Palace musical gives children a treat

"It demonstrates our responsibility to display the original history to the children, while the mixture of new technology like autostereoscopy (creating a 3D effect for the naked eye) can also reflect a theme of inheriting culture through technology," Xue Senyu, director of the musical, says.

Nonetheless, he also points out the necessity of creative adaptation of cultural relics for the stage. For example, rather than simply transplanting the appearance of cultural relics into those of the characters, the production crew referred to key cultural elements of relics to design the costumes.

"Considering the aesthetics of modern children, this deconstruction and redesign may enable the characters to better encompass the original aura of the relics," Xue explains.

Some other famous relics housed at the Palace Museum are also turned into "living stars" of the musical, such as the Chalice for Eternal Stability, a signature gold artifact owned by Emperor Qianlong (1711-99); Pingfu Tie ("a consoling letter"), a 1,700-year-old calligraphic work; and Meihe Tu ("a plum-and-crane painting"), an embroidery work from the Southern Song era (1127-1279).

"In children's eyes, these relics may look 'dry'," Yan says. "But interesting promotional methods, like musicals, may strengthen children's impression of the relics and encourage them to better understand the value of these items."

According to the production team, the musical will tour around the country to enable more people to experience the culture of the Palace Museum.