The Art Museum of the Chinese University launched a special exhibition featuring over 150 artifacts that explore the art and rulership of the Qing Dynasty, which is organized into six thematic sections encompassing imperial lineage, tribute systems, weaving, enamels, printing, and ritual protocols.
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Titled “The Qianlong Emperor: A Legacy in Art, The Huaihaitang Collection,” the event will run until October 18 and reconstruct the production of Qing court art across diverse domains, offering insights into how the Qianlong emperor projected his power to the world.
Visitors can view a wide range of objects produced by imperial workshops from the late Kangxi to the early Jiaqing periods, including porcelain, jade, bronzes, lacquerware, and textiles. These works exemplify a disciplined aesthetic known as “production to imperial standards,” which is characterized by refined materials and meticulous craftsmanship.
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The exhibits also highlight how artists experimented with Western techniques, such as painted enamel and copperplate engraving, while drawing on earlier traditions like bronzes from the Three Dynasties.
Key items on display include copperplate prints of the Pacification of the Western Regions, a carved red lacquer cabinet with a dragon and cloud design, and a pair of green-ground vases in yangcai enamel.
Other notable artefacts feature calligraphy by the imperial family presented to the Janggiya Hala, a kesi scroll with imperial calligraphy, and a zun vase decorated with dragons in gold red and iron red.
The exhibition features significant donations from the Huaihaitang Collection.
“CUHK has placed great emphasis on Chinese culture and humanistic values,” Dennis Lo Yuk-ming, vice-chancellor and president of CUHK, said at the opening ceremony on Monday. “Leveraging its rich collections, in-depth research, and diverse exhibitions, the Art Museum continues this tradition of bridging the past and present, while fostering local and international cultural exchange.”
Anthony Chan Tak-cheung,CUHK pro-vice-chancellor, Anthony Cheung, master of Huaihaitang and chairman of the museum’s advisory committee, Josh Yiu Chun-chong, director of the Art Museum an other guests also attended the ceremony.
