TREASURES OF THE Chengde Summer Palace, the largest exhibition about the Qing dynasty held in Hong Kong, uses exquisite works of art and historical pieces to trace the turbulent years from the early 18th century to the early 20th century. Hongkongers may be interested in seeing a copy of the Sino-British Conventions of Peking, which was ratified in Chengde by Emperor Xianfeng. Article 6 of the document further consolidated Britain's colonial rule over Hong Kong by ceding the area south of Boundary Street in Kowloon (Hong Kong Island having been ceded with the Treaty of Nanking). Other highlights of the $2 million, 120-piece exhibition, at the Hong Kong Museum of Art, include a rare zitan screen decorated with a 3,000-year-old lingzhi fungus, first-class pieces of Tibetan art, imperial jade seals, robes, ceramics and lacquer wares. 'Some of the exhibits had never been shown before and many of them are unique,' says Dr Joseph Ting Sun-pao, the museum's chief curator. He says he wanted to bring the exhibit to Hong Kong partly because he felt people would be 'interested in the relation between the Qing dynasty and Europe, such as the Macartney Mission to China in 1793'. The curator also says, half-jokingly, that he hopes television soap operas about the Qing dynasty will inspire people to visit the exhibition. 'Some are even about Emperor Kangxi and Emperor Qianlong,' he says. The exhibition, which opened in Beijing last year to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the founding of the Chengde Summer Palace, is the first to showcase the palace's treasures. Chengde's 124 groups of buildings cover 56sqkm. It's the largest existing royal garden in China and was declared a World Cultural Heritage site in 1994. Because the ruling Manchus were originally from northeastern China, they found the summer heat in Beijing unbearable. Also known as bishu shanzhuang ('the garden to get away from the heat'), it was constructed under the command of Emperor Kangxi in 1703. Extensions were completed in 1792 under Emperor Qianlong. The two emperors spent about six months of each year in Chengde and handled state affairs there. About 200km north was the Mulan Hunting Grounds, where the Qing emperors performed the autumn hunting rituals, trained Manchu soldiers and received delegations from Mongolia. 'I was very impressed by the Tibetan Buddhist images in the exhibition,' Ting says. 'They are much more diversified than Chinese ones. They have rich facial expressions. Some are peaceful, some angry, and some even horrifying. 'There are stories behind the pieces. For example, the statue of the sixth Panchen Lama is a great piece of sculpture made by the imperial artists. The sixth Panchen Lama was the first panchen who went to China to see the Qing emperor. It had taken him about six months to go from Tibet to Chengde. To welcome him, Emperor Qianlong commissioned the building of the Xumifushou Temple [Temple of Great Fortune and Longevity] for him to live in and give sermons.' The Tibetan art pieces came from the Eight Outlying Temples built on the foothills east and north of the Chengde Summer Palace. These temples embodied the Qing court's policy of 'using religious means to rule the people', as Tibetan Buddhism was used to draw support from the Mongols and Tibetans. It's a far cry from China's approach towards Tibetan Buddhism today. 'I selected items that reveal the history of the Qing dynasty and at the same time are wonderful to look at,' says Zhao Ling, the exhibit's original curator and deputy director of the Chengde Cultural Relics Administration Bureau. 'For example, there are weapons to show the hunting culture of the Manchus. There are zitan screens to show how rich and powerful the Qing emperors once were. On the other hand, documents such as the Conventions of Peking tell the downfall of the dynasty,' she says. Other experts from the mainland also speak of the zitan screen with a lingzhi fungus as the outstanding piece. Zitan is a slow growing tree found in tropical areas. Since ancient times, it has been the most exclusive material for making furniture in China. The lingzhi fungus is a popular plant used in traditional Chinese medicine. 'The lingzhi fungus is about 3,000 years old,' says Zhang Lizhu, director of the Hebei Provincial Cultural Heritage Bureau. 'It looks like a stone and fits the zitan perfectly. There are poems inscribed on the screen. All the works of art from Chengde have a special quality. They are full of life and reflect the mood of summer. But this screen is amazing as lingzhi fungi take very little from nature but give a lot to human beings. I have never seen anything similar to this.' Treasures of the Chengde Summer Palace, Hong Kong Museum of History, 100 Chatham Rd South, TST, tel: 2724 9042. Open daily, 10am-6pm. Ends June 7
