Ancient Chinese Calligraphies and Paintings at Liaoning Provincial Museum

If I could choose only one exhibition to see this year, it would be this one.

The Liaoning Provincial Museum just opened two new galleries dedicated to ancient Chinese calligraphy and painting. Among the first rotation are such epic artworks as Confucius Passing Away by Ouyang Xun, Court Ladies Wearing Flowered Headdresses by Zhou Fang, Awaiting the Ferry at the Foot of Summer Mountains by Dong Yuan, Auspicious Cranes by Zhao Ji, and many more by Yuan, Ming, and Qing artists. These calligraphies and paintings that you are about to see below are the pinnacles of Chinese arts.

Most of the Liaoning Provincial Museum’s collection of ancient artworks came from Puyi, who was known as the last emperor of China. After the Qing dynasty was overthrown in 1911, Puyi managed to have these artworks taken out of the Forbidden City (now the Palace Museum in Beijing). In 1931, after Japan gained control of northeastern China (known as Manchuria), Puyi fled there in the hope of being restored to the throne. Half a year later, he became the ruler of Manchukuo, which was a puppet state of Japan.

The next two decades saw China in much turmoil. Fortunately, these artworks survived.

On July 7, 1949, after years of the Sino-Japanese War and the Chinese Civil War, the Northeastern Museum was officially opened. It was the first museum of the soon-to-be-founded People’s Republic of China. In 1959, the Northeastern Museum became the Liaoning Provincial Museum.

The artworks below are presented in approximate chronological order.