Showcasing a Rich Heritage

CHINA DAILY Tuesday, March 13, 2018 Culture | LIFE 19 From left: People visit a relics show at the Capital Museum in Beijing; Tung Chee-hwa (fifth right), vice-chairman of the 12th CPPCC National Committee, and Shan Jixiang (third right), director of the Palace Museum, view antique-clock restorer SHOWCASINGWang Jin at work in the museum; an ancient bronze tripod is displayed at the National Museum of China Aduring a show. RICH PHOTOS BY JIANG DONG / CHINA DAILY HERITAGE Chinese museums currently attract 900 million annual visits. And with more museums opening up, the footfalls are set to keep growing. Wang Kaihao reports. s vice-president of For instance, there have been restrained,” he says. the International reports of long queues — even Last year, the Ministry of A Council of Museums, overnight ones — of visitors Culture released a plan to cre- or ICOM, An Lai- waiting to catch a glimpse of ate management councils at shun is well placed to talk about several important ancient Chi- the country’s museums. how Chinese museums have nese paintings like Along the The new system will allow grown in the past decades. River During the Qingming the councils, comprising He clearly remembers the Festival and A Panorama of employees, experts and public days when he started working Rivers and Mountains, when representatives, to become with the international muse- they were exhibited at the Pal- decision-making bodies. um community in 1986. ace Museum. The councils will be able to “We felt quite special then,” National Treasures, a TV plan for the development of he says. “Museums abroad show about 27 cultural relics the institutions, approve bud- then looked at Chinese muse- from nine Chinese museums — gets, draft regulations and be ums with a kind of awe has gone viral. involved in other major issues, because China had just At the same time, the three- and the current directors will opened to the outside world.” episode TV documentary Mas- be responsible solely for daily It was a good thing, he says, ters in the Forbidden City has operations. because the curiosity meant turned relatively unknown But, An says: “This vast that the foreign institutions cultural relics restorers into change needs to be taken step wanted to know more about superstars. by step. Museums have to make Chinese cultural heritage and Ma Xiaolin, director of the tailored plans. This is not a for- gradually established links. Henan Museum in mula to resolve every problem.” ICOM, founded in 1946 in Zhengzhou, and one of the Paris, France, is the world’s nine participants in National Collection of the world most important non-govern- Treasures, says: “The items A commonly asked question mental organization for muse- which appear in the shows are to Chinese museum profes- um professionals. “Now, now the stars. We cannot sim- sionals is: Why does China lack China’s (cultural) heritage sec- ply put labels in front of the a national museum to house tor plays a very dynamic and exhibits. A museum must do collections from other civiliza- active role in this body,” says An. more work.” tions like the British Museum Currently, ICOM’s only Consequently, exhibitions or the Louvre in Paris? international training center are being designed in more From left: Actors Zhang Guoli, Wang Gang and Tan Jun from the Wuhan Conservatory of Music talk about an ancient chime bell on the TV Professor He’s response is: for museum studies is at the approachable ways. show National Treasures, which introduces significant cultural relics from nine Chinese museums. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY “Many foreign items housed in Palace Museum in Beijing, also For instance, in the Palace Western museums were col- known as the Forbidden City. Museum, general displays of lected due to historical reasons. An says that China’s global its Chinese paintings are being children, will be a focus in the problem faced by Chinese And, many of them were ille- influence in the field is mainly replaced by exhibitions on next phase of development. museums: How to source gally acquired. This is impossi- due to the fact that the country specific themes. Many smaller more high-quality exhibits? ble to replicate, but Chinese is the fastest-growing in terms local museums are working Issues to resolve To resolve the problem, pro- people still need to better of museums. with the bigger ones on tour- Despite the growing num- fessor He suggested that when understand world history.” According to the statistics ing exhibitions based on spe- ber of Chinese museums, the archeological work was done, He sees more exchanges from the State Administration cific topics and stories. sector is experiencing “grow- public museums could tempo- with overseas museums as one of Cultural Heritage, there Speaking about the new ing pains”, as An