The Craft Aesthetics of the Cultural Relics Collection in the Qing Dynasty

Abstract

Since China had been the emperor system, all folk treasures would be collected by the aristocracy of the palace. Emperor Qianlong, the emperor Gao Zong of the Qing Dynasty loved cultural relics by nature and took great care of his treasures. Some treasures are from the former dynasties, some are imported from foreign tribute, and some are from domestic officials or folks. In order to protect these ancient relics, many famous artists such as painters, sculptors, carpenters, and stone smiths were recruited, So the brilliant craft aesthetics was well developed. This study mainly aims to explore the collection of cultural relics from 1735 to 1795 during the reign of Emperor Gao Zong of the Qing Dynasty and introduce various delicate boxes created by the Qing artisans. In other words, through these ancient cultural relics, such as ancient jade, calligraphy, books, literature, and other exquisite cultural relics, in this paper the author presents the aesthetics of the Qianlong emperor’s collection and the effort of Qing artisans who shaped the relics of the Royal Collection, shaping various combinations, storage and display, as well as exquisite boxes such as Doubger and Borg.