#北京 #中國 #China #Beijing | #紫禁城 #ForbiddenCity #May2025 | #ForbiddenCityDairies -The Palace Museum #ChineseIntangibleCulturalHeritage Special – the 8th Digital China Summit in Fuzhou, Fujian province, China , People’s Republic of China..

On July 19th 2023 , the multilingual website of the Forbidden City Palace Museum- Beijing, China, People’s Republic of Chinawas officially released at the Digital Cultural Tourism Development Forum of the 2023 China Internet Civilization Conference! The website covers five languages: English, French, Russian, Japanese, and Spanish, and will meet the needs of audiences with different languages.

On April 29 Tuesday – 30th April, 2025, The 8th Digital China Summit is an event held from April 29, 2025 to April 30, 2025 in Fuzhou, Fujian province, China , People’s Republic of China …… The 8th Digital China Summit opened in Fuzhou. As an important exhibitor in the exhibition area of ​​the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Forbidden City – Palace Museum brought a number of digital achievements to meet the audience.

At this exhibition, the Palace Museum showed the audience six digital exhibits, including the digital cultural relic’s library, virtual reality theatre, and VR experience of the corner tower. Among them, the high-definition appreciation of cultural relics and the digital twin roaming of the Hall of Mental Cultivation were displayed to the public for the first time.

Images and visuals are from – Forbidden City –Palace Museum Beijing- China –People’s Republic of China…..

#北京 #中國 #China #Beijing | #紫禁城 #ForbiddenCity #May2025 | #ForbiddenCityDairies – #ChineseIntangibleCulturalHeritage Special Exhibition Zoo in the Palace Museum – All Things Harmoniously Born   #文華殿 # Wenhua Hall  ………………..

On July 19th 2023 , the multilingual website of the Forbidden City Palace Museum- Beijing, China, People’s Republic of China was officially released at the Digital Cultural Tourism Development Forum of the 2023 China Internet Civilization Conference! The website covers five languages: English, French, Russian, Japanese, and Spanish, and will meet the needs of audiences with different languages.

[On April 30, the “ All Things Harmoniously Born “ The Palace Museum’s new exhibition invites you to visit the Zoo in the Forbidden City – Palace Museum ]

—Special Exhibition of Animal-Themed Paintings from the Palace Museum” was launched at the Wenhua Hall Painting and Calligraphy Gallery of the Palace Museum. The exhibition is fully supported by the Hong Kong Jockey Club and exclusively donated by the Public Welfare and Charity Research Institute. This exhibition is the first time that the Palace Museum has concentrated on displaying its rich collection of animal-themed paintings. It carefully selected 63 sets of 117 precious works from the Tang Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, covering multiple categories such as birds, livestock, grass insects, and scales. Famous artists gathered, many schools, and diverse techniques. “All things are born in harmony, and all are nurtured to grow.”

This exhibition is not only a response to the artistic pursuit of “observing the world and all things and making life” by painters of all dynasties, but also a profound revelation for the current construction of ecological civilization. Welcome everyone to enter the exhibition hall of the Wenhua Hall Painting and Calligraphy Gallery to appreciate the living creatures of all creatures under the brush and ink of famous artists of all dynasties, and experience the beauty of harmonious coexistence between humans and animals!

#Palace Zoo# From April 30 to June 29 2025 , come to the Forbidden City-  Palace Museum to see the #All Things in Harmony exhibition! Huang Quan’s “Rare Birds Sketches” scroll, Zhao Mengfu’s “Bamboo and Hoopoe” scroll, Lang Shining’s “Wan Jixi” scroll and other heavyweight exhibits are on display in the Wenhua Hall exhibition hall. Let’s appreciate the various styles of brushwork and feel the beauty of harmonious coexistence between humans and animals

Images and visuals are from – Forbidden City –Palace Museum Beijing- China –People’s Republic of China…..

#北京 #中國 #China #Beijing | #紫禁城 #ForbiddenCity #August2024 | #ForbiddenCityDairies -The Palace Museum #ChineseIntangibleCulturalHeritage. #Hohhot #InnerMongolia 中國 – International The 10th China Museum and Related Products and Technology Expo…..

