3 museums set to stage exhibition to showcase common heritage

Three neighboring province-level museums in northern China will simultaneously kick off a major exhibition to mark the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year and showcase a shared history of folklore and customs.

The House of Gold and Jade: Exhibition of Ancient Life in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei, which will begin on Jan 20 and run through Feb 19, will display a total of 600 cultural relics from the Capital Museum in Beijing, the Tianjin Museum and the Hebei Museum in Shijiazhuang, capital of Hebei province.

Each museum will host one part of the display, which will include gold ware, jade ornaments, paintings, enamel pieces and other exquisite items representing the region's state-of-the-art craftsmanship.

"The idea of having different parts of the same exhibition in separate museums is unprecedented in China," Qi Mei, chief curator of the exhibition from the Capital Museum, says.

"The artifacts were chosen to echo the New Year," she says.

The display in the Capital Museum focuses on daily-use articles and includes a gold plate with reliefs of auspicious animals (from Beijing) and a jade decoration with carved birds and flowers (from Hebei), both from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Other items include personal seals, bracelets and stationery.

Traditional Chinese New Year paintings from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) also form part of the exhibits in this section.

"Earlier, less attention was paid to these paintings. But as holders of crucial historical information, they are very significant. The New Year paintings record daily life and offer us first-hand information about folk customs," Qi says.

The section in Tianjin Museum will showcase the ancient people's taste for fine art through literati paintings, calligraphy and porcelain.

According to Huang Juan, a researcher at the museum, an 18th-century tripod furnace burner decorated with cloisonne enamel (from Beijing) and a 12th-century ink-wash painting depicting a plum blossom (from Tianjin), are among the stand-out exhibits.

She also says that a special display will be set up to showcase porcelain pieces unearthed from kilns in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei.

Meanwhile, Hebei Museum, which is known for its collection of bronze ware, will focus on ancient rituals.

For instance, bronze ware from the Western Zhou Dynasty (c. 11th century-771 BC) to Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC) shows how people used to perform sacrifices and weddings.

A jade decoration from Tianjin Museum representing the Hongshan culture gives visitors a glimpse of religious beliefs dating back 5,000 years.

"We want to trace the origins of ancient rituals and explore their influence on modern life," says Luo Xiangjun, director of the museum.

The three-museum exhibition echoes President Xi Jinping's proposal for more coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. And the exhibition is expected to be just the start of collaboration between the three institutions.

According to Luo, an academic bimonthly that publishes research done by scholars from the three museums will be launched in February, followed by programs in training and education.

wangkaihao@chinadaily.com.cn