Li Ji was appointed executive vice president of the Palace Museum in September 2003, director of the Institute of Archaeology of the Palace Museum in October 2013, and was elected vice chairman of the Chinese Archaeological Society in the same year. For many years, Mr. Li Ji has been engaged in cultural relics-related work, has studied Chinese history and cultural relics, and published a number of books on archaeological relics.
On December 18, at the press conference of the Beijing Winter Olympics licensed commodity "Winter Olympic Ice and Snow Filigree Ruyi", Li Ji, former executive vice president of the Palace Museum, spoke highly of "Winter Olympic Ice and Snow Filigree Ruyi". In his speech, he proposed that "Winter Olympic Ice and Snow Filigree Ruyi" is made of the national intangible cultural heritage filigree inlay process, because gold and silver itself is a value, and the use of gold and silver as a work of art is particularly precious, coupled with the complicated craftsmanship, its value is obvious. In addition, Ruyi itself can reflect the auspicious charm of traditional Chinese culture, and then integrate the elements of the Winter Olympics, which expresses the beautiful expectations of the Chinese people for the Beijing Winter Olympics.
In his speech, Mr. Li Ji recalled that during the Spring Festival in 2021, the Palace Museum held a "auspicious and ruyi" New Year special exhibition, exhibiting 158 precious Ruyi cultural relics, which attracted a large number of visitors to visit the punch card. According to statistics, the Forbidden City now treasures more than 2,000 handles of various Ruyi, such as metal, precious stones, jade, enamel, porcelain, lacquer, bamboo, wood, etc., most of which are paid tribute by local and ministers.
When talking about the history of Ruyi, Mr. Li Ji said: "Ruyi can be traced back to the Warring States, and was first used to scratch and relieve itching, because it is particularly in line with people's wishes, so it is called "Ruyi". With the development of the times, some ruyi have been given more cultural functions, becoming the things that the literati and scholars make friends and entertain, and add elegant names such as "holding the king" and "talking about the handle". In the court of the Qing Dynasty, Ruyi was highly respected, such as the emperor's ascension to the throne, the big wedding, New Year's Day and The Halloween, the ministers would send ruyi to the emperor. At the same time, the thrones, desks, sleeping beds and other places in the Forbidden City will also be placed as intended, hoping that it can bring good luck to people, at this time its ornamentation far exceeds practicality, becoming an important court ceremony and indoor decorations. ”
After the press conference, Mr. Li Ji said again in the media interview: "Winter Olympic Ice and Snow Filigree Ruyi" is both traditional and modern, and its styling design is very contemporary, so that athletes and coaches from all over the world can like it, and the people can also be used as a collection.
The holding of the Beijing Winter Olympics is precisely a good time for the world to understand the excellent traditional Chinese culture, and ancient skills must be better inherited and developed with the help of modern dissemination. In addition to passing on good wishes, "Winter Olympics Ice and Snow Flowers" is also conducive to spreading excellent traditional Chinese culture!