On July 19th 2023 , the multilingual website of the Forbidden City Palace Museum- Beijing, China, People’s Republic of Chinawas officially released at the Digital Cultural Tourism Development Forum of the 2023 China Internet Civilization Conference! The website covers five languages: English, French, Russian, Japanese, and Spanish, and will meet the needs of audiences with different languages.

在呼和浩特看第十届博博会

On the week 26th August 2024.. The 10th China Museum and Related Products and Technology Expo is being held in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China, People’s Republic of China..  In addition to the Expo, there are also these museums in Hohhot, which are worth visiting …… Introduction: From August 23 to 26, the 10th “China Museum and Related Products and Technology Expo” (referred to as “Expo”) will be held at the Chilechuan International Convention and Exhibition Center in Hohhot. Let’s come to Hohhot to experience the excitement of “checking in 300 museums in one day and spanning five thousand years in one day”!

This year’s “Museum Expo” lasts for 4 days. 394 domestic museums including the Palace Museum, the National Museum of China, and the Shanghai Museum make a collective appearance. The total exhibition area exceeds 50,000 square meters, showcasing the fruitful achievements of China’s museum industry. The series of academic activities and more than 40 public activities held in conjunction with it also open a window for the public to understand cultural heritage and get in touch with historical civilization.

 At the “Museum Expo”, intelligent and digital technologies have become a highlight of the exhibition. Cutting-edge technologies such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and artificial intelligence (AI) are gradually being integrated into the exhibition and management of museums, opening up a new dimension of cultural display.

During the four days, the exhibition hall was packed with people, the interactive exhibition area formed long queues, and various academic lectures, forums and cultural activities were packed with people. The discussion about the “Museum Expo” on social media also continued to rise, and various short videos, graphic reports emerged, stimulating more people’s interest in museums and cultural heritage.

“You can’t see the real thing in such detail.” In the exhibition hall of the Palace Museum, visitors can not only see the real scene of the Palace Museum through the big screen, but also “play” with exquisite cultural relics at their fingertips. The 360-degree rotating cultural relics are clearly visible on the high-resolution screen, and the text explanation of their origins and development easily brings people into the story of the cultural relics. “Currently, more than 100,000 of the 1.86 million pieces (sets) of cultural relics have been digitized, and this number increases by at least 20,000 every year.” Li Yingchong, section chief of the public education group of the Palace Museum, told reporters that the transformation of physical collections into digital collections will not reduce the value of cultural heritage, but will be more conducive to the protection and inheritance of cultural heritage.

The 10th “Museum Expo” held in Hohhot came to a close today On the 26th August 2024…! During the four-day exhibition, the exhibition area of ​​the Palace Museum provided visitors with professional and meticulous viewing, experience and explanation services. The exhibition area was crowded with people. Various digital cultural content, educational activities and cultural and creative products attracted visitors to stop and experience and check in. It also attracted many museum colleagues to visit and exchange ideas, and conduct in-depth discussions in the fields of digital applications, social education activities, and cultural and creative publishing. The exhibition area of ​​the Palace Museum won three awards in this “Museum Expo”: “Best Display Gold Award”, “Best Education Activity Display Case”, and “Best Digital Display Case Award in Digital Exhibition Area”. We will continue to focus on promoting the social sharing services and effective revitalization of high-quality digital cultural resources!

Images and visuals are from – Forbidden City –Palace Museum Beijing- China –People’s Republic of China…..

#北京 #中國 #China #Beijing | #紫禁城 #ForbiddenCity #December2023 | #ForbiddenCityDairies -The Palace Museum #ForbiddenCity Collections of Chinese intangible cultural heritage.  4th to 12th December 2023….. First Snow of 2023..

On July 19th 2023 , the multilingual website of the Forbidden City Palace Museum- Beijing, China, People’s Republic of Chinawas officially released at the Digital Cultural Tourism Development Forum of the 2023 China Internet Civilization Conference! The website covers five languages: English, French, Russian, Japanese, and Spanish, and will meet the needs of audiences with different languages.

 The multilingual website of the Palace Museum is committed to establishing an international website that is concise, clear, easy to use for overseas audiences, and fits the construction of the modern civilization of the Chinese nation, including tour guides, information, panoramic tours, online exhibitions, collection appreciation, cultural topics, etc. Rich immersive content describing of the most detail collection that housed within the Forbidden City collection…. 

