This work, in 120 juan and 40 volumes celebrating emperor kangxi’s 60th birthday, was compiled by landscape painter and official wang yuanqi (1642–1715) and others and published at the imperial wuying hall in the 56th year of the kangxi reign (1717). It also includes memorials by high officials to the imperial court petitioning and seeking approval for the issuance of the work. The work took several years to complete, with a total of 39 officials participating in the project. Among them was leng mei, a famed artist of figure painting, who worked closely with wang yuanqi. Kangxi (1654–1722), second emperor of the qing dynasty, had the longest reign of china’s rulers, 61 years, and is considered one of the most-admired emperors. China enjoyed peace and prosperity during his reign, which was noted for the advancement of learning and patronage of arts and sciences. The most characteristic feature of the work is the long painting, with 73 woodcuts in juan 41 and 75 woodcuts in juan 42, placed end-to-end in scroll form. About 50 meters long, the scroll depicts the scenes on the occasion of the birthday celebration when a procession went from the chang chun yuan garden, northwest of beijing, to the forbidden city, about 10 kilometers away. The work, originally designed by the painter and high official song junye, depicted some 50 scenes in the celebration. Wang yuanqi later was directed to supervise the completion of the painting. In one of the memorials, wang yuanqi requested to have a final copy executed on silk. He also recommended inclusion of eulogistic essays honoring the emperor. After wang yuanqi’s death, his cousin wang yiqing continued the work. The printing was financed by two brothers, zhao hongcan and zhao hongxie, both high-ranking officials. The copy at the library of congress was presented by william woodville rockhill (1854–1914), a diplomat to china and a scholar in chinese and tibetan studies. Birthday parties; kangxi, emperor of china, 1654-1722; qing dynasty, 1644-1911. Date: 1717. Place of creation: China. Dimensions: 120 juan, 40 volumes : illustrations. Collection: Library of Congress.
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