Emperor Jiaqing the Person

The Jiaqing emperor followed in the tradition of imperial education and began his formal studies at the age of six. A diligent student, he amassed a considerable collection of poetry over his lifetime, the total number of pieces more than 10,000. The contents of his poetry serve as an accurate record of the Jiaqing emperor's theory of and practice in ruling, including his concern for family and the people, and some of the anthologies of his works also include his portraits. From them, we can see not only what he looked like at the time but how he aged over the years.

1. Yellow silk-bound Chinese edition of the Qing Historiography Institute, Qing dynasty

This publication was compiled in the Daoguang emperor's reign (1820-1850) after Jiaqing had passed away. The contents mainly deal with Jiaqing's position in the family, time and place of his birth, daily activities, and important matters after becoming emperor. It even mentions Jiaqing's appearance as "full and dignified"with a "calm and broad" manner, describing him as versed in the Classics, accomplished in poetry, and knowledgeable about regulations. As for his daily life, Jiaqing is described as being "especially filial." Thus, the reader can catch a glimpse of Jiaqing's scholarship, person, and administration, revealing him to a man of great "astuteness" (rui).

1. Shoushan stone, Qing dynasty (1644-1911)
2. Seal face: 2.5 x 1.2 cm, height: 5.1 cm

This connected seal is engraved to produce an impression in red for "Fifteenth imperial son" on top and "Zhusu Garden" on the bottom. "Zhusu Garden" was the hall name used by the Jiaqing emperor while he was still prince.

1. Written by Yongyan
2. Paper fan
3. Qing dynasty

The National Palace Museum has in its collection ten bamboo-frame fans on dark paper of the same size calligraphed on one side by Yongyan (the Jiaqing emperor, using the variant of yong before becoming Crown Prince). On the other side of the poetry of the Qianlong emperor written by Yongyan in gold ink is a landscape painting in gold ink by Hongwu(1743-1811); the fans were originally stored in a wood box. The sides with imperial poetry have songs on the Juanqin Studio and Leshou Hall, places in the Ningshou Palace where the Qianlong emperor primarily resided. The Qianlong emperor wrote the poems between 1776 and 1789 to express his feelings. Yongyan was announced as Prince of the First Rank in 1789, so it suggests that the fans were done at that time. For Yongyan to transcribe the poetry of his father symbolized the future transfer of power to him. This song in running script bears a signature in the name of Yongyan, but the brush method is fluid and the character forms elegant, differing from Yongyan's own calligraphy and suggesting the hand of a ghostwriter instead.

1. From Fascicle 4 of Yuzhiwen Erji (Second Anthology of Imperial Texts)
2. Written by Emperor Jiaqing
3. Black-lined manuscript edition of the Imperial Household Department, 20th year of the Jiaqing reign (1815), Qing dynasty

The Qichun Garden was originally called the Jiaohui Garden and presented by the Kangxi emperor to his thirteenth son, Yunxiang. Under the Qianlong emperor, it was transferred as a gift to Grand Academician Fuheng and given a new name, Chunhe Garden. In 1779, Chunhe Garden was then combined into the Yuanming Gardens and changed in name once more to Qichun Garden. Under the Jiaqing emperor, smaller gardens to the west were integrated with Qichun Garden and the scope of expansion gradually increased. Despite its relatively small size, the scenery at Qichun Garden was particularly fine and the buildings simple yet majestic, giving them a pleasing and comfortable feeling. Of all the Jiaqing emperor's poetry on garden scenery, those on Qichun Garden number the most. "Record of the Qichun Garden" is one of them, indicating just how much Jiaqing appreciated it.