Rulers of art

In court, the monarchs discussed state affairs with prominent cabinet members. In their spare time, they shared aesthetic preferences with their favorite subordinates, enjoying their flattery.

Some are well known to people today, as their anecdotes have become part of pop culture through hit period dramas. For example, Heshen was an infamous high-ranking Manchurian official whose corruption tarnished the governance late in Qianlong's reign. The exhibition displays a hanging scroll painting depicting an elderly Qianlong on horseback shooting two deer in the wild. It may have been made by an anonymous court painter, and the inscriptions made by the emperor himself, his sons, and courtiers, including Heshen.

Ji Yun, better known as Ji Xiaolan, was another of Qianlong's cultural courtiers. He is a male protagonist in a popular period comedy series in which he and Heshen accompany Qianlong on unofficial visits outside the palace in disguise. The accomplished scholar and calligrapher was appointed to oversee the compilation of the Siku Quanshu (A Complete Library of the Four Treasures), the largest collection of books in ancient China. His calligraphy, a poem composed by Qianlong, is written on a paper fan that is displayed in the exhibition.

The exhibition is the eighth of its kind under a collaboration between the Palace Museum and the Guardian Art Center. Kou Qin, general manager of the Guardian Art Center, says the current theme capitalizes on a highly distinctive, yet rarely addressed, category of the Palace Museum collection — the calligraphy of the three sovereigns and their works in collaboration with ministers.

The last exhibition, held a year ago, shed light on the aesthetics and order of hierarchy embodied in imperial designs through a display of artifacts including bronzes, porcelains, jade, enamelware, glassware, and textiles. This time, the exhibits may not create an immediate visual impact; however, Kou says, "The gathering of hanging scrolls, hand scrolls and album leaves would command a composed mood for people to pause and appreciate with careful attention."