calls them. rarily house some of the solution. But, he says, only were 3,866 museums on the focus for museums, An says: “Building museums is not unearthed items without get- once Chinese museums gain Chinese mainland as of 2012, “They can put their collec- like constructing houses. It’s a ting ownership. financial strength can they be and the number grew to 4,873 tions, exhibitions, education systematic effort, starting In 2015, China’s first nation- more active in collecting for- by 2016, which means a new programs and social activities from what to collect and how al regulation for museums was eign treasures. museum opened in China all in one place. This provides to nurture talent,” he says. released by the State Council, As for the future of Chinese every one and half days. the general public with an An says museum expertise which aimed to better oversee museums, He says: “Museums The administration also says opportunity to appreciate and is sorely lacking in China. and guide museum develop- have to develop their own Chinese museums now annu- understand the significance of There are less than 50 univer- ment, but the regulation also character. It is not necessary ally attract 900 million visits. the cultural heritage, and sities in China with museology showed that systemic reforms for a museum to cover every- Another indication of the focus on creativity at the same majors, he says. were needed for related areas thing.” thriving museum scene is that time.” According to him, setting up as well. Looking to the future, An during the ongoing two sessions Ma, who also wants exhibi- a double major for museology For instance, although says: “You have to build your in Beijing, as many as 12 mem- tions to focus on children, — for fine art or history stu- products developed by the Pal- own cultural identity. And, bers in literary and art circles of says: “Students often tell me dents — could be one solution. ace Museum have become you have to seek mutual bene- the 13th Chinese People’s Politi- that they are terrified by some In a related development, hugely popular among muse- fit and develop mutual respect cal Consultative Conference of the artifacts (referring to the political adviser Wang um buffs in the past few years, as well. National Committee, come jinlyu yuyi — a suit of burial Chunfa, director of the Wang Yamin, deputy director “It’s wrong to think one’s from museums and cultural clothes made of jade and sewn National Museum of China, of the museum, says, there are culture is the best,” he says. heritage administrations or with gold wire). said last week that archaeolo- not enough incentives to boost “We need to give other cul- related academic institutions, “This should prompt us to gy institutes should hand in this sector. tures respect. the highest number to date. do more work, and make our their discoveries to publicly- Wang says that this is main- “Museums are a memory exhibitions more approacha- owned museums, complain- ly because museums are public bank of the past, and today Wider attention ble,” he says. ing that “the national museum institutions. “If a product sells they help us better understand Over the past five years, He Yun’ao, a professor of had not received any items well, current rules don’t allow others.” museums which previously history at Nanjing University, from archaeology institutes us to reward the employees.” did not attract much media in eastern Jiangsu province, A bronze lamp was an exhibit on show at the Exhibition of Qin and for 20 years”. Wang thus suggested some Contact the writer at attention have been increas- says museums and exhibition Han Civilization at the National Museum of China in 2017. The remark sparked a reforms. “The creativity wangkaihao@ ingly placed in the spotlight. halls, which are designed for JIANG DONG / CHINA DAILY debate and shed light on a department should not be chinadaily.com.cn Turning Bouyei ethnic wear into an earning proposition By CHINA DAILY esses handmade embroidery that time, only a few elderly generation. and embroidered shoes, to into clothes. women knew how to do Giving an example of how handbags, cushion and coast- The ongoing two sessions in It not only provides hun- embroidery. the skill is being promoted, ers. Beijing are the first that Wei dreds of jobs for the townspeo- “Bouyei embroidery was Wei played a video clip on his As for customers, many Bo, a new deputy to the ple but also promotes Bouyei’s almost extinct before the fac- mobile phone that showed his Bouyei couples buy clothing National People’s Congress traditional costumes. tory came into being,” says 10-year-old daughter, Wei Lu, from Wei’s factory for their from Guizhou province, has The Bouyei people mainly Wei. “So I started it to also pro- teaching a former NPC deputy weddings.

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