As the Year of Monkey approaches, the Beijing Capital Museum is presenting a special monkey-themed exhibition that decodes the cultural roots of monkey in traditional Chinese culture.
The exhibit, Monkey King is Coming (Da Sheng Lai Ye), will showcase more than 40 antique collections, including paintings, calligraphy, stamps, utensils and artwork, and 12 classic Monkey King pictures based on the great Chinese novel "Journey to the West."
"Each year we present the public a special show featuring one particular zodiac creature and this time it’s the monkey," said Yang Dandan, press officer for the Beijing Capital Museum. "Cultural heritage and traditions encoded in the Year of the Monkey will be interpreted and highlighted."
According to Mu Hongli, the exhibition's designer, the exhibits are arranged in three sections that represent the monkey's nature, divinity and humanity, which are closely tied with the Monkey King figure in traditional culture.
Multimedia presentations with animation and music are part of the show as is an interactive section that gets visitors close to monkey culture.
The exhibition opens on Tuesday and will last until March 13.
Another four major exhibitions are to be expected in the Capital Museum in 2016, with rare national treasures displayed to the public for the first time. They are the special exhibition to mark the 40th anniversary of the discovery of the Fu Hao Tomb (Fu Hao, wife of King Wu Ding of the Shang Dynasty, who died in 1192 B.C.); an exhibition on the three capitals in the Yuan Dynasty (A.D.1271-1368); a show of the "Eight Palace Handicrafts" (royal artworks and handicrafts in the Qing Dynasty, 1636-1912); and a special exhibition on the Forbidden City's Hall of Mental Cultivation (the royal hall where emperors worked and lived in Qing Dynasty).
Credit: China Daily