대일통 사상은 한대에 대제국을 효율적으로 통치하기 위해 대두되었는데 황제 중심의 정치적 통일과 공자의 유학으로 사상을 통일하는 것을 말한다. 대일통 사상은 분열기에는 그 자취를 감추었지만 통일기에는 어김없이 등장하여 중국을 정치적, 문화적으로 결속하는 중요한 이념적 수단이 되었다. 초기에는 華夏 중심의 배타적인 종족적 화이론이었지만 한인 지배영역의 확대와 함께 변방의 四夷를 끌어앉는 문화적 개념으로 재해석된다. 이민족으로서 중원의 패자가 된 청조도 문화적 화이론에 입각한 대일통 사상을 대제국 통합의 바탕으로 삼는다. 청조의 전성기를 이룩한 강희·옹정·건륭의 세 황제는 이러한 이념을 바탕으로 황제로서의 자신들의 이미지를 형성해 나간다. 강희제는 민본주의적인 유가 군주의 이미지를 정립하려 노력한 데 비해 옹정제는 重儒 정책을 표방하되 불교와 도교도 포용함으로써 복합다민족 국가에 걸맞은 군주상을 정립하려 한다. 그러나 복합다민족 제국 위에 군림하는 새로운 황제상을 확립한 것은 건륭제였다. 그는 만주족에 대해서는 大汗으로서, 한족에 대해서는 민본적 유가군주로, 티벳과 몽골인들에 대해서는 문수보살 황제로서의 이미지를 구축해나감으로써 다원적 대일통을 지향했다.
청대 강옹건 시대의 화원을 통한 시각이미지 정책은 정치 이데올로기와 이미지의 상호관계를 파악하는 중요한 사례가 된다는 점에서 미술사연구의 가치 있는 자산이라고 할 수 있다.The doctrine of ‘The Great Unity(Daiyitong)’ became prominent in the Han Dynasty as the driving force for efficient governing of the great empire and it refers to the political unification centered on the emperor and the Confucianism-centered unification of ideologies. Although it disappeared during periods of division, the doctrine of ‘The Great Unity’ emerged without fail during periods of unification and became an important ideological means of politically and culturally uniting China.
Initially an exclusivist, ethnic group based Sino-Barbarian theory (Huayilun) centered on the central district of China, it became reinterpreted, with the expansion of the Han controlled territory, as a cultural concept embracing the Four Barbarians (Siyi) in the border areas. Even the Qing Dynasty, established by a Manchurian people reigning supreme over central China, took up the doctrine of ‘The Great Unity’, based on cultural Sino-Barbarian theory, as the foundation for the unity of the great empire. The three emperors, Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong, who built the golden age of the Qing Dynasty, constructed their images as emperors based on such ideology.
Whereas Emperor Kangxi strived to establish the image of the people-oriented Confucian monarch, Emperor Yongzheng attempted to form the image of the monarch befitting a multi-ethnic nation by embracing Buddhism and Taoism while still pursuing a Confucianism first policy. However it is Emperor Qianlong who established the new image of the emperor dominating over a multi-ethnic empire. He moved toward the pluralistic ‘Great Unity’ by constructing the image of the Great Khan for the Manchu, the people-oriented Confucian monarch for the Hans, and the Manjusri Emperor for the Tibetans and Mongols.
Going beyond institutionally establishing the doctrine of ‘The Great Unity’, the Qing emperors actively disseminated it by using visual images. To do so, they aggressively used the Painting Academy system and elaborately intervened in the formation of the Painting Academy’s style appropriate for the Great Unity image. The Castiglione’s style, the official painting form of the Painting Academy which combined traditional Chinese painting and Western painting styles like “collaged images”, conforms to the method of managing a multi-ethnic empire whereby the emperor’s edits are sent out in the Manchu, Chinese, Mongolian, and Tibetan languages written side by side.
The images thus formed became important means of propagating the image of the ruler sought by each of the three emperors, respectively. Emperor Kangxi, who espoused the people-oriented Confucian monarch, established his image through indirect methods such as distribution of the Book of Agriculture and Sericulture(Gengzhitu), rather than the direct method of distributing his portrait. Emperor Yongzheng, who embraced Buddhism and Taoism while keeping Confucianism at center, unlike Emperor Kangxi, attempted to establish a new image of the emperor through his own individual portraits. By depicting himself as a ruler who share in the joys of the people, or as a leader of diverse ethnic groups, he expressed himself like Buddha who changed shape appropriately depending on the situation.
On the other hand, Emperor Qianlong, who expanded Qing’s territory to its greatest size, employed a strategy of pluralistic images to unite the diverse ethnic groups. In Tibet and Mongol areas where Buddhism exercised tremendous influence, he produced and distributed the image of the emperor as Manjusri Emperor and also disseminated the image of the Great Khan. Toward the Han people, the emperor tried to reveal the image of a Confucian monarch actualizing ethical government, and this was eloquently expressed in the Ten Thousand Envoys Come to Pay Tribute (Wanguolaizhaotu) showing even Extreme Occidental Westerners coming to pay tribute. As an important example for understanding the correlation between political ideology and image, the visual image policy through the Painting Academy in the Emperor Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong Period can be considered a valuable asset for the study of art history.