Come to the Summer Palace Museum to see "'Jade' Sees Vitality - Jade Exhibition on Ancient Chinese Animal and Plant Themes"

Jade, the beauty of stone, has been cherished by the Chinese nation since ancient times, and endowed with its unique cultural character and spiritual value. For thousands of years, Chinese will be the natural world and life of the birds, animals and plants of the meticulous observation and understanding, into the cultural significance and the taste of the times, through the rare natural material of jade, thousands of grinding, magic, to create a wide variety of lifelike, interesting animal and plant theme jade, for the cold hard jade material injected a warm and flexible vitality.

On January 28, 2022, the "'Jade' Sees Vitality - Jade Exhibition on Ancient Chinese Animal and Plant Themes" sponsored by the Beijing Summer Palace Administration Office, the Institute of Qing History of Chinese University, and the Beijing Art Museum opened at the Summer Palace Museum. This exhibition selects more than 230 pieces of animal and plant-themed jade from the Shang Dynasty to the early years of the Republic of China, showing the unique aesthetic concept of the Chinese nation for natural things and superb jade carving technology.

Unit 1 Dragon Flying Phoenix Dance

The dragon and the phoenix, the most deeply rooted deified animal in traditional Chinese culture, have been regarded since ancient times as representatives of the supreme power and mysterious power of the rulers, and are also regarded as the embodiment of the coming of various virtues and auspiciousness. Through the history of jade culture development, we can not only understand the cultural status of the dragon and phoenix image, but also glimpse the evolutionary characteristics of the dragon and phoenix image in different historical periods.

Unit 2 Beasts and Birds

Beasts and birds, originally the two most common types of animals in nature, the Chinese nation in the long-term harmonious coexistence with the natural world and the process of hard competition, gradually endowed with the animal and bird culture of the meaning and moral power, so that it has a supernatural spirituality, has become an important part of Chinese jade culture.

Unit 3: Family Farming

After the Tang and Song dynasties, Chinese jade culture gradually became secularized and realistic, and jade objects that objectively reflected animal images in nature and real life became popular. The butterfly swallow fish worm of the heavenly breeding, the chicken dog of the domestic chicken, the goose and cat, the variety of ends, can be used as a tool, and the original mighty and divine lion, tiger and bear cat have also begun to become docile and playable, reflecting the further enhancement of human beings' ability to conquer nature.

Unit 4 Yoshihito Kamu

Pine cypress evergreen, flowers bloom rich, gentlemen live in bamboo, Gao Shi leans on plums. People combine plant culture with jade carving to create plant-type jade carvings with profound cultural implications. Especially since the Ming and Qing dynasties, the practicality and furnishing of jade have been further enhanced, and it is suitable to carry out carved plant themes in the types of jade literary room ware, shanzi, interstitial screen, etc., which has opened up a new path for the development of ancient Chinese jade.

Unit 5 Seasonal Vegetables and Fruits

The grain is abundant and the seasons are fresh. Jade is the fruit of the truth, can be matched, can be appreciated, can be played, rich in shape, the meaning of happiness. Pomegranates, lotuses, etc. often symbolize the abundance of children and blessings; gourds, bergamots, peaches, etc. represent long-lived happiness. The dexterous and vivid image of vegetables and fruits is still loved and admired by people today.

epilogue

Animal and plant theme jade is an important part and wonderful content of China's thousands of years of jade culture, reflecting the Chinese nation's continuous love of nature, reverence for life, respect for virtue, pursuit of happiness outlook and values, the spiritual character of excellence and perseverance, and the abundant and excellent artistic imagination and creativity. This year marks the beginning of the second centenary goal of realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and the year of the twentieth National Congress of the Communist Party of China of historic significance, so as to pay tribute to and continue the great national spirit of "gentleman bede in jade" and "hardship and hardship, jade in success"!

It is reported that the exhibition will last until April 10, 2022.

Source: Summer Palace Museum