Radiant Legacy: Ancient Chinese Gold from the Mengdiexuan Collection

Selected from about 300 Eurasian and Chinese gold artifacts in the Mengdiexuan Collection, Hong Kong, this exhibition is organized in conjunction with the 50th (“Golden“) anniversary of the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

When gold was introduced into China c. 1500 BCE by non-Chinese peoples living to its north and west, it was an intruder in a society that valued jade and bronze as material indicators of rank and prestige. Gold’s arrival provided not just a new visual appeal, but also impetus for artistic, technical, and cultural dialogue between China and its neighbours. With the help of archaeological discoveries in China, Central Asia, and Russia, this exhibition will explore, in three sections, the different meanings of gold in different cultural contexts, and the dynamic interactions among them over 3000 years.

Gold has been a symbol of wealth and power since time immemorial, and it has a special commemorative meaning attached to 50th anniversary. To celebrate the Golden Jubilee of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), the Art Museum and the Department of Fine Arts, CUHK are mounting a joint exhibition entitled 'Radiant Legacy: Ancient Chinese Gold from the Mengdiexuan Collection' from 5 May to 27 October 2013. The exhibition will showcase some 300 Eurasian and Chinese gold artefacts selected from the Mengdiexuan Collection, Hong Kong. The exhibits span a period of over 3,000 years, dating from ca. 1500 BCE to 1700 CE. This ancient Chinese gold exhibition is the first comprehensive, systematic presentation of gold in ancient China held in a Hong Kong museum.

When gold was introduced into China ca. 1500 BCE by non-Chinese peoples living to its north and west, it was an intruder in a society that valued jade and bronze as material indicators of rank and prestige. Gold's arrival provided not just a new visual appeal, but also impetus for artistic, technical, and cultural dialogue between China and its neighbours. With the help of archaeological discoveries in China, Central Asia, and Russia, this exhibition will explore the meaning of gold in different cultural contexts, and the dynamic interactions among them over 3,000 years.

This exhibition and the publication of its catalogue are led and coordinated by Prof. Jenny F. So, Professor of Fine Arts, and Guest-curator of this exhibition. The exhibition will be divided into three sections – 'Gold in the Eurasian Steppes', 'Gold in the High Plateau' and 'Gold in China' with details as follows:

1. Gold in the Eurasian Steppes – begins with the arrival of gold personal ornaments along China's northern borders (ca. 1500 BCE), its incursion into China, and impact on local production techniques, types, and decorations into the 6th century CE.

2. Gold in the High Plateau – the highlight of this exhibition, rediscovers the previously unknown gold of the Tubo (or ancient Tibetan) culture, one of Tang-dynasty China's main rivals in the 7th and 9th centuries, thus opens a new chapter in the history of gold in China.

3. Gold in China – reveals the ways in which gold was integrated and transformed into familiar Chinese artefacts from the 1st to 17th centuries.

The exhibits are displayed accordingly, and fully illustrated by a 3-volume bilingual catalogue.

A collection of about 300 Eurasian and Chinese gold artifacts dating from ca. 1500 BCE to 1700 CE in the Mengdiexuan Collection, Hong Kong, forms the core of this study and exhibition. This is the first comprehensive, systematic presentation of gold in ancient China held in a Hong Kong museum. More than just an exhibition of one private collection, this will be the first large-scale, art-historical, intercultural, and technical study of Chinese gold from the earliest times. As a material that was introduced into China through its contact with non-Chinese groups during the late 2nd millennium BCE, gold brought with it not simply a new visual appeal, but completely new technological, artistic, and cultural implications in the complex interactions between cultures, peoples, and regions over time and space. With the help of archaeological discoveries in China, Central Asia, and Russia, this exhibition and the accompanying catalogue will assess the development and role of gold in Chinese society for over 3000 years. Professor Jenny F. So will lead and coordinate this exhibition and the publication of a fully illustrated, 3-volume bilingual catalogue. In addition, a symposium, open to the public, consisting of a series of presentations by an international roster of scholars, will be organized as part of the exhibition opening festivities. This provides a forum for the Hong Kong community to benefit from updated scholarly research on this material, scholars to exchange ideas, and the opportunity to discuss and pursue potentials for future research and collaboration in the study of gold in China.