OnMay31,2016,WangJinisrepairingacomplex,exquisiteoldclock.THEPalaceMuseum(ortheForbiddenCity)wastheimperialpalaceduringChina鈥檚MingandQingdynasties.ItnowholdsthebiggestcollectionofChina鈥檚ancientworksofart,includingover1,500ancienttimepieces,mostofwhichareunique,oneofakind.
TheFengxianPalace,locatedontheeasternsideofthePalaceMuseum,wasoriginallytheplacewheretheMingandQingemperorsofferedsacrificestotheirancestors.Now,astheclockhallofthemuseum,itdisplaysmorethan100exquisiteclocksandwatchescollectedthere.Asatestamenttotheirhighquality,thesedazzling,complex,andancienttimepiecesarestillfunctionaltothisday,keepingtrackofthemarchoftime.
SincetheestablishmentofthechimeclockcenterintheForbiddenCityduringthereignofEmperorKangxi(r.1662-1722),theancienttimepiecerepairskillhasbeenpassedonforoverthreecenturies.ItistheonlyintangibleculturalheritagethathasbeenpassedonwithoutbreakintheForbiddenCity.In2014,thisskillwaslistedintheNationalListofIntangibleCulturalHeritageofChina.
ChineseEmperors鈥橣ondnessforWesternTimepieces
MechanicaltimepiecesoriginatedinEurope.ChineseemperorsshowedgreatinterestsincetheirintroductionintoChina.AmongthemwastheMingEmperorWanli(r.1573-1620),whowastheirearliestroyalcollector.
In1601,ItalianmissionaryMatteoRicciarrivedinChinaandbroughtseveralgiftstoEmperorWanli,amongwhichwerealargeclockandasmallone.Atthattime,Chinamainlyusedwaterclocksandsundialstocalculatetime,whichmeasuredtimethroughtheflowofwaterandthemovementoftheshadowofthesunrespectively.Duringthenight,drumswerebeatatthestartofeachgeng,oreverytwohours,totelltime.ThetwoclocksMetteoRiccibroughtattractedtheattentionofEmperorWanli,who,amusedathearingtheclocktickingandtheseeminglyautomaticmovementofitshands,rewardedMetteorichly.Thetwoclocksweretobethefirstonesintheimperialcollection.
TheQingemperors鈥檌nterestinclocksandwatchesmultipliedasWestern-originatedoneswereconsideredchicandhadnoveltyvalue.Normallytheywereequippedwithavarietyofdecorations,suchasce-lestialbodies,chariotsandhorses,animals,flowers,andpavilionsasgears.Oncewoundup,timewouldbetoldindifferentways:eitherbirdssinging,flowersblossoming,chariotsracing,oranimalsrollingeyes.
Thesenoveldesigns,pleasantmusic,andtheassociatedauspiciousmeaningspleasedtheresidentsofthepalace.Asaresult,Westernclocksbecameafashionfortheroyals,whosoughtoutwaystocollectallkindsofrareones.EmperorQianlong(r.17361795)wasaperfectexamplewhosparednoefforttocollectallkindsoffancyclocksandwatches.HeevenorderedGuangdongcustomsofficialstobuyWesternproductsatgreatexpense.
OnfindingoutthattheChineseemperorslovedchicwatchesandclocks,foreignmissionsandmissionariesallcametoChinawithexquisiteonesandpresentedthemtotheemperorsinexchangefortheirinterestsinChina.EuropeanwatchmakersalsosawthehugemarketinChina.TheyseizedtheopportunitytomakeclockswithChinese-styledecorationstotradewithChineseenthusiasts.Gradually,thetimepiececollectionoftheimperialpalacegrew,andeachwasexemplarilycrafted.
ClockMakingintheQingDynasty
ThecurrentcollectionofclocksintheForbiddenCitydoesnotoriginateentirelyfromEurope.Infact,alargeportionwaslocallyproduced.
In1648,theQingimperialpalacebeganmakingcopiesofWesternclocksanddoingsimplerepairs.EmperorKangxiwasdiligentandstudious,andhadastronginterestinWesternscience.Totallyfascinatedbythoseclocks,anembodimentofmodernscienceandtechnologyinhiseyes,Kangxisetupachimeclockcenterasaninstitutionforthecollection,manufactureandmaintenanceofroyaltimepieces.
DuringhisgrandsonEmperorQianlong鈥檚reign,thechimeclockcenterwaschangedintotheclockmakingoffice,responsibleforthemakingofgengclocksandchimeclocksamongothers.ThegengclockisacombinationoftheChinesewayoftimetellingindifferentseasonsatnightwiththeWesternway.
