Harmonious Co-existence Joint Exhibition of Collec

MOSAIC

Harmonious Co-existence:Joint Exhibition of Collections

from the Palace Museum and the

National Museum of ChinaText by Gong HaiyingPhoto courtesy of National Museum of ChinaThe pursuit and inheritance of the values of peace, concord, and

amity reflect the wisdom of Chinese civilization that has lasted for

thousands of years.

Jade relics on display at the National Museum of China. Jade was considered an important carrier

for people to communicate with heaven and earth, and worship ancestors in ancient of a bronze musical

instrument with a tiger-shaped

button from the Spring and

Autumn Period (770-476 B.C.)

and the Warring States Period

(475 - 221 B.C.)A

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joint exhibition of collections

from the Palace Museum

and the National Museum of

China (NMC) was unveiled

at the NMC on September 28, 2022.

Titled “Harmonious Co-existence,”

the first joint exhibition

involving the two major

museums will run until

January 3, 2023.60

VOLUME 889

Curated from the rich collections of

the two museums, the exhibition features

more than 400 cultural relics from

ancient “Harmony (和) and Unity

(合),” the exhibition seeks to explore the

historical origins of harmony and unity

in Chinese culture in hopes of inspiring a

grand vision of peaceful development of

China.

The two concepts reflect the nation’s

pursuit and inheritance of the values of

peace, concord, and amity and epitomize

the wisdom of Chinese civilization across

thousands of years.

The exhibition includes four parts:

“Harmony with Nature,” “Harmony

between Nations,” “Harmony among

People,” and “Peace and Amity.” It

illustrates how the Chinese nation came

to cherish unity and seek great harmony

from the four perspectives of the

universe, world, society, and first section focuses on the

cosmology of the “unity of nature

and man” that the Chinese nation has

advocated since ancient times. In the

exhibition hall are various archaeological

remains composed of stone, jade, bone,

silk, pottery, and bronze. The most

popular are jade ritual vessels, including

a jade dragon and a jade

cong (a jade

item with a square outer section around

a circular inner part and a circular hole),

which are symbols of Hongshan Culture

and Liangzhu Culture, respectively.

The exhibits demonstrate the process

of ancient Chinese development and

utilization of natural materials and the

people’s understanding of laws of cultural relics such as ritual

utensils, musical instruments, emperor

attire, and royal architectural models

and building components clearly reflect

how ancient people integrated emotional

resonance and aesthetic activities

A clay stamp

unearthed from

the Tomb of Zhang

Qian (164-114 B.C.),

an outstanding

diplomat, traveler,

explorer of the

Western Han Dynasty

(202 B.C.-25 A.D.) and

the pathbreaker of

the Silk ed by natural phenomena into

labor practices and material creation,

vividly demonstrating how the Chinese

nation conformed to laws of nature while

developing a unique ritual and music

civilization and social second section highlights the

diplomatic idea of harmony and peace

fostered by the Chinese nation. A small

stamp carved with the word “Bowang”

was unearthed from the Tomb of Zhang

Qian, an envoy dispatched by Emperor

Wu of Han (141-87 B.C.) to travel

westward on a mission of peace that

opened the world-renowned Silk Road.

He was later conferred the title Marquis

of products from the Tang

Dynasty (618-907) are decorated with

intermingling patterns of foreign and

domestic culture such as flowers,

knights, and animals, painting a

layered picture of the ancient Silk Road

featuring openness, inclusiveness, and

prosperity over thousands of years.

A golden tower decorated

with gemstones and pearls

for storing the hair of

Empress Dowager Cixi of the

Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).Copyright©博看网. All Rights Reserved.

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MOSAIC

Jade elephant sculptures symbolizing national prosperity and peace from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).And export porcelain wares from

different times witnessed the enduring

prosperity of the Maritime Silk Road,

including painted Changsha Kiln

porcelain from the Tang Dynasty,

Longquan celadon from the Yuan

Dynasty (1271-1368), blue-white

Jingdezhen kiln porcelain of the Ming

Dynasty (1368-1644), and “Guang Cai,”

a special Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)

ceramic from Guangzhou.

Some fine foreign porcelain wares

evidence how wide Chinese ceramic

culture spread and the importance of its

influence on the development of other

civilizations, such as Korean celadon

ceramics in the 12th century, glazed

European ceramics imitating Jingdezhen

porcelain products in the 18th century,

and Japanese porcelain imitating Dehua

white porcelain in the 19th century.

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VOLUME 889An exquisite golden painted enamel

water pot with figure patterns from

the reign of Emperor Qianlong (1711-1799) in the Qing Dynasty required

wide-ranging skills such as inlaying,

chiseling, cloisonné, and painted enamel.

The ladies and other figures depicted in

a courtyard painted on the body of the

vessel could be themes of traditional

Chinese painting, but they were created

with European techniques, reflecting

artistic skills combining Chinese and

Western third section reflects the respect

and inclusiveness Chinese civilization

has for diversity among different social

classes and ethnic groups.

Emperor

Qianlong’s Southern Inspection Tour,

created by Qing Dynasty painter Xu

Yang, is a massive painted historical

account of the emperor’s first southern

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tour of Jiangsu and Zhejiang in 1751.

The sixth part of the painting, “Staying

in Gusu,” is perhaps the brightest

highlight of the section. The whole

painting follows the Grand Canal.

The banks of the canal are lined with

houses and shops. It depicts a picture

of harmonious coexistence of multiple

ethnic exhibition also collected metal

products from early northern nomads,

bronze musical instruments from ethnic

minorities in southwestern China,

official stamps of ethnic minorities

from the northwestern region during

the Wei and Jin dynasties (220-420),

porcelain from the Yuan Dynasty, and

records of gift exchanges between the

Qing central government and Tibetan

Buddhist leaders, which demonstrate the

importance of “harmony in diversity”

to the inclusiveness and endurance of

Chinese fourth section expounds on

the moral concept of “kindness of the

heart.” In Chinese culture, harmony and

kindness complement each other. Among

the exhibits is a calligraphic version of

Tao Te Ching created by Zhao Mengfu

at age 63 for his friend Jinzhi in one of

his best small regular scripts. The front

features a portrait of Lao Tzu painted by

Zhao entire volume of more than 5,000

characters was written in a single sitting,

so the stippling is exquisite and vigorous,

and the strokes are tough and flowing,

exhibiting the artist’s confidence in his

later years.“Tao Te Ching has barely

5,000 characters, but its content is

overwhelming,” said Wang Zhongjiang,

a professor in the Department of

Philosophy at Peking University. “It

addresses a series of philosophical,

economic, and political issues ranging

from personal cultivation to human

civilization and including the formation

of the universe, the origin of all things,

national governance, and ecological

protection. In today’s construction of

a community with a shared future for

mankind, human beings increasingly

share weal and woe, leaving their

destinies intertwined. Lao Tzu’s

philosophy is of great global value.”

Two artifacts

respectively carved

from bamboo

roots (below) and

jade depict two

immortals that

symbolize familial

harmony and unity

in Chinese ght©博看网. All Rights Reserved.

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