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Exhibition brings ruined Yuan Ming Yuan to life
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“A Paradise Lost” is an exhibition that uses modern technology to recreate parts of the ruined Yuan Ming Yuan in Beijing.
Yuan Ming Yuan, also called the Old Summer Palace, was ransacked by British and French soldiers in 1860. Much of the palace was destroyed while the troops also carted off many precious artifacts.
Among the stolen items were 12 bronze animal head sculptures. The statues represented each animal in the Chinese zodiac and were part of a fountain known as the Water Clock. Once every two hours, water would flow from one of these 12 animal heads to tell the time. At noon and midnight, water would gush out of all the animal heads at the same time.
Bronze artist Zhu Bingren has recreated the 12 animal heads as the highlight of the exhibition.
Each animal head is set behind a screen. Holograph technology makes it seem as though water gushes out of the heads, like the real ones did in the Summer Palace.
“I am honored to realize a dream of the Chinese nation,” said Zhu, a Hangzhou native.
The 12 animal head statues remain a controversial topic today because the whereabouts of four remain unknown. Seven are in museums on the Chinese mainland while one is in Taiwan. Several of the statues have been purchased for large sums by Chinese collectors and then donated to museums.
The exhibition also features numerous authentic items from the ruined palace. These items include glazed tiles, upturned eaves, marble piers saved from fire, other sculptures and seals.
“Though history has passed, people can learn what has happened before,” said Guo Zhengxiong, president of Taiwan Brightideas Design Company, which is the exhibition’s sponsor.
The exhibition has already been held in Taiwan and Beijing. It attracted over 300,000 visitors in Taiwan. Beijing asked the company to extend its run in the capital by one week due to its popularity.
“A Lost Paradise” also features an impressive selection of photos, paintings, along with foreign magazines and books to give a glimpse of what was destroyed by the British and French troops. This section includes images of Chinese-style houses and pavilions and a Muslim church that was designed for one of Emperor Qianlong’s favorite concubines, who was Muslim.
A computer game recreates a ruined palace garden that was created to appreciate the beauty of all four seasons.
Foreign materials include a book by Briton George Leonard Staunton, secretary to the head of a British mission to China in 1792. He published a set of three volumes entitled “An Authentic Account of an Embassy from the King of Great Britain to the Emperor of China.”
French magazines Le Petit Journal and Journal Universal, both published in the late 19th century, are shown as illustrations of former imperial gardens and evidence of the invasion.
Date: Through May 11, 9am-8pm
Address: Westbrook, 21 Zijinggang Rd
Admission: 80 yuan (US$13) for adults;40 yuan for students
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