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SCMP Reporter

The Hong Kong Museum of Art yesterday opened its doors for a 'once-in-a-lifetime exhibition' of world- acclaimed masterpieces of Chinese painting and calligraphy selected from the Palace Museum in Beijing's Forbidden City.

Phase two of 'The Pride of China' exhibition is one of several events being held around the city to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the handover.

Among the exhibition's  highlights is a famous five-metre scroll, Copy After Along the River During the Qingming Festival by Ming dynasty artist Qiu Ying.

Qiu's copy is considered to be the best imitation of the original, called the Qingming Scroll, by Zhang Zeduan  of the Northern Song dynasty, which was on display at the museum  in the exhibition's first phase.

Zhang's scroll depicts  various  enterprises and lifestyles in the Northern Song capital Bianjing, nowadays Kaifeng , in Henan  .

Qiu's copy replaces the architecture, gardens, businesses, people and costumes with those of the  Ming dynasty, especially as seen in Suzhou at the time.

At a news conference  yesterday to announce the exhibition's second phase, artist Wu Ziyu , who spent six months copying the scroll in 1984, said recreating the artwork  had been like going back in time to the Northern Song dynasty, more than 1,000 years ago.

'Copying a painting was like acting, we had to immerse ourselves in the scenario of the masterpiece,' said the  artist, 77, who is from Guangzhou. His works are not on display.

In total, phase two  features 16 exhibits, which include the Letter to Boyuan, written by Wang Xun in the Jin dynasty.  The calligraphy belonged to  Emperor Qianlong of the Qing dynasty and held in the Hall of Three Rarities in Beijing.

Museum of Art curator Szeto Yuen-kit  said Wang's calligraphy had once been lost, but was found in Hong Kong in 1949.

Zhou Enlai, the then  premier, spent almost HK$480,000 to buy the masterpiece and sent it back to Beijing.

The phase two exhibition ends on August 11.



A scroll down memory lane