Ming: 50 years that changed China
明朝：改變中國的50年

TEXT BY文字提供：ART.ZIP

IMAGES COURTESY OF 圖片提供：BRITISH MUSEUM 大英博物館

In September 2014 the British Museum will stage a major exhibition on a golden age in China’s history－－Ming:50 Years That Changed China. The exhibition will explore the years 1400 – 1450, a pivotal 50 year period that transformed China during the rule of the Ming dynasty. In this period the capital is established in Beijing and the borders of China are fixed as they are today. Bureaucrats replace military leaders in the hierarchy of power. The exhibition will include rare loans of some of the finest objects ever made in China, shedding light on this important part of world history that is little known in Europe. China’s internal transformation and connections with the rest of the world led to a flourishing of creativity from what was, at the time, the only global superpower.

This period for China was a time of extraordinary engagement with the world and of fascinating cultural diversity. The explorer Zheng He pioneered China’s maritime history, sending treasure ships to South East Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. This is the first exhibition to explore the great social and cultural changes in China that established Beijing as a capital city and the building of the Forbidden City.

2014年9月，大英博物館將舉辦一個展現中國歷史上黃金年代的重要展覽《明朝：改變中國的50年》。展覽主要集中展示了1400﹣1450年明朝統治下中國的變化，這期間的中國首都遷至北京，其領土疆域也和今天大致相同，士人官僚取代軍事領袖成為政治權力的主宰。中國明朝在世界歷史上具有重要的意義，但對歐洲人來說卻非常陌生。此次展覽中囊括了很多中國歷史上最為重要、最為精緻的珍貴文物，通過這些展品，展覽為歐洲人打開了一扇窗來了解這段歷史和中國文化，從而一窺當時世界上唯一一個超級大國的內部變遷以及其與世界的互動。

展覽介紹的明朝這50年是中國與世界進行非凡互動並且極具文化魅力和多樣性的一個特定歷史時期，鄭和開創了中國的航海史，他給東南亞、中東和非洲送去珍貴的寶物。這個展覽同時也是第一次為西方觀眾展示了明朝遷都北京并修建紫禁城給中國社會及文化帶來的巨大變革。

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展覽場地：BRITISH MUSEUM 大英博物館
展覽時間：18.9.2014 – 5.1.2015
更多信息：www.britishmuseum.org