The Great Series of Cultural Relics in the Palace Museum - Five-Color and Doucai

Author: Wang Liying, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-04-01
Features: The Palace Museum was established on the foundations of the imperial palaces of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Located in the center of Beijing, it covers an area of 720,000 square meters and houses nearly a million cultural relics. In 1406, the Yongle Emperor of the Ming Dynasty decreed that Beijing replace Nanjing as the capital, and the following year, construction of a new palace complex began on the site of the Yuan Dynasty's old palace. By 1420, the palace was completed, known as the Forbidden City, and the capital was officially moved to Beijing. In 1644, the Qing Dynasty replaced the Ming Dynasty in rule, maintaining its capital in Beijing and residing in the Forbidden City. According to ancient rituals, the Forbidden City was divided into two main parts: the Front Court and the Rear Palace. The Front Court included the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Central Harmony, and the Hall of Preserving Harmony, supplemented by the Hall of Literary Glory and the Hall of Martial Valor. The Rear Palace consisted of the Palace of Heavenly Purity, the Palace of Union, the Palace of Earthly Tranquility, and the Eastern and Western Six Palaces, collectively known as the Inner Court. From the Yongle Emperor to the last emperor Puyi, a total of 24 emperors and their consorts resided here for over two thousand years. In 1911, the Xinhai Revolution led by Sun Yat-sen overthrew the Qing Dynasty, ending more than two millennia of feudal monarchy. In 1914, the Beiyang Government moved part of the cultural relics from the Forbidden City in Shenyang and the Chengde Mountain Resort to establish the Palace Museum in the Front Court of the Forbidden City. In 1924, Puyi was expelled from the Inner Court, and the Palace Museum was officially established in the latter half of the Forbidden City in 1925. Throughout history, emperors called themselves "Son of Heaven." As the saying goes, "All under heaven is the king's land; all by the riverside is the king's subjects" (from the Book of Songs, Small Yue, Northern Mountain), viewing the land and people of the nation as their own property. Therefore, the imperial court not only collected various cultural, historical, and artistic treasures and rare artifacts from across the country but also gathered the finest artists and craftsmen to create new cultural and artistic works. Despite repeated changes in dynasties, the losses of imperial collections were incalculable. However, due to China's vast territory and long history, as well as its people's creativity, cultural relics scattered and then reunited. The Qing Dynasty inherited the Ming Dynasty's imperial legacy, and by the reign of Emperor Qianlong, the imperial collection surpassed any previous era in richness. By the late Qing Dynasty, the Anglo-French Alliance and the Eight-Nation Alliance twice invaded Beijing, burning and looting, resulting in significant losses of cultural relics. Puyi, while residing in the Inner Court, stole artifacts under the guise of gifts and rewards, and his subordinates followed suit. By 1923, a fire in the Zhongzheng Hall caused further severe damage to the imperial collection. Despite these losses, the Qing imperial collection remained impressive. When the Palace Museum was being established, the "Committee for the Settlement of the Qing Imperial Household Affairs" conducted an inventory of the collection, which was later compiled into the Report on the Inventory of Palace Objects, consisting of six volumes and 28 books, totaling over 111,000 artifacts (sets). By the end of 1947, the Palace of Antiquities was merged into the Palace Museum, and its artifacts were also under the collection and management of the Palace Museum. During World War II, to protect the cultural relics from Japanese invaders and destruction by war, the Palace Museum selected 1,342 boxes and 64 packages of artifacts, including ceramics, paintings, books, and archives, and transported them in five batches to Shanghai and Nanjing. Later, they were scattered to Sichuan and Guizhou. After the victory in the War of Resistance Against Japan, the artifacts were returned to Nanjing. With changes in the domestic political situation, 972 boxes of artifacts were moved to Taiwan by the end of 1948 and early 1949. In the 1950s, most of the Nanjing artifacts were returned to Beijing, while 2,211 boxes remain stored in the warehouse built by the Palace Museum in Nanjing. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the organizational structure of the Palace Museum has changed. According to directives from higher authorities, part of the imperial library collection was transferred to the Beijing Library, while archives and documents were managed by the newly established "National Historical Archives of China." From the 1950s to the 1960s, the Palace Museum conducted a thorough review and verification of its artifacts in Beijing, incorporating previously classified "objects" and paintings into the artifact category. All artifacts from the Qing imperial collection were given "Gu" numbering, totaling 113,388 pieces, including over 1,200 newly discovered items from unregistered "object" piles. As a major national museum, the Palace Museum is responsible for collecting and preserving precious artifacts scattered in society. Since 1949, it has enriched its collection through purchases, transfers, exchanges, and donations. Newly acquired artifacts are given "Xin" numbering, and by the end of 1994, the collection had grown to 222,920 pieces. These nearly a million artifacts contain an extremely rich historical record of Chinese cultural and artistic heritage, spanning from the primitive society, Shang, Zhou, Qin, and Han dynasties, through the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing periods, up to the modern era. Each dynasty has its own treasures, without interruption. The categories of artifacts are comprehensive, including bronze, jade, ceramics, steles and sculptures, calligraphy and paintings, seals, lacquerware, enamel, silk textiles and embroidery, bamboo, wood, ivory, bone carvings, gold and silver wares, stationery treasures, clocks and watches, jade and pearl jewelry, furniture, and other historical artifacts. Each category forms its own historical series. It can be said that the Palace Museum is a vast treasure trove of Eastern cultural and artistic heritage, not only reflecting the historical development of Chinese cultural and artistic traditions over thousands of years but also embodying the immense spiritual strength of the Chinese people. It is also an indispensable element of human civilization's progress. Developing this treasure trove, promoting the traditional culture of the nation, and providing reliable historical materials for society to understand and study this tradition are among the important tasks of the Palace Museum. In the past, the museum has published various books, albums, and periodicals to provide such materials, which have had a broad impact on society and contributed to the in-depth study of various academic fields. However, due to various reasons, a comprehensive and systematic publication introducing the Palace Museum's artifacts has not yet been realized. Today, with the improvement of material living standards and the frequent exchanges of cultural and artistic interactions between China and the world, both Chinese and Western people are increasingly paying attention to the Palace Museum. Scholars and experts, whether specializing in Chinese cultural history or conducting comparative studies of Eastern and Western cultures, also hope to explore the mysteries of human civilization's development through the artifacts of the Palace Museum. Therefore, we have decided to collaborate with the Commercial Press Hong Kong and the Shanghai Scientific and Technical Press to publish a large-scale atlas that comprehensively and systematically reflects the collection of the Palace Museum. It is impossible to publish all nearly a million artifacts in the near future. Therefore, while considering the needs of society, we have had to adopt a selective approach, carefully choosing the most representative artifacts, numbering approximately 12,000, and publishing them in 60 volumes, hence the title The Great Series of Treasures from the Palace Museum. This project will take eight to ten years to complete, making it a cross-century endeavor. The 60 volumes will be organized by artifact categories, but we will not be confined to this method. For example, some artifacts directly related to court history, rituals, and daily life will be edited under specific themes. These are artifacts with strong court characteristics that were often overlooked in the past but have increasingly shown their historical value with the deepening of academic research. Additionally, for artifact categories with larger quantities, such as paintings and ceramics, we will adopt a relatively independent and complete organization in each volume or several volumes to meet the needs of readers and their selections. Such a monumental project is a formidable task. To this end, we have mobilized all artifact researchers in the museum to work together. Supported by veteran experts within the museum and renowned scholars as consultants, we strive to ensure the scientific rigor, informational depth, and aesthetic appeal of this large-scale atlas. However, due to our limited resources, the main tasks are carried out by middle-aged and young researchers, and errors and shortcomings are inevitable. Therefore, as we embark on this work, we sincerely hope to receive criticism, corrections, and constructive suggestions from all sides, so that future volumes can achieve even better results.