Left: Faits memorables des empereurs de la Chine, 1788; right: Zhang Juzheng, Dijian tushuo (Illustrated discussion of the emperor’s mirror, Jiaqing reign (1796-1820). 左:《帝鑑圖說》, 1788; 右:(明) 張居正《帝鑑圖說》(刻本),清嘉慶年間(1796 – 1820)
h = 60, d = 50 cm

Faits memorables des empereurs de la Chine. A Paris: Chez l’auteur, graveur de Madame, rue St. Honoré, vis-à-vis l’hôtel de Noailles, no. 315, Et chez M. Ponce, graveur de Mgr. Comte d’Artois, rue St.Hyacinthe, no. 19, 1788.

《帝鑑圖說》,巴黎:Chez l’auteur, graveur de Madame, rue St. Honoré, vis-à-vis l’hôtel de Noailles, no. 315, Et chez M. Ponce, graveur de Mgr. Comte d’Artois, rue St.Hyacinthe, no. 19,1788。

At the court of the Qianlong Emperor, Jesuit artists were asked to produce a set of engravings to accompany a new edition of the Ming-era Dijian tushuo (Illustrated discussion of the emperor’s mirror). A copy was later taken to France, where an epitome of twenty-four of its exemplary historical accounts was published as Faits memorables des empereurs de la Chine. Dijian tushuo was a collection of examples of virtuous conduct by emperors and examples of its opposite. For instance, one of the vignettes discusses the case of the last emperor of the Xia dynasty and his wife Meixi who asked him to fill a canal with wine and a forest with meat as a playground for his concubines to mimic beasts.

清代乾隆皇帝曾要求耶穌會藝術家製作版畫,以配合新版的明代《帝鑑圖說》。後來副本被帶到法國,並摘取當中24篇歷史記載,以《帝鑑圖說》(Faits memorables des empereurs de la Chine) 之名出版。此書其中一個故事描述夏朝末代皇帝夏桀的妻子妹喜要求他在運河裝滿酒,在森林裡掛滿肉類,讓嬪妃假扮野獸嬉戲其中。

Chinese version:
Juzheng, Zhang. Dijian tushuo (Illustrated discussion of the emperor’s mirror, engraved copy). China: s.n., Jiaqing reign (1796-1820)

中文版:
(明)張居正:《帝鑑圖說》(刻本),清嘉慶年間(1796 – 1820)

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