263 - Two imperial edicts to the Zheng family

Two imperial edicts to the Zheng family China, Xianfeng period, dated 1853 and 1860 33 x 305 cm und 33 x 236 cm Multi-colored imperial silk brokat with finely woven auspicious patterns of clouds, ruyi-heads, and dragons. Written bilingual in Chinese (read right-to-left) and Manchu script (read left-to-right). This ensemble offers an exceptional, continuous documentation of the bureaucratic rise and social status of the family of the Qing official Zheng Xichang (郑锡敞) in the Imperial Ministry of Works (Gongbu) in Beijing over a period of seven years: 1) Edict to the wife of Zheng Xichang (1853). Precisely dated: 3rd year, 3rd month, 3rd day of the Xianfeng era. Issued in honour of the lawfulwife (Baishi) of Zheng Xichang, who at that time served as a secretary in the Department of Agricultural Colonisation of the Ministry of Works (Gongbu Tuntian Si Zhushi, 工部屯田司主事). 2) Edict to the stepmother of Zheng Xichang (1860). Precisely dated: 1st day of the 1st month of the 10th year of the Xianfeng era. Issued as part of a ceremonial New Year’s honour to the birth-concubine of his father / his stepmother (Schumu, 庶母). By 1860, Zheng Xichang had successfully advanced his career further within the Ministry of Works (Gongbu Zhushi, 工部主事), adding another rank step. The vibrant yellow central section bears the imperial date and the large square imperial seals. From the private collection of Else and Max Brommer (1889-1955) in Stuttgart, assembled before 1955, and in the family’s possession ever since - Damage due to age, partially broken Imperial edicts conferred within the same family context upon various female family members (wife and mother) are rarely preserved as a complete set. They perfectly reflect the Confucian virtue of filial piety and the imperial reward system of the Qing period, in which an official’s success was directly transferred to his family