The Hong Kong Palace Museum (the Museum) and the Palace Museum today unveiled a new thematic exhibition “The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: Xiu Ming Wu Bei – Military Artifacts from the Qing Dynasty from the Collection of the Palace Museum” (the “Xiu Ming Wu Bei” exhibition). The "Xiu Ming Wu Bei" exhibition is one of three new exhibitions jointly presented by the museum and the Palace Museum this year. The exhibition is exclusively sponsored by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust. It is the first exhibition in Hong Kong in recent years to focus on the military equipment of the Qing Dynasty court. Through about 190 Qing Dynasty cultural relics from the collection of the Palace Museum, including 18 national first-class cultural relics, it introduces the military organization, Military technology, martial spirit and military art, as well as cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries. The exhibition will be open to the public from tomorrow (January 22, 2025) in Hall 4 of the museum.
The opening ceremony of the "Xiu Ming Wu Bei" exhibition was officiated by Lou Wei, Executive Vice President of the Palace Museum, Kong Lingcheng, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Hong Kong Palace Museum, Yip Hau-yee, Head of Charities (Culture, Sports and Community Engagement) of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, and Ms. Ann Fung, Chief Executive Officer of the District Authority, and Dr. Stephen Ng, Director of the Hong Kong Palace Museum.
Lou Wei, Executive Vice President of the Palace Museum, said: "The Palace Museum is a treasure house of excellent traditional Chinese culture. The "Xiu Ming Wu Bei" exhibition showcases the charm of the Palace Museum culture that carries China's 5,000-year civilization. The curatorial team carefully selected precious cultural relics. It not only reflects the development of military equipment and martial spirit in the Qing Dynasty, but also shows the craftsmanship and artistic style of the military art of the Qing Dynasty court. We hope that the "Xiu Ming Wu Bei" exhibition will continue the success of previous exhibitions and share the history of the treasures of the Forbidden City with Chinese and foreign audiences. story."
Kong Lingcheng, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Hong Kong Palace Museum, said: “Since the opening of the Hong Kong Palace Museum two and a half years ago, cultural and artistic treasures from the Palace Museum have been displayed in 12 exhibitions in the museum. The “Xiu Ming Wu Bei” exhibition is the first exhibition in Hong Kong in recent years focusing on the Qing Dynasty. We hope to enhance the audience's understanding of the Qing Dynasty's military culture, as well as the Qing Dynasty's military reforms and innovations. We believe that the "Xiu Ming Wu Bei" exhibition will help the public, especially students and young people, understand the Qing Dynasty's court military culture. The development of culture and military art.
The Hong Kong Jockey Club’s Head of Charities (Culture, Sports and Community Engagement), Ip Hau-yee, said: “The Club has always been committed to building a better society and actively promoting the development of arts, culture and conservation in Hong Kong, in line with the country’s 14th Five-Year Plan. The Hong Kong Jockey Club donated HK$3.5 billion to support the construction of the Hong Kong Palace Museum, so that citizens and tourists can appreciate the treasures of Chinese history, culture and art. The Jockey Club is honored to be the exclusive sponsor of this exhibition. Sponsorship to spread Chinese culture. "
A diverse perspective presents the military culture of the Qing Dynasty court. The first phase of exhibits includes a national first-class cultural relic imitating the Nurhaci imperial helmet
The Manchus attached great importance to the martial spirit of their ancestors, improved the technology of manufacturing weapons such as bows and arrows, swords, guns and cannons, were diligent in hunting and training, created a large number of court military art works and established military etiquette, and developed fleets and coastal defense measures. The exhibition title, “Xiu Ming Wu Bei”, is taken from an imperial edict issued by Emperor Qianlong (reigned 1736–1795), in which he instructed local officials to maintain harmony between the soldiers and civilians, improve military equipment, and live up to the emperor’s trust in them. This reveals the importance of military equipment in the Qing court. status.
The "Xiu Ming Wu Bei" exhibition is divided into six sections:
Unit 1, "The Rise of the Eight Banners", tells the story of the Eight Banners system established by Nurhaci (1559–1626), the founder of the Qing dynasty, and the various professional troops that were subsequently established;
The second section, "Swords of the World", displays the swords and waist knives made by the Qing emperors, as well as a large number of knives that were imported from foreign countries and entered the palace and became part of the palace collection;
The third unit, "Horse Archery and Guns and Cannons", showcases the traditional Manchu archery and horse archery, and outlines the importance the court attached to mastering cannon firing techniques;
Unit 4, "Parades and Military Salutes", explores military drills during the Qing Dynasty, including military salute reviews and exercises of new-style armies.
