China News Service, Washington, January 21

: How to tell "ancient China" to American audiences?

——Exclusive interview with Wei Qizhi, curator of the National Museum of Asian Art

　　China News Service reporter Chen Mengtong

　　2023 marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the National Museum of Asian Art.

As part of a series of centenary celebrations, the museum will launch the large-scale exhibition "Anyang: Royal Capital of Ancient China" in February 2023, which brings together more than 200 cultural relics in the museum's collection, including oracle bone fragments, jade ornaments, bronzes, etc., and digitized and imaged them The modern exhibition method introduces the Chinese Shang Dynasty about 3,000 years ago to the American public and the cultural and artistic achievements of its capital.

This is also the first large-scale exhibition in the United States with the theme of "Anyang".

　　China News Service's "East-West Question" recently conducted a face-to-face interview with J. Keith Wilson, curator of the exhibition "Anyang: Royal Capital of Ancient China", to explore how an American museum tells the story of "ancient China" to the public, and how Anyang , the little-known connection between Chinese archeology and this century-old museum.

Video: [East-West Question] Wei Qizhi, curator of the National Museum of Asian Art: How to tell "ancient China" to American audiences

Source: China News Network

The interview transcript is summarized as follows:

Reporter from China News Service: Anyang can be said to be the birthplace of modern archeology in China.

Why was the "Anyang" exhibition chosen as part of the National Museum of Asian Art's Centennial Series?

Wei Qizhi:

I want to create an exhibition with historical resonance.

The Freer Museum, the predecessor of the National Museum of Asian Art, provided financial support for the archaeological excavation of the Yin Ruins in Anyang in 1929.

In this sense, the Freer Museum helped support the birth of modern archeology in China to a certain extent.

　　From a historical perspective, I wanted to connect the history of the National Museum of Asian Art with the history of China and the birth of modern Chinese archeology, and tell such a story with historical resonance.

A story that many Americans don’t know, and I think many Chinese viewers don’t know either.

Exterior view of the National Museum of Asian Art.

Photo by Chen Mengtong

Reporter from China News Service: Anyang symbolizes China's earliest written material cultural relics. How does the "Anyang" exhibition visualize the history of 3,000 years ago and tell it to modern audiences, especially American audiences?

Wei Qizhi:

Archeology’s contribution to our understanding of ancient Chinese culture and other ancient civilizations is ubiquitous. I want to help American audiences understand the contribution of archeology.

I think the great contribution of archeology is to help mankind review history.

The "Anyang" exhibition also demonstrates this contribution through the special use of archaeological methods.

　　Anyang can be said to be the birthplace of Chinese language and writing.

Therefore, from the beginning of the exhibition, we have made the inscriptions on ancient Chinese characters and utensils the main part of the exhibition, and then used digital methods to help American audiences understand the meaning of these inscriptions.

"Anyang: The Imperial Capital of Ancient China" exhibition at the National Museum of Asian Art.

Photo by China News Service reporter Chen Mengtong

Reporter from China News Service: If you could only choose one exhibit from the "Anyang" exhibition to recommend to the audience, which one would you choose?

Wei Qizhi:

The more than 200 exhibits in the "Anyang" exhibition are like a whole.

This is a difficult question to answer.

My personal favorite is an unglazed white pottery vessel from the late Shang Dynasty - Lei (pronounced "Lei"). It is very beautiful and may have been made by the royal craftsmen of the time.

The exhibit is virtually intact, so it accurately reflects its original form.

Ancient pottery was very fragile, unlike bronze.

It may have been made for some king or queen of the time, which has a huge resonance for me.

jar

Reporter from China News Service: The "Anyang" exhibition seems to have gone beyond the scope of Asian art. It is about culture and history.

You have been working at the National Museum of Asian Art for nearly 17 years. How has your museum introduced and exhibited Chinese art and culture over the years?

Wei Qizhi:

For us, it is important to tell aesthetic stories and help people truly appreciate the beauty of Chinese art.

On the other hand, I am a person who is very interested in technology and production processes.

I also want to help visitors understand the production process behind these artifacts and the culture conveyed by this process.

　　The complexity of bronze casting is one of the core themes of the Anyang exhibition.

We even recreated a set of bronze casting components to help visitors understand Chinese casting techniques.

We hope that the audience can not only appreciate the beauty, but also understand the technology behind these artifacts and the cultural stories that belong to that era.

"Anyang: The Imperial Capital of Ancient China" exhibition at the National Museum of Asian Art.

Photo by China News Service reporter Chen Mengtong

China News Service reporter: Judging from the feedback from American audiences, what are they curious about China?

Wei Qizhi:

I am surprised by the strong interest of American audiences in Oracle.

To them, this is a completely foreign world.

Many people are curious and interested in this unique method of communicating with their ancestors through divination.

Many schools in the Washington area have opened Chinese immersion teaching courses, and many teachers will take students to see the "Anyang" exhibition to introduce them to the origin of Chinese characters.

　　The oracle bone inscription fragment in the "Anyang" exhibition is a record involving sexual intercourse.

I think it's a powerful story as well.

In the exhibition, we were able to really come face to face with a historical figure and gain a little insight into her life through the oracle bones.

It looks like a woman from Yinxu in Anyang, Henan.

Photo by Wang Zirui

Reporter from China News Service: The "Anyang" exhibition will last until April 2024. Is the next China-related exhibition planned?

What exchanges and cooperation does your museum have with Chinese museums?

Wei Qizhi:

We will launch a small exhibition themed on Qing Dynasty screens in the near future.

This exhibition has relatively high requirements for the preservation conditions of the exhibits, and it has not been exhibited for many years.

This is the first time it is shown to the public after years of preservation and conservation.

　　In terms of exchanges with Chinese museums, in fact, before the epidemic, we hoped to cooperate with the Palace Museum on the loan of exhibits.

With the end of the epidemic, similar cooperation between the two parties is gradually resuming.

So far, I have found that the most successful thing is the exchange of people, not the exchange of exhibits.

Therefore, we plan to invite some Chinese colleagues to Washington in March 2024 to participate in a seminar on Anyang.

China News Service reporter: Speaking of people-to-people exchanges, what are your expectations for cultural exchanges and cooperation between China and the United States?

Wei Qizhi:

I am very optimistic and I like my experience in China.

I cherish the opportunity to work with Chinese colleagues.

During the process of curating the "Anyang" exhibition, I received help from Chinese colleagues. As external consultants, they provided us with a lot of archival information and archaeological history.

I look forward to this partnership continuing to grow.

　　Both the United States and China can benefit from this kind of international cooperation.

I very much hope that the United States and China can continue to expand cultural exchanges and cooperation.

(over)

Interviewee profile:

Photographed by J. Keith Wilson and Chen Mengtong

　　J. Keith Wilson is the curator of "Ancient Chinese Art" at the National Museum of Asian Art and an expert in the study of ancient Chinese bronzes and jade.

He holds master's degrees in Chinese art and archeology from the University of Michigan and Princeton University, and has conducted research at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York as a "Mellon Prize" scholar.

Wei Qizhi joined the National Museum of Asian Art in 2006.

Ancient Chinese artifacts have always been Wei Qizhi's main research field.

Not only did he re-curate, design and install the Chinese art galleries in the Freer Museum, he also launched a comprehensive digital catalog dedicated to the museum’s ancient jade collection.