Veil lifted on works of wonder

The painting Along the River During the Qingming Festival by Zhang Zeduan (1085-1145), will highlight the upcoming exhibition in Beijing's Palace Museum.[Photo by Jiang Dong/Wang Kaihao/China Daily]

To give visitors a full appreciation of the works they are seeing, comprehensive accounts of how each work was collected and where it circulated are given. There are also explanations of inscriptions and biographies of artists as well as collectors.

Proving the truth of the motto that to err is human, even though 31 top scholars and artists had a hand in compiling The Stone Moat, some collections later proved to be counterfeits or were suspecting of being so. A section is devoted to discussing recent academic research on the matter.

In addition to what is recorded in the book, the exhibition includes imperial seals, royal book collections and kesi, a fine woven tapestry. The calligraphy and paintings of five Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) emperors will also be on display.

"We want this exhibition to be classic, but we also want it to be diverse," curator Zeng says.

If you go

8:30 am-4:30 pm, until Nov 8. The Palace Museum (closed on Mondays), 4 Jingshan Qianjie, Dongcheng district (entry only via the south gate).

Museum tickets cost 60 yuan ($9.4). The exhibition is in the Hall of Martial Valor (or Wuyingdian, in the southwest of the museum) and the Palace of Lasting Happiness (or Yanxi Gong, in the eastern part of museum).

The exhibition will be operated in two phrases. Some exhibits, including Along the River During the Qingming Festival, will be replaced after Oct 12.

More information at www.dpm.org.cn.