. There are a few expected minute nicks to the edges of the seals and the mythical beast finials. The catalogue illustration is redder than the actual colour of the stone.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

On the celadon jade Daoguang yubi and Zhengzai yangmin seals
Guo Fuxiang

The current Sotheby’s Hong Kong auction includes a pair of small seals formerly belonging to the Daoguang Emperor. Both are meticulously carved from a jade boulder of warm and lustrous celadon tone that transmute at the finials into a light red colour typical of tangyu, or 'sugar jade.' The carving and polish of the animal-shaped finials and the rest of the seals are both extremely refined, skilful and assured. The seal texts, both inscribed in seal script in intaglio, read respectively Daoguang yubi ('treasure inscribed in the hand of the Daoguang Emperor') and Zhengzai yangmin  ('the way of governance lives in nurturing people'). The lines in the inscriptions are even and robust, indicating the creator’s high degree of skill. Both seals are clearly documented in Daoguang baosou, the catalogue of the Daoguang Emperor’s seals currently in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, conforming exactly to the records in material, dimensions, calligraphic style and text. From this it is certain that the two seals are authentic seals of the Daoguang Emperor. Daoguang baosou records that both were originally kept in the same case and were used as a pair (fig. 1).

The Daoguang Emperor was the sixth emperor of the Qing Dynasty after its conquest of the Chinese mainland. His reign, which lasted from 1821 to 1850, was the third longest during the Qing, surpassed only by those of Kangxi and Qianlong. When Daoguang ascended the throne, the Qing Dynasty had long passed its golden age and was in continual decline. The Qing Empire under Daoguang resisted for two years, and ultimately succumbed to the colonial imperialism of Great Britain. Against his will Daoguang personally had to sign a series of unequal treaties such as the Treaty of Nanjing, which began China’s long period of subjugation by foreign powers and revealed the full extent of its weakness and corruption to Westerners and the Chinese themselves. The Opium Wars and the consequent unequal treaties set in motion a series of dramatic historical developments and ushered feudal Chinese society into a state of semi-colonisation. Daoguang was thus the only emperor to experience the final phase of feudal China and the beginning of semi-colonial China. Faced with internal and external threats, Daoguang, for all his diligence and caution, was unable to prevent national disasters. In spite of this, however, throughout his life Daoguang maintained the principles and behaviour proper for a Chinese emperor. Introverted, conservative, and steeped in Confucian philosophy, he was diligent and devoted to his duties, and did his best to replicate and venerate the accomplishments and legacies of his forebears. This is clear in his imperial seals, including the Zhengzai yangmin seal currently on offer.

Zhengzai yangmin stems from a quotation of Yu the Great in Shangshu: “Virtue is in good government, and the key to good government lies in nourishing the common people.” Yu states that a ruler should try his best to maintain social harmony, and the key to this is to educate the people in ethics through culture, to devote resources to their use, and to establish official systems to improve their livelihood. Yu’s principle was observed by Chinese rulers throughout history, and was moreover adopted as an official policy by the Qing emperors. The Kangxi, Qianlong and Jiaqing Emperors all circulated their understandings of this principle, and so did Daoguang, who believed that “virtue and government are the inner and outer aspects of the same, and government and the common people respond to each other.” In the same context he advocates simple government, emphasises agriculture and education, and argues for the reduction of indentured labour and punishment. He probably had Zhengzai yangmin inscribed on his seal to remind himself of his principles of rule. The text also offers a glimpse into Daoguang’s inner world.

According to court conventions, the enthronement of every new emperor had to be accompanied by the creation of new imperial seals for his use on documents and works of art. These seals of early reigns were inscribed with a variety of texts, but most of them included reign titles. Of course, every reign occasioned multiple seals of different sizes and materials. These imperial seals were exclusive to particular emperors and could not be reused by others. Frequently used on non-official occasions, seals inscribed with reign titles constituted a considerable part of Qing-dynasty imperial seals. Daoguang’s Zhengzai yangmin seal is one among them.

The Daoguang reign was one of the more tumultuous periods of the Qing Dynasty. Repeated defeats by foreign powers and social unrests prevented Daoguang from accomplishing any of his goals. Due to the financial poverty of the Qing empire and the emperor’s own frugality, only some 60 imperial seals were created during the Daoguang reign, although their production followed the same format as before. After the emperor selected the seal texts, the Imperial Household Workshops would make designs accordingly. Only after the designs were approved by the emperor would seals be made from them, and finished seals likewise had to be approved by the emperor. As a result, Daoguang’s imperial seals maintained the quality and stylistic vitality of his predecessors’, as evidenced by the vivid sculpture and conscientious craftsmanship of the two seals on offer, as well as by the intricacy and fluency of their calligraphic inscriptions.

It is especially worth noting that the two seals were carved from two equal halves of the same block of tangyu (‘sugar jade’). The light red portions of the blocks were ingeniously exploited to create animal-shaped finials of a different colour. This is attested in the historical evidence. According to the records of the Imperial Household Workshops, in 1820, soon after becoming emperor, Daoguang ordered the creation of imperial seals, which were then passed to the workshops to be installed in zitan cases. A particular pair of seals is documented as follows: “one seal carved from sugar jade, inscribed with Daoguang yubi, and one seal carved from sugar jade, inscribed with Zhengzai yangmin: for the above two seals, one box was made.” This record accords exactly with the seals on offer in text and colour. We can therefore ascertain that these two masterfully crafted seals were created for Daoguang’s us♏e in 1820, during the early period of his rei𓂃gn.