From Chang'an to Athens (A Journey Through Chinese and Foreign Art and Archaeology - Three Volumes)

Author: Wang Ziyun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-08-01
Features: This travelogue covers a long period, being a comprehensive collection of the author's multiple travel and research expeditions. For instance, the travel in Western Europe dates back to the 1930s, and half a century has passed since then, seemingly long forgotten. However, art differs from the ever-evolving natural sciences. The timeless masterpieces in museums worldwide become more precious with age, always serving as models and sources of inspiration. Even modern and avant-garde artists draw inspiration and references from the works of renowned masters in art museums. On the other hand, some artworks seen half a century ago may no longer exist today, and the masterpieces in museums might also face replacements or losses. Such cases are even more common domestically, especially with cave temples, monasteries, and tomb carvings. The relics and artifacts visible in the 1940s and 1950s have been devastated to an extent that it is hard to count after the decade of chaos. Although this is merely one-thousandth or even one-millionth of the national art treasures the author once witnessed and can no longer see today, even this small example demonstrates that decades of records are not only not outdated but rather more valuable.