Emperor Qianlong’s Arrow and Two Deers

[The Painting of Emperor Qianlong with One Arrow and Two Deers]

The axis of “The Painting of Emperor Qianlong with One Arrow and Two Deers”, Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, in silk, with colors, 167.5 centimeters vertically and 113.2 centimeters horizontally
Emperor Qianlong wrote two poems with the following inscription: “Emperor Wu Shen’s inscription in June.” The seal was “Treasure of the Ancient and Rare Heavenly Son of Heaven,” with the seal of Zhu Wenfang, and the seal was “Zizi in the Past” with the seal of Bai Wenfang. Yong Rong, Yong Ou, He Shen, Wang Jie, and Dong Gao inscribed poems on Gong He. “Wushen” was the 53rd year of Qianlong (1788), when Emperor Qianlong was 78 years old. In addition, there are seals such as “Emperor Tai Shang”, “Ancient and Rare Treasure of the Heavenly Son of the Five Dynasties Hall of Five Blessings”, and “Treasure of Eight Symbols and Eight Concepts”
The picture depicts the scene of Emperor Qianlong riding a horse and shooting deer, and hitting two deer with an arrow. This picture not only shows the robust and agile physique of Emperor Qianlong and his skilled horse riding and shooting skills, but also shows the excellent quality of the royal bow he used. Emperor Qianlong had extremely high requirements for the material, craftsmanship, and performance of bows. He used dozens of bows, mostly made of wood, with ox horn tendons glued to the outside, birch skin glued to the inside, warm wood as the handle, and deerskin as the strings, which had great elasticity and durability. After each hunt, Emperor Qianlong ordered that the bow that had hit the prey be stored and inscribed with merit, such as: “In the 22nd year of Qianlong’s reign, Emperor Qianlong led the surrender of Junggar to the Mulan Line, surrounded by a treasure bow, and shot a deer in the Yimianhuoluo paddock.”
This image does not have a model year set, but it can be inferred from the fat and fat body of Emperor Qianlong that this image reflects the autumn hunting activities of Emperor Qianlong in his later years. According to historical records, Emperor Qianlong was still able to shoot arrows and gallop in the hunting ground at the age of 79 (1789). From the perspective of painting style, the people and horses in the painting may have been painted by Ai Qimeng