Chinese Bronze Exhibition
Mirrors of Eternity: A Cultural Exhibition of Ancient Chinese Bronze Mirrors
Bronze mirrors were common daily implements in ancient China, which have been handed down and unearthed in great quantities, constituting a large and widely distributed collection category. Archaeological discoveries have found that the earliest bronze mirrors appeared in the Qijia culture during the Neolithic period, and continued to be used until the Ming and Qing dynasties, nearly spanning the entire history of ancient China. Bronze mirrors not only played an important role in people’s daily lives, but also have rich cultural connotations. They are important carriers of China’s outstanding traditional culture, directly reflecting China’s copper casting techniques, aesthetics and folk beliefs, as well as the mutual learning between China and foreign cultures. The bronze mirror collection of the National Museum of China boasts a large number and wide variety of specimens, exquisite casting and distinctive characteristics of the times. Since Mr. Shen Congwen published Bronze Mirrors of the Tang and Song Dynasties in 1958, the study of ancient bronze mirrors has continued, forming a profound academic legacy.
Held by the National Museum of China, the exhibition “Mirrors of Eternity: A Cultural Exhibition of Ancient Chinese Bronze Mirrors” relies upon the museum’s rich collection resources. More than 260 exhibits were selected from thousands of bronze mirrors, related accessories and pottery casting models in the museum’s collection. This exhibition connects the entire development of ancient Chinese bronze mirrors and systematically demonstrates their historical, aesthetic, technological and cultural value. The exhibition is divided into seven sections. Through the combination of historical and thematic displays, it comprehensively integrates the use of animation, interactive multimedia and other new technologies to systematically present the development history, production techniques, trade circulation and inscription decorations of ancient Chinese bronze mirrors. It vividly reproduces the extraordinary achievements of ancient Chinese copper smelting and casting technology, fully demonstrates the unique aesthetic consciousness and values of the Chinese nation, as well as the Chinese people’s yearning for and pursuit of a better life since ancient times, and profoundly reveals the extensive influence of Chinese culture.
Passing the Torch: Donations from Luo Bozhao
Over the passage of time, the National Museum of China has accumulated 110 years of extraordinary history. With a collection of more than 1.43 million items, it is an important platform for collecting and displaying objects representative of the more than 5,000 years of Chinese civilization. The construction of a diverse and distinctive collection system could not have been achieved without the generous donations and enthusiastic support of individuals from all walks of life. With their love of Chinese civilization and generous support, they consciously combine their humble efforts toward the magnificent goal of achieving cultural prosperity and development. Luo Bozhao is one outstanding representative.
Luo Bozhao (1899-1976), also known as Wenjiong and Muyuan, was a native of Baxian County (present-day Banan District, Chongqing). He was a prominent Chinese numismatist and coin collector in the modern era. Along with Fang Ruo in the north and Zhang Shuxun in the south, Luo was one of the “Three Giants of Coin Collecting in China’s Modern History.” In 1924, Luo began the systematic collection of ancient coins, achieving great success by the 1930s. After 1940, he moved to Shanghai, declining to participate in all commercial activities and devoting himself to numismatic research. To make ends meet, he sold his property and co-founded the China Numismatic Society, a modern Chinese research organization for research on numismatic matters. Luo presided over the publication of 32 issues of the magazine Numismatics and personally contributed more than 100 articles on the subject, greatly promoting the development of numismatic research in China. In September 1957, Luo donated his collection of 15,431 artifacts to the Beijing History Museum (the predecessor of the National Museum of China). Over the following period until 1965, he further donated more than 70 artifacts. Luo’s donations feature coins from ancient to modern times, from both home and abroad, and they boast excellent quality and great variety. Together with donations from other coin collectors, they from the basis of the coin collection of the National Museum of China. Today, ancient Chinese coins have become a major category in the NMC collection featuring numerous and varied artifacts, while a great number of items are listed as first-grade national cultural relics that are renowned both at home and abroad.
President Xi Jinping has stressed that cultural relics and cultural heritage carry the genes and blood of the Chinese nation, adding that they are nonrenewable and irreplaceable, and we must promote cultural products and value symbols that embody Chinese culture and spirit. The National Museum of China has always valued the generosity of each donor. We attach great importance to researching, exhibiting and interpreting our collection, as a way to pass on civilization and promote the development of China’s museums and cultural institutions together with enthusiastic individuals from all walks of life. We sincerely hope that audiences can feel the noble spirit and patriotic acts of our forerunners who loved the motherland and everything under the sun, and who devoted themselves to public welfare. Accordingly, we can more consciously make our own contributions to the building of a socialist country with great cultural strength.
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