The Palace Museum for a century

Author: The Palace Museum Press
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-10-01
Features: Many years later, when Chinese people look back at history, the 20th century was probably unforgettable—almost all the earth-shattering events were concentrated in this period. At the beginning of the century, historical disasters first fell upon the Forbidden City, which had a history of nearly five hundred years. Groups of foreign invaders swaggered into the Chinese imperial palace. Following the invaders' bayonets, cameras, with the most advanced recording methods of the time, captured the Forbidden City from all angles. Soon after, historical changes truly altered the fate of the Forbidden City. The Chinese Xinhai Revolution and May Fourth New Culture Movement finally transformed the emperor's palace into a people's museum. The imperial palace did not disappear with the complete end of the imperial system; the Forbidden City was properly and permanently protected. From then on, people from all directions, with different feelings, rushed into this former imperial palace, which could be called one of the world's greatest palaces. The images of the Forbidden City, along with the immense historical and cultural information it carries, have thus remained deeply in people's memories. A new century has begun. Photographer Hou Yuanchao, active outside the Forbidden City, and Zheng Zhibi, who had worked as a graphic designer at the Palace Museum Press for many years, suddenly felt a strong sense of the century and decided to collaborate. They used photography to witness and respond to the images of the Forbidden City that had been captured a century earlier. All their ideas and actions are reflected in this unique comparison of images from a century ago and a century later, which certainly includes the perspectives of many others as well. I believe that anyone who sees these images will find them deeply meaningful. They asked for my opinion on the title of the photo collection. I thought "A Hundred Years of the Forbidden City" would be suitable, and adding a subtitle—Black and White Memories of 1900–2005—would make it even better.