Xi qing gu jian jin fang

Abstract

Xi qing gu jian (西清古鑑; also written 西清古鑒) is a description of collectibles owned by the imperial court of the Qing dynasty. The book of 40 juan length was compiled under the supervision of Liang Shizheng (1697-1763), finished in 1751, and printed in 1755. Xi qing (西清; 'Western purity' ) is another name for the southern library (Nan shu fang; 南書房) of the Imperial Palace. It describes and illustrates 1,529 metal objects from the Zhou to the Tang period collected by the Qing emperors. The last 16 fascicles of the catalogue (Qianlu 錢錄) are dedicated to coins. The structure of the book imitates that of the paintings catalogue Xuanhe bogu tu 宣和博古圖 (also called Boguhua 博古畫). Each fascicle includes a table of contents, presents images of the objects, describes them physically, and discusses inscriptions. Many objects are today still held by the palace museums in Beijing (Gu gong bo wu yuan 故宮博物院) and Taipeh. Catalogue of Xiqing Antiquities (Xiqing gujian 西清古鑑) is an illustrated catalogue of ancient bronze utensils and other objects from the Shang (1600-1046 BCE) to Han (202 BCE-220 AD) dynasties in the imperial collection of the Qing dynasty. It was commissioned by the Qianlong emperor (1711-1799), compiled under the supervision of the Qing official and scholar Liang Shizheng 梁詩正 (1697-1763), and completed in 1751. Each entry contains an illustration, a detailed description of the dimension and weight, and a discussion of the inscriptions.

Contents

[Volume 1]. 北京故宮博物院卷 -- [volume 2]. 國立故宮博物院卷 -- [volume 3]. 宮外卷. [Volume 1]. Beijing gu gong bo wu yuan juan -- [volume 2]. Guo li gu gong bo wu yuan juan -- [volume 3]. Gong wai juan.