乾隆的三套青銅器圖錄：西清古鑑，寧壽鑑古，和西清續鑑，編輯過程歷經44年，共收錄4,115件青銅器，是二十世紀之前，關於中國青銅器最完整的著錄。青銅器並非乾隆個人最鍾愛的收藏品，但是青銅器自古承載政權合法性的象徵意義，是乾隆的大清帝國意象裡絕對必要的收藏品。本文透過對這三套銅器圖錄的分析，特別是西清續鑑甲編附錄裡記載的38件來自帝國邊緣的藏品，說明乾隆收藏不同來源不同族群不同時代的青銅器，以構築大清帝國的政權合法性與文化多元性，並確立對其帝國內各族群合法統治的政治展演。

Ch'ien-lung’s three bronze catalogues, Hsi-ch′ing ku-chien 西清古鑑, Ningshou chien-ku 寧壽鑑古, and Hsi-ch′ing hsü-chien 西清續鑑, documenting a total of 4,115 bronzes, were the most comprehensive reference books on Chinese bronzes until the twentieth century. These three bronze catalogues should be comprehended as one curatorial project lasting for forty-four years, covering roughly three-fourths of Ch'ienlung’s reign. Through this project, the emperor documented his ownership of the oldest creations of Chinese civilization and declared his respect for that long history.

While Ch'ien-lung fully consolidated power and his authority became unchallengeable, cataloguing bronzes turned into one of his ways of mapping the great Manchu empire: he included thirty-eight bronzes from afar in “Hsi-ch'ing hsü-chien chia-pien fu-lu 西清續鑑甲編附錄.” Ch'ien-lung thus employed these bronze catalogues to position himself as a sage king who extended the historical depth even as he expanded the geographic scope of his empire. By means of close reading of Ch'ien-lung’s bronze catalogues, especially “Hsi-ch'ing hsü-chien chia-pien fu-lu,” this paper investigates the emperor’s cultural performances—his presentation of bronzes as magical talismans from the utopian past, symbols of dynastic legitimacy, and mementoes of the glorious Manchu Empire.

乾隆; 西清古鑑; 西清續鑑; 西清續鑑甲編附錄; 青銅器

Ch'ien-lung; Hsi-ch′ing ku-chien; Hsi-ch′ing hsü-chien; “Hsi-ch ing hsü-chien chia-pien fu-lu”; bronze