Students observe cloud patterns on various Mawangdui objects and identify the different types of patterns on these objects.

Is there life after death? Can one’s lifespan be significantly extended? Can a human being live forever? Many religious and cultural traditions considered these questions.

Art and Life in the Changsha Kingdom, Third Century BCE to First Century CE

For the first time ever in the United States, China Institute’s exhibition Noble Tombs at Mawangdui presents over sixty rare artifacts excavated during 1972-74 from one of the most important archaeological sites discovered in the 20th century. Consisting of three tombs in the hill named Mawangdui located near the modern provincial capital of Changsha in the Hunan province, the site has provided a unique window into the beliefs and cultural practices of the early era of the Western Han dynasty (206 BCE-9 CE). The Mawangdui tombs are the resting places of Li Cang, the Marquis of Dai (d. 186 BCE), his wife, Xinzhui, Lady Dai (d. ca. 163), and a third person who is thought to be their son.

Painting and Calligraphy from the Liaoning Provincial Museum

The Last Emperor’s Collection features more than twenty-four works of painting and calligraphy from the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. Since all once belonged to the imperial collection, the exhibition is a broad survey of imperial collecting and connoisseurship. It’s also the story of the tragic loss of these treasures under Puyi (1906-1967), the last emperor of the Qing dynasty, and their journey through the turbulent world of early 20th century China.