Abstract

Qing dynasty court paintings were not only a part of royal art, but also an important medium for the Qing rulers to express imperial authority and cultural symbols through visual art forms. The purpose of this paper is to explore how Qing dynasty court paintings embodied imperial ideology and served the politics of imperial authority through their themes, styles, and symbolic elements while demonstrating the cultural aesthetics of the Qing rulers and the shaping of the national image. By analyzing the political and cultural symbols in Qing dynasty court paintings, this paper reveals the important role of Qing dynasty court paintings in maintaining political authority, promoting Confucianism, and demonstrating multi-ethnic harmony. At the same time, it analyzes how court paintings demonstrated the legitimacy of the Qing dynasty's external rule, consolidated centralized power, and conveyed the emperor's mandate of heaven and the legitimacy of his rule through detailed and symbolic images.