Qing Qianlong, Yao Wenhan, etc., Chongqing Empress Dowager’s eighty-year longevity picture is posted (partial). This picture depicts the grand occasion of Emperor Qianlong’s 80th birthday celebration held for his mother, Empress Dowager Chongqing, in the Cining Palace in the Forbidden City where she lived in November of the 36th year of Qianlong’s reign (1771). In the palace, the Queen Mother was sitting on the throne enjoying the banquet, and Emperor Qianlong was sitting sideways to accompany her. In the east and west rooms were Emperor Qianlong’s concubines and Prince Fujin, etc., and on the platform outside the palace were the princes and grandchildren. At this time, the person in charge of the Sixth Palace was the imperial concubine Wei Jia, the biological mother of Emperor Jiaqing Yong Yan, who was posthumously named Queen Xiaoyi. This picture is the only existing painting that truly shows the emperor and his family congratulating the Queen Mother on her birthday. It has precious historical value.

Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, anonymous, all nations come to court. In order to promote the majesty of the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Qianlong ordered the court painters to create several works that reflected the envoys from various countries coming to the Forbidden City to congratulate them on the New Year. This picture is one of them. The coming of all nations to court was both a family and a state matter for Emperor Qianlong. Therefore, he not only ordered the court painters to depict the lively scenes of envoys from the surrounding vassal states of the Qing Dynasty and Western countries paying homage to him, but also ordered the painters to depict the lively scenes in the paintings…

On the 7th  December 2023 The warm sun is shining, gently touching the painted pillars and caressing the railings. Today 大雪 , together with the spine beasts, we are looking forward to a heavy snowfall that will decorate the Forbidden City!

Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, unknown, scroll of all nations coming to court (detail). This picture is part of the axis of “The Map of All Nations Coming to Court”. It shows the elderly Emperor Qianlong embracing the descendants of the royal family, sitting in the Ningshou Palace area that was rebuilt for him to take care of himself after returning to power, and receiving New Year’s congratulations from envoys from various countries. For Emperor Qianlong, the dynasty was important, but the prosperity of his descendants was also a top priority. Emperor Qianlong had a total of twenty-seven children in his life. In the forty-ninth year of Qianlong’s reign (1784), his great-great-grandson was born, and he was very excited about the five generations living under the same roof. Afterwards, he added the inscription “Five Blessings and Five Dynasties Hall” to the Gyeongbokgung Palace in the Forbidden City to commemorate his wishes, and then engraved “Five Blessings and Five Dynasties Hall Ancient and Rare Emperor Treasure” to express his contented imperial life. There is no date of creation for this painting, but according to the records of the Qing Palace Construction Office, it was painted in December of the 44th year of Qianlong’s reign (1779), so the infant in his arms at this time must be his great-grandson.

Qing Jiaqing, anonymous, Emperor Jiaqing’s ancient costumes and entertainment scroll. This picture depicts Emperor Jiaqing and his concubines dressed in traditional Han costumes, relaxing and entertaining in the courtyard. Although it is a picture of a couple having fun, Emperor Jiaqing not only occupies the main position in the painting, but is also taller than his concubines who are also seated and even the standing waiters, highlighting his supreme status as the king of a country and the head of a family. The waiter came towards them with a scroll of calligraphy and painting in his hand. The gathering of couples was about to begin in the imperial garden where peonies and magnolias were in full bloom, forming an enviable scene of love.

The 40th Anniversary Exhibition of the Palace Museum Publishing House” will be officially opened to the public on December 9 in the Wenhua Hall of the Palace Museum! This exhibition unfolds the 40-year development history of the Palace Museum Press in five units, and for the first time adopts the innovative exhibition format of “books + cultural relics”. In the exhibition hall, there are not only the “Forbidden City Book Mountain” and the “Forbidden Book City” built with thousands of fine books, but also 22 precious cultural relics, including fine porcelain from the five famous kilns of the Song Dynasty, and the Qianlong Jasper Dragon Button from the Qing Dynasty. “An ancient rare treasure of the emperor” and other exquisite cultural relics. The exhibition will last until February 25, 2024. The general audience can make an appointment to visit through the “Forbidden City Museum” applet

