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….
Dyeing, powdering, and drawing different patterns on various colours of silk can be used as writing materials. The silk paper without writing is already beautiful!
Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, Jin Tingbiao, and the scroll of the baby’s play. This picture was created by Jin Tingbiao, a court painter of the Qianlong Dynasty, and depicts a scene of children playing in the countryside. Some of the childish and lively children picked flowers, and some competed in “grass fighting” by pulling the stems of flowers and plants together. The children’s naughty expressions are fully displayed, and the cheerful atmosphere overflows the picture. Emperor Qianlong, who was looking forward to having many children and grandchildren, was very satisfied with this picture and wrote an imperial poem on it: “Weeping poplars, strange stones, and luxuriant grass, red and green baskets are pouring out to fight against each other. The heart of a child loves business, and the famous saying is that there is a stream of water in the river.” “He also stamped more than ten square seals and included the picture in “Shiqu Baoji” to show his love.
冬至 At the winter solstice, Yang is born, and the sundial begins to grow. Today Winter solstice , the wall tiles, eaves corners, and plaques of a city are lit up with warmth, and we can’t help but look forward to the coming of the New Year….
Qianlong Qing Dynasty, anonymous, Kesi Sanduo Youqing Picture Scroll (partial). “Three mores” refers to many descendants, more blessings, and longer life. Having these “three mores” at the same time is truly a blessing in life, so “three mores are celebrated” has become a traditional blessing. In this tapestry scroll with its warp and weft cut through, the craftsman cleverly displayed the theme of “three mores” in the way of children playing: the children gathered together represent “many children”; the red bats flying in the sky allude to “the flood”. (Red) Fu (bat) Qitian” means “many blessings”; the boy holds longevity peaches in his hands, which represents “many lifespan”; and at the end of the scroll, there is a boy lifting a hammer to strike a chime, which means “chime” is homophonic to “celebration”, which completely completes the whole story. It expresses the creative theme of “three more times bring celebration”.
The pearl-necked turtle dove is a small wild resident bird of the family Dove and Columbidae that is common in cities, and is also one of the most common birds in the Forbidden City. The sides of their necks are black and densely covered with white spots, like many “pearls” scattered around their necks. This feature is only found after the Pearl-necked Turtle Dove reaches adulthood, so it can also be regarded as their “coming-of-age ceremony”.
Sun Zhiwei, a poet in the early Qing Dynasty, said in his poem “Doves in the Rain”: “The sun rises in the southeast corner, and the pigeon calls his wife.” “Banjiu” means “turtle dove”. The poem depicts a turtle dove and its partner staying together and inseparable. Pearl-necked turtle doves are usually monogamous and behave respectfully in daily life. They breed once a year, and the breeding period is from May to July. Usually the male bird first looks for a location, and then takes the female bird to choose a place that both parties think is suitable, and then build a nest with branches.
Qing, anonymous, baby play picture album page. The “Baby Play Pictures” album was created by a court painter. This page is one of the pages, depicting a scene of five children picking lotus flowers and playing in the water by a lotus pond, with the sun burning like fire in June. The author uses meticulous and rigorous writing and rich and gorgeous colors to humorously depict the cute, lively and interesting image of children. In particular, the staggering and unsteady steps of children wearing crotchless pants when walking ashore are vividly depicted, showing the author’s keen observation. The expressive power of describing God through form…
Images and visuals are from – Forbidden City –Palace Museum Beijing- China –People’s Republic of China…..
