Xiqing gujian

The Xiqing gujian (zh-stpw |s=《西清古鉴》|t=《西清古鑑》|p=Xī qīng gǔ jiàn|w=Hsih ch'ing ku chian) is a 40-volume catalogue of Chinese bronzes in the collection of the Qianlong emperor. It was compiled over the period 1749 to 1755 and documents 1529 bronze artefacts in the Imperial collection.cite web|publisher=百度百科|title=西清古鉴|url=http://baike.baidu.com/view/275889.htm|accessdate=2008-05-26|language=Chinese]

Each entry contains an engraving of the item catalogued, and a detailed description including the dimensions and weight of the artefact. Each volume is 29.5cm by 22.6cm, with 10 lines per page, and 18 characters per line. The frontispiece in marked with the date "乾隆十四年十一月初七日" (The seventh day, of the eleventh month, of the 14th year of the reign of the Qianlong Emperor) and the officials involved in the production of the catalogue.

A supplement, called the "Xīqīng xùjiàn" (西清續鑑), was published in 1793. The supplement added a further 1875 items to the catalogue and included another 900 items stored at the Imperial palace in Shèngjīng (盛京, which is modern day Shěnyáng 瀋陽). [cite web|title=西清古鉴|publisher=互动百科
url=http://www.hoodong.com/wiki/%E3%80%8A%E8%A5%BF%E6%B8%85%E5%8F%A4%E9%89%B4%E3%80%8B|accessdate=2008-05-26|language=Chinese]

As the Emperor was an assiduous collector of antique bronzes, almost all ancient Chinese bronzes were at one time or another part of the Imperial collection. Being so comprehensive, the catalogue has therefore been extremely influential in the study of Chinese bronzes.

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