Item number: M247

Year: AD 1905-1912

Material: Gold, Enamel

Size: 28.5 x 39.0 x 1.5 mm

Weight: 46.25 g

Provenance: Künker 2023

This is a Guangxu 7th Year Edition The Order of the Double Dragon, third class, 2nd grade, awarded to Wilhelm Fleischer, a German military advisor who served in the Imperial Chinese Navy between the 15th and 21st years of Guangxu’s reign (AD 1889 to AD 1895).

The third class, 2nd grade Order is a collar badge. The ribbon is made of dark blue silk with two symmetrical red Chinese dragons sewn onto it, bordered by gold-edged geometric bronze vessel patterns. The overall appearance of the Order resembles a multi-petal flower, with the top adorned by geometric cloud decorations. At the centre of the Order is a smooth blue sapphire, flanked by symmetrical geometric Chinese dragon designs.

The obverse side centre is painted with sky blue enamel, which shows signs of chipping. The inner circle on the obverse side contains the Chinese characters “御賜雙龍寶星” (Imperially Bestowed The Order of the Double Dragon), arranged in three vertical groups in a clockwise order. The upper and lower sides of the outer circle on the obverse side are engraved with Manchu characters: “ᠠᠮᠪᠠ ᡩᠠᡳᠴᡳᠩ ᡤᡠᡵᡠᠨ ᡳ” (Imperially Bestowed by the Great Qing) and “ᡳᠯᠠᠨ ᠵᡝᡵᡤᡳ ᠵᠠᡳᠴᡳ” (Third class, 2nd grade).

The design on the reverse side of the Order largely mirrors that of the reverse side, but it omits the legends and enamel coating found on the obverse side. However, the reverse side reveals clear lines and dotted craftsmanship on the surface. The Qing court often commissioned European jewellers to manufacture these Orders, leading to variations in the appearance of Orders of the same grade depending on the jeweller.

The inception of the Qing dynasty’s medals and orders occurred after the First Opium War, during which Europeans began to flood into China. The traditional foreign policies could no longer meet the demands of the time. Even with the establishment of the “Zongli Yamen,” a bureau specifically created to handle foreign affairs, there were still numerous conflicts and clashes due to differences in customs and protocols. The traditional Chinese methods of awarding “top-rank buttons” or issuing “imperial commendations” were insufficient to satisfy the foreign professionals employed in various fields such as military, education, and economics within the Qing dynasty. Consequently, to align with Western practises, the Qing dynasty developed its system of medals and orders, including the Order of the Double Dragon.

In the 6th year of the Guangxu reign (AD 1881), the Zongli Yamen, feeling that the current system of rewards lacked clear guidelines and could cause unnecessary diplomatic misunderstandings, commissioned Zeng Jize, who was well-versed in European diplomatic affairs, to formulate the relevant regulations. After studying the medals systems of various European countries, Zeng Jize not only created comprehensive regulations but also personally designed illustrations for each grade of the Order of the Double Dragon. The following year, on December 19th, the court approved these designs. Consequently, collectors refer to the first edition of the Order of the Double Dragon as the “Guangxu 7th Year Edition.”

In April of the 34th year of the Guangxu reign (AD 1908), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs approved a memorial to extend the awarding of the “The Order of the Double Dragon” beyond foreigners, to include Qing dynasty foreign affairs officials and emissaries sent abroad. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs observed that the primary purpose of orders and decorations in Western countries was to honor their own nationals, whereas the Qing dynasty had done the opposite. During formal diplomatic occasions, foreigners would often wear formal attire adorned with all their awarded orders and decorations. However, Qing dynasty diplomats were frequently unable to wear their own national orders and decorations, having to wear only foreign ones instead. This reform was implemented to address this issue.

In AD 1851, Wilhelm Fleischer was born in Westphalia, Germany. Later, as a senior engineer, he joined the German Navy and was responsible for the development of torpedo weaponry. In AD 1881, Fleischer was assigned to assist in the construction of the Imperial Chinese Navy. By AD 1889, Fleischer submitted his resignation to the German Navy and officially became a foreign advisor to the Imperial Chinese Navy. At that time, the Qing Empire, eager to catch up with the world, recruited European and American technical personnel with generous conditions. Fleischer, along with his wife and two daughters, settled in Shanghai to start a new life until he resigned and returned to Germany in AD 1895. To commend Fleischer’s contributions, the Qing court awarded him the Third Class, 2ndGrade Order, in accordance with the regulations for conferring the Order of the Double Dragon.

