A rare and exquisite finely carved imperial spinach-green jade ‘wufu wudai tang’ book Qing Dynasty - Buddhism Prayer Book
The book comprises eight rectangular gilt Jade plaques - 16 Pages
Very Rare!
• Eight genuine spinach-green
Jade tablets, engraved in gold on both sides
• Goddess Guanyin (with a thousand hands) to first tablet, Seals on back
• Last tablet incised and painted ingilt with the nine-character title, yu zhi shi quan lao ren zhi bao
shuo
between a pair of descending dragons above waves
• Inscriptions written in lishu – eleven lines with five characters per line
• Grey silk over boards
• Fine display piece
• Buddhism prayer
BACKGROUND:
Guanyin or Guan Yin is an East Asian bodhisattva associated
with compassion and venerated by Mahayana Buddhists and followers of Chinese
folk religions, also known as the "Goddess of Mercy" in English. The
Chinese name Guanyin, short for Guanshiyin, means "The One Who Perceives
the Sounds of the World".
This book records a Buddhist text given to the Qianlong
emperor by a Panchen Lama from Tibet.
The calligraphy was written by the court official Liang Guozhi (1723–1774) then
engraved into the jade pages and painted gold. A number of jade books were made
during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor (1711–1799).
Since the earliest antiquity, jade enjoys special
consideration in China.
They (jade artifacts) were insignia of the supreme power, scepters or
sacrificial vessels, and was used in the funeral rites to protect the bodies
from putrefaction. For the Confucians it is the symbol of the five cardinal
virtues: goodness, righteousness, wisdom, courage and purity while the Taoists
consume it reduced to powder to try to attain immortality. Whether it came from
the West of China or from nearby countries, it was a product imported at great
price or offered in tribute to the emperor by vassal kingdoms.
The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 1711 – 7 February 1799)
was the sixth Emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the fourth Qing emperor to rule
over China
proper, reigned from 1735 to 1796. Born Hongli, the fourth son of the Yongzheng
Emperor, he reigned officially from 11 October 1735 to 8 February 1796.
Note: Jade books were highly sumptuous items made only
for the most important rituals or investitures of emperors. During the Qianlong
period jade books were also made for the pleasure of the Qianlong Emperor, in
part due to his fascination with jade. Some jade books are inscribed with
Buddhist sutras and texts and have aloeswood covers. Jade panels are incised
and gilt with the foshuo shi jixiang jing sutra.
Jade has always enjoyed special consideration in China as the
insignia of the supreme power, sacred tools in ceremonies. The Confucians consider
it the symbol of the five cardinal virtues: goodness, righteousness, wisdom,
courage and purity while the while Taoists consumed it to try to attain
immortality.
The text about the Bodhisattva Guanyin is associated with compassion and
worshipped by Mahayana Buddhists and followers of Chinese folk religions, also
known as the "Goddess of Mercy", meaning literally "The One Who
Perceives the Sounds of the World", serves as a pretext for this rare work
that unites the preciousness of the green jade with the austerity of the
engraved stelae.
CONDITION:
Condition is Good+/Very Good. Some surface wear to boards/some tablets, loss of
gold to 3 - 4 characters, otherwise very good!
Antique Old Jade Book Chinese / Tibet
Contains 8 Jade panels with 16 carved Buddhist texts.
Age: ca-1800
Region of Origin: China
Reproduced from the Original gift given to the Emperor.
Measurements (approx.): 9” x 6” x 2.25” thick
Binding: Hardcover; tight & secure