Traditional Chang’an Handicraft Exhibition kicked off in Xi’an Museum

Visitors were appreciating the Jade Goblet from the Western Han Dynasty

On May 17th, the Traditional Chang’an Handicraft Exhibition organized by the Xi’an Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage and the Xi’an Museum officially kicked off in the temporary hall on the 1st floor of the Xi’an Museum. The exhibition boasts three themes, the “Long-standing History from a Glorious Age”, the “Exquisite Handicrafts by Exploiting the Nature”, and the “Exchanges, Innovation & Everlastingness”. According to the available information, this exhibition will last until September 10th.

The Feathered Man of the Western Han Dynasty

In order to use a brand-new perspective to interpret and appreciate the cultural heritages from point of views such as the beauty, craft and exchanges of cultural heritages, 82 sets of representative collections have been selected from the Xi’an Museum to be showcased in this exhibition. These handicrafts demonstrate the master skills owned by Chang’an craftsmen. During the unceasing inheritance and innovation process, they persevered in working and pushed themselves forward with a broad vision and open mind, and finally created the ever-bright Chang’an culture and the everlasting spirit of the Chinese nation.

The Eight-lobed Silver Cup with Ladies Hunting Scenes of the Tang Dynasty

The Chang’an craftsmen in Zhou, Qin, Han and Tang dynasties worked with perseverance to pursue perfectness. On this basis, a large number of gorgeous masterpieces came out, with “beauteousness” became the key objective and guiding principle during the creating procedure. The combination of skillful crafts and elegant aesthetics served as the basis for numerous fine artworks with classic plastic arts and strong visual impacts. Moreover, the cultural connotations in the artworks even makes Chang’an the center of oriental civilization, leading the trend of fashion.

The Golden-backed Mirror with Auspicious Animals and Grapes from the Tang Dynasty

In ancient Chang’an, the creation of every handicraft needed the collaboration among craftsmen. Only with their accurate and perfect cooperation could the artworks be completed. These artworks represent the highest quality of productivity development. There are the lifelike Gilt Bronze Walking Dragon in Tang Dynasty, the nicely-forged Gilt Bronze Buddha made by Dong Qin in Sui Dynasty, the delicate Jade Goblet from Western Han Dynasty, the exquisite Golden-backed Mirror with Auspicious Animals and Grapes and other artworks, all of them embody the master skills of the craftsmen in ancient China. They combined various crafts together, and perfectly switched between simplification and complexity, sparsity and denseness, movement and stillness in relation to the design space.

The Jade Pigs from the Western Han Dynasty

This year marks the 1400th anniversary of the Great Tang Dynasty to establish its capital in Chang’an. Through these cultural heritages from the ancient Chang’an in the Great Tang Dynasty, we can feel the spiritual world striving for perfection and daring to explore new things, as well as the noble ideas of selfless dedication and tolerance of the craftsmen in this great country a thousand years ago. Their great spirit will pass down from generation to generation, and encourage the new generation of Chinese craftsmen to make new progress and continue their prosperity. Leveraged by the Belt and Road Initiative, the Chinese people are creating new trends in this new era.

The Golden Phoenix of the Tang Dynasty

The Mother-of-pearl Mirror Inlaid with Flowers and Birds of the Tang Dynasty

The Jade Cong from the Western Zhou Dynasty

Other exhibits