Palace Memorial
in Manchu and Chinese Scripts
Qing
dynasty (1644�1911), Qianlong period (1736�95), dated 1760
Composed
by Zhuang Yougong (jinshi of 1739; d. 1767)
Document
with 21 folds; folded in accordion style; overall dimensions of document
completely unfolded: 23.5 x 247.8 cm; each leaf: approx. 23.5 x 11.8 cm
Inventory number: 1143
Original
palace memorials are extremely important archival documents for the study of
Qing history.� Their contents tend to be
very specific and are considered authentic and reliable sources of regional and
local data.� After reading the
memorials, the emperor would give his endorsement, issue instructions, or reply
by inscribing them with a vermilion brush.�
Palace memorials are often the most direct records of the development of
certain historical affairs as well as their subsequent management by the
bureaucracy and the court.
This
bilingual palace memorial (zouzhe in Chinese, bukdari in Manchu, literally
"memorial written on folded paper") was submitted by the official
Zhuang Youguang to the Qianlong emperor in 1760.� Zhuang was the top-ranking participant in the 1739 metropolitan
examinations; he was appointed to a series of important posts.
The
Manchu portion of the memorial, read from left to right, has a total of six
leaves with six columns per fold, except for the final leaf, which has only
four columns of text; some of the leaves in Manchu text have been loosened from
the rest of the document.� The Chinese
portion, read right to left, is written in very small, delicately inked, and
stylized kaishu
(regular script) over 13 folds.
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