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The Hong Kong Palace Museum (HKPM or the Museum) will present Part II of the Palace Museum Culture Lecture Series from October to December this year. Featuring leading experts from the Palace Museums of Beijing, Taipei and Hong Kong, the lecture series aims to foster the study and appreciation of Palace Museum culture. These distinguished scholars will share their new research and bring to life the rich collections of these significant museums.
The first part of this lecture series from last April to June was well received by the public. It covered themes ranging from the architecture of the Forbidden City to the art collections and culture of the imperial court. The upcoming Part II of the series will explore a few important topics in Chinese art and archaeology, highlighting treasures from the Palace Museums and their cultural context and significance.
The details are as follows:
“The Rise and Fall of Ritual Jades in Early China” (23 October 2021): Dr Tianlong Jiao, Head Curator of the HKPM, will explore ritual jades from early China using new archaeological finds. With a symbolic significance that far exceeds their decorative function, these objects have been an important component in Chinese society for more than eight thousand years.
“The Emperor’s Porcelain: Royal Taste and Craftsmanship” (20 November 2021): Ms Tsai Mei-fen, former Chief Curator of the Department of Antiquities of the Palace Museum, Taipei, will discuss how imperial taste led to new developments in porcelain making, with a focus on Ru kiln celadon in the Song dynasty (960–1279), “sweet-white” (tianbai) porcelain in the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), and porcelain with painted enamels from the Qing dynasty (1644–1911). Each was particularly favoured by a particular emperor—Huizong, Yongle, and Kangxi, respectively—who had a marked influence on the development of ceramic production.
“The Imperial Costume System of the Qing Dynasty and its Cultural Significance” (11 December 2021): Mr Yan Yong, Curator and Head of the Court History Department of the Palace Museum, Beijing, will explore the imperial costume of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911), and its cultural significance. Topics include the ranked hierarchy the costume embodied, and the Manchu and Han-Chinese cultural elements of the Qing imperial costume.
The Hong Kong Palace Museum is scheduled to open in July 2022. The Museum will offer a Hong Kong perspective and a global vision, presenting the finest objects from the Palace Museum and other important cultural institutions around the world. Through innovative research and travelling exhibitions, as well as educational, cultural, and professional exchange programmes, the Museum will build international partnerships and help position Hong Kong as a hub for art and cultural exchanges between China and the rest of the world.
Programme Details:
Zoom 1: “The Rise and Fall of Ritual Jades in Early China”
| Date: | 23 October 2021 (Saturday) |
| Time: | 10:00–11:00am (Hong Kong time) |
| Format: | Online Register now: www.westkowloon.hk/palace-museum-culture-lecture-series-2a |
| Platform: | Zoom |
| Speaker: | Dr Tianlong Jiao, Head Curator, Hong Kong Palace Museum |
| Language: | Mandarin with simultaneous interpretation in Cantonese; subtitles not available |
| Fee: | Free |
Zoom 2: “The Emperor’s Porcelain: Royal Taste and Craftsmanship”
| Date: | 20 November 2021 (Saturday) |
| Time: | 10:00–11:00am (Hong Kong time) |
| Format: | Online |
| Platform: | Zoom |
| Speaker: | Ms Tsai Mei-fen, former Chief Curator of the Department of Antiquities, Palace Museum, Taipei |
| Language: | Mandarin with simultaneous interpretation in Cantonese; subtitles not available |
| Fee: | Free |
Zoom 3: “The Imperial Costume System of the Qing Dynasty and its Cultural Significance”
| Date: | 11 December 2021 (Saturday) |
| Time: | 10:00–11:00am (Hong Kong time) |
| Format: | Online |
| Platform: | Zoom |
| Speaker: | Mr Yan Yong, Curator and Head of the Court History Department, Palace Museum |
| Language: | Mandarin with simultaneous interpretation in Cantonese; subtitles not available |
| Fee: | Free |
Speaker Biographies:
| Dr Tianlong Jiao, Head Curator of the Hong Kong Palace Museum |