Daoguang of the Qing Dynasty, anonymous, empress Xiaoshencheng’s lotus scroll. Daoguang Emperor Minning had four queens in his life, the second of whom was Queen Xiaoshencheng. She is the daughter of Shu Ming’a, the third-class Chengen Gong. She entered the palace during the Jiaqing Dynasty and married Minning, who was the prince at the time. In the 13th year of Jiaqing (1808), Emperor Renzong granted her the title of successor to the Jin Dynasty. In the second year of Daoguang (1822), she was canonized as queen. She was the eldest daughter of Emperor Daoguang, Princess Duan Ming Lun, but unfortunately she died in infancy. This picture shows Empress Xiaoshencheng holding a folding fan and wearing seasonal flowers as headdress while admiring the flowers and scenery in the picturesque imperial garden. A pair of mandarin ducks in the lotus pond made her stop and watch. Obviously, the flowers in the garden could not touch her heart as much as the loving mandarin ducks.

Daoguang of the Qing Dynasty, anonymous, Xiao Quancheng, Queen Xuan Palace’s spring mist scroll. This picture is a portrait of Empress Xiao Quancheng holding the prince’s hand. Empress Xiao Quancheng (1808-1840) entered the palace in the early years of Daoguang and was given the title of Quanbi. She gave birth to the third and fourth daughters of Emperor Daoguang. In the eleventh year of Daoguang (1831), when she was twenty-four years old, she gave birth to The fourth son of the emperor was Emperor Xianfeng. In the thirteenth year of Daoguang’s reign (1833), she was granted the title of Imperial Concubine by the Jin Dynasty. In October of the fourteenth year of Daoguang (1834), she was officially appointed by Emperor Daoguang as the third queen after Queen Xiao Shencheng. When she passed away, Yi𬣞 was just over nine years old. The prince she is holding in the picture may be the still young Yi𬣞. The mother and son are holding lotus leaves and lotus flowers respectively, implying the inseparable affection between flowers and leaves.

In order to implement the spirit of the “Opinions on Promoting the Work of Ancient Books in the New Era” and deepen the protection and revitalization of ancient literature and cultural relics, the Palace Museum, on the basis of sorting, protecting and researching the engraving cultural relics in the museum’s collection, has established a monastery in the southeast of Taihe Gate. The ” 九牌馆 ” was opened in the building and the court room , and the ” 吉光片雨 – Exhibition of Qing Dynasty palace engraving cultural relics collected by the Palace Museum” was held at the same time, with more than 15,000 pieces (groups) of cultural relics displayed in a warehouse-style display. This is the first time the Palace Museum has held a special cultural relics exhibition of this type since its establishment. The exhibition will be officially open to the public from October 31, 2023, in the Southeast Chonglou and Chaofang Engraving Hall inside the Taihe Gate of the Palace Museum.

Daoguang of the Qing Dynasty, anonymous, the scroll of Emperor Daoguang’s joyful autumn garden. This painting depicts the scene of Emperor Daoguang having fun in the courtyard with his concubine, elder brother and princess. With Emperor Daoguang in the open pavilion was the 26-year-old imperial concubine, Queen Xiao Quancheng, the mother of Emperor Xianfeng. At this time, she was dignified in appearance and had just been promoted to imperial concubine due to the death of Empress Xiao Shencheng. She was in charge of the affairs of the Sixth Palace and assumed the power of the empress. Therefore, she was qualified to sit with Emperor Daoguang, but according to regulations, she could not sit side by side with the emperor, so she could only sit respectfully to the side. In front of the pavilion are the lively princes, princesses and elegant concubines. In the happiness of his family, Emperor Daoguang couldn’t help but write the title of the picture “Happiness Overflowing the Autumn Garden” in his own handwriting…..

On the 11th December 2023 Overnight, the inside and outside of the palace were wrapped in white. The glazed golden roof is covered with jade dust, and the red walls and corridors are covered with silver stars. Looking far into the distance, Danchen and green tiles meet the snow, which is the same color as the sky.

There is flying snow on the red steps, and the green branches are cold and crisp. Under the city full of silver, dots of red and golden stars are scattered among them, forming a moving picture of the Forbidden City in winter.

