Abstract:

As Chuanguo imperial seal, the “Zhi gao zhi bao” imperial seal played a crucial role in early seventeenth-century China. Hong Taiji and his ministers considered the seal to be the imperial seal from Qing dynasty, which meant that Hong Taiji had inherited the mandate of heaven from all previous Chinese dynasties. When the news of that the dynasty had obtained the seal spread everywhere, some people viewed the seal as a mark of religious authority, and the Qing ministers did not deny this statement. After the conquest, the Qing government debased the value of the seal. The Qianlong emperor declared that the Qing dynasty was legitimate because of their ancestor’s respectable morality, not because of the seal. Meanwhile, the Qianlong emperor ordered the seal destroyed. However, the emperor noticed that without the seal his statements would be ineffective, so after several years he ordered a counterfeit seal. When a Mongolian prince offered another “Zhi gao zhi bao,” the emperor intended to employ the seal to prove his superiority in Mongolia. We can observe the flexibility and the influence of Qing discourse of legitimacy in different classes, eras, and cultures.

摘要：

 制诰之宝在明清易代之际扮演了重要角色。当时皇太极君臣视该玺为秦玺，故其继统乃来自汉唐以来诸王朝。当得玺的消息传出，还出现该玺为掌教符印之说，并为清朝所接受。入关后清朝淡化该玺之重要性，并视之为元玺，乾隆皇帝更称大清得统在德不在玺，并毁坏该玺，但却在多年后又予重制，以免显得清初得统不正。当蒙古王公献上同名玉玺，皇帝面对蒙古仍打算利用之。从传国玺能见清朝正统论在不同阶层、时段、文化中的调整及影响。