Year-ender: Top 10 art exhibits in China (3)

Students look at one of the exhibits of Atop the Mountains: Exhibition of the Eight Great Masters of the Tang and the Song dynasties at the Liaoning Provincial Museum in Shenyang on Dec 2. [Photo by Li Hao/For China Daily]

3. Exhibit highlights eight great masters of Tang and Song dynasties

Liaoning Provincial Museum (Dec 2- March 2)

This was China's first exhibition collectively introducing the "eight great masters" of the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties－the cultural pinnacles of ancient China, through cultural relics that have been handed down as a result of about 1,000 years of continuous efforts.

In China, "the eight great masters" (video) is a household cultural term referring to Liu Zongyuan and Han Yu from the Tang Dynasty, plus Ouyang Xiu, Su Xun and his two sons Su Shi and Su Zhe, along with Wang Anshi and Zeng Gong, all from the Song Dynasty. The term hails their unparalleled status in Chinese arts and literature.

A total of 115 exhibits－mainly paintings, calligraphy, ancient books, stone rubbing pieces and ceramics－were displayed to recall the glorious era of outstanding literati. Eighty-four articles were from the museum's own collection, and the rest were on loan from key venues nationwide including the National Museum of China and the Shanghai Museum.