Edict
for the Personal Rule of the T'ung-chih Emperor
Dated the 12th year of the T'ung-chih reign
(1873), Ch'ing dynasty
84 x 410.5 cm (99 x 447 cm overall)
An edict is one of the "sacred instructions"
(or decrees) issued by the emperor. Being an
official document presented by the emperor,
the beginning must start with the phrase, "Entrusted
as such by the Heavens, the Emperor hereby proclaims...."
The intended audience is also the widest possible,
the purpose being to inform all officials, nobility,
and commoners of the land about the emperor's
orders. For this reason, the phrase "Announced
to all under the Heavens, hereby be it fully
heard and known" was included at the end.
This and the general impression differ from
the personal or clan type of "sacred instruction"
kowtow. That type of imperial decree usually
is in the form of a handscroll, the audience
being only a single person or the family, in
which the formal name was "order by decree"
with the beginning of "Entrusted as such
by the Heavens, the Emperor hereby 'produces'..."
(emphasis added to note distinction).
Edicts basically
all deal with matters of great national importance,
with almost all of them intricately bound to
some major historical event. The edict on display
in this exhibit involves the T'ung-chih Emperor,
who assumed the throne at the tender age of
six in 1862. Two dowager empresses, however,
ruled behind the scenes for eleven years, before
the emperor personally assumed control of the
country, proclaiming this fact to all with this
document. The contents of the edict, written
in both Chinese and Manchu, mention his praise
of Dowager Empresses Tz'u-an and Tz'u-hsi as
well as his dedication to the people. It also
reveals the self-deprecatory and expectations
of a young emperor through inclusion of the
phrase, "From now on, I will be cautious
and conscientious. From day one to tens of thousands,
I dare not indulge in idle or leisure."
Who would have thought that a year later this
young life would come to an abrupt end?
|
