HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR IN THE FORBIDDEN CITY
紫禁城里过大年
TREASURES IN THE PALACE MUSEUM
The Palace Museum has been known for its rich collections. The treasures have been either from the old collections of the Ming and Qing courts or collected by the Museum, especially after 1949 when the People’s Republic of China was founded. New treasures have kept coming into the Museum’s collection. And the Museum has stepped up efforts to take good care of its collection.
BRONZE DING VESSEL AND ORACLE BONE
JASPER SEAL WITH COILING-DRAGONS KNOB AND INSCRIBED WITH “GU XI TIAN ZI ZHI BAO”
CLOISONNE CENSER WITH INTERLOCKING LOTUS DESIGN AND CHI DRAGON–SHAPED EARS
CLOISONNE VAST WITH INTERLOCKING LOTUS DESIGN AND DRAGON-SHAPED EARS
MOON-SHAPED GATE SCENE CARVED FROM GREY JADE WITH STONE SKIN
GILDED-SILVER HAIR ORNAMENT WITH GEM INLAYS IN DESIGN OF FIVE PHOENIXES
BRITAIN-MADE FOUNTAIN CLOCK WITH AUTOMATIC DOOR AND MUSIC (REPAIRED)
PEARL-INLAID GILDED-COPPER STATUETTE OF BUDDHA
HEART SUTRA
BOOKS ABOUT THE FORBIDDEN CITY
BEAUTIFUL ANCIENT THINGS IN THE
PALACE MUSEUM
Beautiful Ancient Things in the Palace Museum is another great book by Zhu Yong on the Palace Museum after Romance in the Forbidden City, The Secret Things in the Forbidden City and Looking for Su Dongpo in the Forbidden City. In this book, Zhu Yong has composed18 pieces of prose to tell the stories about 18 treasures selected from the collection of the Forbidden City, which provide a glimpse of the history of art in the Palace Museum and manifest the beauty of Chinese civilization. The “antiquities” in Zhu Yong’s works as the material carriers of the era reflect the cultural spirit of the age. The book shows amazement at our ancient civilization and genuine pride in the lineage of our culture.
FROM THE FORBIDDEN CITY TO THE PALACE MUSEUM
This book, based on a review of the 600-year history of the Forbidden City, offers a multi-dimensional, panoramic view of its historical and cultural connotations by taking the spatial order of the buildings as the horizontal axis and its historical evolution as the vertical axis. It reveals the historical significance of making Beijing the capital and the great achievements of the Chinese civilization in palace architecture, gardening, painting, reading and book collection.
THE SECRET CORNERS IN THE FORBIDDEN CITY
With poetic language, prose style and a historian’s attitude, Zhu Yong takes us into the space inaccessible to ordinary tourists: the Hall of Martial Valor, the Hall of Displaying Benevolence, the Palace of Peaceful Longevity, the Pavilion of Literary Profundity and the Studio of Exhaustion from Diligent Service. The book tells the secret things in the hidden corners and depicts the historical figures who have appeared and disappeared in the Forbidden City and the ups and downs in their lives.
The Forbidden City is both a witness to and a participant in history. The vicissitudes of the world in the distant history are beyond the reach of ordinary tourists during their short visit to the Palace Museum. The writer’s aesthetical writing of these hidden corners revisits and continues the memory about the Forbidden City, and brings out a significant part of the history of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Xiaozhuang, Fulin, Li Zicheng, Wu Sangui and Qianlong and so on, all these characters are lifelike. Vivid stories make history no longer so far away, but close to people.
LOOKING FOR SU DONGPO IN THE PALACE MUSEUM
Looking for the imprints left by Su Dongpo in the Palace Museum collection
Admiring the painting and calligraphy of Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties and trying to learn more about Su Dongpo and his era
Dozens of high-definition paintings from the Palace Museum and other museums from home and abroad are included to present the beauty of calligraphy and painting by Su Dongpo.
