In Pursuit of Temporal Illusion: the Reproduction and Imitation of Antiquities under the Yongzheng Emperor (r. 1723–35)

Abstract The practice of reproducing and imitating antiquities during the Qing period (1644–1911) has attracted the attention of many scholars, especially those specialised in Qing imperial art production, who have delved into such practice initiated particularly under the Kangxi (r. 1662–1722) and Qianlong (r. 1736–95) emperors. The Yongzheng reign (1723–35), however, appears relatively overlooked in the ongoing discussion. This article aims to fill this research gap by examining the reproduction and imitation of archaic ceramics under the Yongzheng emperor. Both two-dimensional pictures and three-dimensional objects produced after archaic ceramics will be examined together with relevant imperial archival records in order to penetrate how antiquities would take on new forms, functions, and meanings and speak to an imagined, multi-layered past constructed at the court. Building upon this, the article will re-examine the definition of ‘antiquities’ in the Yongzheng context and unveil the pattern of thinking behind the illusionistic archaising practice in relation to Emperor Yongzheng’s dual identity as the Manchu ruler and a cultivated literatus engaged with Han Chinese traditions.