Marks of China exhibit opens

Dubai Revisit a part Chinese history immortalised in ancient relics from the Han and Tang Dynasties at the Gallery of Light in Dubai Community Theatre and Arts Centre, which opened to the public on Wednesday. Called ‘Marks of China’, the exhibition features more than 60 rubbings taken from cultural relics dating about 1500 and 3000 years ago when paper was invented, silk weaving and trade bridged empires, and military expansion coincided with cultural achievement. Rubbing is an ancient Chinese skill that is used to create exact copies of the characters and patterns on gigantic cultural relics. With it, ancient relics may be viewed and appreciated audiences worldwide. “In China, there are a lot of relics but they are very big. Because of the problem of sea freight and management of the relics, it’s difficult to bring the original relics for exhibition. Hence, the creation of the rubbings by the Chinese people,” Luo Xinchang, curator of the exhibition, told Gulf News.“This is our way of bringing the Chinese art and culture to the world,” he added. “This exhibition is a way to introduce the Chinese culture to the UAE; for them to know our culture more through seeing [the relics],” Wu Xiao Ming, an official from the Chinese Consulate General, said. The rubbings that comprise the Marks of China exhibition provides an insight to the Han and Tang Dynasties - two of the four greatest Chinese periods, during which Chinese culture prospered. “These two periods are important for the Chinese culture because this was during the height of creating and designing. And some of those made during this era can no longer be replicated like the drawings [funerary art] found on the gravestones,” Xinchang said. The Marks of China exhibition, which will run for three days, will be brought to Japan and Korea for the Asian leg of its tour. from gulfnews.com