ChinaUS EUROPEASIA 中文双语Français
Culture\Heritage

A tale of two dynasties

By Lin Qi | China Daily | Updated: 2017-10-10 07:24

A tale of two dynasties

A pair of gold-plated bronze artifacts of the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 24) are among the items on show at the exhibition Civilizations of the Qin and Han Dynasties. [Photo by Jiang Dong/China Daily]

It bears a four-character inscription that reads "the empress' seal". Its handle is carved to resemble a chihu, a mythical creature that often appeared on emperors' and empresses' seals since the Han era.

The show's architectural displays also feature symbology that hails imperial power, Shan says.

Shan says visitors should let their imagination run free when immersing themselves in the period.

"One can't help but feel people in the Han Dynasty were much more creative-for example, how they envisaged the afterlife and how they prepared for the next world by making such sophisticated burial objects as bronze money trees," she says.

"The exhibition samples artifacts spanning four centuries. Every item is highly representative of a period's brilliance and richness."

Contact the writer at linqi@chinadaily.com.cn

If you go

9 am-5 pm, through Nov 30. Closed on Mondays. 16 East Chang'an Avenue, Dongcheng district, Beijing. 010-6511-6400.

BACK TO THE TOP
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US