Interview with Robert Jacobsen
Curator of Asian Art
1. Tell us about this impressive gate.
This ceremonial gate, made from carved ceramic tile, was originally part of a large courtyard house located in the village of Chang-wu. When it was purchased by The Minneapolis Institute of Arts in 1997, most of the original house had been demolished.
Commemorative gates and memorial arches have a long tradition in Chinese architecture. Main entrances to walled cities, palaces, and temples were often demarcated with inscribed tower gates.
An inscription in the dedicatory panel dates the gate to the spring of the sixth year of the Yung-Cheng reign (1728). The upper portion of this tiled structure was remarkably well-preserved. All the decorative, calligraphic, and pictorial tiles as well as the roof tiles are original as is the wooden beam supporting the superstructure. The smooth tiles on both jambs are, however, modern replacements.
2. So, was this the entrance to a private house?
It was a private house, yes, but this type of gate was not the main street entrance to the home. It was an interior gate set on axis with the main hall and it provided the ceremonial entrance to and from the main courtyard. Large homes with several courtyards could have more than one commemorative gate.
In this case, the decorative façade faced the main hall and was therefore an important outdoor element in defining the families' ceremonial space.
3. What do the Chinese characters say?
The overdoor bears a four-character inscription praising the virtue of the family. It states, "In Celebration of Bestowed Glory."(1)
4. Could you describe the other imagery?
This door is distinguished by the surprising amount of pictorial representation.
To either side of the inscription, deer appear in a landscape setting.(2, 3) Spotted deer are a common T'aoist symbol for longevity, but, in this instance, they probably stand for the attainment of high office, a strong Confucian value.
The frieze above the inscription illustrates the "four noble agrarian professions." From right to left are shown a fisherman (4), a woodcutter (5), a farmer leading an ox (6) and a scholar-landowner seated in his studio at a desk looking out on a small garden.(7)
The significance of this imagery is relevant today. China remains an agrarian-based economy. The orderly stewardship of the land and bountiful harvests were and are fundamental to social stability. Land and its productive management was also a basic source of wealth for many aristocratic families accounting for the agrarian themes illustrated here.