Exhibit Shows Chinese Secret Lives
Billie
PHOENIX (AP) - For centuries, Chinese emperors were cloistered within the walls
of Beijing's Forbidden City, surrounded by treasures representing almost
unimaginable wealth.
Every possession reflected the emperor's, and China's, glory.
Even the mundane objects were luxurious, from the emperor's solid gold,
pearl-encrusted tea cup to his padded silk toilet and red-lacquer bathtub.
Now, Americans can catch a glimpse of the private lives of these emperors at an
exhibit at the Phoenix Art Museum. ``Secret World of the Forbidden City:
Splendors From China's Imperial Palace'' includes 300 intimate objects from the
last of the emperors, the Qing (pronounced ching) Dynasty. The show, which
opened Saturday, closes April 7.
``This really is a once in a lifetime experience,'' said Janet Baker, the
Phoenix Art Museum's curator of Asian art. ``It's a glimpse that very few
people have ever seen - what it might have been like to live in the Forbidden
City as a Chinese emperor of the last three centuries.''
At the entrance to the exhibit hall, several huge silk scrolls with life-size
ink portraits of the royal family stream from the walls.
The Empress Dowager Xiaosheng stares sternly from one. Golden dragons twist
down her robes, long strings of pearls hang from her neck and ears and a gold
phoenix brooch is pinned to her hat.
Next to her hangs a portrait of the Yongzheng Emperor's concubine caught in a
moment of leisure. The slender woman is shown emerging from the silk curtains
of her quarters onto a verandah, a gold phoenix also pinned to her fur hat.
Glass cases hold the clothes and accessories of the Qing Royal Family. While
the embroidered gold silk robes are certainly opulent, each detail and color
showing the wearer's status, they also reflect the nomadic history of the Qing
emperors.
A minority group of horsemen who swept down from Manchuria and into Beijing in
1644, the Qing tailored even their emperors' courtly robes to accommodate horse
riding.
Among the ceremonial armor, swords, jewelry and hair accessories, is another
object typical of the Qing: a tiny pair of silk shoes on 8-inch wood platforms.
The Qing rejected the ancient Chinese practice of foot-binding, where a woman's
feet were repeatedly broken and bound to create nearly useless, flower-shaped
feet.
Instead, Qing women of high rank often wore platform shoes, simulating the
mincing gate of bound feet.
Throughout the exhibit, it is the small, personal details that captivate - the
well-worn, imperial yellow silk saddle, the small wooden toilet, the porcelain
washing bowl.
``The great thing about this show is its intimacy,'' said Jonathan Spence, a
history professor at Yale University and an expert on China. ``If you want to,
you can spend 10 minutes staring at a jeweled hair pin, and you can think your
way into the life of the woman who wore this pin.''
There's a solid gold, pearl-encrusted statue of a standing Maitreya, the Buddha
of the future to which emperors prayed for China's prosperity.
Nearby, a giant mushroom from the country's remote mountains thought to bestow
immortality is preserved in a deeply inlaid wood screen. One emperor's poem
praising the mushroom's powers is inscribed along the wooden panels.
One of the most mundane parts of the show is also one of its most touching:
personal items from the last of the Qing emperors, Puyi, who ended more than
2,000 years of imperial rule when he abdicated in 1912.
Puyi, made famous in Bernardo Bertolucci's movie, ``The Last Emperor'' was a
modern man, the first emperor to wear eye glasses and take aspirin for his
headaches.
An English bicycle he used to navigate the long halls and courtyards of the
Forbidden City stands in stark contrast to the ornate objects of his ancestors.
The highlight of the exhibit is the throne room, where the emperor received
dignitaries.
Every object is meant to awe visitors. Two imaginary beasts crouch on either
side of his wooden throne to scare off evil spirits. Two graceful cranes
represent long life.
There are golden-bronze incense burners, with dragons snaking up their sides,
that would have wreathed the emperor in smoke.
Two red-lacquer, wild dogs guard the room, and two huge musical instruments
with 16 bronze bells and 16 jade chimes stand ready to announce the emperor's
appearance.
``These are objects we have only guessed at, or dreamed of, when we think of
ultimate power or having all the money in the world at our disposal,'' said
Spence.
-
On the Net: Phoenix Art Museum: http://www.phxart.org
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KC
Billie <pusss...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20011112122623...@mb-fd.aol.com...
Baby Strange
>
> PHOENIX (AP) - For centuries, Chinese emperors were cloistered within the
walls
> of Beijing's Forbidden City, surrounded by treasures representing almost
> unimaginable wealth.
>
> Every possession reflected the emperor's, and China's, glory.
>
> Even the mundane objects were luxurious, from the emperor's solid gold,
> pearl-encrusted tea cup to his padded silk toilet and red-lacquer bathtub.
>
> Now, Americans can catch a glimpse of the private lives of these emperors
at an
> exhibit at the Phoenix Art Museum. ``Secret World of the Forbidden City:
> Splendors From China's Imperial Palace'' includes 300 intimate objects
from the
> last of the emperors, the Qing (pronounced ching) Dynasty. The show, which
> opened Saturday, closes April 7.
>
quarter is over, and I was thinking of going to San Diego to see family. I
may just make a side trip to Phoenix...
Billie
>Is this a traveling exhibition? Will it go to the East Coast?
I didn't see anything at the website, but you might want to examine it more
closely or contact the museum.
http://www.phxart.org/index_events.html
Billie
K. Parsons
pusss...@aol.com (Billie ) wrote:
> By FOSTER KLUG, Associated Press Writer
>
> PHOENIX (AP) - For centuries, Chinese emperors were cloistered within
the walls
> of Beijing's Forbidden City, surrounded by treasures representing almost
> unimaginable wealth.
>
> Every possession reflected the emperor's, and China's, glory.
>
> Even the mundane objects were luxurious, from the emperor's solid gold,
> pearl-encrusted tea cup to his padded silk toilet and red-lacquer bathtub.
>
> Now, Americans can catch a glimpse of the private lives of these
emperors at an
> exhibit at the Phoenix Art Museum. ``Secret World of the Forbidden City:
> Splendors From China's Imperial Palace'' includes 300 intimate objects
from the
> last of the emperors, the Qing (pronounced ching) Dynasty. The show, which
> opened Saturday, closes April 7.
I saw this exhibit at the Oakland Museum a few months ago. It was great,
I recommend it highly if it comes somewhere near you.
One thing I especially liked, besides all the clothing and household
goods, was the scale model of the Forbidden City - it is incredible how
big it is and how many people lived in it.
Parsnips