Thesurfaceoftheseclocksandwatchesisusuallyhighqualitytimberdottedwithenamelorgoldenlacquertomakeitappearsolemnanddignified.TheywerealwaysmadeintheshapeoftraditionalChinesearchitecture,withthemesbasedonblessings,formingauniqueroyalstyle.RenownedtimepiecerepairerWangJinrepairsthemovementofanoldmusicwatch.AllclocksinthePalaceMuseumweremultifunctional:theyweretimekeepers,furniture,anddecorations.Forexample,thereisaclockdesignedfortheemperortoleanonwhentired,which,ontapping,wouldplaymusic.Anotherexampleisashelfclock,aparadigmofthecombinationofclassicChinesefurniturewithaclock.Theclothesrackclockwasusedtohangtheemperor鈥檚hats,andthedresserclockhasamirrorandspacefortheimperialconcubinestoputtheircosmeticsin.
TherearealsosomeclocksremodeledfromWesternonesaspertheemperor鈥檚instructions.Theretrofittingofclockswasonemajortaskoftheclockmakingofficeassomeweredamagedoverlonguseandneededrepairs,andsomeneedednewlooksornewmobileunits.Withtheemperor鈥檚instructions,theofficemadebigorsmallchangesaccordingly,whilesomechangesweremadeonlytomeettheemperor鈥檚taste.
ACraftPassedDownGenerations
Theclock-makingofficeceasedtoexistwhentheQingDynastyfell,butthisancientcrafthasbeeninheritedandpasseddowntodate.
Photosneedtobetakenfirstoftheclocktoberepairedbeforemakingarepairplan.Then,theaccumulateddustiscarefullyremoved,byvacuumingifnecessarybeforedisassembly.Theclockisstoppedandintheinitialstages,therust,ifpresent,isremovedfollowedbycleaningwithsolventtoremovethestainsandblemishesaccumulatedovertime.
Precisioniswhatisabundantlyrequiredduringthewholeprocess,asmostoftheinternalpartsrangebetweensmallandutterlyminisculeinsize.Amissingorslightlydamagedgearorachainwouldleadtomalfunction.Sometimesamissingpartisassmallasasesameseed,shorterthanamillimeter.Unlikemodernclockswhereabrokenpartcouldjustbereplacedwithanewone,mostofthetimes,thepartsneedtoberepaired,asreplacementisnearlyimpossible.
Afterallthoseproceduresaredone,theclockneedstobereassembled,andgoesthroughtrialruns.Butifitstilldoesn鈥檛work,itneedstobemeticulouslydisassembledagain,andtheproblemisattemptedtobeidentifiedagain.Thisisapainstakingandtime-consumingjob.Moreoftenthannot,monthsorevenyearsarespentrepairingjustoneclock.
TheseexquisiteclocksintheForbiddenCitynotonlyserveasexquisitedecorationpieces,butcanalsoperformtheirintendedfunctionsaswell.Themostdifficultpartisnotthemovementbuttheadornments,asasmallspinningumbrellamayhaveover1,000parts,nottomentiontheothercomplexfigures.Therefore,moderntechnologiesarealsoappliedinadditiontotraditionalskillstodealwithallkindsofproblems,tomakethemnotonlytokeepgoodtime,butalsogiveawonderful,smoothperformance.
Besides,aseachclockinthePalaceMuseumishandmadewithnodesigndrawing,eachhasitsownuniqueinternalstructureandcomplications,inapplicabletoothers.Totherepairers,theyhavearule:addingisstrictlyprohibitedasitwouldnotonlymisrepresenthistory,butalsotarnishtheoverallidentityoftheclock.
Andasalmostalloftheseancientclocksbelongtotheroyalcollection,informationabouttheirhistoryisrare,whichcausesobstaclesforresearchersandinheritors.Inordertosolvethisproblem,horologicalexpertscameupwithanewway.Theysetupafileforeachclock,andassignedthemeachauniqueidentificationnumberandcardfortrackingtheirknownhistory.ThereareplanstoputaQRcodebesideeachoneforvisitorstoscanwiththeirsmartphonestoviewdetailedmultimediainformationaboutthem.
TheclockrepairingskillsoftheQingDynastyhavebeenhandeddowntothefourthgenerationofrepairersinthePalaceMuseum.Themuseumhasorganizedtrainingcourses,inthehopeofcultivatingmoreprofessionalsfortimepiecerepairatdifferentmuseumsinChina,andbooksandmanualshavealsobeenwrittenuptosharetheinvaluableskillswithfuturegenerations.
(CompiledbyChinaToday)