Collections from Taipei National Palace Museum on display in Australia

Visitors observe Shen Yuan’s Along the River during the Qingming Festival (Photo by Nuo Shen)

Sydney, April 23 (People’s Daily Online/Fanyu Guo) An Australian first, “Heaven and Earth in Chinese Art”, the exhibition of treasures from the Taipei National Palace Museum, is currently on display at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Australia. The comprehensive exhibition of Chinese treasures has already received attention from many Australian visitors and local media.

The exhibition is comprised of 87 works with a selection of paintings, calligraphy, bronze, ceramics, jade, maps and historical documents, covering 5,000 years of Chinese history from the Neolithic period to the nineteenth century. The exhibition consists of five units associated with the theme “Heaven and Earth”, including heaven and earth, seasons, places, landscape and humanity.

Ms. Yin Cao, Curator of Chinese Art at The Art Gallery of New South Wales, explained the theme. She said that the "Heaven and Earth" exhibition shows that the ancient Chinese farming society respected and worked in harmony with nature. The two most popular exhibits are “the meat-shaped stone” and “Along the River during Qingming Festival”.

Ms. Cao also hopes this exhibition will give the Chinese who work and live in Australia a better understanding of their roots, and allow people from other countries to understand and appreciate traditional Chinese art culture.

“The depth and quality of the Chinese historical art in this exhibition is remarkable,” said Mr. Michael Brand, the Director of the Art Gallery of New South Wales. The current exhibition is the third Chinese historical art exhibition held by the gallery since Mr. Brand became the director in 2012.

“We recognize the grand tradition of Chinese art and are committed to showing both historical and contemporary Chinese art in a variety of inspiring ways. We will continue to engage with China to also develop outstanding cultural exchange programs,” he said.