Wang Shizhen (王世貞, 1526–1590), an important historian and litterateur of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), has many works to his name. Also a devoted member of the arts, he took part in almost all of the major cultural realms of his day. Of particular note was the fact that he astutely observed the flourishing of society […]
There is less than one month left for this special exhibition at Shanghai Museum. This joint exhibition includes over 200 pieces/sets of artworks excavated in Henan province. Henan, a province in China’s central plains, used to be regarded as the “Center of the World” in ancient China. One of the cradles of the Chinese civilization, […]
The Hong Kong Palace Museum officially opened on July 3, 2022, in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the return of Hong Kong to China. As a leading institution committed to the study and appreciation of Chinese art and culture, the new museum presents a curated selection of the finest objects from the Palace Museum […]
Although literature and painting are two different modes of artistic expression, during the Southern Song dynasty, the surfaces of fans, albums, and small paintings were graced with no small number of paintings where “poetic sentiments merged with painted imagery.” These richly poetic, finely-painted, small-sized artworks are broadly referred to as “delicate paintings” in this exhibit. […]
Happy New Year! A new exhibition just opened this week at the Tokyo National Museum. This exhibition commemorates the 700th anniversary of the passing of Zhao Mengfu (1254–1322)—poet, calligrapher, and painter—who was one of the most important artists of the Yuan dynasty (1279–1368) and even the entire Chinese history. Zhao Mengfu was a descendant of […]
The National Palace Museum’s “Travelers Among Mountains and Streams” by Fan Kuan (ca. 950–after 1032), “Early Spring” by Guo Xi (ca. 1023–after 1087), and “Whispering Pines in Myriad Valleys” by Li Tang (ca. 1049–after 1130), are collectively known as the “Three Treasures of the NPM”. These three large hanging scrolls represent the paradigms of the […]
The works of Chinese painting and calligraphy in this loan exhibition trace back to the former Sōraikan collection of Abe Fusajirō (1868–1937) that his son Abe Kōjirō (1897–1990) donated to the Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts in 1943. Abe Fusajirō at the time had come under the influence of the famous Sinologists Naitō Konan […]
There are only a few days left of this special exhibition of bronze Ding at Shanghai Museum. Titled “Perpetual Prosperity”, this exhibition showcases 21 bronze Ding which have all been donated to the Shanghai Museum since its founding in 1952. The Ding was a cooking pot in ancient China, and later became a type of […]
This year’s Chinese New Year fell on February 12. It is the Year of the Ox according to the Chinese zodiac. Several museums in China are hosting special exhibitions on ox-related themes to celebrate this festive occasion. Among all the animals, the ox is one of the closest with humans, and it is one of […]
Nearly 1200 years ago, an Arab ship bearing a precious cargo of ceramics, gold, silver set sail from the port of Canton. Just off the shores of Sumatra, near the island of Belitung, the ship sank, and remained untouched until discovered by chance in 1998. In April 2015, it was announced that the Asian Civilisations […]