Unit 5 "History in Pictures" features a selection of battle maps drawn by court painters, recreating the key moments that led to victory in the war;
Unit 6 "Defending the Sea" focuses on the construction of coastal defense in the late Qing Dynasty.
The exhibition features approximately 190 Qing dynasty court artifacts from the Palace Museum’s collection, including helmets, bows and arrows, swords, horse harnesses, paintings, textiles, books and scientific instruments, among many other categories. The exhibition is divided into four phases*, each lasting approximately three months, to allow for the rotation of some of the treasures. Key cultural relics include the Qianlong Dynasty imitation Nurhaci's imperial helmet, a national first-class cultural relic that will only be exhibited in the first phase. It reflects the royal descendants' remembrance of their ancestor's entrepreneurial spirit.
The exhibition showcases many of the imperial sword collection, including the legendary "White Rainbow" sword given to Yixin by Emperor Daoguang: it was made during the Daoguang reign (1821–1850) and given to the sixth son of the emperor, Yixin (later known as Gong Prince of Qin (1833–1898), was specially allowed to use this sword by Emperor Xianfeng (reigned 1851–1861) to show that he was entrusted with important tasks and granted privileges. The exhibition also displays swords from different regions of Asia that were later included in the palace collection, such as the Isfahan sword and the Torghut sword. They are not only made of high-quality materials and exquisite craftsmanship, but also embody the aesthetics and communication and interaction of different cultures.
Key cultural relics depict the scene of naval review in the late Qing Dynasty. New book brings together the essence of academic research
"Bohai Review of the Army" is one of the highlight exhibits of the "Xiu Ming Wu Bei" exhibition. A total of ten color album leaves will be exhibited in rotation in each exhibition. The work depicts the important moment when Prince Chun Yihuan (1840–1891) inspected the Beiyang naval defenses in the 12th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu (1886). It was created by the accompanying Shenjinying painter Qing Kuan (1848–1927) and others. This was the first time in modern Chinese history that a royal minister reviewed the navy. However, the Qing court later used photography to record inspections, so this work can be regarded as an unprecedented and unparalleled work of traditional court military painting. Visitors can take advantage of the exhibition to see this first creation of the modern Chinese navy. A precious relic of the period.
Visitors can purchase the recently published book "The Power of Bohai: Prince Chun's Inspection of the Northern Ocean Coastal Defense in the Late Qing Dynasty" at the museum's "ART EXPRESS by Commercial Press" gift shop. It contains the latest research results in the academic community, including military history. Special articles by expert Jiang Ming and Dr. Zhou Weiqiang, a researcher at the museum, as well as the first complete and high-definition image of "Bohai Review of the Masters" to be made public.
In addition to using lifelike digital animations to analyze battle scenes, the exhibition also provides audio guides to vividly explain to the audience the concept of the Eight Banners and the stories behind the exhibits. In addition to the exhibition, the museum will host a variety of learning activities, including interactive workshops for children. The content uses battle maps as an entry point to allow them to understand the unique multi-visual narratives in battle maps and use their imagination to create and act out battle maps. In addition, the museum gift shop sells thermos bottles, document holders and stickers from the "Hong Kong Palace Museum Special Team" series. These three cultural and creative products are all printed with the museum’s own cartoon-style Eight Banners Soldiers, which are very interesting.
The exhibition "The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: Military Artifacts from the Qing Dynasty in the Palace Museum" will open tomorrow (22 January 2025) in Hall 4 of the museum. The exhibition will be divided into four phases*, each lasting approximately three days. moon. Visitors can enter the exhibition with a standard ticket (access to Halls 1 to 7) or a special exhibition ticket (access to Halls 1 to 7, as well as Halls 8 and/or 9). From now on, citizens can purchase or book tickets for the West Kowloon Cultural District online ticketing platform and ticketing partner platforms.
* Notes – Exhibition period of “The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: Military Artifacts from the Qing Dynasty from the Palace Museum”
Phase 1: January 22, 2025 to April 21, 2025
Phase 2: April 23, 2025 to July 21, 2025
Phase 3: July 23, 2025 to October 20, 2025
Fourth phase: October 22, 2025 to January 21, 2026
HKPM line-up of new exhibitions in 2025：Please click here
*Cover image information："The Capture of Chengjiang Prefecture in Yunnan and the Recapture of Jiangna Rammed Earth City" from the Album of the Suppression of the Yunnan and Guizhou Regions. Supervised by Prince Chun (1840–1890), painted by Qing Kuan (1848–1927) and others. Qing dynasty, Guangxu period, 1885. Ink and colour on silk © The Palace Museum
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