Let Chinese cultural relics "open their mouths" to tell Chinese stories well

The side of the jade seat screen with a carved fairy story

For five thousand years, Chinese civilization is the only ancient civilization in the world that has not been interrupted and has developed to this day. Cultural relics are the bridges that our ancestors left us to "talk" with them.

In recent years, the popularity of documentaries such as "National Treasures", "If National Treasures Can Talk", and "I Repair Cultural Relics in the Forbidden City" have set off a national "cultural relics fever", stimulated the interest of young audiences in China's excellent traditional culture, and guided them to learn more about cultural relics and history and culture. So, can these Chinese treasures become the key to communicating with overseas audiences?

In 1969, a jade seat screen was excavated from the tomb of Liu Chang, king of Zhongshan Mu in the Eastern Han Dynasty, Beilingtou Village, Dingzhou, Hebei Province, with a height of 16.9 cm and a length of 15.6 cm, made of Xinjiang Hetian topaz, made of 4 jade plates. It is carved with the image of the Eastern Prince and the Queen Mother of the West, the chiefs of the male and female immortals in Chinese mythology, who are in charge of male and female immortals, and they talk with You Yaochi and have a lot of fun, and there are also carved rare beasts such as Yuren, Xuanwu, and Suzaku around them.

The story of this piece of "jade screen of the carved immortals" appeared in the first video of the "So China Exploration Museum" column produced by China Youth Daily and China Youth Network, "Exploring the Fairy Tales Behind This Jade", the jade screen shows the good wishes of King Mu of Zhongshan in the Eastern Han Dynasty at that time to pursue immortality, and is also the earliest jade screen unearthed in the mainland.

After the first bilingual short video in Chinese and English was released on overseas social platforms, overseas netizens were curious about the prototype of this mythical story, leaving messages such as "What does the East Prince and the West Queen Mother do", "This piece of jade is so exquisite", "What is the use of the jade screen" and so on.

With the continuous enhancement of the mainland's comprehensive national strength and increasing international influence, more and more Chinese cultural relics are exhibited abroad, but this does not mean that every foreigner has the opportunity to see these cultural relics through offline exhibitions. There are great differences in culture, social system, values and other aspects of various countries, not only cultural relics stories, but also in telling Chinese stories well, if too much emphasis is placed on "different", it is difficult to communicate with overseas netizens. Overseas audiences pay attention to Chinese culture in large part because they want to understand its relationship with themselves and seek similarities. In this regard, "So China's Exploration Museum" also explored.

Cultural self-confidence is a more basic, deeper and more lasting force in the development of a country and a nation. Zhang Ling, deputy secretary of the Party Committee of Tianjin Museum, said that the cause of cultural and cultural exhibitions is very important for the development of Chinese culture and our cultural confidence. "The current museum service is not to put cultural relics there waiting for the audience to visit, but to find a way to make cultural relics come alive, so we must pay attention to social needs, serve the people, and truly contribute to the cultural development of the country."

"Harmony and difference" is the essence of Chinese culture. It is precisely because of this that Chinese civilization is inclusive and attractive. Through "cultural relics storytelling", we can break the cultural barriers of different countries, promote mutual understanding and respect among different ethnic groups, tell Chinese stories well, and show a true, three-dimensional and comprehensive China. (Cao Di)

Source: China Youth Daily