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Uncovering the tale of an historic calligraphy
By Chen Zhen |
December 27, 2010, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
AMONG the treasures in the Jiading Museum is an inscribed board dating back to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
Written with thick ink, the characters on it read: Renrui House, meaning "the house of centenarians."
The ink is now somewhat faded, and viewed casually, the artifact looks like nothing more than an ordinary wood plank. But in reality, the story of the board reveals an interesting tale.
The board was inscribed by Qin Dacheng, who lived in Jiading and was a top scholar in the imperial examinations during the Qing Dynasty.
In the late 1980s, Jin Rong, now head of the cultural relics preservation section of the Jiading Museum, was still a young relics worker.
One day when she and her colleagues passed by a farmer's house in Huating Town, she happened to spot this inscribed board. It was being used by the family as part of the kitchen door. Although weathered, the characters on the board caught Jin's keen eye.
'Hello!" Jin called out to the owners of the house. "There's something extraordinary about this board of yours, you know."
The owners, a newlywed couple, said they had no idea where the board originated. At Jin's urging, they searched their family history for clues. That led to the discovery of quite a treasure in their kitchen.
The museum was keen to buy the board, but the couple, now aware of its value, refused. Negotiations went on for 20 years, with museum staff visiting the home again and again. In 2009, the couple finally relented and offered the relic to the museum collection.
The history of the board is included in the museum exhibit.
The calligrapher Qin was one of three Jiading residents to earn distinction in the imperial examinations of his era.
Qin lost his father when he was young and was raised by his widowed mother. He was said to be an obedient, loyal son.
After scoring at the top of the imperial examination in the 28 th year of the reign of Emperor Qianlong during 1736 to 1796, Qin worked in the Imperial Academy as a historian and examiner.
One day, the story goes, Emperor Qianlong brought Qin two bundles of bamboo planks, one cut from the inner skin and the other from the outer skin.
"What are these?" Qin asked.
Then realizing that the emperor was trying to test his loyalty - because the names of the bamboo slices in Chinese could be interpreted as "down with the Qing Dynasty," Qin dodged the question artfully by referring to the products by alternative names.
"Is your surname the same as that of Qin Hui (a treacherous court official notorious in Chinese history)," the emperor asked.
Seeing that the emperor was once again testing him, Qin vowed that he would always remain loyal to the Qing court and the emperor all his life.
Happy with the responses, the emperor burst into laughter. Qin, however, wasn't laughing inside. The encounter reminded him that being a court official is a perilous career. So he handed in his resignation and returned to his hometown, living the remainder of his life in poverty.
Qin reportedly was always quick to offer a helping hand to the poor, which endeared him to local residents. Since Qin left behind him very few calligraphy works, the board with his inscription has taken on unique historical value.
How did Qin come to write this particular inscription?
The investigations by the young couple who had possession of the board revealed that history.
It seems Qin's son fell ill and showed no sign of recovery. One of the ancestors of the couple happened to come from a family of doctors. A master of medical skills, he cured Qin's son.
To express his gratitude, Qin wrote the inscription. The Chinese characters renrui translate as "centenarians" - a blessing of longevity bestowed upon the doctor and his family.
Below the two characters are the name of the author and the date of the inscription: the 9th month of the 38 th year of the reign of Emperor Qianlong.
Written with thick ink, the characters on it read: Renrui House, meaning "the house of centenarians."
The ink is now somewhat faded, and viewed casually, the artifact looks like nothing more than an ordinary wood plank. But in reality, the story of the board reveals an interesting tale.
The board was inscribed by Qin Dacheng, who lived in Jiading and was a top scholar in the imperial examinations during the Qing Dynasty.
In the late 1980s, Jin Rong, now head of the cultural relics preservation section of the Jiading Museum, was still a young relics worker.
One day when she and her colleagues passed by a farmer's house in Huating Town, she happened to spot this inscribed board. It was being used by the family as part of the kitchen door. Although weathered, the characters on the board caught Jin's keen eye.
'Hello!" Jin called out to the owners of the house. "There's something extraordinary about this board of yours, you know."
The owners, a newlywed couple, said they had no idea where the board originated. At Jin's urging, they searched their family history for clues. That led to the discovery of quite a treasure in their kitchen.
The museum was keen to buy the board, but the couple, now aware of its value, refused. Negotiations went on for 20 years, with museum staff visiting the home again and again. In 2009, the couple finally relented and offered the relic to the museum collection.
The history of the board is included in the museum exhibit.
The calligrapher Qin was one of three Jiading residents to earn distinction in the imperial examinations of his era.
Qin lost his father when he was young and was raised by his widowed mother. He was said to be an obedient, loyal son.
After scoring at the top of the imperial examination in the 28 th year of the reign of Emperor Qianlong during 1736 to 1796, Qin worked in the Imperial Academy as a historian and examiner.
One day, the story goes, Emperor Qianlong brought Qin two bundles of bamboo planks, one cut from the inner skin and the other from the outer skin.
"What are these?" Qin asked.
Then realizing that the emperor was trying to test his loyalty - because the names of the bamboo slices in Chinese could be interpreted as "down with the Qing Dynasty," Qin dodged the question artfully by referring to the products by alternative names.
"Is your surname the same as that of Qin Hui (a treacherous court official notorious in Chinese history)," the emperor asked.
Seeing that the emperor was once again testing him, Qin vowed that he would always remain loyal to the Qing court and the emperor all his life.
Happy with the responses, the emperor burst into laughter. Qin, however, wasn't laughing inside. The encounter reminded him that being a court official is a perilous career. So he handed in his resignation and returned to his hometown, living the remainder of his life in poverty.
Qin reportedly was always quick to offer a helping hand to the poor, which endeared him to local residents. Since Qin left behind him very few calligraphy works, the board with his inscription has taken on unique historical value.
How did Qin come to write this particular inscription?
The investigations by the young couple who had possession of the board revealed that history.
It seems Qin's son fell ill and showed no sign of recovery. One of the ancestors of the couple happened to come from a family of doctors. A master of medical skills, he cured Qin's son.
To express his gratitude, Qin wrote the inscription. The Chinese characters renrui translate as "centenarians" - a blessing of longevity bestowed upon the doctor and his family.
Below the two characters are the name of the author and the date of the inscription: the 9th month of the 38 th year of the reign of Emperor Qianlong.
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