The white snow is the base, the yellow eaves are the lines, and the dots of vermilion dance like musical notes, like falling jade beads on a plate, composing a majestic movement of snow falling on the Danchen!

The cold stamens are rustling, and the flying feathers are fluttering. The winter elves break the tranquility among the ice and snow, adding infinite vitality…

Qing Xianfeng, Anonymous, Mei Guifei, Chun Guiren and other carnival scrolls. This picture depicts Emperor Xianfeng’s concubine Mei, the noble concubine of the spring, and Qi Chang enjoying their summer fishing activities. There is a yellow paper tag with their name stuck next to each person. Among them, the highest-ranking concubine Mei Guifei is among them, with a look of joy on her face. Their eyebrows are slender and their lower lips are a little bright red, which is the typical makeup of court women in the late Qing Dynasty. As a concrete realistic painting, this picture provides relatively precious image data for studying the costumes of concubines and palace entertainment life in the Qing Dynasty….

The river body is smooth, the eaves and ridges are smooth, and the viewing pillars are in order. The captivating sky and earth trace the changes, and the charm of six hundred years becomes more apparent.

Images and visuals are from – Forbidden City –Palace Museum Beijing- China –People’s Republic of China…..

#北京 #中國 #China #Beijing | #紫禁城 #ForbiddenCity #November2023 | #ForbiddenCityDairies -The Palace Museum #ForbiddenCity Collections of Chinese intangible cultural heritage.    17th- 25th November 2023…..

On July 19th 2023 , the multilingual website of the Forbidden City Palace Museum- Beijing, China, People’s Republic of Chinawas officially released at the Digital Cultural Tourism Development Forum of the 2023 China Internet Civilization Conference! The website covers five languages: English, French, Russian, Japanese, and Spanish, and will meet the needs of audiences with different languages.

 The multilingual website of the Palace Museum is committed to establishing an international website that is concise, clear, easy to use for overseas audiences, and fits the construction of the modern civilization of the Chinese nation, including tour guides, information, panoramic tours, online exhibitions, collection appreciation, cultural topics, etc. Rich immersive content describing of the most detail collection that housed within the Forbidden City collection…. 

Forbidden City Ginkgo is about to turn yellow, looking forward to a #Forbidden City dyed with golden color ! Fall in love with the Forbidden City

During the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty, there was a special chime made of jasper depicting golden clouds and dragon patterns. After Emperor Qianlong cast the bell, in order to complete the ritual and music system, he also added a set of twelve special chimes in the same year, one for each, and they were used in the same way as the bell. The special chime is made of a whole piece of Xinjiang Hotan jasper and is crafted by Suzhou jade craftsmen. The body of the chime is obtuse-angled rectangular, with both sides decorated with golden clouds and dragon patterns. The gold and green contrast with each other, and the decoration is gorgeous. On the left and right sides of the upper part of the stand are phoenix heads. The page board is decorated with phoenixes pierced by peony patterns, and the lower part supports a reclining duck.

There are twelve special chimes in a set, corresponding to the twelve rhythms made in the Qing Dynasty. The pitch is adjusted by the size of the chime body. The larger the chime, the lower the pronunciation. Each chime is hung separately, so it is called special chime. When used, different special chimes are chosen according to the rules for each month, such as “Taicu” corresponding to the first month, and so on. The use of special chimes reflects the political concept of Emperor Qianlong advocating Confucian ritual and music education.

Daju, who was covered in autumn fat, couldn’t resist the howling autumn wind and started playing “hide and seek” under the stone fence. This weekend, have you decided where to go to “cat”?

Yellow satin embroidered cloud and dragon pattern (replica). Hui was the commanding tool of Heshao music in court performances in the Qing Dynasty. When the music was under his command, the music was composed, and when it was under his command, the music stopped. The main body of the robe is made of bright yellow cloud satin, embroidered with colorful rising dragons, clouds and fire beads. The upper part is made of blue satin, embroidered with nebulae. In the middle is the sun wheel, with the word “中和” embroidered on it. The lower end is embroidered with seawater and river cliffs. The upper and lower parts of the muzzle are pierced with gold-painted crossbars, with double dragons carved on the upper part and landscapes carved on the lower part. The harem is hung on a red pole, the end of the pole is decorated with a copper-plated dragon head, and the lower part is inserted into a gold-lacquered wooden base. The chariot shown in the picture is a replica, and the red pole and stand are left over from the Qing palace.

