Eternal Enlightenment:
the Virtual World of Jiajing Emperor

Overview

2022 marks the 500th anniversary of the Jiajing Emperor, Zhu Houcong's (1507 – 1567) ascension to the throne. With that in mind, the Hong Kong Museum of Art has organised an exhibition focused on the emperor, in collaboration with the owner of the famed Huaihaitang Collection. The life of the Jiajing Emperor was a legendary one. At thirteen years of age, he went from being a vassal prince to becoming the ruler of the Ming dynasty, over which he would reign for the next forty-five years. During the Jiajing era, the Ming dynasty was plagued by internal strife and foreign threats. In the 21st year of the Jiajing period (1542), the emperor moved to the West Park and lived there until his death in 1567. After retreating to the West Park, built to resemble an immortal land on earth, the Jiajing Emperor devoted himself to pursuing immortality and building temples and palaces. The imperial porcelain designs during his reign were greatly influenced by his Daoist belief. From then on, the quantity of porcelain wares ordered by the imperial court from the Jingdezhen kilns increased substantially. The average number of imperial porcelain items supplied per year grew from over four thousand in the early years to more than thirty thousand. A total of nearly six hundred thousand pieces were produced during this period. The forms and patterns of these wares reflected the hopes and wishes of the Jiajing Emperor and mirrored the predicaments and uncertainties of reality at the time. Through his design of the West Park, usage of vast quantities of wares, and practice of Daoist rituals, the emperor was seemingly building his idealised immortal world just like a virtual world nowadays, where he could one day transcend the temporal realm and achieve immortality. In this exhibition, we hope to shed light on the struggles and aspirations of this legendary Ming emperor by featuring artefacts that have survived for five centuries from the era.

  • Date
    2022.12.092023.06.14
  • Venue
    Chinese Antiquities Gallery, 3/F
  • Fee
    Free

Audios

Playlist

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  • 700Exhibition Overview
  • Vase with Arabic scripts in underglaze blue701Vase with Arabic scripts in underglaze blue
  • Combined scriptures of the original acts of the exalted and superior Jade Sovereign702Combined scriptures of the original acts of the exalted and superior Jade Sovereign
  • Ewer inscribed with "<i>sihai laichao bafang laijing</i>" in underglaze blue703Ewer inscribed with "sihai laichao bafang laijing" in underglaze blue
  • <i>Yuhuchun</i> vase with deers and cranes design in underglaze blue704Yuhuchun vase with deers and cranes design in underglaze blue
  • Large bowl with assorted musical instruments design in underglaze blue705Large bowl with assorted musical instruments design in underglaze blue
  • Daoist painting with donor's inscription706Daoist painting with donor's inscription
  • Charger with the Three Friends of Winter and <i>fu</i> character design in underglaze blue707Charger with the Three Friends of Winter and fu character design in underglaze blue
  • Double-gourd vase inscribed with "<i>fengtiao yushun guotai min'an</i>" blessings in underglaze blue708Double-gourd vase inscribed with "fengtiao yushun guotai min'an" blessings in underglaze blue
  • Pair of dishes with clouds and <i>shou</i> character in cloud script design in underglaze blue709Pair of dishes with clouds and shou character in cloud script design in underglaze blue
Floorplan
Floorplan

Talk Series

"Eternal Enlightenment: the Virtual World of Jiajing Emperor" Talk Series

With 2022 marking the 500th anniversary of the Jiajing Emperor's ascension to the throne, the Hong Kong Museum of Art has organised an exhibition focused on the emperor, in collaboration with the famed Huaihaitang Collection, revealing the struggles and aspirations of this legendary Ming emperor through the precious artefacts. We will launch a talk series to tie in with the exhibition, inviting three scholars in the field to give differently themed talks that delve into the artefacts of the Jiajing period from various perspectives.

Talk 1
Prints, Porcelain & Architecture: The Daoist Belief System and Material Legacy of the Jiajing Emperor

Speaker: Prof. Maggie C. K. Wan (Associate Professor at the Department of Fine Arts, The Chinese University of Hong Kong)
Language: Cantonese
Talk and Speaker Details:
https://hk.art.museum/Exhibition_publication/Eternal_Talk_1.pdf
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDyf0x0t7HY


Talk 2
Reflection of the Times: A Study of the Late Ming Imperial Porcelain in the Huaihaitang Collection Based on Archaeological Texts from the Jingdezhen Imperial Kilns

Speaker: Mr Jiang Jianxin (Honorary Director of the Jingdezhen Ceramic Archaeological Research Institute)
Language: Putonghua
Talk and Speaker Details:
https://hk.art.museum/Exhibition_publication/Eternal_Talk_2_Re2.pdf
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SiCaz0V3bo

Talk 3
Studies on Reign Marks Inscriptions on Jiajing Imperial Porcelains

Speaker: Prof. Peter Y. K. Lam (Honorary Research Fellow at the Institute of Chinese Studies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong) 
Language: Cantonese
Talk and Speaker Details:
https://hk.art.museum/Exhibition_publication/Eternal_Talk_3.pdf
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryM1rv9lYlw