The Shanghai Museum launched its first major exhibition of Song and Yuan dynasty manuscripts on May 16, featuring 66 carefully selected handwritten, printed, and stone-rubbed works. Approximately half of the displayed items appear on China’s National Precious Ancient Books List or Shanghai’s equivalent catalog, including the renowned “Chunhua Ge Tie” master copy that caused a sensation when acquired in 2003.
The exhibition highlights three distinct categories of these cultural treasures from China’s golden age of classical literature. The “Brilliant Ink” section presents seven rare Song dynasty handwritten Buddhist sutras, including two dated 973 AD – the exhibition’s oldest artifacts. “Glorious Ancient Prints” displays unique woodblock-printed works like the Southern Song edition of Wang Anshi’s collected writings and the world’s only surviving copy of the 1261 “Manual of Plum Blossom Portraits,” considered China’s earliest extant pattern book.
Most remarkably, the “Precious Rubbings” section features over 20 rare Song dynasty stone inscriptions, including the celebrated “Chunhua Ge Tie” master copy in its first public showing alongside the imperial “Xiuneisi” edition. These 10th-12th century artifacts represent the pinnacle of Chinese calligraphic reproduction, with the museum’s 2003 repatriation of the “best version” from the United States standing as a landmark achievement in cultural heritage preservation.
The exhibition will run through August 13, accompanied by educational programs and cultural creative products, offering visitors unprecedented access to these normally inaccessible treasures from China’s manuscript tradition.
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