After returning to Germany, Fleischer headed the torpedo division at “Berliner Maschinenbau AG,” for which he was awarded the Fourth-Class Prussian Crown Order. Wilhelm Fleischer passed away in Berlin on January 15, AD 1919, at the age of 68.

物件編號: M247

年代: 公元 1905-1912 年

材質: 黃金, 琺瑯

尺寸: 28.5 x 39.0 x 1.5 mm

重量: 46.25 g

來源: 昆克 2023

這是一枚光緒15至 21年間（公元1889至 1895 年），服務於清帝國海軍的德國軍事顧問威廉.弗萊舍（Wilhem. Fleischer），獲贈之光緒7年版的雙龍寶星，等級為三等二級。

三等二級的寶星為襟綬，綬帶為深藍絲綢並縫有兩條對稱的紅色中國龍，周圍以金邊的幾何青銅器紋作為裝飾。寶星整體外觀為多瓣花，頂部飾以幾何雲朵裝飾。寶星正中央有一枚光面的藍寶石，兩側為對稱的幾何造型中國龍。正面中央以天藍色琺瑯彩繪，琺瑯層已有剝落的跡象。正面的內圈將漢字「御賜雙龍寶星」，按照順時針分為三組豎排的文字。正面外圍的上下兩側，則分別鐫刻「ᠠᠮᠪᠠ ᡩᠠᡳᠴᡳᠩ ᡤᡠᡵᡠᠨ ᡳ」(大清御賜) 和「ᡳᠯᠠᠨ ᠵᡝᡵᡤᡳ ᠵᠠᡳᠴᡳ」(三等第二) 滿文字樣。

寶星的背面設計和正面大抵相同，卻省略正面的銘文和琺瑯塗層。不過從背面卻能看到表面清晰的線條和點狀工藝。清廷多委託歐洲各國的珠寶行製造寶星，故相同等級的寶星外觀會隨珠寶商不同而有所差異。

清朝勳章的誕生，是在第一次鴉片戰爭後，歐洲人開始湧入清朝，傳統的對外政策已無法符合當時的需求。即便設立專門處理對外事務的「總理各國事務衙門」，仍因為習俗禮儀等落差，造成各種摩擦與碰撞。在面對大量聘用於清朝的軍工、教育、經濟等行業的外國人，傳統對中國人的「頂戴花鈴」或者「傳旨嘉獎」等方式，無法讓外國人滿足。因此為了與西方制度接軌，於是創造了清朝的勳章寶星制度。

光緒6年（公元1881年），總理各國事務衙門有感現行的獎賞缺乏明確獎勵章程，恐在外交帶來不必要的困擾和誤會，便委託熟稔歐洲外交事務的曾紀澤制定相關章程。曾紀澤在研究歐洲各國的獎章制度後，不僅制定完善的章程甚至親自作畫，繪製各個等級的寶星設計圖。隔年12月19日得到朝廷批准，自此收藏界將第一版的雙龍寶星冠以「光緒7年版」稱呼。

在光緒34年（公元1908年）4月經外務部奏准「雙龍寶星」今後的頒發不再僅限外國人，同時也頒發給清朝外務官員以及出洋各史。外務部認為西方各國設立的勳章，主要目的是頒發給本國人，然而清朝卻完全相反。在涉及外交正式場合時，外國人往往會穿著禮服，並佩戴自己獲得的所有勳章，然而清朝的外交官員，常無法配戴本國的勳章，只能配戴外國的勳章，因有此改革。

公元1851年，威廉.弗萊舍出生於德國西發里亞，後續以資深工程師身分投身於德國海軍，並負責魚雷武器的研製。公元1881年，弗萊舍被指派至清帝國協助其海軍建設。公元1889年，弗萊舍向德國海軍遞出辭呈，正式成為清帝國海軍的「洋員」顧問。彼時急於追趕上世界的清帝國以優渥條件招聘歐美的技術人員，弗萊舍攜帶妻子和兩個女兒定居於上海展開新生活，直到公元1895年辭職歸國。清廷為鼓勵弗萊舍的貢獻，按照雙龍寶星頒發章程，授予對應其職位的三等二級寶星。

弗萊舍歸國以後，主管「柏林機械製造股份公司」的魚雷部門，還為此得到「四等普魯士王冠勳章」。公元1919年1月15日，弗萊舍逝世於柏林，享年68歲。