Face to Face With the Past

(Text;and;photos;by;Wei;Yao)

The National Museum in Beijing is currently hosting an exhibition of more than 50 Chinese portrait paintings from the Ming （1368-1644） and Qing （1644-1911） dynasties. The paintings depict various figures， including members of the imperial family， notable officials and revered literati.

The retrospective offers the public a glimpse into the daily lives， fashions， spiritual pursuits and beliefs of people from different social classes during the two dynasties and brings visitors closer to the politics and etiquettes of the times.

The figure painting in the two dynasties absorbed foreign techniques and innovated traditional ones. The aim of traditional Chinese painters was to capture not only the outer appearance of a subject， but its inner essence as well—its energy， life force and spirit.

To this day， classic Chinese portraits convey the distinct social， cultural and political landscape of times long gone， making them a primary source for the study of ancient China. BR

（Text and photos by Wei Yao）