The drum is built with gold lacquer and colorful paintings of clouds and dragons. Jiangu originated very early and was relatively mature in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty at the latest. It is a “leather” musical instrument in the ancient eight-tone classification. The drum used in Zhonghe Shao music in the Qing Dynasty has a long and round drum body, a large drum body, and the whole body is painted with gold paint. Both sides are decorated with two gold-plated copper dragons holding copper rings.

Both ends are covered with leather and painted with cloud and dragon patterns. There is a vertical pillar running through the middle of the drum body, with a hood on it, curved beams hanging down on all sides, and a golden dragon carved on the top. The cover is also covered with yellow satin embroidered with clouds and dragon patterns. There is a golden Luan bird on the top of the cover. The drum is supported by a cross-shaped bracket and is engraved with cloud patterns. There are four pedestals under the pillar, and lions are carved on the four legs. The four-cornered dragon’s mouth, golden luan, and copper ring all hang with colorful silk tassels. When playing, beat the drum as the starting and ending rhythm of the phrase. At the end of each sentence, beat the drum and all the music will stop; hit the drum again and all the music will resume.

introduced the ancients’ love for roasted pears . In addition to fire roasting, there are frozen pears in cold northern areas, which are frozen pears. “Jilin Tongzhi” Volume 33 “Shi Huo Zhi 6” records, “It is as hard as a stone. Soak it with water. The cold air will melt inside and ice chips will form on the outside. Shake it with your hands and it will crack like a shell. Remove the shell. And when you make it complex and suck it, it is extremely sweet.” For the royal family of the Qing Dynasty, which originated between the white mountains and black waters, frozen pears were an unforgettable taste of hometown, and they were often listed as tributes in the Qing palace archives.

Qing Dynasty, wooden color painting Xiaozhu (zhù). It is made of wood, shaped like a square bucket, wide at the top and narrow at the bottom. The inner wall is painted black, the outer wall is painted with patterns, and the frame and Xumi base are painted in gold. There is a round hole in the middle of one side of the pail, and a corresponding drum-shaped bulge of the same size in the middle of the inner wall, which is the part where the sound is produced when struck. The striking tool of the 柷 is called “Zhi”, which is an octagonal mallet with a long handle. The 混 is one of the musical instruments played in the palace during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. When the “band conductor” is raised, the performer taps the inner wall of the instrument three times with a mallet, and the music begins

This green gauze gown with clouds, bats, and golden dragon patterns was introduced in Let’s Read the Calendar Together on November 10th. The audience in the comment area was very interested in the details of the clothing. Let’s follow the high-definition picture. , appreciate the beauty of the details of this court gown!

This gown was worn by the concubines of the Qing Dynasty when celebrating grand ceremonies. It is slightly shorter than the court robe and is worn over the court robe. The gown has a round collar, double lapel, sleeves, and left and right trains. The whole body is decorated with colorful silk and gold embroidery patterns, with two flat gold embroidered dragons on the chest and back. The embroidered seawater cliff is densely covered with colorful clouds and the word “囍” pattern, which is suitable for the wedding..

Qing Dynasty, wooden color painting (yǔ). It is made of wood and looks like a crouching tiger. The surface is decorated with tiger stripes and the bottom is decorated with a golden lacquered footrest. There is a groove in the middle of the tiger’s back, and twenty-seven rectangular pieces of painted wood are planted in a group. Two ears protrude from one side of the seat, which are used to place Ao’s shooting tool (zhēn). It is made from a bamboo tube, which is split and separated into twenty-four thin bamboo strips. When playing, the performer uses the laini to scrape the discord and make sounds. The 攔 is one of the musical instruments played in Zhonghe Shao music in the Ming and Qing dynasties. When the music is about to end, the sound of “waiting” is used as the ending sound, and then the bow is put down and the performance is finished

The air is cold and it is snowing, but the autumn scenery is still there. A cloud of “light snow” has already fallen on the red wall. Will the First Snow in the Forbidden City be far behind this winter? Today 小雪 爱Forbidden city…..