This book depicts the life experiences of Su Dongpo in 10 dimensions: entering officialdom, making a living, calligraphy, painting, literature, making friends, the literati, family, politics, and Lingnan. Following Su’s life journey, the author has selected the painting and calligraphy of the Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties from the collection of the Palace Museum to connect Su’s spiritual world with the history of art and to reflect on his era. It is more than a biography of Su Dongpo since it also records the cultural features of the Song Dynasty.
MYSTERY OF THE FORBIDDEN CITY
Since the completion of the Forbidden City, there have been many historical mysterious cases, which have long attracted the attention and aroused speculation of countless people. So what is the truth of these suspicious cases? From Xingjing (Hetuala), Dongjing (Liaoyang), Shengjing (Shenyang) to Beijing, from Nurhachi, emperor Taizu of the Qing Dynasty, to the last emperor Puyi, these cases span a long time, and cover the emperors' family affairs and palace secrets, which are rarely heard for outsiders. Therefore, in the official history, official and private records, as well as notes and novels, there are diverse records of the same event because they are taboos for the emperors or fabricated stories, making them even more mysterious and making it more difficult to find the truth. This requires the identification of the false and the true based on historical data, revealing the historical truth of the event. The author, based on first-hand historical data, has selected more than 200 pictures, analyzed them one by one, and conducted detailed textual research to explore the clues of history and in order to discover the truth behind them.
THE FORBIDDEN CITY, 600 YEARS ON
On the fourth day of November of the eighteenth year of Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty, the emperor issued an imperial edict announcing the completion of Beijing’s construction. That day is regarded as the birthday of the Beijing City and the Beijing imperial palace of the Ming Dynasty, which according to the Gregorian calendar, is December 8, 1420. Up to 2020, a full 600 years has passed by. Over the long years, the Ming capital and its core imperial palace buildings were taken by the Qing dynasty rulers as their capital and their Forbidden City as a matter of course.
To mark the 600-year-old great ancient building complex, Mr. Jin Hongkui, an ancient architect and former Deputy Director of the Palace Museum, wrote The Forbidden City, 600 Years On, to enable readers to learn about the long construction history from the construction of the city in Yuan and Ming dynasties to the completion of the imperial palace.
This book is primer on the architecture of the Forbidden City written by a professional scholar, catering to popular interest.
MONSTERS IN THE FORBIDDEN CITY
A Chinese version of Night at the Museum! This series of books are the original work by Ms. Chang Yi, newly emerged writer of children's literature. This is the first children book series set in the scene of the Forbidden City and it is recommended by famous writers like Ms.Bi Shumin, Hans Christian Andersen Award winner Mr. Cao Wenxuan, etc. It contains fairy tales in which a girl student named Li Xiaoyu takes adventures in the Forbidden City and meets the monsters and animals transformed from the statues there. The surreal stories are brand new, dramatic and humorous. With the stage of the Forbidden City, the author combines historical knowledge and folk customs together, which enables children to learn better about traditional Chinese culture.
THE “JANITOR” IN THE FORBIDDEN CITY
Depicting himself as a "janitor", the author Shan Jixiang, former director of the Palace Museum, talks about his efforts to make the Palace Museum approach the people's life and protect the place to "leave a magnificent Palace Museum till the next 600 years". As a tribute to the 600th anniversary of the establishment of the Palace Museum, the book is jointly recommended by three leading scholars. This book also introduces the international exchange work of the Palace Museum as one of the five largest museums in the world, as well as the interesting stories during foreign dignitaries’ visiting.
SHOW YOU AROUND THE FORBIDDEN CITY
This is a picture book about the Forbidden City, presenting the panorama of the Forbidden City and typical buildings in it. The origin of the buildings’ name, the construction techniques and the related historical and cultural knowledge can all be found in the book. Following the distinctive tour route in the book, readers can visit the Forbidden City together with the main character and appreciate the beauty often missed by others.Young readers can get to know more about the Forbidden City through the activities and games in the book and the reading and audio resources available by scanning the QR code.
Contact for Translation Rights:guotan@cnpubg.com
