Guarding relics against all odds
Documentary series explores efforts to preserve artifacts over decades, revealing stories of the Palace Museum's treasures through war and displacement, Wang Ru reports.
After filming the series, she adds, her feelings toward the artifacts have fundamentally changed.
For example, one episode revisits the recovery of Boyuan, a rare calligraphy model from the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420), which was displayed during the Palace Museum's centennial exhibition.
During the turbulent final years of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), many precious artifacts went missing. Therefore, in the 1950s, when Zheng Zhenduo, then the country's cultural heritage administration chief, learned that two calligraphy works, including Boyuan, were about to be auctioned in Hong Kong, he immediately reported the situation to the State Council, China's Cabinet.
Upon receiving the report, Premier Zhou Enlai ordered specialists to verify the authenticity of the works and approved a substantial sum to secure their return. After complex negotiations, the calligraphy pieces were successfully purchased and brought back to the Chinese mainland, becoming part of a broader effort that recovered numerous cultural treasures during that decade.
