Product Description

The "Odyssey of China's Imperial Art Treasures" traces the three-thousand-year history of the emperor's imperial collection, from the Bronze Age to the present. The tortuous history of these treasures involves a succession of dynasties, invasion and conquest, and civil war, resulting in valiant attempts to rescue and preserve the collection. Throughout history, different Chinese regimes used the imperial collection to bolster their own political legitimacy, domestically and internationally. The narrative follows the gradual formation of the Peking Palace Museum in 1925, its hasty fragmentation as large parts of the collection were moved perilously over long distances to escape wartime destruction, and finally its formal division into what are today two Palace Museums - one in Beijing, the other in Taipei. Enlivened by the personalities of those who cared for the collection, this textured account of the imperial treasures highlights magnificent artworks and their arduous transit through politics, war, and diplomatic reconciliations. Over the years, control of the collections has been fiercely contested, from early dynasties through Mongol and Japanese invaders to Nationalist and Communist rivals - a saga that continues today. This first book-length investigation of the imperial collections will be of great interest to China scholars, historians, and Chinese art specialists. Its tales of palace intrigue will fascinate a wide variety of readers.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1144257 in Books
• Published on: 2005-08-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 178 pages

Review
"This is a helpful introduction to the tangled and absorbing story of how the magnificent Chinese palace art collection was formed, how it survived the darkest periods of the Japanese occupation, and how it ended up divided between Taipei and Beijing." Jonathan Spence, Yale University "The dramatic story of the formation and preservation of China's collection of national art treasures now preserved in the state museums of Beijing and Taipei is a true saga. It is a tale of adventure, intrigue, danger, mystery, and idealistic determination that resulted in the miraculous preservation of one of the world's greatest art collections." Richard M. Barnhart, Yale University "Jeannnette Shambaugh Elliott and David Shambaugh weave information and insights from both oral and documentary sources into a fascinating and authoritative account of the vicissitudes of this incomparably greatest of all assemblages of Chinese art." James Cahill, University of California-Berkeley "The first book-length study of the history of imperial collecting, this accessible account illuminates the vital role of the fine arts in China's political identity. The narrative of the transformation of the imperial palace and its furnishings into two great museums will fascinate both specialists and general readers." Alfreda Murck, author of Poetry and Painting in Song China