Amazing Restoration Effort Of Qianlong Emperor's Imperial Screen!

Thoroughly enjoyed this video highlighting the painstaking process involved in restoring Qianlong Emperor's Imperial Screen for the Lizzadro Museum. Enjoy!

http://www.theconservationcenter.com/articles/2019/12/16/the-imperial-screen-of-emperor-qianlong

History of Beautiful Yangcai Vase From Qianlong Collection Explained (Qing Dynasty)

I realised I may have shared an article on this beautiful Yangcai vase (with beautiful landscape painting and imperial poem) a while ago. But I liked that The Value included a brief video of Christie's Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art specialist, Ms Liang-Lin Chen, explaining the history of this vase to the public. I was particularly curious to know why Qianlong chose to put poems that he had composed on Yangcai porcelain. Glad Ms Chen briefly touched on this subject in this video:)

Enjoy!

https://en.thevalue.com/articles/christies-qianlong-ceramics-vase

Exquisite Wine Cup A Symbol Of China's Strong Eternal Integrity (Qing Dynasty)

'Jinou Yonggu' Cup

Weighing 500 grams and inlaid with different kinds of gems, including 11 pearls, nine rubies, 12 sapphires and four pink tourmalines, this wine cup is truly a sight to behold. It's no wonder the emperors of the Qing dynasty only used it once a year!

An exquisite golden vessel such as this, was apparently used to represent the completeness of the sovereign’s territory and prosperity of China.

This wine vessel was used in the Opening Brush Ceremony held at midnight on the first day of the Spring Festival. The ceremony was initiated by Emperor Yongzheng (1678-1735) and officially established by Emperor Qianlong.

*This article originally appeared in Shine.cn.

https://www.shine.cn/feature/art-culture/1908099926/

Intriguing Documentary On The History Of Chinese Porcelain (Ming Dynasty)

Found this documentary on Chinese porcelain (which focused mainly on the Ming dynasty) enlightening. I was intrigued to learn that all the porcelain pieces distributed over 21 countries during the Ming dynasty came from one place - Jingdezhen. Of course, the painstaking process of 'categorizing' shards according to shape, colour and marks and then putting them all together never fails to amaze me. The fact that the Chinese managed to successfully restore 1000 pieces in indeed commendable. Hope you enjoy this!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNnTUwuFtXU

10 Interesting Facts About China's Only Empress (Zhou Dynasty)

Of all the rulers in China, I am most fascinated by China's only empress, Wu Zetian. Seeing she was highly educated, ambitious and possessed strong leadership skills, it's no surprise that she founded her own dynasty - the Zhou Dynasty. Below are 10 facts about this legendary ruler. Number 7 was definitely 'news' to me :p
https://www.historyhit.com/facts-about-wu-zetian-the-only-empress-of-china/

Ru Ware - An Invention Born From 'A Dream' (Song Dynasty)

Short but good read on Ru ware. It's interesting how an invention born from 'a dream' during the Song Dynasty survived all the through to the Qing dynasty through imitations. Wasn't aware that Emperor Yongzheng was a fan of this 'jade-like gloss' ware too :p

http://www.chinatoday.com.cn/ctenglish/2018/cs/201802/t20180224_800118330.html

4 Interesting Facts about The Great Wall of China

Despite having climbed the Great Wall of China 3 times in the past, I must admit I still don't know much about it, apart from it being built to fend off enemies. Some interesting facts I recently uncovered from watching this short, informative TedEx video: 1. It originally stretched from Lintao to Liaodong. 2. It was initially called The Long Wall. 3. It was made longer during the Han dynasty and stretched from Dunhuang to Bohai Sea. 4. In WW2, certain sections were even used as defense against Japanese invasion. Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23oHqNEqRyo&list=PLJicmE8fK0Eh7yolyPIVhJdPzLuTYC9In&index=34