This book documents Â?Son of Heaven: imperial Arts of China, one of the most ambitious art exhibitions ever sent abroad by the PeopleÂ?s Republic of China and the first to explore the relationship between ChinaÂ?s imperial institution and the arts.
More than 200 pages of vivid color illustrations and readable text examine the worldÂ?s richest artis tic legacy Among the highlights of Son of Heaven are a chime of 26 bronze bells from the 6th century B.C., a complete imperial throne room, masterpieces of jade carving, lacquerware, silver, porcelain and painting, terra cotta warriors from the tomb of the Qin First Emperor, and the jade burial suit of a 2nd century B.C.
Han princess. The emperor, reverently called the Â?Son of Heaven,Â? stood at the pinnacle of Chinese society for more than 22 centuries. Commanding the resources of Â?all under Heaven:Â? the emperors of China received the finest works of art China produced, created from the disciplined and clever hands of ChinaÂ?s most accomplished artists. This book celebrates the creativity and technical skill of the countless anonymous artists who crafted | | the objects in Â?Son of Heaven.Â? Â?Son of Heaven: Imperial Arts of ChinaÂ? required over three years of planning by the Chinese Ministry of Culture and its American sponsors.
This book provides a permanent record of a truly historic event in international cultural exchange. Working together, Chinese and American scholars have brought the American public an unprecedented collection of ChinaÂ?s most enduring achievements in the arts. The authors of Â?Son of Heaven,Â?Yang Xiaoneng and Robert L.Thorp, develop the themes of the exhibition in their introductory essays. Like the exhibition itself, the text examines five major roles of the Chinese emperor and the environments in which those duties were carried out: the Altar, the Outer Court, the Temple, the Inner Court, and the Tomb.
The objects assembled under each of these headings were acquired from recent archaeological discoveries as well as from palace collections. They have been lent exclusively for Â?Son of HeavenÂ? by 21 museums and institutions in eight provinces and Beijing. |
