The popular short drama "Escape from the British Museum" tells the story of a Chinese jade pot that transformed into a human form. After escaping from the British Museum, he met a Chinese journalist on the street in England and asked for help on his long journey back home.
story.
This short drama only had three episodes, but it touched the hearts of countless viewers and made people rethink the ownership of cultural relics and the protection of cultural heritage.
Next, let’s learn about Chinese cultural relics in the British Museum.
The British Museum has a collection of approximately 23,000 Chinese cultural relics. There is an introduction to Chinese cultural relics at the entrance to Exhibition Hall 33. The first sentence reads: "The Chinese have created the most extensive and long-standing civilization in the world."
We don’t have to go to the museum, but you must know about the national treasures of China collected there!
"The Picture of Admonitions of Women's History" from the 6th to the 8th century AD "The Picture of Proverbs of Women's History" is a copy of the earliest and best painting by Gu Kaizhi (about 345-406 AD) from the 6th to the 8th century AD.
This painting is the work of ancient Chinese painter Gu Kaizhi. It is considered to be one of the earliest scroll paintings in the world and can be described as a rare national treasure.
The original work has long been lost.
There are two existing copies. The Tang copy is in the British Museum and is recognized as the closest to the original painting style, and the Song copy is in the Palace Museum.
The painting depicts the life and behavioral norms of ancient palace women and has extremely high artistic value and historical significance.
Exhibition time: Exhibition Hall 91, October 5th to November 15th, 2023, 10:00-17:00 Bronze Double Sheep Zun, a Shang Dynasty bronze from the 13th to 12th centuries BC, is a representative work of Chinese bronzes, and only two of them exist in the world.
All the pieces were lost abroad. The piece in the British Museum was snatched away by the British army when they burned the Old Summer Palace, and the other piece is hidden in the Nezu Museum of Art in Japan.
The bronze statue is in the shape of two conjoined rams and is beautifully carved.
In ancient Chinese, "sheep" and "xiang" are connected.
Therefore, the words "Auspicious Yang" can be seen on many gold and stone bells and tripods.
The double sheep statue attracts many viewers with its unique shape and exquisite decoration.
Not only is this statue of great archaeological and appreciation value, but there is only one of it left in existence and it is one of the ten treasures of the British Museum.
Exhibition time: Hall 33, long-term cloisonné porcelain altar. The altar body and lid are clearly decorated with dragons and imperial seals from 1426 to 1435 AD. The six-character logo marked with cloisonne technology is a characteristic of Xuande porcelain.
Today, there are only two covered cloisonne altars like this in the world, one in the British Museum and the other in a private collection.
Exhibition time: Exhibition Hall 33 Long-term Liao Sancai Arhat Statues 1115-1234 The Liao Sancai Arhat Statues were originally stored in Emei Temple, Baiyu Mountain, Yixian County, Hebei Province. There are 16 statues in total. They are the same size as real people and are considered to be comparable to those in the West.
Any sculpture that has been handed down from generation to generation.
All 10 surviving statues have been lost overseas, including one collected by the British Museum.
Exhibition time: Exhibition Hall 33 Long-term 20 pieces of dragon-patterned glaze. From 1465 to 1600 AD, these glazes were used as decorations on the roofs of temple buildings in Shanxi Province, China.
The information in the museum implicitly explains: In the early 20th century, during the chaos of the fall of China's last dynasty, the colored glaze was removed from its original location, brought to England, and eventually protected as a wall panel." Exhibition time: Hall 33
Long-term blue and white cloud and dragon pattern plum vase, 1330-1368 Yuan blue and white cloud and dragon pattern plum vase, also known as "Plum Vase", full name Yuan Zhizheng 11th year, Jingdezhen kiln blue and white cloud and dragon pattern elephant ear large vase, only two pieces, from China
This pair of vases in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province, was fired in 1351 during the Zhizheng period of the Yuan Dynasty. They are one of the most important examples of blue and white porcelain in existence and are also the most famous porcelain vases in the world. The outer wall is decorated with clouds and dragons as the main decoration, and the top is clouds.
The shoulder pattern and the feet have the lotus petal pattern. In China, the dragon is an auspicious animal that can bring about clouds and rain, benefit all things, and make the weather smooth. It gradually evolved into a symbol of imperial power.