Emperor Ch’ien-lung Praises ‘The Four Beauties’

Emperor Ch’ien-lung Praises ‘The Four Beauties’

• Image Number: K2A003119N000000000PAA
• Dynasty: Qing dynasty
• Category: Paintings
• Author: 董邦達
• Form: 軸
• Exhibition dimension: 172×111.6
• Description:
  At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Gu Congyi collected four volumes of famous sites, including Gu Kaizhi of the Eastern Jin Dynasty and Li Gonglin of the Northern Song Dynasty. In the 11th year of Qianlong’s reign, they all entered the imperial palace of the Qing Dynasty. Emperor Qianlong was pleased with the reunion of the four volumes, and placed the four beauties together in the Garden of Jianfu Palace in the Forbidden City; Yixuan, a handwritten plaque named “Four Beauties”, was hung in the west room. He also ordered Dong Bangda, a scholar of the Academy of Imperial Academy, to draw pictures, and wrote the imperial title “Four Beauties with Praise” to record the story of the gathering and parting of four famous sites. Another interpretation of the four beauties may be taken from the so-called “good times, beautiful scenery, appreciation and joy” in Wang Bo’s Preface to Tengwang Pavilion. This picture is the left of the second axis of Dong Bangda’s Painting of Four Beauties.