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An Exclusive Insight Into A Limited Time Exhibition Held In The Heart Of London
Enter the ancient world of 19th Century China and explore it's forgotten beauty, intellect & triumphs, hidden within The British Museum.
This insightful display of culture expands your mind to not only the extravagant clothing & art, but the various pieces of everyday life exuding the pleasures, complexities and values of Chinese citizens from an era left behind.
With a shared goal of pursuing an understanding of the experiences that Chinese citizens had during an era of major change and fatality, The British Museum and London University created a team of over 100 scholars across 14 countries to research and discover individuals' stories and bring them to life for the world to recognise.
The Fashion
From glamorous garments worn by those of higher status to military wear to workwear. The clothing displayed under dim light, ensures focussed insight into the varied lives of Chinese citizens during the Qing Dynasty and the Taiping Rebellion.
One piece that caught not only my eyes but everyone in the room's, was Empress Dowager Cixi's robe. Empress Cixi was a noblewoman of the Manchu Yehe Nara clan who later became the de-facto ruler of China from 1861-1908, during the late Qing Dynasty. For a woman of such great power, it was essential that her clothes reflected as much and therefore the robe you can see to the right was created for her.
Although this was an informal outer gown (which Empress Cixi had many of), the immense attention to detail has created a piece of clothing deemed more than a gown, but rather a piece of art frozen in time.
The garment takes inspiration from the Japanese Meiji period during 1868-1912 as reflected in the phoenix and peacock tail. This design is very reminiscent of contemporary kimono designs and incorporates a variety of luxurious, intense colours which were made available from 1870 onwards. The colour pallet carefully compliments the design of the phoenix as the colours consist of vibrant cyan, blues, soft lavenders and striking gold which exude femininity, softness and class, whilst the phoenix represents imperial power sent to the empress. A striking combination of feminine power, assumed to be only fit for an empress.
Bannermen were elite hereditary soldiers consisting of Manchus, Mongols and Chinese whose ancestors fought against the Ming Dynasty in 1644. As you can see, the armour is created with complex craftsmanship, producing honourable patterns and authoritative silhouettes.
Within the latter half of the garment, hides a menacing dragon like face, fixedly glaring straight into the eyes of those opposite the bannerman who bears this armour.
"Alone I commanded a road full of soldiers, killing wave after wave of the evil rollers."
- The spine-chilling words of General Mingliang (1735-1822)
The last piece of fashion I want to introduce you to is one of the few detachable collars displayed in a variety of mesmerising patterns. Qing females adopted these collars as part of everyday wear to add a sense of elaborate luxury to otherwise plain and simple robes. These collars would completely transform a look, drawing in the eyes of those surrounding the woman adorning this extravagant display of fabric.
The embroidery in this piece is exceptionally elegant, mimicking the beauty of nature in it's flowers, leaves and petals. Up close, you can see the complexity of each sown section of the garment, however as you take a step back to appreciate the whole collar, you are not overwhelmed by the sheer amount of detail, but rather realise that the piece assembles itself flawlessly.
The Art
A piece that stood out to be during this immersive experience was this Buddhist statue.
It is unclear of the exact person who carved this magnificent display of dedication and worship, however can be assumed to be a monk residing in the temples outside palace walls, such as Yonghegong in northeast Beijing, where the statue originates from.
This piece of artwork gave me strong insight into the type of statues that surrounded sacred places of worship and therefore is one of my most favoured pieces of this exhibition.
It is astounding to see over 270 year old glazed stoneware, from the great Summer Palace, unharmed and shining through remnants of it's beautiful turquoise coat.
The Summer Palace was destroyed during the second Opium War during the 1850s, however was restored to it's former glory by Emperor Guangxu for use by Empress Dowager Cixi and thus renamed the Summer Palace.
Chinese citizens call The Summer Palace 'Yiheyuan', meaning “Garden of Good Health and Harmony” and it's Chinese name perfectly reflects this beautiful tranquil landmark.
An artist I must highlight is Ren Yi/Ren Bonian, a commercial artist, known for his bold use of watercolour and strong brush strokes. Ren favoured painting birds, people, animals and flowers in an elegant yet sharp display.
The painting you see to the left is of the demon-queller Zhong Qui. A legend with unknown origins, said to find demons and evil spirits and kill them. On the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, his image is displayed in households to prevent misfortunes like disease.
Unfortunately I was unable to capture the entirety of this painting as it was indeed very large, however I urge you to see it for yourself whilst you still can.
The People
You may recognise the woman on the left as her face is displayed on the front of the exhibition. Her name is Lady Li, a woman devoted to Buddhism and managing the household, and the man alongside her is her husband Lu Xifu, a successful business man.
Not much is known about these two, however it is apparent that they were wealthy, as to afford these lifelike portraits. These portraits were painted in a new style, inspired by photography and is painted extremely well to depict this, as at first glance you may believe these were real photographs!
Although it may be difficult to see, to the left is one of the first Chinese coins to ever depict a ruler on them. This was uncommon for China, unlike like western countries as coins carved with rulers icons were only introduced after the 19th century. This coin was created to commemorate the meeting between Kaiser Wilhelm II and Li Hongzhang during his visit to Berlin.
The coin depicts Empress Dowager Cixi with her name in both German and Chinese on one side, and the other depicts the Guangxu emperor.
Following in the footsteps of the exhibition itself, the last story to be told is of Qiu Jin. A poet, a feminist and a brave soul ahead of her time. Qiu Jin grew up in eastern China, studying Chinese heroines and writing poetry. Her words beautifully scream of her inner conflict with her identity as a woman and what it meant to be a lady, as she believed she too could be just as fierce, if not fiercer than a man. Her poem A River of Crimson: A Brief Stay in the Glorious Capital details this struggle.
Qui Jin's story does not have a happy ending, but one with bloodshed. After supporting the republican cause in China in 1905, the government captured her and sentenced her to beheading at the young age of 31. She will forever be remembered as a figure placing the bridge between the Qing Empire and the modern world for society to walk across.
Do I Believe That You Should Visit This Exhibition?
If the details of this exhibition that I have shared with you have sparked your interest in the lost era of China, then I encourage you to expand your knowledge further! As an artist myself, I believe it is important for other artists to gain inspiration from across the world and luckily if you are from the UK you don't need to travel far to gain access to these exclusive works of art, encapsulated in the past.
If you wish to visit this exhibition before it closes then click the link here to purchase your tickets! If you are not from the UK and wish to learn more or are simply not a visual learner, then this book has all you need and more to explore what this exhibition has to offer - and even better, you can keep this book and revisit it whenever you like.
If you have visited this exhibition then tell me about your experience in the comments below and If there are any other London based art exhibitions that you would like me to try, comment your top ones!
Thank you for reading!
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