The artistic achievements of the Chinese dating back 200 years ago will be showcased at an exhibition entitled "Long Live the Royal House Treasures of the Qing Palace" later this month.

"We hope visitors will gain an overview and an appreciation of the collections of the Palace Museum through the exhibition," said Xu Bin, the show's chief curator at the Forbidden City.

The artifacts on display have unique value owing to their political and cultural connections, and the Chinese spirit they convey.

The exhibition is divided into eight galleries including an introductory section. The exhibits include artifacts made in the Forbidden City, objects presented as tributes, articles for daily use, imperial brushes and scientific instruments. One section is devoted to donations from prominent connoisseurs such as Shen Congwen (1902-1988).

For the most part, the collection has been passed down continuously from the Southern Song (1127-1279), to the Yuan (1271-1368), Ming (1368-1644), and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. It reached its peak during the Qianlong reign (1736-1795) of the Qing Dynasty. Before the Song Dynasty, most collections were lost or burned.

According to experts, the court collection began as early as kingship came into being and continued throughout antiquity. Initially, court collections were regarded as evidence of wealth and as embodying royalty.

With the development of society, the scope of the collection gradually widened. An important concept of court collecting was that the emperor should assimilate methods of governing from the artifacts and ancient books.

Xu said that this exhibition is also part of a series of commemoration events marking the 80th birthday of the Palace Museum, which is home to more than one million cultural artifacts that have been handed down from the Qing Dynasty.
 
(China Daily October 10, 2005)