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Dr Tianlong Jiao received his BA from Peking University in 1987 and PhD from Harvard University in 2003. Prior to his appointment at the Hong Kong Palace Museum, he was the Curator of Asian Art at the Denver Art Museum, the Head and Curator of Chinese Art at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, Chief Curator of the Hong Kong Maritime Museum, and Chairman of the Department of Anthropology at the Bishop Museum. He also served as faculty or as a visiting professor at the University of Hawaii-Manoa, Xiamen University, Chinese University of Science and Technology, and Shandong University. His research specialty is early Chinese art and archaeology. Dr Jiao has curated many international traveling exhibitions in collaboration with major museums, including the Palace Museum. He has also conducted archaeological projects in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Hawaii, and Honduras. He is the author or co-author of seven books and more than ninety research papers in both Chinese and English. His book The Neolithic of Southeast China won the 2007 Philip and Eugenia Cho Award for Outstanding Scholarship in Asian Studies. |
| Ms Tsai Mei-fen, former Chief Curator of the Department of Antiquities of the Palace Museum, Taipei |
| Ms Tsai Mei-fen graduated with a master’s degree in Chinese art history from the Department of History, Taiwan University. She went on to work at the Palace Museum, Taipei for over thirty-five years, where she focused on collections research. Her main research areas include Chinese antiquities—particularly porcelain, lacquerware, and scholar’s objects—and Tibetan Buddhist art, on which she has published several academic papers. Tsai has also curated several major exhibitions for the Museum, and has edited numerous catalogues, including Decorated Porcelain of Dingzhou, Green: Longquan Celadon of the Ming Dynasty, Splendid Treasures: A Hundred Masterpieces of the Palace Museum, Taipei on Parade, and Dynastic Renaissance Art and Culture of Southern Song: Antiquities and Age of the Great Khan. |
| Mr Yan Yong, Curator and Head of the Court History Department of the Palace Museum |
| Mr Yan Yong is the Curator and Head of the Court History Department of the Palace Museum, a Member of the Academic Committee of the Palace Museum, and Secretary-General of the Ming and Qing Court History Research Centre. Yan graduated from the Department of Archaeology of Jilin University and the Institute of Qing History of Renmin University of China. His areas of research include Qing imperial clothing and Chinese tapestries. He has curated and contributed to numerous major exhibitions, including “Japanese Cultural Relics in the Collection of the Palace Museum”, “Embroidered Paintings in the Collection of the Palace Museum”, “The Splendors of Imperial Costume: Qing Court Attire from the Beijing Palace Museum”, “Witness the Qing Empire: Cultural Relics from the Palace Museum”, and “Kangxi, Emperor of China (1662 -1722): The Forbidden City in Versailles”. He has edited numerous catalogues and books and has published more than forty academic papers. |
Remarks
About the Hong Kong Palace Museum
The Hong Kong Palace Museum aspires to become one of the world’s leading cultural institutions committed to the study and appreciation of Chinese art and culture, while advancing dialogue among world civilisations through international partnerships. Scheduled to open in July 2022, the Museum is a collaborative project between the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority and the Palace Museum. The capital cost of the Museum is fully funded by a donation of HK$3.5 billion from The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust.
Embracing new curatorial approaches, the Museum will offer a Hong Kong perspective and a global vision, presenting the finest objects from the Palace Museum and other important cultural institutions around the world. Through innovative research and travelling exhibitions, as well as educational, cultural, and professional exchange programmes, the Museum will build international partnerships and help position Hong Kong as a hub for art and cultural exchanges between China and the rest of the world. As a world-class institution, the Museum is, at heart, a cultural resource that belongs to the community of Hong Kong. And as a dynamic platform, it will inspire community engagement, foster dialogue and partnerships, and promote creativity and interdisciplinary collaboration. https://www.westkowloon.hk/en/hkpm
About the West Kowloon Cultural District
The West Kowloon Cultural District is one of the largest and most ambitious cultural projects in the world. Its vision is to create a vibrant new cultural quarter for Hong Kong on forty hectares of reclaimed land located alongside Victoria Harbour. With a varied mix of theatres, performance spaces, and museums, the West Kowloon Cultural District will produce and host world-class exhibitions, performances, and cultural events, providing twenty-three hectares of public open space, including a two-kilometre waterfront promenade.
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