Gold lacquer painted cloud and dragon pattern bo (bó) suo (fǔ). The drum is as small as a drum, with a leather-covered drum surface and painted double dragons. The whole body is painted with gold paint, and there are two gold-plated copper dragons on it, each holding a copper ring to tie the bright yellow velvet. The drum is usually placed on a wooden golden lacquered footrest. During the performance, the player hangs the drum around his neck with a velvet (xún) and beats the drum head with both hands. The Bohuo was also a special instrument used in the Qing Dynasty’s court performances and Shao music. It was used in conjunction with the Jiangu. The Jiangu struck once and the Bohuo played twice to match the festival.

Qing Dynasty, black paint painted clouds and dragon patterns. The harp is a traditional Chinese plucked string instrument, shaped like a harp, also made of paulownia wood, with twenty-five strings. Each string is equipped with a movable post to adjust the pitch. The longer the vibrating section of the string, the lower the pronunciation. The harp is often compared with the harp, collectively known as “harp”. In comparison, the zither is larger in size and louder in volume; with more strings, the timbre changes more. The musical instruments used in the Qing court and Shao music also included the harp and the harp. The zi shown in the picture, whether it is the decoration or the wooden and gold-lacquered bracket, maintains the same style as Jiangu, Bohu,

Gourd is homophonic to “Fu Lu” and is a symbol of wealth, longevity, good luck and peace. The body of this pair of golden Daji gourd hanging screens has a silk pattern of ancient money as the base. The circular consecrated center is inlaid with the regular script “Daji” in regular script with lapis lazuli, and is surrounded by jade, turquoise, tourmaline and other gems. They are currently on display in the exhibition 西伊华堂 at the Prince Gong’s Mansion Museum . The exhibition will be on display until November 25th, so go and have a look!

Qing Dynasty, celebrations, etc., wedding celebrations, imperial edicts, banquet etiquette pictures. After the emperor’s wedding celebrations, he would issue an imperial edict to inform the world of the happy event. This picture is from the album “Pictures of Ceremonies for Celebrations, Edicts and Banquets”. The officials of the Ministry of Rites took out the edict from the Hall of Supreme Harmony. The staff of the Ministry of Rites placed the cloud disk containing the edict in the Dragon Pavilion. They were escorted by Lieutenant Luan Yiwei and led by the honor guard band. They carried it to the yellow table on the Tiananmen Gate Tower and announced the edict. The official read out the contents of the edict in both Manchu and Chinese languages. After that, the edict officer placed the edict in a cloud disk, tied the cloud disk with a colorful rope, and hung it in the mouth of the golden phoenix in the middle of the Tiananmen Gate Tower. The colorful rope was relaxed to make the cloud disk slowly fall down, which means that the edict fell from the sky. , is the will of God. The edict was then placed in the Dragon Pavilion, carried to the Ministry of Rites, engraved and printed, and issued to the world. This is a picture of the issuance of an imperial edict, showing officials from the Ministry of Rites kneeling to receive the edict.

Finally waited for the golden color of ginkgo! In the cold wind of early winter, recycle a curtain of bright autumn colours that are “returning for a limited time…

Qing Dynasty, celebrations, etc., wedding celebrations, imperial edicts, banquet etiquette pictures. After the emperor’s wedding, the emperor held a state banquet in the Hall of Supreme Harmony to thank the queen’s father, brothers, family members, princes, ministers, and foreign envoys. This was the most lively and festive occasion in the entire wedding. This picture is the banquet scene in the eighth volume of Emperor Guangxu’s “Wedding Pictures” “Celebrations, Edicts, and Banquet Etiquette Pictures.” At noon on the fifth day of February in the fifteenth year of Guangxu’s reign (1889), the emperor came to the Hall of Supreme Harmony and rewarded the queen’s father and his family members. The emperor’s banquet table is set in front of the throne in the Hall of Supreme Harmony; the banquet tables for his stepfather and princes are set up on the east and west sides of the throne; the banquet tables for first- and second-rank civil and military ministers, Mongolian princes and other officials are set up in the Hall of Taihe; There are banquet tables for the nobles and guards of the second rank and above; on the left and right of His Majesty Dan, there are banquet tables for the civil and military officials below the third rank and the family members of his father-in-law….

Images and visuals are from – Forbidden City –Palace Museum Beijing- China –People’s Republic of China…..