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Treasures from China | |
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The Treasures of China collection is being developed by the ACT Cinemage Group in cooperation with the Chinese Ministry of Culture. Our Treasures of China site currently features two collections of images. Browse through our Online Gallery and enjoy the past coming alive in the present. If you have not already subscribed, you may select "Guest Pass" for a demonstration of the collection.
Images from PingyaoThe ancient city of Pingyao was first built in the King of Xuan period of West Zhou,( 827-782B.C.) The County Annals of Pingyao recorded:" During the reign of King Xuan of Zhou Dyansty, Yin Ji Pu stationed an army here in his northern expedition". The original wall was made of tamped earth which was located in the northwest part of the city six kilometers away from today's Pingyao. It has a history of more than 2700 years.Paper CutttingsPaper-cutttings belong to the Chinese folk art. Paper-making was one of the four discoveries in ancient China. As early as the West Han Period, (206 B.C.-- 24 A.D.) paper was made in China. The most ancient existing paper-cut objects excavated from the Gaochang Ruins of Tulufan in Xinjiang Autonomous Region in 1959 were a group of five-flower paper-cuts of the North Dynasty Period (386--581A.D.), one was made of a circle of paired-monkeys (16 monkeys), another was made of a circle of paired-horses(12 horses). Besides, from 1963 to 1965, seven "Renshen" (showing a picture of seven persons standing) paper cuts were also excavated from the tombs at the same district of Astana in the prosperous Tang Dynasty and the Mid-Tang Dynasty. In the Song Dynasty (960 -1127 A.D.), more books made description of the paper cuts. Apparently with the popularization of paper, paper-cuts gradually became popular among the people. In the modern times, paper-cuts has become a kind of folk art all over China. |
