Auspicious Beginnings: Joint Exhibition of Artifacts from the Palace Museum and Tibet opened at the Palace Museum‘s Meridian Gate Galleries in Beijing on April 29, 2023.
The exhibition features 108 pieces (sets) of artifacts, including 13 pieces (sets) from institutions under the Cultural Heritage Administration of China’s Tibet Autonomous Region and the Sakya Monastery’s Management Committee, as well as 95 pieces (sets) from the Palace Museum. In addition to the highlights such as Emperor Taizong Receiving the Tibetan Envoy by Yan Liben (600–673), Tang dynasty and Imperial Preceptor Dampa Stele by Yuan Dynasty calligrapher Zhao Mengfu (1254–1322), the exhibition features a large number of collections making their public debut for the first time, such as the Tripitaka in Manchurian Script from the Palace Museum, a portrait of Ming dynasty Emperor Yongle (1402–1424) from the Potala Palace in Lhasa, and a Ming dynasty thangka painting of the first encounter between Yuan dynasty ruler Kublai Khan and Phagspa, a Tibetan Buddhist leader who became the imperial preceptor, from the Sakya Monastery in Lhasa.
The exhibition is divided into three thematic sections, A Road in Bloom – Interactions between Tibet and China’s Interior Regions, Lush Blossoms and Foliage – Identity and Belonging and Bountiful Harvest – Fruitful Cultural Achievements, using floral metaphors to depict the process of integration between different ethnic groups in Tibet and other parts of China. It incorporates the latest research achievements of the Palace Museum from the past five years, uncovering the cultural significance behind artifacts. The exhibition showcases the historical interactions, exchanges and integration between Tibetan people and other ethnic groups of China and chronicles a magnificent tale of ethic unity and progress.
The exhibition is open until July 30, 2023.
Source: The Palace Museum