On January 11, the joint opening ceremony of "Historical Encounters - Ancient Civilizations Exchange between China and West Asia" and "Brilliant Persia - The Essence of Iranian Cultural Relics" was held in the Wumen Exhibition Hall of the Palace Museum.
As the bearer of China's 5,000-year-old civilization, a gathering place for China's excellent traditional culture, and a witness to the integration of diverse cultures, the Palace Museum has long been committed to using cultural relics and related materials to display China's excellent traditional culture and promote exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations. Over the years, the Palace Museum has actively promoted cultural "going global", held various cultural relics exhibitions around the world, told China's story to the international community, introduced the splendid and long-standing history and culture of the Chinese nation to the world, and demonstrated the unique charm of Chinese civilization. At the same time, a large number of high-quality exhibitions from all over the world and different civilizations will be invited to share cultural achievements, promote exchanges and dialogues, and depict a picture of diverse and interactive people-to-people exchanges.
Based on profound academic accumulation and long-term exchanges with domestic and foreign counterparts, the Palace Museum has successively carried out exchanges and cooperation with the National Museum of Iran, the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Crafts of Iran, the Royal Commission of AlUla of Saudi Arabia and other institutions since 2019, and jointly participated in the planning of cultural relics exhibitions with the theme of understanding, exchange, mutual learning and development. The Wonder Oasis of the Arabian Peninsula" was opened at the Meridian Gate Exhibition Hall of the Palace Museum at the end of the year and the beginning of the year, connecting the important civilizations on the Silk Road with exquisite cultural relics, presenting the long and splendid history of different cultures, and showing the long history of human civilization exchanges, as well as the chapter of mutual learning and common development in the process of building a community with a shared future for mankind.
Li Qun, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, said in his speech at the opening ceremony that the holding of this exhibition can allow Chinese audiences to better understand the ancient Persian civilization, more intuitively feel the long-term exchanges and mutual learning between Chinese and Iranian civilizations, and vividly witness the "historical encounter" between the two civilizations. China will work with Iran and other member states of the alliance to implement the Global Civilization Initiative, continue to strengthen the alliance, and carry out practical cooperation in various fields of cultural heritage, such as ancient civilization research, joint archaeology, restoration of monuments, and museum exchanges, so as to write a new chapter in Asia for enhancing exchanges and mutual learning among human civilizations.
Ali Darabi, Deputy Minister of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts of Iran, said that Iran and China have a long history of cultural exchanges, and museums have played an important role in preserving and displaying human civilization and promoting peaceful development. Iran is concerned not only with its own cultural heritage, but also with the cultural heritage of other countries and peoples. This exhibition will help enhance the cultural understanding of the two countries, promote the in-depth development of Iranian Chinese heritage cooperation, and is an important step in strengthening cultural exchanges between Iran and China.
Wang Xudong, Director of the Palace Museum, said in his speech that the three major exhibitions of cultural relics from Iran, Saudi Arabia and China were exhibited at the same time at the Wumen Gate, which is inseparable from the strong care and support of the governments of China, Iran and Saudi Arabia, and the joint efforts of museums and archaeological institutions of various countries. The Palace Museum is willing to work with museums and other institutions at home and abroad to jointly excavate and display the human civilization and contemporary values carried by cultural relics, promote mutual understanding and respect between different cultures, and make greater contributions to the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind.
Iranian Ambassador to China Mohsen Bakhtiar said that the friendly exchanges between China and Iran have been thousands of years, and exchanges in various fields have gradually deepened, and cultural heritage exchanges are the basis for exchanges between the two countries in various fields. The exhibition bears witness to Iran's rich cultural heritage and narrates the prosperity of Iran's ancient civilization. Through exchanges and cooperation in the field of cultural heritage, we will further promote exchanges and mutual learning between the civilizations of the two countries and mutual understanding between the peoples.
Jabral Norkhand, director of the National Museum of Iran, said that Iran has a long history, is located in the middle of ancient civilizations, and has always interacted with the surrounding cultures, and finally grown into an ancient civilization with a distinctive personality and dazzling brilliance. The exhibition brings together 216 exquisite cultural relics to showcase the beauty of Iranian art to a wide audience and explore the path of civilization development through blending and mutual learning. The National Museum of Iran will further deepen its cooperation with the Palace Museum and hold an exhibition of cultural relics showcasing Chinese civilization in Iran.
Text/Beijing Youth Daily reporter Zhang Enjie
Photo by Beijing Youth Daily reporter Li Na
Editor/Cui Wei